Stan Baumgardner

In the early 1950’s Putnam published a series of baseball histories which included The Philadelphia Phillies by noted sports writer Fred Lieb and Stan Baumgartner, a former Phillies player. Long out of print, Kent State University Press reissued the book in 2009, adding a new forward by baseball scholar William C. Kashatus and an index. Lieb and Baumgartner chronicle the beginnings of Philadelphia baseball and the start of what would be one of the oldest major league team franchises. The ups and downs, ins and outs of the team are covered along with special insights by pitcher Baumgartner. Philadelphia was awarded a National League team in the 1880’s and the story becomes one of frustration and hope, interwoven with Connie Mack’s rival A’s. Over the years, the Phillie owners preferred not to put money into the team so, when they needed cash, they sold their quality players, putting the team in the second division through most years up to 1952 and for many years after. (Of course, 1915 and 1950 were exceptions, but the team had to wait until 1980 to win the World Series.) To be a Phillies fan yesterday and today is to accept that, to quote the immortal Richie Ashburn, “defeat will be snatched from the jaws of victory.”

There are no footnotes or bibliography; however the original preface acknowledges the help of various individuals and cites baseball guides. The text is a facsimile of the 1952 edition so the errors in the original text were not corrected. It was disconcerting to see that the authors regularly confused manager Henry Wright with his brother George, using both names interchangeably.

Although there are other books on the history of the team, especially several written for a juvenile audience, this book is worth reading to gain a sense of the Phillies’ roots.… (altro)