Before the Curse
About the Book
Before the Curse: The Chicago Cubs' Glory Years, 1870–1945 brings to life the early history of this much beloved and often heartbreaking baseball club. Originally called the Chicago White Stockings, the team immediately established itself as a powerhouse, winning the newly formed National League's inaugural pennant in 1876, repeating the feat in 1880 and 1881, and commanding the league in the decades to come. The legendary days of the Cubs are recaptured here in more than two dozen vintage newspaper accounts and historical essays on the teams and the fans who loved them. The great games, pennant races, and series are all here, including the 1906 World Series between the Cubs and Chicago White Sox. Of course, Before the Curse remembers the Hall of Fame players--Grover Cleveland Alexander, Gabby Hartnett, Rogers Hornsby, Hack Wilson--who delighted Cubs fans with their play on the field and their antics elsewhere.Through engaging introductions to each article, Randy Roberts and Carson Cunningham demonstrate how changes in ownership affected the success of the team, who the teams' major players were both on and off the field, and how regular fans, owners, players, journalists, and Chicagoans of the past talked and wrote about baseball.
About the Author
Randy Roberts is Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University and the author of Joe Louis: Hard Times Man. Carson Cunningham teaches history at Depaul University and is the author of American Hoops: U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball from Berlin to Beijing.Also by this author
Reviews
"This book delights because it brings a collection of primary journalism to the baseball history buff and Cubs fans in easy bite sizes."--Library Journal"An exceptional anthology. . . .Before the Curse presents a team in full."--Journal of Sport History
Blurbs
"A substantial, in-depth collection that shows how the Cubs came to be, from the late nineteenth century up to the mid-twentieth century, and how they set up the direction of the franchise into the present day."--George Castle, Chicago sportswriter and author of Sweet Lou and the Cubs: A Year Inside the Dugout
"Full of lively newspaper accounts and vintage articles, Before the Curse: The Chicago Cubs' Glory Years, 1870–1945 will draw a wide audience among baseball scholars and, of course, Cubs fans."--David Zang, author of Sports Wars: Athletes in the Age of Aquarius
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