A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred Author: George Will | Language: English | ISBN:
B00FIN0UT0 | Format: PDF
A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred Description
“George Will on baseball. Perfect.”—Los Angeles Times In
A Nice Little Place on the North Side, leading columnist George Will returns to baseball with a deeply personal look at his hapless Chicago Cubs and their often beatified home, Wrigley Field, as it turns one hundred years old. Baseball, Will argues, is full of metaphors for life, religion, and happiness, and Wrigley is considered one of its sacred spaces. But what is its true, hyperbole-free history?
Winding beautifully like Wrigley’s iconic ivy, Will’s meditation on “The Friendly Confines” examines both the unforgettable stories that forged the field’s legend and the larger-than-life characters—from Wrigley and Ruth to Veeck, Durocher, and Banks—who brought it glory, heartbreak, and scandal. Drawing upon his trademark knowledge and inimitable sense of humor, Will also explores his childhood connections to the team, the Cubs’ future, and what keeps long-suffering fans rooting for the home team after so many years of futility.
In the end,
A Nice Little Place on the North Side is more than just the history of a ballpark. It is the story of Chicago, of baseball, and of America itself.
- File Size: 3230 KB
- Print Length: 226 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0385349319
- Publisher: Crown Archetype (March 25, 2014)
- Sold by: Random House LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00FIN0UT0
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,770 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #23
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Historical Study > Essays - #41
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Baseball > History - #66
in Books > History > Historical Study & Educational Resources > Essays
- #23
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Historical Study > Essays - #41
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Baseball > History - #66
in Books > History > Historical Study & Educational Resources > Essays
The measure of a good book, perhaps a great book, is when I finish the last page, I’m sad to see it end.
This Wrigley Field tribute, lovingly crafted by George Will, is a gem—but I still had five days of vacation left. Surely Will could craft a second book for us hopeless Cub fans. Misery loves company.
Another measure of a great book—I can read numerous paragraphs out loud to my wife, and she’s not annoyed. And no wonder—she converted me into the religion that is Cubs misery in 1968, a year before we married.
“Is 1984 in the book?” she asked, sadly.
I assured her that the heartbreak of 1984 was duly noted—plus other dates and fates: Leon Durham, Steve Bartman, 100 years of Wrigley Field, and dozens and dozens of other Cubs moments to inspire depression.
So why read this? Because the sadness is frequently erased with Will’s dry wit, intelligent analysis, and sidebar wisdom and humor:
--“For most teams, 0 for 30 is called a calamity. For the Cubs it is called April.”
--“What does a female bear taking birth control have in common with the World Series? No Cubs.”
Will quotes sportscaster Red Barber who once said, “baseball is dull only to dull minds.” Exactly. That’s why Cubs fans clearly have higher I.Q.s. We find meaning and solace in the nuanced explanation of win/loss records.
But this is far more than a tribute to Wrigley Field, host to more than 140 million fans since 1913. Will’s wisdom shines in hundreds of one-liners:
--For immigrants, “Learning to talk baseball was part of the catechism of the civic religion.”
--“Chicago was just the place for a man with Cowperwood’s high ratio of energy to scruples.
Who would think that George Will, the well-known syndicated columnist, would have a love affair with baseball--but he does! He loves the game and he loves the Cubs. In this part Wrigley Field history, a little bit memoir and a lot of delightful baseball stories, he weaves the story of what is probably the most cursed team in baseball (their slogan to Boston is 'our curse is worse'). The year 1908 was the last year that saw the Cubs win the World Series. But among the disappointments and frustrations of the fans, one can see why Cubs' baseball endears. Wrigley Field is one of the very few old-time baseball stadiums left from the early 20th century. It has old fashioned charm and reeks of baseball of a past era. Wrigley Field IS baseball. They still have live organ music! They only played day games until a few years ago. They have vines--who else has vines--and he explains why they got the vines back in 1937. Mr. Wrigley wanted a beautiful setting for 'ugly baseball' as he puts it, and he initially proposed vines and trees to be put in the back of the stadium. The trees did not make it; the winds from Lake MIchigan kept stripping them of their leaves. And so, the eternal vines live on.
Will talks about all the great personalities associated with the club such as Bill Veeck, Leo Durocher, Ernie Banks, and William and Philip Wrigley. He also gives us delightful facts--The Cubs were the first team to let the fans keep baseballs that were batted in the stands and of course, they were the last team to start holding night games. They were the first team to have live organ music (1941) and they still do! Even when night baseball was catching on in the late 1930s and 1940s, P. K. Wrigley thought it was just a "passing fad.
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