Connie Mack’s ‘29 Triumph
by William C. Kashatus
Foreword by Dave Kindred; Afterword by Ted Taylor
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It has been said that Connie Mack managed only two kinds of teams during his half-century in the City of Brotherly Love — unbeatable and lousy. His teams collected nine pennants and five World Series titles, balanced by 17 last place finishes. While Mack, an enterprising businessman, had a gift for discovering talented players and molding them into a team, by the time he was well into his sixties, Philadelphians suspected that the A’s skipper had lost his ability. Mack went on to disprove all doubts, however, with a second championship dynasty in 1929 that vindicated the “Tall Tactician.”
Connie Mack’s ’29 Triumph chronicles the rise and fall of the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics and their six-year rivalry with the New York Yankees, 1927 to 1932. Based on primarily on newspaper accounts, the book tells the story of the “Grand Old man of Baseball” — and the A’s team that is unfairly overlooked in favor of the 1927 Yankees as baseball’s greatest all-around team.
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McFarland
2005 | Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-7864-2165-7
Pages: 224
Index: Athletics (baseball team), Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Price: $29.95 (soft cover)
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“Kashatus uses his book to provoke an argument that any baseball fan will love: ‘Who do you like, the ’27 Yankees or the ’29 A’s?’ Only a scholar with a passion for baseball could have written so persuasively in support of the A’s while also practicing a certain detachment.” – The Sporting News
“Kashatus gives us a deeply enjoyable tale of a unique and special part of baseball history.” – Journal of Baseball History & Culture
“Connie Mack’s’29 Triumph is a fine addition to the literature on baseball in the 1920s and 1930s. It is sure to add fuel to the still-burning debate over what team can claim to be the best in the history of the game.” – Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
“Kashatus makes a convincing case that the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics were baseball’s best ever — even better than the vaunted 1927 Yankees . . . His book is a valuable contribution to Philadelphia baseball history.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Connie Mack’s’29 Triumph will astonish and delight readers, even those who have just a passing interest in baseball.” – Pennsylvania Heritage