The Whiz Kids and the 1950 PennantEvery generation or so, a team comes along whose march toward victory is so improbable that you can't help but root them along. The 1950 Philadelphia Phillies was that kind of team; young and spirited, the Whiz Kids played a raw, emotional brand of baseball, nipping the Brooklyn Dodgers on the final day of the season to bring the National League's perennial doormat its first title in 35 years. Hall-of-Fame member Robin Roberts, the team's ace starter, peppers his recollections with snippets of oral history from his teammates to produce a book as lively as the team itself.-- |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Whiz Kids Win a Pennant | 8 |
A Dismal Team History | 16 |
The Carpenters Take Over | 28 |
Jackie Robinson Treading Water | 47 |
Cy and Me | 65 |
Phenoms the Hat and the Babe Ruth of Cuba | 98 |
Professor Sawyer Assumes Control | 122 |
The Whiz Kids Give Notice | 194 |
A Tense Pennant Race | 217 |
The Whiz Kids Take Command | 243 |
September Adversity | 281 |
The Final Weekend | 309 |
Appendix A What Happened to the Whiz Kids | 349 |
Appendix B Box Score of PennantWinning Game | 359 |
Appendix E GamebyGame Summary of | 365 |
Common terms and phrases
All-Star Andy Seminick ball ballclub ballgame ballplayer baseball baseman batting beat Ben Chapman big league Bill Nicholson Blatnick Blix Bob Carpenter Bob Miller Boston Braves Brooklyn Bubba Church Caballero Cardinals catcher Chapman Cincinnati club clubhouse coach Cubs Curt Simmons Cy Perkins Del Ennis Dick Sisler Dodgers doubleheader dugout Ebbets Field Eddie Sawyer Eddie Waitkus eighth Ennis fans fastball Giants going Granny Hamner guys Heintzelman hitter home run homer infield Jim Konstanty Johnny knew lead Louis major league manager Mike Goliat mound National League never Newcombe Nick ninth outfield Pennock Philadelphia Phillies Pirates pitch pitcher Pittsburgh plate play players Puddinhead Putsy RBIs Reds right field rookie runners Russ Meyer score season second game Shibe Park shortstop signed single spring training Stan Lopata started teammates third base threw throw told Toronto tough walked wanted Whiz Kids win the pennant Yankees