History and discussion of the legendary Curse of the Billy Goat, the Chicago Cubs' pennant races and World Series games, and baseball's curses.

In 1945 the most famous curse in sports was placed on the Chicago Cubs when Bill Sianis and his goat were ejected from Wrigley Field. Though Sianis purchased two tickets for the fourth game of the World Series against Detroit, the goat's stench led to the pair's ouster. The indignant Sianis allegedly cursed the Cubs, promising that they'd never again play in the World Series at Wrigley Field. More than six decades later, the team has yet to win a pennant. There were years when fortune seemed to pluck defeat from the wings of sure victory. The book focuses on the attitudes of players and fans, as well as attempts to exorcise the curse. It features photographs and interviews of former Cub players, as well as a foreword by Hall of Fame shortstop Ernie Banks.

The definitive work on the language of baseball—one of the “Five Best Baseball Books” (Wall Street Journal). Hailed as “a staggering piece of scholarship” (Wall Street Journal) and “an indispensable guide to the language of baseball” (San Diego Union-Tribune), The Dickson Baseball Dictionary has become an invaluable resource for those who love the game. Drawing on dozens of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century periodicals, as well as contemporary sources, Dickson’s brilliant, illuminating definitions trace the earliest appearances of terms both well known and obscure. This edition includes more than 10,000 terms with 18,000 individual entries, and more than 250 photos. This “impressively comprehensive” (The Nation) book will delight everyone from the youngest fan to the hard-core aficionado.

The Ultimate Chicago Cubs Time Machine presents a timeline format that not only includes the Cubs’ greatest moments—including their World Series appearance in 2016 and individual achievements—but also focuses on some very unusual seasons and events, such as the 1872 season when the Great Chicago Fire destroyed their stadium and uniforms. There are dozens of impressive, wild, wacky, and wonderful stories over the years regarding Cubs history, and Gitlin is the perfect person to write it with his trademark humor and thorough knowledge of team lore.

Thirty-six episodes from the Windy City’s history, including legendary events such as the great fire and the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, as well as lesser-known tales.

Readers can get inside the minds of the stars of the diamond in this extraordinary tour of brain power, psyche, and sheer will of Major League players. 20 illustrations.

After his first Cubs game when Rich Cohen was eight, his father asked him to make a promise. "Promise me you will never be a Cubs fan. The Cubs do not win," he explained, "and because of that, a Cubs fan will have a diminished life determined by low expectations. That team will screw up your life." Here he captures the story of the team, its players and crazy days-- not just what happened, but what it felt like and what it meant. He searches for the cause of the famous curse, and came to see the curse as a burden but also as a blessing.