Book

The Cubs of '69: Recollections of the Team That Should Have Been

1989

Synopsis

Nineteen sixty-nine is a hard year to forget: a man walked on the moon, Vietnam raged, and Woodstock made headlines. And the Chicago Cubs almost won it all. Twenty years later a nation of Cubs fans still mourns the fate of the team that should have been. For those still-devoted believers, this moving retrospective recreates that bittersweet season through the eyes of those Cubs as they reveal what really happened that summer and how it changed their lives forever. It was the best Cub team ever to take the field, highlighted by some of the best players who ever graced the game: Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ken Holtzman, Randy Hundley, Ron Santo, Don Kessinger, and their outrageous manager, Leo Durocher. They grabbed first place in April, stayed there through August, and, to millions of delirious happy Bleacher Bums, it looked like their team was headed for a World Series for the first time since World War II. Then they lost eight in a row, gave up first place - and the pennant - to the "Miracle Mets," and left the city of Chicago and Cubs fans across the country in a state of brokenhearted shock. The Cubs of "69 is the story of "the best team that never won," an exploration laces with nostalgia, glory, and a fresh perspective, based on hundred of interviews with the players, coaches, and others associated with the team.

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