Full Description
This work is a game-by-game account of the Philadelphia Athletics' pitiful 1916 season, in which they won just 36 of 154 games. It starts with a brief biography of the team's living symbol--A's manager and co-owner Connie Mack--and moves through the birth of the franchise and into its first era of glory in which the A's won world championships in 1910, 1911, and 1913. Following the A's stunning defeat in the 1914 World Series to the underdog Boston Braves, Mack dismantled his championship club and finished last in the American League for seven straight seasons. The 1916 campaign was the nadir. The team's few solid veterans had a supporting cast of underachievers, college boys, raw rookies, no-hopers, and sub-par pitching. The book chronicles the daily grind of a team that had no chance to begin with and quickly became the laughingstock of the AL. Many humorous anecdotes, needless to say!
Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
The Last Hurrah: The 1913 Victory Banquet
Connie Mack: The Architect of the A's (Part 1)
Connie Mack: The Architect of the A's (Part 2)
Connie Mack's First Dynasty: 1910 to 1914
Prelude to Disaster: Spring Training 1916
April: Despair and Hope
May: Hope and the High-Water Mark
June: Reality Tramples Optimism
July: The Depths of Ineptitude
August: The "Little Tonic Team of Baseball" Rises from Its Nadir
August 26: The Masterpiece Among the Rubbish
August 28 to Season's End: Playing Out the String
Heroes and Pleasant Surprises, Villains, Disappointments and Busts
The Aftermath and Beyond
Whatever Happened To...?
Were the 1916 A's Really the Worst MLB Team of the 20th Century?
The 1916 Philadelphia Athletics Season
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
