Chicago Cubs: 1926-1940 (IL)

by Art Ahrens

The Chicago Cubs of the mid-1920s through 1940 were one of the most talented and exciting ball clubs the city ever produced. The Northsiders enjoyed 14 consecutive winning seasons and claimed the National League pennant four times (1929, 1932, 1935, and 1938), but fell to a dominant American League club in each World Series appearance. Four legendary baseball names led these Cub teams during this amazing stretch. Three eventually landed in Cooperstown (McCarthy, Hornsby, Hartnett), and many believe the fourth (Grimm) should have joined them. This was also the era when Cubs Park was transformed into Wrigley Field, under the guidance of Bill Veeck Jr., with its trademark bricks and ivy, hand-operated scoreboard, and outfield bleachers.

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2005

Reviews

[Jay French · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read quite a few of these photo history books over the years. I enjoyed how they focused on a time period, a location, or a specific theme. Most I've read have provided some surprise, in terms of interesting photos, or details in the description that I hadn't heard of. This volume had some interesting details, but overall this felt more average than outstanding. Why? Many of the photos of the players were staged publicity photos or staged photos like they would use for baseball cards. They just didn't portray any action. The other photos are of the stadium, or scorecards, also didn't feel active. The writing in the book included summaries of the different eras within this 15 years, divided up by Cubs managers. I didn't know the details here, such as the everyday players that weren't superstars, but that makes up a lot of the text. In the end, you get a lot of info that just isn't very interesting. While I give the author kudos for including photos of some of those "common" players, they didn't add much to the story. Overall, this one just didn't catch my interest as much as other volumes in the series, like the "Chicago Cubs: Baseball at Catalina Island" volume did. I can see this being of great interest to those with a focused interest in this time frame of Cubs teams.

[M.J. Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Read!

Any fan of the Chicago Cubs will really enjoy this book! It celebrates the great Cubs teams from 1926 through 1940. They won the National League championship in 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938 and 1945. The Cubs were swept by the Yankees TWICE in the World Series. The Cubs player from that era that thrilled me was Gabby Hartnett. This catcher is in the Hall of Fame! If you like the Cubs, you can't go wrong with this book!