You Can't Lose 'em All: The Year the Phillies Finally Won the World Series

THE GREATEST EVENT OF MY LIFE OCCURRED AT 11:29 P.M. OCTOBER 21,1980 WHEN THE PHILLIES BECAME THE WORLD CHAMPIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THEY WERE BORN ON MAY 1,1883 ON A TUESDAY AT 1:30 P.M. AT RECREATION PARK.THIS BOOK CAPTURES ALL OF THE DRAMA OF THAT GREAT SEASON.READ IT AND HOPE THAT THE PHILLIES REPEAT IN 2004!!!!!!!

Well-written, concise, and never dull, Fitzpatrick captures the year that was in Philadelphia professional sports: 1980. Each of the four major pro sports teams in Philadelphia had outstanding seasons that year (all reaching the championship level), but only the Phils brought the title to Broad Street. They did it under downright bizzare circumstances and proved that the elusive "chemistry" between teammates does not always make a winner. The book also brings in a bunch of cultural references from that year and richly describes the woe of the early Phillies teams and how the team has performed since then. I look forward to the sequel when Jim Thome is on the cover instead of Mike Schmidt...

I was 10 years old when the Phillies finally won the World Series. I say "finally" for me, because at the time I could only remember the failures of 1976, 1977 and 1978, which were burned into my memory. But Fitzpatrick points out that the franchise waited much longer than I did, through some of the worst years in baseball history, before breaking through in 1980. And they did it with a group that was constantly at each others' throats, united only by their quest for a championship that most believed they could never achieve.Written with great humor and respect for the history of the city and its team, this book is a quick and worthwhile read.