It has been said that Connie Mack managed only two kinds of teams during his half-century in the City of Brotherly Love — unbeatable and lousy. His teams collected nine pennants and five World Series titles, balanced by 17 last place finishes. While Mack, an enterprising businessman, had a gift for discovering talented players and molding them into a team, by the time he was well into his sixties, Philadelphians suspected that the A’s skipper had lost his ability. Mack went on to disprove all doubts, however, with a second championship dynasty in 1929 that vindicated the “Tall Tactician.”

Connie Mack’s ’29 Triumph chronicles the rise and fall of the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics and their six-year rivalry with the New York Yankees, 1927 to 1932. Based on primarily on newspaper accounts, the book tells the story of the “Grand Old man of Baseball” — and the A’s team that is unfairly overlooked in favor of the 1927 Yankees as baseball’s greatest all-around team.

McFarland

2005 | Paperback

ISBN: 978-0-7864-2165-7

Pages: 224

Index: Athletics (baseball team), Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Price: $29.95 (soft cover)

“Kashatus uses his book to provoke an argument that any baseball fan will love: ‘Who do you like, the ’27 Yankees or the ’29 A’s?’ Only a scholar with a passion for baseball could have written so persuasively in support of the A’s while also practicing a certain detachment.” – The Sporting News

“Kashatus gives us a deeply enjoyable tale of a unique and special part of baseball history.” – Journal of Baseball History & Culture

“Connie Mack’s’29 Triumph is a fine addition to the literature on baseball in the 1920s and 1930s. It is sure to add fuel to the still-burning debate over what team can claim to be the best in the history of the game.” – Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

“Kashatus makes a convincing case that the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics were baseball’s best ever — even better than the vaunted 1927 Yankees . . . His book is a valuable contribution to Philadelphia baseball history.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Connie Mack’s’29 Triumph will astonish and delight readers, even those who have just a passing interest in baseball.” – Pennsylvania Heritage