To Every Thing a Season: Shibe Park and Urban Philadelphia, 1909-1976

From Library Journal Kuklick (humanities, Univ. of Pennsylvania, author of American Policy: The Division of Germany, LJ 6/1/72) has not written a standard baseball history. Rather, he has integrated two teams, a ballpark, and an urban area into a story that appeals at once to the baseball fan, historian, and sociologist. He examines the neighborhood in North Philadelphia that was the site of Shibe Park (later Connie Mack Stadium), home of the Philadelphia Athletics from 1909 until their departure for Kansas City in 1954, and the Phillies until their move to Veterans Stadium. Each chapter is packed with details concerning the eras, players, and impact of the stadium on its neighborhood. Of particular interest from a historical point of view are the depictions of changes in modes of transportation and the availability and types of jobs for residents. Sadly, most of these changes appear to have been for the worse. The A's are now in Oakland, the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, and Connie Mack has been dead since 1955, but the image of Shibe Park and its neighborhood lives on. Highly recommended for most sports collections as well as for social history collections.