The Year of Blue Snow: The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies

Catcher Gus Triandos dubbed the Philadelphia Phillies' 1964 season "the year of the blue snow"-a rare thing that happens once in a great while.

The Phillies were having a spectacular season in which everything was going right. They held a 6 1/2 game lead on September 20, with just 12 games to play. But the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals never gave up, and when the Phillies lost 10 consecutive games, it became a horrific collapse for Phillies fanatics.

But wait a minute. When it was seemingly too late, the Phillies finally won a game-and the first-place Cardinals lost two to the lowly Mets, so on the last day of the season there might be a three-way tie for first place. On the final day, the Phillies beat the Reds, 10-0. Could the Mets knock off the first-place Cardinals for a third straight game? The Mets carried a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth, but succumbed, 11-5.

But what a season for Phillies fans. Jim Bunning threw the first NL perfect game in 84 years. The hero of the 1964 All-Star Game was Johnny Callison, who hit the third walk-off home run in the history of the All-Star Game. The team also boasted the electrifying NL Rookie of the Year, slugging third baseman Richie Allen (later called Dick Allen).

In Philadelphia, the '64 campaign left an ache that lasted for years. This book sheds light on the facts for the reader to determine answers to lingering questions they may still have about the Phillies team in the 1964 season-but any book about a team is really about the players. A collaborative effort by 37 members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), this work offers life stories of all the players and others (managers, coaches, owners, and broadcasters) associated with this star-crossed team, as well as essays of analysis and historical recaps.

Includes:
Foreword by Mel Marmer
Introduction by Mel Marmer
Opening Day 1964
Dick Allen by Rich D'Ambrosio
Rubén Amaro by Rory Costello
The Amaro Chronicles by Rory Costello
Two Gold Glove Shortstops by Rory Costello
Jack Baldschun by Chip Greene
Dave Bennett by Mark Armour
Dennis Bennett by Mark Armour
John Boozer by Andy Sturgill
Johnny Briggs by John Saccoman
Jim Bunning by Ralph Berger
Johnny Callison by John Rossi
Danny Cater by Brian Englehardt
Pat Corrales by James Ray
Wes Covington by Andy Sturgill
Ray Culp by Mark Armour
Clay Dalrymple by Rory Costello
Ryne Duren by Gregory H Wolf
Tony González by José Ramírez and Rory Costello
Dallas Green by Gregory H Wolf
John Herrnstein by Brian Englehardt
Don Hoak by Jack V Morris
Alex Johnson by Mark Armour
Johnny Klippstein by Gregory H Wolf
Gary Kroll by Neil Poloncarz
Bobby Locke by Paul Geisler
Art Mahaffey by Ralph Berger and Mel Marmer
Cal McLish by Joe Wancho
Adolfo Phillips by Rob Neyer
Vic Power by Joe Wancho
Ed Roebuck by Paul Hirsch
Cookie Rojas by Peter Gordon
Bobby Shantz by Mel Marmer
Costen Shockley by Chip Greene
Chris Short by Andy Sturgill
Roy Sievers by Gregory H Wolf
Morrie Steevens by Len Levin
Tony Taylor by Rory Costello and José Ramírez
Frank Thomas by Bob Hurte
Gus Triandos by Neal Poloncarz
Bobby Wine by Bob Bloss
Rick Wise by Bill Nowlin
Gene Mauch by John Vorperian
Peanuts Lowrey by Dick Rosen
George Myatt by John Green
Bob Oldis by Dan Even
Al Widmar by Gregory H Wolf
Bob Carpenter by James Ray
John Quinn by Rory Costello
The Origins of the 1964 Phillies by Jim Sweetman
How the 1964 Phillies Were Built by Mel Marmer
Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium by James Ray
Richie Ashburn by Seamus Kearney
Bill Campbell by Curt Smith
By Saam by Neal Poloncarz
Jim Bunning's Perfect Game by James Ray
Johnny Callison's All-Star Home Run by Mel Marmer
In Defense of Chico Ruiz's "Mad Dash" by Rory Costello
Pennant Was Stolen by Clem Comly
Beyond Bunning and Short Rest: An Analysis of Managerial Decisions That Led to the Phillies' Epic Collapse of 1964 by Bryan Soderholm-Difatte
Epilogue by Clem