SABR Digital Library: The Year of the Blue Snow: The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies
Add a great baseball book to your collection with the newest title in the SABR Digital Library:
The Year of the Blue Snow: The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies
Edited by Mel Marmer and Bill Nowlin
Associate Editors: Clem Comly, James Forr, Russ Lake and Len Levin
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-93359-951-9, $19.95
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-933599-52-6, $9.99
356 pages, 70+ photos
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.
SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!
- E-book: Click here to download the e-book version of The Year of the Blue Snow for FREE from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, Kindle/MOBI and EPUB formats.
- Paperback: Get a 50% discount on the The Year of the Blue Snow paperback edition from the SABR Store ($17.99 includes shipping/tax).
Buy the book
- E-book: Click here to purchase the e-book version of The Year of the Blue Snow for $6.99 from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, Kindle/MOBI and EPUB formats.
- Paperback: Get the paperback edition of The Year of the Blue Snow from the SABR Store ($34.99 includes shipping/tax).
About the SABR Digital Library
For 40 years, SABR and its members have led the way in publishing the best baseball historical and statistical research. Our publications program is shifting to take advantage of new methods of publishing. Not only will we continue to publish new books like CAN HE PLAY? A Look At Baseball Scouts and Their Profession (released in December 2011); OPENING FENWAY PARK IN STYLE: The 1912 World Champion Red Sox (May 2012); Red Sox Baseball in the Days of Ike and Elvis: The Red Sox of the 1950s (September 2012); Detroit Tigers 1984: What A Start! What A Finish! (December 2012); Sweet ’60: The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates (April 2013); and Inventing Baseball: The 100 Greatest Games of the 19th Century (July 2013), which showcase the best efforts of SABR’s members, chapters and committees, but new technology makes it possible for us to bring out-of-print titles like RUN, RABBIT, RUN: The Hilarious and Mostly True Tales of Rabbit Maranville (February 2012), GREAT HITTING PITCHERS (March 2012), NINETEENTH CENTURY STARS (August 2012) and Batting (January 2013) back again. Books will be available in digital formats as well as paperbacks produced by “print on demand” (POD).
Stay tuned throughout the year for new (and old!) titles that we’ll be adding to the SABR Digital Library. SABR members will get discounted rates for all Digital Library publications. If you’re not a member, click here to join SABR.
To view all books in the SABR Digital Library, visit SABR.org/ebooks.
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Originally published: July 23, 2013. Last Updated: August 5, 2020.