The heart of the book, "Root for the Cubs," is Charlie Root's daughter, Della.
She tells the story with humor, love and never-reported, off-the-field details of one of the greatest Cub dynasties in history.
I spent hundreds of hours with faded news clips, old microfilm and baseball stats. But my greatest find was Della, then 90 when she spread photos and memorabilia on her California kitchen table.
Della has devoted her life to setting the record straight about the Babe and sharing how much more there was to her father's life.
"If that big, fat guy had pointed, you'd think we would have seen it," says Della, whose personal journal and hours of interviews added uncommon flavor and spice to her father's biography.
As a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, I tried to spin a love story with uncommon off-the-field details about Cub pranks, conflicts and emotions that ranged from the Root's home to the turf of Wrigley Field.
Follow the extreme emotions of the 1929 season when Root tries to disguise arm problems and believes his career is over. "It's the only time that I ever saw Dad cry," Della said. By fall, he is standing on the mound for Game One of the World Series, anchoring one of the greatest Cub teams in history. Learn what happened and was never reported when Hack Wilson's two errors in a game cause the worst collapse in World Series history with Root as the victim.
Chicago gangster Al Capone and troubles on the stock market compete for newspaper headlines for Cub fans in 1929 who think the 21-year drought is about to end since their last championship. Pitchers and catchers board the train at Union Station on Feb. 14, headed to spring training on Catalina Island, just hours after the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in a North Side warehouse.
Root for the Cubs: Charlie Root and the 1929 Chicago Cubs is available on Amazon.com, this web site and from the nation's two biggest book wholesale distributors, Ingram and Baker & Taylor.
YouTube video interview with Della
Della tearfully recounts how one pitch to Babe Ruth unfairly overshadowed father Charlie Root's career of 201 wins, most for the Chicago Cubs by any pitcher. Make sure to watch all the way to the end at 2 minutes and 30 seconds. See You Tube video and understand why Della makes the book a "baseball love story."
MLB ignores history, shoots fake scene
After watching Della's emotional ending on the video above, then take a look at this travesty from Major League Baseball -- their own recreation of the "called shot," which aired on the MLB network on April 23, 2009. The only fake footage was Ruth's point toward centerfield. If MLB wanted to get it right, why didn't they pay Kirk Kandle for the rights to show the entire at bat as it appears on film? Here's the link to MLB.com and the outrageous reason why Root cannot live down one pitch from 1932.
Second Della video tells only time she ever saw her father cry
Charlie Root started the 1929 season with the Chicago Cubs hiding a secret threatening his career. Never-reported details are told by Della in this video interview and are an important disclosure in the book. Click here to go to the You Tube video.
She tells the story with humor, love and never-reported, off-the-field details of one of the greatest Cub dynasties in history.
I spent hundreds of hours with faded news clips, old microfilm and baseball stats. But my greatest find was Della, then 90 when she spread photos and memorabilia on her California kitchen table.
Della has devoted her life to setting the record straight about the Babe and sharing how much more there was to her father's life.
"If that big, fat guy had pointed, you'd think we would have seen it," says Della, whose personal journal and hours of interviews added uncommon flavor and spice to her father's biography.
As a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, I tried to spin a love story with uncommon off-the-field details about Cub pranks, conflicts and emotions that ranged from the Root's home to the turf of Wrigley Field.
Follow the extreme emotions of the 1929 season when Root tries to disguise arm problems and believes his career is over. "It's the only time that I ever saw Dad cry," Della said. By fall, he is standing on the mound for Game One of the World Series, anchoring one of the greatest Cub teams in history. Learn what happened and was never reported when Hack Wilson's two errors in a game cause the worst collapse in World Series history with Root as the victim.
Chicago gangster Al Capone and troubles on the stock market compete for newspaper headlines for Cub fans in 1929 who think the 21-year drought is about to end since their last championship. Pitchers and catchers board the train at Union Station on Feb. 14, headed to spring training on Catalina Island, just hours after the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in a North Side warehouse.
Root for the Cubs: Charlie Root and the 1929 Chicago Cubs is available on Amazon.com, this web site and from the nation's two biggest book wholesale distributors, Ingram and Baker & Taylor.
YouTube video interview with Della
Della tearfully recounts how one pitch to Babe Ruth unfairly overshadowed father Charlie Root's career of 201 wins, most for the Chicago Cubs by any pitcher. Make sure to watch all the way to the end at 2 minutes and 30 seconds. See You Tube video and understand why Della makes the book a "baseball love story."
MLB ignores history, shoots fake scene
After watching Della's emotional ending on the video above, then take a look at this travesty from Major League Baseball -- their own recreation of the "called shot," which aired on the MLB network on April 23, 2009. The only fake footage was Ruth's point toward centerfield. If MLB wanted to get it right, why didn't they pay Kirk Kandle for the rights to show the entire at bat as it appears on film? Here's the link to MLB.com and the outrageous reason why Root cannot live down one pitch from 1932.
Second Della video tells only time she ever saw her father cry
Charlie Root started the 1929 season with the Chicago Cubs hiding a secret threatening his career. Never-reported details are told by Della in this video interview and are an important disclosure in the book. Click here to go to the You Tube video.
After all those hours of phone interviews, I finally get the chance to meet Della Root Arnold at her California home on Feb. 22, 2009, one day after her 90th birthday.
The photo above is in Della's Loma Linda, Calif., living room under a painting of Avalon harbor on Catalina Island, with the Casino in the background. From left to right are: Nancy Arnold Wade, daughter; Della; Bill Wade, grandson; Susan Wade Santana, granddaughter; and Susan's husband, Dominic Santana.
Della compares Nancy's collection of Root family photos to the Smithsonian, calling it "The Nancesonian." Nancy holds a 1929 Catalina photo of Della and the family when Della was 10:
Della, Charlie Junior and Dorothy massaged Charlie Root's arm before and after home games in 1929 as he disguised what appeared to be career-ending injuries. The family is shown in this 1929 photo (below); Della, looking far older than 10, kisses her Dad before Game One of the 1929 World Series (bottom); she notes the new coat had a real beaver collar and cost $65.
The photo above is in Della's Loma Linda, Calif., living room under a painting of Avalon harbor on Catalina Island, with the Casino in the background. From left to right are: Nancy Arnold Wade, daughter; Della; Bill Wade, grandson; Susan Wade Santana, granddaughter; and Susan's husband, Dominic Santana.
Della compares Nancy's collection of Root family photos to the Smithsonian, calling it "The Nancesonian." Nancy holds a 1929 Catalina photo of Della and the family when Della was 10:
Della, Charlie Junior and Dorothy massaged Charlie Root's arm before and after home games in 1929 as he disguised what appeared to be career-ending injuries. The family is shown in this 1929 photo (below); Della, looking far older than 10, kisses her Dad before Game One of the 1929 World Series (bottom); she notes the new coat had a real beaver collar and cost $65.