Barry Bowe

1964: the Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant Barry Bowe

The 1964 Phillies seemingly ran away with the National League pennant and had it all wrapped up by September 21st. With only 12 games remaining - 7 of them at home - the Phillies were in first place by 6 1/2 games. It was almost mathematically impossible for the Phillies to blow that big a lead - but they did. More often than not, Phillies manager Gene Mauch has been blamed for the monumental collapse ever since. But was he responsible? You be the judge as you follow the events that transpired during the 162-game schedule. Woven in between the day-to-day highlights are the author's personal anecdotes, tidbits of information about some of the greatest ballplayers who ever played the game - not only for the Phillies, but for players on other teams, and players in other sports. You'll also be exposed to trivia like - What baseball player was John Glen's wingman during the Korean War? What baseball player was Sgt. Ernie Bilko named after? Who was the first Little Leaguer to make it to the big leagues? It all came down to the last day of the season.