New Book by La Salle University History Professor John P. Rossi Revisits Heartbreak of Phillies' Shocking Collapse in 1964 Season.

In the summer of 1964, the planets seemed to be aligning in John Rossi's favor. He was close to completing his doctoral degree in history from the University of Pennsylvania. In August, a young woman caught his eye at a wedding, and they began dating. And the Phillies, his hometown team, were in the midst of a fairy tale run that even the most jaded Philadelphia sports fan believed would end in a National League pennant-if not a World Series title.

"By August, people were saying, 'This team is going to win.' I got caught up in it," said Rossi, a history professor at La Salle University. "We thought this team couldn't do anything wrong."

With 12 games left in the season and the Phillies leading the league by 6½ games, the pennant appeared to be in the bag. World Series tickets were printed and in the mail. But the Phillies imploded, losing 10 straight games and the pennant and dashing the city's hopes.

"This is the most traumatic event in Philadelphia sports history," Rossi said. After the excitement of the ill-fated season, the city's sports fans reverted to pessimistic attitudes toward their hometown teams. "It reaffirmed the negativism the city has about its sports-expect the worst, because it's coming," Rossi said. "Philadelphia fans almost always expect disaster."

For a while, Rossi couldn't concentrate on his studies, and he had to set aside work on his dissertation. But he went on to earn his Ph.D. and marry the woman he met at the wedding.

The collapse of such a promising team has lingered in the memories of Philadelphia's ardent yet beleaguered sports fans. But 40 years later, Rossi said he thinks those who remember that dismal season are ready to reflect on why it ended the way that it did. Rossi has recently published a book on the subject, "The 1964 Phillies: The Story of Baseball's Most Memorable Collapse."

"It was something that I had to get off my chest, because it was such a devastating period for Philadelphia's fans," Rossi said.

The book traces the slow rise of that team, from the hiring of manager Gene Mauch in 1960, to the 23-game losing streak the team endured in 1961, to the acquisition of bright new prospects who blossomed in the summer of 1964, when the Phillies held onto first place in the National League for 73 days straight.

That season was marked by dramatic moments. Richie Allen, the Phillies' first great African American player to come up through the farm system, would be named Rookie of the Year. Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game on Father's Day, and Johnny Callison hit the winning home run in the ninth inning at the All-Star game. Rookies were coming through in the clutch to win games. Fans were riveted.

"The city falls in love with certain teams, and this was one of them. They were a feisty team led by a feisty manager, and they did everything right," Rossi said.

The final stretch started with seven games in Philadelphia. In front of hometown crowds, the Phillies lost every game. They then went on to lose three more on the road, allowing the St. Louis Cardinals to leap ahead and clinch the pennant.

Afterwards, fans and the media looked for someone to blame. Many turned to Mauch, claiming that the pitching staff had been overused and second-guessing other decisions. Mauch declined requests for an interview for the book, but Rossi contends that the manager deserves much of the credit for building a team that was so successful for much of the season.

The 1965 Phillies weren't able to recapture the magic of the 1964 team, Rossi said.

"You didn't have to be a real fan to tell that something wasn't clicking in 1965 like it had in '64. The team just wasn't the same," he said. "The general feeling was that 1964 was an opportunity and the Phillies had missed it."

It didn't help that the collapse of the 1964 Phillies coincided with a difficult period for Philadelphia as a whole. Racial tensions exploded into riots during the summer of 1964, and the city saw its population fall by more than 70,000 between 1960 and 1970.

Some of the players from the 1964 season went on to have successful careers, and many were willing to speak candidly with Rossi for his book. But for Mauch and many players and fans, the last days of the '64 season are still a vivid-and painful-memory.

"For most, it was a special season, and they have great memories of that year, but they're just saddened by what happened in the end," Rossi said.

"The 1964 Phillies: The Story of Baseball's Most Memorable Collapse" is Rossi's fourth book, and the third he's written on baseball. He previously published "A Whole New Game: Off the Field Changes in Baseball, 1946-1960" and "The National Game: Baseball and American Culture." The latter is the subject of a course he has taught at La Salle University on the relationship between baseball and American history.