Dick Allen, Ruben Amar

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS September Swoon could not have been written without the help of the 1964 Phillies themselves, especially: Dick Allen, Ruben Amaro Sr., Jack Bald- schun, Dennis Bennett, Johnny Briggs, Johnny Callison, Clay Dalrymple, Tony Gonzalez, Dallas Green, John Herrnstein, Art Mahaffey, Cookie Rojas, Roy Sievers, Tony Taylor, and Rick Wise. I am extremely grateful to all these former players, who agreed to lengthy interviews and were generous with their time and memories. Other members of the Phillies organization, past and present, were also helpful in the research process, including: Ruben Amaro Jr., the late Rich Ashburn, Howie Bedell, Robert R. M. “Ruly” Carpenter III, Rob Holliday, Grant Jackson, Frank Lucchesi, Tim McCarver, Ken Raffensberger, Robin Roberts, Mike Schmidt, Howie Schultz, Andy Seminick, Larry Shenk, Curt Simmons, and Harry Walker. My interest in baseball and race relations was inspired by many of the Philadelphia Stars of the old Negro Leagues. The late Gene Benson, Lee Carter, Bill “Ready” Cash, Mahlon Duckett, Stanley “Doc” Glenn, Wilmer Harris, and Marvin Williams gave me their trust, unconditional support, and encouragement throughout the research and writing process. As I learned of their personal journeys, I came to admire these men for their perseverance, integrity, and dedication to a game that failed to give them a well-deserved opportunity to compete at the major league level during the prime of their careers. I shall always be grateful to them for their examples. Because Philadelphia’s sportswriters played an instrumental role in this story, I made an earnest effort to contact and interview those who covered the Phillies during the 1960s. Both Frank Dolson and Allen Lewis were generous with their time and insight. Lewis also reviewed an earlier draft xv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS of the manuscript and still agreed to write an endorsement for the book. Other writers failed to return my phone calls. Special thanks is extended to those who assisted in the preparation of the book. Gerald Early of Washington University, V. P. Franklin of Drexel University, Bruce Kuklick of the University of Pennsylvania, and attorneys Peter Baumann and David Jordan all read initial drafts and provided helpful counsel, both scholarly and legal. I am also grateful to Gerald Early for writing the Foreword, and to David Jordan for his endorsement of the book. Tim Wiles and Bill Burdick of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Michael Schefer of the Philadelphia Daily News, Brenda Wilson of Temple University’s Urban Archives, and the MicroWlm Department of The Free Library of Philadelphia provided important access to their collections. In addition, I had the good fortune to work with Peter Potter and the staff at Penn State Press, who navigated me through the editorial process. Finally, I cannot adequately express my gratitude to my wife, Jackie, and our sons, Tim, Peter, and Ben. Without their love and unconditional support, this book would not have come to fruition. xvi.

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