People In Places
Sal Tartaglia, Author of World Series Chronology: Compare, Contrast & Coordinate the Champions
Author Sal Tartaglia
by Holly Stupak Photos courtesy of Sal Tartaglia
Sal Tartaglia has been impressing his friends with baseball facts and World Series statistics since he was a boy growing up in Drexel Hill. “I was really good with memorizing baseball stats,” said Sal. “As a teenage baseball player riding the bus to games, I loved challenging my teammates with trivia about the World Series. It was tough to stump me!” Wanting to do something with all this knowledge, he began keeping track of highlights and stats of World Series games for 30 years and in 2019 published a book called World Series Chronology: Compare, Contrast & Coordinate the Champions. As its title suggests, the book compares contrasts and coordinates the World Series champs, specifically the years 1903 through 2018. It’s chock full of anecdotes and social and historical correlations. “What’s unique about baseball is how much the sport is tied to our country’s history,” said Sal. “It’s wrapped up in everything from politics and commerce to our culture.” Sal’s book differs from many of the books out there about baseball. “There are few, if any, dedicated books relating to just baseball,” he said. “And none that I've found that specifically delve into the fall classic.” The book provides a convenient way for baseball fans to find information. Readers don’t have to dig deep to answer questions like Who had the most sweeps? or What teams dominated a decade in their respective league?
Always a big baseball fan, Sal became especially passionate about the World Series when his 5th-grade teacher Mr. Blanchard brought a TV into his classroom so they could watch the Cardinals vs. the Red Sox in the 1967 World Series. “Because many games were played during the day back then, kids didn’t always get to watch the World Series,” Sal explained. “After seeing such an exciting game that year, I was hooked. I love my home team, the Phillies, but every year since 1967, I got excited for the fall classic, no matter who was playing.” Sal wasn’t just a baseball fan; he was also a ballplayer. Growing up in Drexel Hill, he played little league and eventually played varsity baseball at Upper Darby High School, where he was a student. At age 18, he enlisted in the Navy, and after his twoyear stint, he was able to pick up his baseball career again and play for the Delco League, a semi-pro league. It was around 1986 that Sal officially started keeping track of his World Series stats on his typewriter. “I was really old school,” said Sal. “I used an IBM typewriter to start putting all of my information together. I was even cutting and pasting pictures and going to Staples to make copies.” During this OUTDOOR POWERhere EQUIPMENT & REPAIRS time, Sal was also raising a family in Broomall with his
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Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors
September 2021
