Author Sal Tartaglia

World Series Chronology: Compare, Contrast & Coordinate the Champions

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." Sal said, "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.

Sal Tartaglia’s book: World Series Chronology: Compare, Contrast & Coordinate the Champions

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 time, Sal was also raising a family here in Broomall with his wife Tracy. As a young girl, Tracy’s family had moved from Overbrook to Broomall, and when she and Sal married, they agreed Marple would be the perfect place to buy a home. Their two children Marissa and Sal Jr. attended Marple Newtown schools, and Sal Sr. got to spend afternoons on the ballfield watching his son play baseball for Marple Newtown High School.

For years Sal worked in the construction industry and considered his collection of World Series statistics a hobby. Eventually he compiled all of his notes into a red binder, and with some encouragement from friends and family, he began to think he had something there.

People were telling me I should write a book,” he said. “I realized that what I could put together was different from what was already out there as far as baseball statistics books.

After self-publishing his book in 2019, he is now able to do his own self-promotion through social media and word of mouth.

So what’s next for Sal now that he published his first book? Starting September 30 he’ll be partnering with Sirius XM radio personality Mark Mancini to do the “Liberty Bell Smack,” a Philly-Style show on Thursdays from 6-7 PM on WWDB 860 AM & 97.5 FM. And for people who already purchased the book, he understands he’s got more World Series games to cover. “My website will include an addendum so that readers can continue to get the most current information about the latest series,” he explained.

World Series Chronology: Compare, Contrast, & Coordinate the Champions is the perfect gift for any baseball fan. It makes a great coffee table book too! To purchase a copy, go to Amazon.com and for more information, visit www. WorldSeriesChronology.com or visit Sal’s Facebook page @ World Series Chronology.