Swish Nicholson: A Baseball Biography of a Wartime Slugger

This is the first biography of Bill Swish Nicholson, a Cubs favorite and baseball’s top slugger during the World War II era. Only days out of college in 1936, Nicholson went straight to the majors, putting in a brief appearance for Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s before he was optioned to the minors. His contract eventually purchased by the Cubs, Nicholson spent 10 years on the North Side of Chicago, where he would claim National League home run and RBI titles twice, earn spots on five National League All-Star teams, and play a pivotal role on the pennant-winning club of 1945. After Nicholson was traded to the Phillies, amid the dissenting cries of Cubs fans, he helped the 1950 Whiz Kids to the National League title with two dramatic pinch-hit home runs. This balanced, carefully researched biography covers Nicholson’s life early and late, thoroughly describes his legendary feats of slugging, and gauges his accomplishments in light of the era in which played.