SABR BioProject reaches milestone with 4,000th published biography
Just two years after the SABR Baseball Biography Project joined the 3,000 club, SABR’s most ambitious research initiative has reached another milestone: 4,000 published biographies.
The newest batch of SABR bios includes notable — and unheralded — figures from all eras of baseball history. Our recent bios include stories about:
- John Heydler, “a veritable Rock of Gibraltar” who presided over the National League for 32 years, by Stephen V. Rice
- Al Leiter, two-time World Series champion and now a popular MLB Network broadcaster, by Thomas J. Brown Jr.
- Carden Gillenwater, who thrived as the Boston Braves’ center fielder during World War II, by Bill Lamb
- George Altman, who starred in the Negro Leagues, the major leagues, and Japan, by Rory Costello
- Charlie Sweeney, a 19th-century phenom who once struck out 19 batters in a game, by Chris Rainey
- Ed Head, who threw a no-hitter for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in 1946, by Lyle Spatz
- Joe Lotz, who gained fame in Ripley’s by pitching in more than 1,200 pro and amateur games over 30 years, by Joan M. Thomas
- Tom Alston, the first African-American player for the St. Louis Cardinals, by Warren Corbett
- Lindsey Nelson, New York Mets beloved broadcaster and a Ford C. Frick Award winner, by Warren Corbett
Formed in 2002, the BioProject is SABR’s most prolific and productive research effort, with nearly 600 SABR members collectively contributing as writers, editors, or peer reviewers. Led by co-directors Rory Costello and Gregory H. Wolf, along with vice-chairs Len Levin, Warren Corbett, Bill Nowlin, Lyle Spatz, Emily Hawks, Stew Thornley, Mark Armour, and Jan Finkel, the BioProject is an ongoing effort to produce comprehensive, peer-reviewed biographical articles on every person who ever played or managed in the major leagues, as well as other subjects significant to baseball history. It’s a project that, we hope, will never end.
At SABR.org/BioProject, you can read about anyone in baseball from A (Hank Aaron) to Z (Bob Zuk). Some of our favorite articles produced by the BioProject are of the “cup of coffee” players whose stories are rarely told, such as Eddie Gaedel, the smallest pinch-hitter in major-league history. You can also read about Negro Leagues greats like Martín Dihigo, elected to the baseball halls of fame in four different countries, or stars from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, such as Ruth Kramer Hartman of the Fort Wayne Daisies.
We’ve got hundreds of SABR biographies in progress, and we’re adding more every week. We’ve even compiled some of them into books focusing on special teams or themes. More than three dozen BioProject books have been published so far, including our most recent team book on players who have overcome adversity to win the Tony Conigliaro Award. SABR members can download all of them for free at SABR.org/ebooks or buy paperback editions at the SABR Bookstore.
You can also browse all of our biographies by category, to find bios of Hall of Famers or players from a specific team. In addition, we have pages for Broadcasters, Executives, Managers, Scouts, Spouses, Umpires and a lot more on the BioProject website at SABR.org/BioProject.
The BioProject has also spawned two successful offshoots in the SABR Baseball Ballparks Project, led by Scott Ferkovich, and the SABR Games Project, led by Greg Erion, Bruce Slutsky, and Len Levin.
It’s easy to get involved. Any SABR member is eliglble to write for the BioProject, the Ballparks Project, or the Games Project. If you’d like to help contribute, visit our BioProject Resources page or read the FAQs section to get started. If you’re not a SABR member, visit SABR.org/join to learn more or to sign up for an annual membership.
Originally published: February 14, 2017. Last Updated: February 14, 2017.