Search Results

A young man anxiously takes grip of a heavily taped bat that has seen better days, his eyes fixed on the pitcher in the sunlight of a summer evening. The ball comes toward him at a frightening speed. He swings. A hit. He runs, discarding the bat, desperate to reach first base amid the encouraging yells of […]

The baseball season of 1868 ended with the National Association crown changing hands twice in the final month. The 1867 champs, the Unions of Morrisania, maintained their status for most of the season, thanks to playing weaker Eastern clubs during the early months and then taking an extensive Western tour in July and August. When […]

This article was originally published in “Baseball in Cleveland,” the 1990 SABR convention journal.   More than two decades before the first interleague All-Star game, the elite of the American League’s players gathered at Cleveland’s League Park. They played the Cleveland team July 24, 1911, to celebrate the career of one of the game’s greats […]

In 1946, all eyes were on the Montreal Royals and Jackie Robinson as he was readying to break baseball’s color line. But 24 years earlier, without any publicity, an African American ballplayer had already played six games for the Montreal team in the Class B Eastern Canada League. Charlie Culver’s presence didn’t ruffle many feathers […]

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Black Ball: A Negro Leagues Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2 (McFarland & Co., Fall 2009).   In August of 1932, Gus Greenlee added permanent lights to the Pittsburgh Crawfords home field. (NOIRTECH RESEARCH INC.)   The Story of Greenlee Field Any story requires plot, characters, and setting. In […]

The story of Jimmie Foxx is bittersweet. In his prime, he was one of baseball’s greatest sluggers. But his career diminished prematurely as he battled injury and alcohol. Foxx struggled with life after baseball and ultimately died before his time. So, who was James Emory Foxx, and how should he be perceived by fans in […]

1931 Homestead Grays. Standing (L–R): Cum Posey, owner; Bill Evans, SS-OF; Jasper Washington, 1B-3B; Ambrose Reid, OF-INF; Smokey Joe Williams, P; Josh Gibson, C; George Scales, 2B; Oscar Charleston, 1B; Charlie Williams, office. Kneeling (L–R): George Britt, P-C-OF-INF; Lefty Williams, P; Jud Wilson, 3B; Vic Harris, OF; Ted Radcliffe, P-C; Tex Burnett, C; Ted Page, […]

He was known as “The Tall Tactician” and was baseball’s grand old gentleman for more than a generation. Statuesque, stately, and slim, he clutched a rolled-up scorecard as he sat or stood ramrod straight in the dugout, attired in a business suit rather than a uniform, a derby or bowler in place of a baseball […]

The foul poles at Dodger Stadium were in foul territory, there were only two drinking fountains (one in each dugout), and no one had installed electrical outlets in the clubhouses.1 Besides fixing those design issues after the 1962 opening season, no real renovations to the ballpark were made until 1975 when new, space-age plastic-colored seats […]

Spring training in 1969 was one of the most disjointed preseasons in major league history. There was much being seen for the first time. New franchises were added, new divisions created new rivalries, the pitcher’s working environment was irretrievably altered, and for the first time a work stoppage threatened training camps. The Mets had to […]