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Lobby card for “Kill the Umpire” (1950) starring William Bendix. (Author’s collection)   Most baseball fans would agree that the best umpire is the invisible umpire. Sure, the umps on the field ensure that the rules of the game are followed. They call balls and strikes. They determine if the fielder who dives for the […]

Atlanta’s baseball history is dominated by names such as Hank Aaron, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Dale Murphy, and Chipper Jones. The Braves also dominated their division in the 1990s, but that is only a small part of Atlanta’s long and storied baseball history. Anyone can look up the history of the Braves and their players […]

For the Astrodome to be built, many intricate pieces had to fall into place. In describing one of the most important factors, Craig Cullinan Jr. confidently asserted, “Baseball was the heart, lungs, brain, life blood of the whole thing. … Without it, there was nothing – no franchise, no stadium, no hotels.”1 Although Roy Hofheinz […]

Knowing and living in the same household with my grandfather Bob Groom was an accident of fate but a gift of immeasurable value. His was and remains the strongest presence in my life. What I remember of him are the deeply felt, simple memories of a child, so discovering who he was to others took […]

 On April 11, 1927, the Yankees won their home opener from the Athletics, 8-3. The victory came without any help from Babe Ruth, who struck out twice, popped out, and was lifted for pinch hitter Benny Paschal in the sixth. On September 22, 1932, the Yankees defeated the Athletics in ten innings despite two home […]

The telegram was brash and a bit disrespectful. Simply stated, it read “DEAR MOOSE: TOLD YOU SO. JOE PEP.”[fn]William J. Ryczek, The Yankees in the Early 1960s, McFarland and Co, Jefferson, N.C., 2008, p. 5.[/fn] The New York Yankees needed pitching help—specifically a boost to their rotation—following the 1962 season. They set their sights on […]

September 28, 1941. Shibe Park, Philadelphia. The Red Sox split a Sunday doubleheader with Connie Mack’s Athletics on the final day of the 1941 season. These were meaningless games in the standings; the Red Sox were in second place but 17 1/2 games behind the Yankees and the Athletics were dead last, 37 1/2 games […]

Introduction After what some call the greatest baseball season of all time, the winter meetings of 1908 produced much thunder, especially on the minor-league level, that had implications for the majors. Two minor leagues looking to be ranked almost on the level of the major leagues dominated the minor-league proceedings. Two major issues during the […]

Baker Bowl it was a wonderful place! More action probably took place on those Philadelphia grounds than at any other athletic facility in our country. For half a century the place was packed with action. There was major league baseball, championship boxing and wrestling, and professional football — say nothing of such extra-curricular activities as […]

Here is supporting evidence for the correction of errors in the official RBI record of Lou Gehrig.