Search Results

In the wake of the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1970’s, some professions have remained sacrosanct. The country appears light years away from having a woman president. Baseball, with its archconservative leanings, has virtually negated the active role of women within its sacred domain. It is ironic that both of these bastions of male chauvinism […]

No other player in major league history has dominated a season offensively as thoroughly as Stan Musial did when he topped the National League in nine categories in 1948. “Stan the Man” paced the National League in hits (230), doubles (46), triples (18), runs (135), RBIs (131), batting average (.376), total bases (429), on-base percentage […]

“I just can’t get over Leon Day. People don’t know what a great pitcher he was! In my opinion, he was as good or better than Bob Gibson. He was a better fielder, a better hitter, could run like a deer. And just as good a pitcher. When he pitched against Satchel, Satchel didn’t have […]

It’s hard to believe but the ML official averages show that 40-year old Willie Mays had the beat base stealing percentage in 1971. He was thrown out only 3 times in 26 tries. This marks the fifth tine that Mays has led his league in this department since the ML started “caught stealing” records on […]

Editor’s note: An abridged version of this interview was published in the SABR Deadball Era Committee’s October 2020 newsletter. David Crawford Jones is a former chairman of the Deadball Era Committee and the editor of Deadball Stars of the American League, published by Potomac Books in 2006. With a master’s degree in U.S. History and […]

“Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on earth.” – Roberto Clemente1 Even at the field, Roberto Clemente took time for the fans. (Les Banos photograph courtesy of The Clemente Museum.)   Death comes to us all. It may happen […]

A mixture of fact arid fiction surrounds the legendary Penobscot’s career. Although he was an instant success in his debut with Cleveland, his great start was negated by an old drinking problem.     This is bounding Sockalexis,   Fielder of the mighty Clevelands.   Like the catapult in action,   For the plate he […]

This article was originally published in SABR’s The National Pastime, No. 16 (1996).   He begun thinking about baseball a lot, which he never done before, always treating it before like it was football or golf, not a thing to think about but only play. He said to me, ”Arthur, tell me, if you was […]

On July 25, 1966, Casey Stengel and Ted Williams were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Although most observers likely assumed that Casey would steal the show, as he usually did, it was Williams who provided the audience with the indelible memory. He spoke fewer than 500 words, taking just three […]

Dave Barnhill. He was small, only weighing 130 pounds “when it snowed on him.” But on the mound he stood tall, Leon Day, a six-time all star pitcher for the Newark Eagles and a contemporary of Barnhill’s, marvels, “That’s what I couldn’t understand about him. He was so small, but he could throw that ball […]