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Ernie Banks was the first black manager, if only for a day. Al Orth threw two complete games in one afternoon. These findings and more from our staff archeologist.   SOME HEAVY HITTING IN FIRST PRO LEAGUE During the five years that baseball’s first professional league the National Association of Professional Baseball Players operated, there […]

Sandburg’s “City of Big Shoulders” (that’s Carl, not Ryne!) Was once quite important in a small world of mine; For Fate placed me, in the Fifties, far from a city Forcing this baseball lover to fight off self-pity. Following 16 teams was a task by itself, Yearbooks were plentiful on my bookshelf; I memorized the […]

George Herman Ruth in his heyday was known as the Sultan of Swat. If the Babe were around today, he might be the Shah of Slam or possibly the Ayatollah of Assault. Anyway, when it comes to Home Runs by Decades, the Ruth is mighty and still prevails. Ruth hit 467 of his 714 homers […]

The Society for American Baseball Research has been selecting each year the baseball personality born 100 years ago who has contributed the most to the national game. Last year, for example, the honor went to Christy Mathewson, born in 1880. This is a nice practice, which should be continued. In fact, I have gone considerably […]

The Chicago Cubs’ latest pennant near-miss continues to deny Sammy Sosa, a certain Hall of Famer, an appearance in the World Series. Sammy may yet share the dubious distinction of fellow Cub Ernie Banks, the best-known example of a Hall of Fame player who never played in the World Series. Actually, there have been 31 […]