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Twenty-three-year-old Jimmy O’Connell was a happy young man who had a lot to look forward to. The outfielder had just finished his second season with the National League pennant winners, the New York Giants, posting a .317 batting average. He was about to play in the World Series for the second straight year. His second […]
A baseball lifer, Mel Stottlemyre burst on the scene as a midseason call-up for the New York Yankees in 1964, helping the club win its fifth consecutive pennant and starting three games in the World Series. One of the most underrated and overlooked pitchers of his generation, Stottlemyre won 149 games and averaged 272 innings […]
Fern Shollenberger was the third baseman on the All-Star team in six of her nine seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She first evidenced her talents on the family ball field in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. This small town is in a rural area of Berks County, 17 miles north of Reading. Fern’s father, Alvas R. […]
“Caldwell could be as great as Matty or Walter Johnson, but instead of choosing their careers, he is evidently going to be another Rube Waddell.” — Grantland Rice, 1914 “Caldwell might have been the Mathewson of the Yankees, but he turned out to be the Bugs Raymond of the local Americans. His irregular habits destroyed […]
Imagine the right guard from your favorite NFL team pitching for your favorite MLB squad. Nearly a century ago that scenario was played out by Garland “Gob” Buckeye, who opened holes for the Chicago Cardinals and threw fastballs for the Cleveland Indians. Garland’s size was often mentioned in the press. Over the years he was […]
Once described as “a stocky mild-mannered man who cut his teeth on a baseball bat,” John Holland spent 30 years in professional baseball as a front office executive for the Chicago Cubs at the minor- and major-league levels.1 He continued the legacy of his father Jack Holland, who had played minor-league baseball from 1896 to […]
Vic Aldridge, the Hoosier Schoolmaster, taught big-league hitters about his sharp-breaking curveball and nasty heater for nine seasons, notably in the Windy and Smoky Cities. In 1925 he held class in the World Series, disciplining his pupils from the nation’s capital with two complete games in the Pirates’ championship campaign. Victor E. Aldridge was born […]
Since the earliest days of professional baseball, the sport has offered aspiring players not only a chance to fulfill a dream, but also a shot to escape to a better life than what they could imagine in their small towns and urban centers across the country. Perhaps that’s what teenage Al Gerheauser thought. A high-school […]
Paul Richards was one of the most celebrated managers who never won a pennant. He took on seemingly hopeless building jobs in Chicago, Baltimore, and Houston and succeeded every time in laying a foundation for the club’s future success. He developed young stars, including Brooks Robinson, Joe Morgan, Rusty Staub, Billy Pierce, Nellie Fox, and […]
Catcher Charlie Hoover debuted with the Kansas City Cowboys in the American Association on October 9, 1888, one month after he turned 23. “Hoover made his debut behind [Henry] Porter and did well in the field,” wrote the Kansas City Times, despite two errors against one assist.1 Described as 170 pounds and 5 feet 9 […]
Charles Leander ” Bumpus” Jones began his major league career on Saturday, October 15, 1892, when he twirled a no-hitter for Cincinnati against the visiting Pittsburgs. Seemingly emerging from nowhere, Jones caused quite a stir in baseball circles. He was never able to duplicate his success in the majors. Whether it was the change in […]
Luke Stuart was a long-time minor league infielder who, in the course of a brief three-game major league sojourn in 1921 with the St. Louis Browns, established an American League feat that went unrecognized for more than seven decades. Through the efforts of SABR’s Records Committee in the mid-1990s, Stuart ascended from total obscurity to […]
Seems to Move in Perpetual Sunshine.1 “Baseball is a lot about attitude — not getting too up or down, enjoy each game, then forget it and go on. Review the game, learn from your mistakes, but don’t let it burden you. A lot of things matter more than talent: work, education, never being satisfied. These […]
Most famous today for being on the wrong end of one of history’s most lopsided trades, Jim Fregosi was a six-time All-Star who drew comparisons with the finest players in the game at a young age. But an 18-year major league playing career, coupled with 15 years as a big league manager, are enough evidence […]
Clarence “Lefty” Russell was the most sought-after pitcher in the minor leagues during the summer of 1910. The Baltimore Oriole southpaw was the sensation of the Eastern League, baffling hitters with his crackling fastball, roundhouse curve, and elusive spitball. Russell’s domination of opposing batters quickly drew the attention of quite a few major league teams, […]
Kenneth Smith Harrelson was born on September 4, 1941, in Woodruff, South Carolina. In the sixth grade, he moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he and his older sister would grow up. Harrelson was the youngest child of a single mother, Jessie, who was his biggest supporter, closest confidante, and best friend. Jessie worked hard to […]
“Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Throw strikes. Home plate don’t move.” — Satchel Paige Three decades before Don Larsen threw his perfect game in the ’56 World Series, a 22-year-old Negro League pitcher “down the Shore” beat his big-city counterpart to the postseason punch. Claude “Red” Grier joined […]
Brooklyn Dodgers skipper Walter “Smoky” Alston was on edge. Though his club (80-45) was in first place, leading the Milwaukee Braves by 10 games, they had been playing terribly and had lost 12 of their last 18 contests. To shake up his team, he tabbed 19-year-old Sandy Koufax to start the final contest of a […]
In June of 1964, the College World Series was rocked by the unexpected arrival of a fearless, giant-killing pack of Black Bears.1 Making their first appearance at the national college championship tournament,2 the University of Maine Black Bears arrived in memorable fashion. The newcomers, ranked 19th in the country, beat seventh-ranked Seton Hall University, second-ranked […]
From left, Leroy Matlock, Oscar Charleston, boxer John Henry Lewis, Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson pose in front of the Pittsburgh Crawfords team bus at Greenlee Field in Pittsburgh. (NOIRTECH RESEARCH, INC.) The Pittsburgh Crawfords faced the New York Cubans in the 1935 Negro National League Championship Series. The Crawfords finished the season […]
The ever-dominant Sandy Koufax owned a 10-0 career record in 11 starts against the New York Mets when he faced them on June 12, 1965. The expansion team — in its fourth season under future Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel — had scored just 11 earned runs off the Los Angeles left-hander, whose domination […]
Cincinnati arrived in Philadelphia on a five-game winning streak. After losing the first game of their four-game series with the Phillies, the Reds had won the next two and were hoping to continue their winning streak in the final game of the series. The Phillies were already 9½ games behind the Reds and were struggling […]
The headline writer for the front page of a daily newspaper is challenged to provide the reader with glimpses of tragedy and joy, victory and defeat, worry and elation, all appropriately befitting the day’s news. When Pittsburgh awoke on the morning of July 26, 1956, the headline spread across the front page of the Pittsburgh […]
“Slaughter’s great gallop from first to score will rate with Paul Revere’s ride in the history of our country,” gushed sportswriter Whitney Martin about one of the most enduring plays in World Series lore.1 Enos “Country” Slaughter’s mad dash from first on Harry Walker’s eighth-inning smash to center field coupled with shortstop Johnny Pesky’s hesitation […]