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“The opening night against the Yankees was one of the most electrifying nights I’ve spent in baseball. The excitement was everywhere. It was incredible to see that place filled. It was hard not to look up and be just as awed as any fan.”1 That was Rusty Staub in 1985, 20 years after professional baseball’s […]

The New York Giants appeared to be well on their way to winning their July 16, 1908, game against the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs. But Giants rookie starting pitcher Doc Crandall suddenly began to buckle under the pressure in the ninth inning. The Cubs loaded the bases with one out, bringing the potential […]

The Kansas City Cowboys joined the American Association in 1888, becoming the third team by that name in three different major leagues within the previous four years.1 Despite Kansas City’s one-season tenures in the Union Association (1884) and National League (1886), the AA had selected it over Buffalo, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse as a replacement […]

“Another week has passed and New York still leads the League by an increased percentage.”1 So began the Philadelphia Times’s account of the National League in its Sunday morning sports column on August 26, 1888. As the New York Giants closed a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies,2 the Giants (62-32-4) had a commanding lead […]

Alex “Dooney” Hardy of the Chicago Orphans had an uphill battle in his major-league debut. The Toronto native was facing the Brooklyn Superbas − champions of the National League just two years earlier − in their home ballpark.1 His mound opponent was Wild Bill Donovan, who had led the NL with 25 wins the previous […]

They called it the Chicago showdown. The Minnesota Twins, in first place in the American League since May 30, held a five-game lead over the Chicago White Sox, winners of 26 of 39 games leading up to a crucial two-game series between the two Midwestern contenders on September 8 and 9 at venerable Comiskey Park. […]

As the Mutuals of New York prepared to host the Athletics of Philadelphia in a National League championship (regular-season) contest on August 10, 1876, the two clubs seemed to be moving in opposite directions. In fact, they were both headed to oblivion. The Mutuals had won 7 of their last 11 after a disappointing 10-20 […]

University of Tennessee football and baseball star Hunter “Dodo” Lane darted in and out of professional ball in less than 24 months, yet still ascended to the major leagues. The infielder became a “one-hit wonder” with a 1-for-15 performance for the 1924 Boston Braves, before opening a successful politically-involved law practice in the Memphis area. […]

Esteban Bellán was a pioneer. In 1871, the half-Irish Cuban became the first Latin-born player in a top professional league. Bellán, a pro since 1868, played for the Troy Haymakers in the National Association, which predated the familiar National League. He continued with Troy and the New York Mutuals through 1873. After that season, he […]

As the owner of the Boston Red Sox for 43 years, few if any people have influenced the history of the team as much as Tom Yawkey. He was a man of immense wealth who spent millions on the Red Sox and on gifts to dozens of charitable organizations. He saved a dying franchise in […]

Like Gummo Marx, Willie Delahanty is the forgotten member of a famous brothers act. A decidedly lesser talent, the youngest Delahanty never scaled the professional heights attained by his five ball playing siblings or garnered the public attention accorded them. About the only distinction that can be claimed by Willie is the fact that he […]

During my career I answered to a Peach, a Doc, and a Street. My age always kept me away from war. Collins put me on the Hall of Fame hill. I collected four World Series rings. I married a babe named Ruth. If Shoeless Joe would have stayed in the game, I might have “seen” things differently. I was a professional […]

Denny Lyons hammered the baseball and played fine defense in his 13-season 19th-century major-league career. His outstanding performance at the plate, now obscured by a century-plus of intervening baseball history, ranks him with the top third basemen of all time, at least as measured against his contemporaries. David Nemec’s profile of Lyons in Volume 1 […]

Ray Hayworth intended to go into the upholstery trade, but was talked out of it by a friend, and the result was an 18-season career as a catcher, 15 of them in the major leagues. Hayworth was prized for his defensive ability, but swung an effective bat for a catcher, with a .265 career batting […]

The late-19th century pitcher identified by modern baseball reference authority as Will Calihan was the youngest of four ball-playing brothers from Rochester, New York. As a 22-year-old rookie in 1890, he won 18 games for the hometown entry in the major league American Association. The promise of that campaign, however, went unfulfilled, frustrated by control […]

After tearing up the Ohio and Pennsylvania League for the Youngstown Steelmen, pitcher Ed “Doc” Moyer appeared in six games with the 1910 Washington Senators. In a deflating debut in relief on July 20, 1910, against Cleveland, Moyer was greeted by the Naps’ 3-4-5 batters with three blistering base hits to lead off the sixth, […]

Each year, Bakersfield, California, honors its star high-school athletes with the Jim Tyack Award. Although the grandparents of most of the recent recipients were born long after Tyack excelled in baseball, football, basketball, and track at Bakersfield High School and Bakersfield Junior College, the award is a lasting testament to the legendary records and achievement […]

Tony Fernández was all limbs. At shortstop, the gangly fielder scuttled after groundballs before pirouetting to make an underarm throw with a slight flick of the wrist. At the plate, he slashed at the ball before scurrying around the bases. Tall and lean at 6-feet-2 and 165 pounds, the infielder enjoyed a 17-season major-league career. […]

Henry J. Killilea is one of those men who were important in their time and are almost forgotten today. If he is mentioned at all in baseball circles, it is usually to credit him with putting together the first World Series of the twentieth century. But Henry Killilea was involved in baseball as an investor, […]

A turn-of-the-20th-century left-hander with a singular first name, Welcome Gaston’s brief major league career included events out of the ordinary, as well. During his October 1898 audition with the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, for example, Gaston started four National League games – but only two made the record books; his other two outings were called off before […]

Prior to his untimely death in July 1918, Dr. Joseph Creamer did much good in his life, being especially revered for his longtime free medical care of East Side Manhattan indigents. But Creamer’s virtues were interred with him. To the extent that he is remembered at all today, it is for a single, regrettable act […]

There have been many famous husband-wife teams who shared a career, each partner making contributions to their success. George Burns and Gracie Allen. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Johnny Cash and June Carter. Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Isis and Osiris and the six wives of King Henry VIII to name a few. In a male-dominated […]

He had a hard time hitting major-league pitching, but his stellar fielding helped the Cincinnati Reds win two consecutive National League pennants. There were several ups and downs in Harry Craft’s career. His catch of a fly ball for the final out of a 1938 game enabled a teammate to complete one of the most […]

Visiting Cincinnati hurler Elton Chamberlain was in Boston’s Congress Street Grounds pitcher’s box for the afternoon game of the May 30, 1894, Decoration Day doubleheader. “Icebox” had no-hit the champ Beaneaters the previous September in Porkopolis (in a game called due to darkness after seven innings) and he was about to face half the same […]