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Connie Creeden’s life in baseball was defined by two events seven and a half years apart. The first gave him a solitary moment of major-league glory. The second tarnished his reputation and sent him to prison. On May 2, 1943, at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park, Creeden’s ninth-inning pinch-hit single drove in the winning run in the […]

Over the last century of major league baseball, many marvelously talented ballplayers have represented their hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hall of Famer Al Simmons, 1917 World Series hero Happy Felsch, and Yankee all-star Tony Kubek were gifted Cream City natives remembered by even casual fans. Ken Keltner should be recollected in the same class. Not […]

For a player who endured nicknames such as Twiggy Mini-Hawk, and Mighty Mouse for his light weight and short stature, Bud Harrelson is perhaps best known to the casual baseball fan getting into a fight. There’s no doubt that Pete Rose got the better of him in their brawl at second base during Game Three […]

After eight years as a Boston regular, longtime third baseman Larry Gardner was sent by the Red Sox to Philadelphia in early 1918 as part of the Stuffy McInnis trade. Including McInnis, nine men were used at third base by Boston during 1918. Playing the most games at third (41) was 25-year old Fred Thomas. Thomas […]

Left-hander Ted Bowsfield spent seven seasons in the big leagues, initially signing with the Red Sox but later becoming arguably the best pitcher in the first year of Los Angeles Angels baseball. He later became director of stadium operations and team travel for the Angels, then head of the Kingdome in Seattle. Bowsfield was born […]

Baseball has had its share of memorable nicknames, particularly in a bygone era. The moniker ‘Cuddles’ bestowed on Clarence Marshall is certainly one of these. Marshall pitched for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns in parts of four seasons between 1946 to 1950. He was a tall righty with a lively fastball but […]

There have been two big leaguers named Joe Morgan — and it’s not hard to tell them apart. Joseph Michael Morgan played fractions of four seasons in “The Show,” finishing with three games for the 1964 Cardinals. He is white. Joe Leonard Morgan’s Hall of Fame career ran from 1963 to 1984. He is black. […]

Only one man has played on a team that won major league baseball’s World Series and also on a team that won the championship of the National Football League. That man is Hinkey Haines. Haines’ baseball career, though modest, included being part of several memorable moments. His football career led to a great deal of […]

Lefty Sullivan had everything a pitcher could want: a blazing fastball, a knee-buckling curve, a disappearing spitball, and pinpoint control. The one thing he couldn’t do was field. Because he felt dizzy every time he picked up a bunt – a lifelong heart condition cut off the flow of oxygen to his brain when he […]

The 1974 Oakland Athletics pitching staff was a dominant bunch. Led by the trio of starters Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, and Ken Holtzman, and the brilliant relief work of Rollie Fingers, the A’s led the majors in six pitching categories, won 90 games, and claimed their third consecutive world championship. They were not without good […]

On May 15, 1921, a 27-year-old Oregon native, Harvey Scott “Suds” Sutherland, stepped into the batter’s box at Navin Field in Detroit to face the legendary Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson. Sutherland, a side-arming right-handed pitcher, had made his major-league debut with the Detroit Tigers just a month before, and had quickly made his mark […]

Roy Henshaw never let his height, or lack of it, derail his dream of becoming a big leaguer. Standing just 5-feet-8, the southpaw hurler jumped from the University of Chicago straight to the Chicago Cubs in 1933. Two years later he went 13-5 as a valuable swingman, helping the North Siders capture the pennant. That […]

Bob Locker threw 879 innings in the major leagues. His career earned-run average was 2.75. Pitching for the White Sox in the mid-1960s, he was an ace for a bullpen that led the league in ERA for four straight years. Oakland manager Dick Williams deployed him as his designated rally-killer in 1971, when the A’s […]

Overshadowed on the diamond by the antics and accomplishments of his younger brother Patsy, George Tebeau was little more than a journeyman late-nineteenth century outfielder-first baseman. The lasting impression that he made on the game came only after his playing days were behind him. For almost two decades, George was arguably the most powerful force […]

A ballplayer can practice his swing, his curveball, or how he charges a bunt. Nobody practices an unassisted triple play. It’s a fluke, rarer than a perfect game. “That was one of the easiest plays I ever made,” Glenn Wright said. “I couldn’t help it.” Wright’s fluke came on May 7, 1925, when he was […]

The remarkable longevity of Thomas Edward John’s career is surprising considering the left-hander’s actual performance as a pitcher. While Tommy John was a solid pitcher with a good curve and a sinking fastball, he did not possess the overpowering stuff of near-contemporaries like Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, or Steve Carlton, nor did he have the […]

Like many businessmen in the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash, legendary Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack took a beating financially and, as a result, he dealt his star outfielder Roger “Doc” Cramer to the Boston Red Sox. Cramer joined other Athletics stars such as Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx in the exodus to Boston, […]

Andrés Jose Padovani Galarraga was known as the Big Cat, or El Gran Gato, during his 19-year major-league baseball career, a career in which he became the Colorado Rockies’ first big star. He looked like a slugger but what made him so popular, and helped secure his nickname, was his quickness around the first-base bag. […]

Tony Muser turned down his first shot at professional baseball, but about a year later signed with the Boston Red Sox and embarked on a career that included nine years in the big leagues as a first baseman and outfielder, 14 years as a major-league coach, and six years as a major-league manager. Of Austrian/German […]

Chris Short won 135 games in his major-league career. He pitched 15 big-league seasons and was arguably the National League’s second-best left-hander in the 1960s after Sandy Koufax. From 1964 through 1968, an average season for Short consisted of 250-plus innings pitched, 190-plus strikeouts, and 17 wins. He was twice named to the All-Star team. […]

Lázaro Ramón Gonzalo Naranjo Couto – known in the U.S. as Cholly Naranjo – played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1956. He got called up right before the All-Star Game, aged just 21, and remained with the team until the season ended. Though his major-league experience was limited, he considers it “a dream come true.” […]

Charlie Eakle, meter reader, Was a part-time major-leaguer. When his two-game trial was done, ’Twas back to work where he’d begun.   According to a contemporary report, Charlie Eakle played two major-league games with the 1915 Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League while simultaneously holding down a full-time job with Baltimore’s gas and electric company. […]

“Whenever he would pull off one of those grand, unexpected plays that were so dazzlingly surprising as to dumfound his opponents, his prominent teeth would gleam and glisten in an array of white molars that would put our own Teddy Roosevelt and his famed dentistry establishment far in the shadow.” — Sam Crane1 Who was […]

Mention the corner of Michigan and Trumbull to baseball fans in the Motor City, and they will immediately think of Tiger Stadium. While it is true that the Detroit Tigers played in that storied park, at that location, from 1912 to 1999, the history of professional baseball at “The Corner” actually dates back to 1896. […]