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Mention the name of Billy Pierce and smiles cross the faces of older Chicago White Sox fans. The affable southpaw, whose No. 19 is retired and whose statue resides in the left-field bleachers at Guaranteed Rate Field, was the darling of the Sox starting corps in the 1950s. Whenever Billy took the mound, White Sox […]

“The baseball rule makers made sweeping changes in the playing code of the national game today, and heaped so much additional duty and authority on the shoulders of the umpires that next season the officials will all have to take a rest cure before the season is half over.” – New York Times, February 10, […]

The Boston Beaneaters, under manager Frank Selee, won the National League pennant in 1897 and 1898, but finished in second place in 1899. In March 1900, Selee predicted, “My team should improve its position a peg this year. That makes us champions.”1 He had good reason to be confident. The 1900 Beaneaters had arguably the […]

In 2011 the Cincinnati Enquirer published a list of the 100 greatest players in the 130-year history of the Cincinnati Reds.1 Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan topped the rankings, which were brimming with the names of renowned ballplayers. But coming in at number 62 was Curt Walker, a long-forgotten right fielder who spent […]

Two months into the 1928 season, the National League had a tight race for the top spot. While the Cincinnati Reds held first place (28-16),1 four other teams were within striking distance. The third-place New York Giants (21-15) traveled to Brooklyn to take on the fourth-place Robins (22-17) at Ebbets Field. A week earlier, the […]

The contrast could not have been starker on a Friday night in August 1965. While Claude Osteen of the Los Angeles Dodgers picked the Pittsburgh Pirates apart in a six-hitter at pristine Dodger Stadium, California National Guardsmen were occupying large swaths of South Central Los Angeles, engulfed in flames and violence less than nine miles […]

Unlike most other sports, baseball has no clock, so a team never has to “beat the clock” as well as an opponent. There are very few times when actual minutes are measured instead of outs in baseball. When a relief pitcher is not yet ready to come into a game, a manager will come out […]

A lot can happen in a year. Miguel Fuentes was proof of that. On September 8, 1968, he wore the Guerrilleros (Warriors) of Río Grande uniform and tamed the Polluelos (Chicks) of Aibonito 7-1 to secure the Puerto Rican Double-A championship. A few weeks later, the jersey read “Puerto Rico” as he represented the island […]

As most baseball fans know, the Cincinnati Reds hosted the first night major-league game on May 24, 1935. The attendance1 of 20,422 made the first night baseball game an immediate success in the declining-attendance era of the Great Depression. However, there was another notable night baseball game in Cincinnati that year, on July 31. Night […]

Before a Fenway Park crowd of 10,271, Carl Yastrzemski hit for the 12th cycle in Boston Red Sox history. He added a second home run and a walk to his hit parade, reaching base in every one of his six plate appearances. But his herculean efforts were not enough to propel the Red Sox to […]

John McGraw’s men were sopping wet and mad as hell standing beneath bursting clouds at Redland Field.1 Mad as one Cincinnati player after another slipped and slid across home plate in the bottom of the sixth. Mad that umpire Bill Klem, perhaps gripping tight to a long grudge against the Giants manager, seemed unconcerned about […]

When the Brooklyn Robins and the Chicago Cubs squared off for the first contest of a four-game series at Wrigley Field on Saturday, September 14, 1929, there was little suspense about the NL pennant race. With a record of 91-45, the Cubs enjoyed a 13½-game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Manager Joe McCarthy’s squad had […]

Griffith Stadium played host to the 23rd All-Star Game on July 10, 1956. A sellout crowd of 28,843 saw the National League win its sixth decision in the past seven encounters, 7-3. The overflow crowd filled the seats behind the center-field wall, creating a bad background for the batters, and there were 17 strikeouts in […]

As dominant as the Detroit Tigers were during the 1984 season, the Toronto Blue Jays stayed within reach until the final month. For much of the year, the Blue Jays were the second best team in baseball, and the biggest threat to spoil the Tigers’ historic 35-5 start. When the two teams first met, in […]

The Boston Beaneaters came to Cleveland, Ohio, for a two-game series, July 8-9, 1891, against the Cleveland Spiders. Boston’s John Clarkson pitched a gem in the first game, allowing only five hits in a 4-1 victory, which extended Boston’s winning streak to six games. Boston was in third place and Cleveland was in fifth place […]

Buck Herzog was one of the most versatile infielders in the history of the major leagues; his 1,493 games were divided almost equally among second base, shortstop, and third base. His motto, “When you get ’em down, choke ’em,” earned him the nickname “Choke ‘Em Charley.” John McGraw signed Herzog for the New York Giants […]

Many believe that spitballer Frank Shellenback had his major-league career stolen from him when his key pitch was outlawed. In 1920 the National Commission did away with trick deliveries, including the spitball — and Shellenback’s team, the Chicago White Sox, for whom he had pitched in 1918 and 1919, didn’t list his name among those […]

Charles Krehmeyer joined his first professional team in June 1883, signing with the Terre Haute (Indiana) Blues. When he made his major-league debut the following season, he joined a select club that even today numbers fewer than two dozen – catchers who threw left-handed and played more than one game in the majors. With only […]

Versatile in the field and with some extra-base pop in his bat, Don Savage overcame a chronic knee injury and other health problems to become a wartime member of the New York Yankees. In many ways, the arc of Savage’s baseball career can be traced through his physical condition. The knee injury, as well as […]

If a young, successful major league pitcher had decided to become an outfielder in 2001, it would have been news. And if he had hit above .300 for the next five straight years, culminating in 2005 by winning the league’s batting crown with a .377 average, he would have graced magazine covers. Finally, if upon […]

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 […]

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the June 2018 edition of the SABR Black Sox Scandal Research Committee Newsletter.   The Black Sox trial jury included, front row from left: Paul Luebke, Stephen Shuben, Harry Willis, William Barry (foreman), Joseph Vesely, bailiff H. Poppie; back row: bailiff James Gaul, John Schoenhofer, Edward Linman, […]

Among the top scouts, few have possessed as varied a background and perspective as John Joseph (Jack) Doyle. During his remarkable 71 years in the game, Doyle performed as a front-line player and captain, major- and minor-league player-manager, National League umpire, minor-league club owner, and as the head scout of the Chicago Cubs during their […]