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With a weak heart that would eventually fail prematurely and a 4-F designation that allowed him to play wartime ball at the highest level,  Ben Cardoni failed to record a win in 36 appearances for the Boston Braves from 1943 to 1945 but did manage a quartet of single milestones with exactly one career complete […]

During 24 years in the National League, August John Donatelli was one of major-league baseball’s most respected umpires. He worked four All-Star games (1953, 1959, 1962, 1969), five World Series (1955, 1957, 1961, 1967, 1973), and two League Championship Series (1969, 1972).  Moreover, he was the home-plate umpire for four no-hitters: Warren Spahn (1961), Carl […]

The story of Tony Horton, the young and talented slugger for the Red Sox and the Indians, is ultimately a tragic one from a baseball perspective. Just entering his prime seasons at the age of 25, he was forced to leave the game because of an emotional disorder, and ultimately he never returned. Piecing together […]

“He is the natural pitcher who, whether he wants to or not, ‘puts something on every ball.’ His fast ball flashes upward and in; his curve breaks like an air-blown ball. He achieves his speed seemingly without an effort, his long arm and fingers giving the ball strange twists, and the speed with which he […]

Clarence “Lefty” Heise had an extremely brief major-league career. He opened the 1934 season with the Cardinals but was released to their Columbus farm team on May 1 when major-league rosters had to be cut to 25 players. He pitched in just one major-league game, and he was the only man who played in a […]

Sometime during the 1975 season, pitcher Dick Drago stopped in a convenience store and was recognized by the counter clerk as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Not being familiar with Drago out of uniform, the clerk asked the pitcher his name. Dick answered, “I’m Drago.” To which the clerk responded, “Oh yeah, Drago […]

Charlie Gilbert’s baseball career came under the tutelage of his father Larry Gilbert Sr. at an early age. Larry Sr. certainly had a relevant background to help build his son’s future; he had been a major-league player for parts of two seasons, and later was a player and manager for the New Orleans Pelicans (Class […]

Reginald Martinez Jackson was born on May 18, 1946, in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, a largely white suburb north of Philadelphia’s central city. His father, Martinez Jackson, ran a dry-cleaning and tailoring business. As a grown man, Reggie claimed he still knew how to cuff a pair of slacks.1 His father was a veteran of World War […]

If the fates had been kinder to George “Kiddo” Davis, he would have had the opportunity to display his skills in five World Series during his eight major-league seasons. In two Series with the New York Giants, 1933 and 1936, the center fielder complemented his outstanding defensive work with 8 hits in 21 at-bats, a […]

How is it that someone who weighed 160 pounds and stood five feet, 8 1/2 inches tall attracted the nickname “Moose”? It’s not as though he came from northern Wisconsin or near the northwest Maine/Canadian border. Elmer Albert Eggert was born and died in Rochester, New York – born on January 29, 1902 to parents […]

The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates had their fair share of heroes and players who had career years, but when all is said and done, without Vernon Law they might well have been just another team that came close to glory. Heading into 1960, Law had just turned 30 and was an eight-year veteran of the Pirates, […]

William H. Conant, Arthur H. Soden, and James B. Billings were the majority owners of the Boston Nationals1 from its difficult early years, through its ascendancy to the position of one of the best teams in the National League, to its eclipse after the entry of the American League team in Boston in 1901. Held […]

  High and Inside The Newsletter of the BioProject Committee Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) August 2016 (Special Post-Convention Issue), Volume 1, Number 5 Past newsletters Editor: Stew Thornley From the Director From the Editor Interview with Bob LeMoine Project Profile: Gregory H. Wolf Project Poobahs   From the Director I have just returned […]

Game Three of the 1982 World Series was the first Series game in Milwaukee since 1958. It was the first World Series for the Milwaukee Brewers, who had entered the league in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots, and the 13th World Series for their opponents, the St. Louis Cardinals. Milwaukee had a heavy-hitting lineup that […]

The St. Louis Cardinals were in a fight for the National League pennant late in the1926 season. If they prevailed, it would be the first for the franchise in the modern era. Their chances looked promising on September 16: As they faced the Philadelphia Phillies, they were a half-game behind the Cincinnati Reds. On the […]

There was no big champagne celebration in the locker room after the game in which Willie Mays blasted his 52nd home run of the 1965 season, the highest season total of his career. For that matter, there was no Mays in the locker room either. Any plans for celebration died the previous evening when the […]

If one were to rate the excitement of various baseball plays, inside-the-park home runs (IPHR) would most likely rank very near the top. One of the game’s longest-fused events, thanks to the batter’s 360-foot trip around the diamond, IPHRs have an evergreen presence in highlight and blooper reels alike with dramatic elements like misplays or […]

Bunker Hill Day, commemorating the Revolutionary War battle, arrived in Boston on Monday, June 18, 1894. For those in search of sporting entertainment as the calendar crept toward the first day of summer, two National League contenders would play a morning-afternoon doubleheader at the Congress Street Grounds. The host Boston Beaneaters, winners of the previous […]

With the Detroit Tigers seizing a two-games-to-one lead in the 1935 World Series on the Chicago Cubs after a wild extra-inning affair in Game Three, managers Charlie Grimm and Mickey Cochrane were compelled to shuffle their lineups. “The two managers, reckless in their manipulation of talent in the turbulent concluding innings, forced themselves into a […]

Considering the transportation methods available in 1903, a trip from Cleveland, Ohio, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, would have been neither quick nor easy. Cleveland Naps manager Bill Armour didn’t seem to care – that’s how badly he wanted to secure two-way minor-league star Hugh Hill’s services for the 1903 season. After battling contract baiting from the […]

Under a broiling midsummer sun, five National League pitchers combined to throw the first shutout in All-Star Game history. With their 4-0 victory in the 1940 contest, the Nationals had now won three of the last five games, after having lost the first three. Although the American League Browns and National League Cardinals shared Sportsman’s […]

As they made their way down I-94 to Comiskey Park for this Monday night game, the 12-0 Milwaukee Brewers and their fans were in a celebratory mood after their dramatic win on Sunday against the Texas Rangers at Milwaukee County Stadium. Yes, they were still one game shy of tying the major-league record set by […]

After May 31, the 2004 Boston Red Sox never got to first place in the American League East. From June 1 on, they were in second place for the next 111 games. The New York Yankees were in first for that entire stretch. As late as August 15, the Yankees’ lead over the Red Sox […]

There was much ballyhoo when, in 1962, Major League Baseball made its long-overdue move into the Deep South by awarding an expansion franchise to Houston, Texas. This was swiftly followed by a club moving to Atlanta and by two more expansion franchises in Florida. Yet in all the ballyhoo, it was largely forgotten that Major […]