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On July 27, 1917, Cliff Brady was involved in an automobile accident that could have ended his career. Two cars smashed into each other shortly after 11 PM at the intersection of Third and Cheyenne in Tulsa. Ticket seller Eddie Quigley’s leg was broken; Brady’s knee was hurt but not to the point he required […]

“When Mr. Reardon speaks you are under the impression that he has just spit out a hand grenade.” — Harry A. Williams, Los Angeles Times1   Beans Reardon learned a lot about umpiring at the age of 16 when he worked as a riveter’s assistant. “Riveting was good education for umpiring,” he recalled. “If I […]

“Baseball is our way of life in the Amaro family,” said Rubén Amaro Sr. Four generations of Amaros have played professionally. Amaro’s father, Santos, had a long and distinguished career in Cuba and Mexico. His son, Rubén Amaro Jr., became a player, executive, and coach in the major leagues. Rubén Sr. was in the majors […]

It was raining on October 11, a day that Luther Taylor had awaited since he began playing in the major leagues, a chance to start a World Series game. So the game was cancelled. The next day Christy Mathewson would take the mound, to pitch the second of his three shutouts in the 1905 Series. […]

In the baseball record books, Bob Neighbors was originally without a date of death but a “date of loss.” Now, most have the August 8, 1952, date of death but provide no indication of where he died. For books or sites that offer information on the place of burial or cremation, there is often a […]

Besides being a superb fielding but often light hitting second baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals for more than a decade, Julian Javier was a central figure in the history and development of baseball in the Dominican Republic. Javier completed his playing days with a career .257 batting average. But in 19 World Series games, […]

Harry Raymond was a light-hitting third baseman who played mostly for the Louisville Colonels of the American Association in the late 1880s and early 1890s. While his statistical performance as a hitter was hardly exceptional, with a career batting average of only .235, Raymond was at the center of several remarkable events. He was part […]

“Big Bill” Brennan was a large man, weighing 235 pounds and standing 6-foot-2½. He had a loud voice and could be heard all over the ball field. Brennan’s voice served him well not only as an umpire, but also as a football coach at the University of Tennessee Medical College. Brennan was born on October […]

Had World War II continued indefinitely, Carden Gillenwater might have fashioned a noteworthy major-league career. As a member of the 1945 Boston Braves, he posted solid offensive numbers and led National League center fielders in several fielding categories. But the return of baseball’s elite for the 1946 season soon relegated placeholders like Gillenwater back to […]

In 1900 Sporting Life called George Hogreiver “the very best base runner in the profession.”1 “Hoggie” stole 948 bases in the minors, more than anyone else in minor-league history, and he stole 48 more bases in two major-league seasons. Like Ty Cobb, he was a daring, hyperaggressive baserunner. “Daring, yet careful,” said the Des Moines […]

Center field at Yankee Stadium is hallowed ground. Once upon a time, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle patrolled this section of the House That Ruth Built. Now, granted, Bernie Williams — whose 16-season New York Yankees career lasted from 1991 to 2006 — may at best be a borderline Cooperstown inductee, but he is a […]

Vice and dissipation may have had their way. Meridian, Mississippi, was home to “The Father of Country Music,” Jimmie Rodgers, also known as “The Singing Brakeman.” It was also home to gas-station owner Danny Clark, and major-league pitchers Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd and Jay Powell. Clark’s claim to fame came from baseball as well. He […]

Before the lumber,1 natural gas,2 and oil3 industries brought unprecedented economic growth to Louisiana in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, baseball had already established itself as a favorite pastime throughout the state, centering on the cities of New Orleans and Shreveport.4 Baseball teams, created and maintained by industrial magnates, emerged. One such team, […]

John Milner idolized Hank Aaron, lockered next to Willie Mays, and on his best days could hit home runs with as much authority as either man. While injuries and inconsistency prevented Milner from becoming an elite slugger, he carved out a 12-year career for the Mets, Pirates, and Expos, helping each of those clubs reach […]

Bert Campaneris had a distinguished 20-year major-league career that included six All-Star selections, six American League stolen-base crowns, and a major role in the Oakland Athletics’ three world championships in the 1970s. Dagoberto Campaneris was born on March 9, 1942, in Pueblo Nuevo, Cuba. His father was a mechanic in a factory. Campaneris had three […]

Roy Campanella — “The husky backstop is recognized as one of the greatest fielding catchers of all time. Carl Furillo — “It was his great throwing arm that earned him the nickname of ‘The Reading Rifle.’” — Topps Baseball Archives1   The 1953 season was a banner one for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Late in the […]

The teams meeting in the 1925 World Series arrived from different perspectives. The Washington Nationals entered the Series as the defending champions, having defeated the New York Giants one year earlier in a thrilling seven-game series. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates were the new challengers, having come off the last four seasons as close also-rans behind […]

Asked if he thought New York Mets rookie southpaw Jerry Koosman was as good as his record (2-0, with two shutouts) suggested, San Francisco Giants manager Herman Franks replied no. “Nobody’s that good!”1 Franks’ response was understandable; the second of Koosman’s two gems to start the 1968 season had come at his team’s expense. That […]

“He did his job. He got 27 outs. … Not to put Joe Cowley down, but it wasn’t impressive.” – Wally Joyner, 0-for-2, 2 BB1   It had been nearly two years since the major leagues had seen a no-hitter.2 Just 11 days shy of the anniversary of Mike Witt tossing the 11th perfect game […]

1876 St. Louis Brown Stockings. 1 – Joe Blong, 2 – George Bradley, 3 – Herman Dehlman, 4 – Joe Battin, 5 – John Clapp, 6 – Tim McGinley, 7 – Lipman Pike, 8 – Mike McGeary, 9 – Dickey Pearce, 10 – Denny Mack, 11 – Ned Cuthbert. (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY) […]

The 1886 Chicago White Stockings successfully defended their National League crown on the broad shoulders of captain Adrian “Cap” Anson, batting champ Mike “King” Kelly, and a dominant trio of pitchers. Between them, John Clarkson, Jim McCormick, and one-year wonder Jocko Flynn started and racked up a decision in every one of the team’s 124 […]

When Dave McNally started the 1962 season with Class-A Elmira, he never expected to be pitching in Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium at the end of the season. His major-league debut against Kansas City on September 26 resulted in a sterling performance that impressed the Orioles enough to earn him a permanent major-league job for the next […]

It was the Deadball Era, where home runs were few and far between until the coming of George Herman “Babe” Ruth. Arthur Earl Wilson hit just seven home runs in 12 major-league seasons, mostly with the New York Giants and Chicago Cubs. When Wilson joined the Federal League’s Chicago Chi-Feds in 1914, he became a […]

Jason Bay of the Pittsburgh Pirates had eight RBIs in a game twice in his career and both within a year of each other: September 19, 2003, and July 2, 2004. Bay may not have realized it, but he just missed the all-time Pirates single-game record of nine in a game set by Johnny Rizzo […]