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One of just two Philadelphia Athletics to make the 1934 American League All-Star roster, third baseman Mike “Pinky” Higgins was the subject of gossip that offseason that he might be sold to the New York Yankees for as much as $50,000. Owner-manager Connie Mack was peppered with questions about the proposed deal in January 1935 […]

On August 29, 1948, before a season record crowd of 33,826 at Sportsman’s Park, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals played in a “furiously fought doubleheader”1 that had postseason implications. In the first game, Brooklyn second baseman Jackie Robinson hit for the cycle,2 leading the Dodgers to a victory over the St. Louis […]

Weather forecasts predicted rain but when the sun rose on New York, there were clear skies as the Brooklyn Dodgers prepared to face off against the Yankees for the second time since 1941. The wind “played tricks with the pennants high above the roof” of Yankee Stadium and “sweaters and topcoats formed standard equipment for […]

June 15, 1967, seemed like an unlikely day for the Houston Astros’ 25-year-old slugger Jimmy Wynn to make history. He wasn’t feeling very well, and consequently took only two turns in the batting cage in the mammoth Astrodome. “I’ve been feeling tired for three or four days,” he said.1 While his teammates finished BP and […]

Among MLB’s storied rivalries, none has been more heated than that of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. The stakes do not have to be high – though they often have been – for bad blood to boil over between the two teams. One of the most vicious brawls between the two franchises […]

The weather at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia was cold and miserable with 40-mph winds for the Pirates-Phillies game on April 24, 1955. Unfortunately for the Pirates, the 1955 season had so far matched the weather. It was marred by rainouts and eight consecutive losses to start the season and the 14th consecutive loss going […]

As the Chicago White Sox took the field at Cleveland Stadium on the night of September 22, 1959, the city of Chicago was bracing for a celebration. A victory over the Cleveland Indians would clinch the American League pennant for the White Sox—the first AL crown for the Sox since 1919. That 1919 league championship […]

With nearly 35,000 fans on hand on the day set aside to honor him at Wrigley Field, veteran Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo publicly confirmed that he was a diabetic. “I didn’t want anyone else to know about this originally. I’m a diabetic and had a full career in the major leagues and a […]

On the heels of the British navy’s sinking of the German battleship Bismarck and President Franklin Roosevelt’s “unlimited emergency” speech defying the Germans, the Washington Senators inaugurated night baseball on May 28, 1941, on a sweltering evening in the nation’s capital. Senators owner Clark Griffith was following the lead of six other major-league teams and […]

“Part of [Hack] Wilson’s legend was his physical appearance. At 5-foot-6 and 195 pounds, he had spindly legs and a shoe size of five and a half. He had a massive upper body, including an 18-inch neck that was reminiscent of a fire hydrant.”1 Fresh off a 13-3 loss to the first-place St. Louis Cardinals […]

On an unseasonably chilly Tuesday night in early May, a small crowd gathered at Tiger Stadium to watch the Detroit Tigers take on the visiting Chicago White Sox. The 7,327 who braved the cold — there were chill warnings in effect for later that night — were in for a treat: arguably the greatest pitching […]

With its long winters and cold, rainy springs, New England has never been a hotbed for scouts hunting baseball talent. There have, however, been ballplayers through the years who have overcome these weather woes to shine brightly enough that they can’t be ignored. Ray Martin was one such prospect — a pitcher so strong he […]

The slider. Mention it and batters’ knees buckle. The pitch helped make Cy Young Award winners out of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, Randy Johnson and David Cone, as well as Steve Carlton, Ron Guidry, and Bob Gibson. There’s debate about who invented the slider. Chief Bender, the right-hander with the Philadelphia A’s, threw what […]

Although no more than that of a journeyman, the six-year major-league playing career of Bert Niehoff was not without its highlights. In 1915 he combined with future Hall of Fame shortstop Dave Bancroft to form the middle infield of the pennant-winning Philadelphia Phillies. The following year, Niehoff led the National League in doubles and was […]

In Candlestick Park on September 2, 1963, the final nine outs were tallied by closer Lindy McDaniel, insuring the 20th win of the season for the tall Chicago Cubs left-handed starter. This particular win, coming off a 20-loss campaign the preceding year, would etch the youngster’s name with a mere six other hurlers who, since […]

He threw a ball as fast as Amos “The Hoosier Thunderbolt” Rusie, hit the ball as “hard as any man in the league,” and was versatile enough to play every position except catcher.1 His name was Jack Stivetts. In an 11-year major-league career that began with the St. Louis Browns of the American Association in […]

After hitting his dramatic walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game Seven of the 1960 World Series, Bill Mazeroski excitedly circled first and then second base, waving his arms with his cap in his hand. As he reached third base he was greeted by Pirates third-base coach Frank Oceak, who […]

Popular wherever he played, Bud Sharpe showed great promise on the field and later as a manager, only to die in his prime. A tall and energetic man, the slender Sharpe stood 6′ 1″ and weighed 170 pounds. A right-hander, he was a minor figure in his 165-game major league career, posting a .222 average […]

Imagine you’re one of two widget-winders working in the same factory and that you have to compete for the Number One job with one of the greatest widget-winders in history.  That is exactly the situation that Clarence “Footsie” Blair found himself in when he played second base for the Chicago Cubs.  That is, he played […]

At the close of the 1890 season, the Cincinnati Reds had high hopes for rookie backstop Jerry Harrington. The 21-year-old had proved a major asset for the fourth-place (77-55-2, .583) ball club – an able handler of pitchers; a sure-handed receiver with a powerful and accurate throwing arm, and a decent enough batter for any […]

Born with a celebrated baseball surname1 but with only a modicum of playing ability, catcher Tom O’Rourke was largely a nonentity on the 19th-century major league ballclubs that he played for. But on occasion, he provided useful service. O’Rourke’s post-baseball life followed a similar pattern – but for an altogether different organization: Tammany Hall, the […]

Bob Gebhard, the man who became the first general manager in the history of the Colorado Rockies, emerged from modest working-class roots in rural Minnesota.1 Born on January 3, 1943, Gebhard grew up in Lamberton, population 1,100, about 150 miles southwest of Minneapolis. He is of German and Scandinavian heritage, and his family has called […]

There have been two Nick Cullops in major-league baseball; one a left-handed pitcher, the other primarily an outfielder. Despite a 13-year age difference, they faced each other in the American Association in 1926. Nick the outfielder had recently joined the St. Paul Saints from the New York Yankees. His first weekend series with the Saints […]

Columbia University went through six baseball coaches in eight years from 1906 through 1913. But in 1914, former big league pitcher Andy Coakley joined the program, handling pitchers and catchers. He became the Lions’ head coach in 1915 and remained in that job for 37 years, stepping down after the 1951 season. Coakley shaped the […]