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Where the nickname Tony came from is unclear, other than a likely play on his last name. In all the research done for this biography, the nickname never came up once. When any nickname was employed, he was universally called Charley. We’ll call him Charles Tonneman here. He was a right-handed catcher. He had a […]

What was Yankees manager Bucky Harris thinking? With his team leading the Brooklyn Dodgers, 3–2, with two outs in the sixth inning of Game Seven of the 1947 World Series, he sent rookie Allie Clark up to pinch-hit for rookie Yogi Berra. Out of context, given Berra’s Hall of Fame career, the move might seem […]

In the early years of the 21st century, the name of Joe Dobson, a right-handed pitcher who toiled for 10 years with the Red Sox, rarely crops up in discussions of the better Boston players of the past. Nonetheless, his 106-72 record places him ninth (through 2012) on the Red Sox all-time team list for […]

Shortstop Joe Boley played for 11 pennant winners in his first 16 professional seasons. Contemporary observers considered him a key player on the Philadelphia Athletics teams that won three consecutive pennants and two consecutive World Series from 1929 through 1931. Throughout his career, sportswriters described him with superlatives like “brilliant,” “sensational,” “sparkling” and “great.” He […]

When Ned Garver won his 20th game on the last day of the 1951 season for the lowly St. Louis Browns in 1951, he became the first pitcher in major league history to win 20 games for a team which lost 100. One of the most durable pitchers of his era, the right-handed Garver led […]

Although he was a four-time All-Star with the Boston Braves and respected throughout baseball as an excellent defensive catcher and steady hitter, Phil Masi is best remembered for being part of one of the most controversial plays in World Series history. During the bottom of the eighth inning in Game One of the 1948 Series […]

One of the shortest men ever to play major-league baseball, one of the first to wear a batting helmet after being nearly killed in a game, and once rumored to be the heir apparent to the great Honus Wagner, William Joseph Barbeau enjoyed a full baseball career. Barbeau bounced around the minor leagues, mostly the […]

If not for two years of military service and four years at the University of Texas, baseball lifer Grady Hatton’s career as player, manager, scout, and front office executive would have surpassed a half century. Mainly a third baseman, he played in 12 big-league seasons (1946-56; 1960). Reflecting on his playing career in 1966, Hatton […]

Bert Husting was pitching in the 1897 Wisconsin state amateur tournament in Fond du Lac when discovered by Connie Mack, the Milwaukee Brewers manager in the Class A Western League. The following year the 5’-10”, 185-pounder hurled the University of Wisconsin to the Western Conference title, and four years later, was a 14-game winner with the […]

Long before free agency and specialization promoted frequent player movement between teams, the journeyman tag was most aptly applied to men like Pat Ragan. Ragan played for seven major-league clubs between 1909 and 1923, and as of the end of the 1920s was one of only seven men to play for six or more major-league […]

“He looked like a Texan ought to look — like a Texas Ranger or a man who could have fought at the Alamo,” said Richie Ashburn.1 He was “Hondo,” a two-sport athlete in college who was pushed too far too fast by the bonus-baby rule. Stan Hollmig could have been a major-league star, but without that early […]

Heinz Becker, the only German-born big-leaguer who played during the years of World War II, had a modest four-year career and appeared in just 152 games for the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians. In 1945, his only full season in the majors, Becker became a fan favorite for the pennant-winning Cubs, and his feet were […]

Santo Alcala was born and raised in the so-called “baseball capital of the world,” San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic.1 At the age of 16, the tall righty pitcher became a professional baseball player. He won 11 games and a World Series ring with Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine in 1976—his one year of […]

Right-hander Chuck Rainey was a first-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox, the 19th pick overall in the January 1974 draft. A little more than five years later, he broke into the big leagues with Boston, pitching for the Red Sox, Cubs, and Oakland Athletics in a major-league career that lasted six seasons. Red […]

Back in an era when a manager’s responsibilities often included both the duties of a modern skipper plus those of today’s general manager, Pat Moran excelled at each role. In a span of six years Moran took over two mediocre franchises with little history of winning, rebuilt and reassembled their players, and managed each to […]

Tried and convicted of murder in a court of law, Ralph “Blackie” Schwamb hurled his best pitches from behind prison walls. The tall, lanky right-hander with a nasty temper and a taste for booze won just a single game as a major leaguer. He won 131 games while playing for teams based at the San […]

He made his big-league debut on a day when Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed thousands of civil rights marchers on the Boston Common, and flourished as a pitcher during the Summer of Love. As he struggled with injuries, Americans grappled with the strain of assassinations, racial riots, and the escalating Vietnam War. Jim Lonborg’s […]

This burly Kentuckian signed as a pitcher but made it to the majors with his bat. Jeoff (which rhymes with “off”) Long could hit balls a long way. That got him into 56 games in 1963 and 1964 as a first baseman/outfielder, first with the St. Louis Cardinals and then with the Chicago White Sox. […]

Earl “Flat” Chase, ca. 1947-1954. (Archives and Special Collections, Leddy Library, University of Windsor)   Earl “Flat” Chase (1913 – 1954) was skilled as a batter, pitcher, catcher, and any field position he was asked to play. Chase was nicknamed Flat for his running style, and his skills on the field and charismatic athleticism earned […]

Lee Quillin distinguished himself during 13 years in professional baseball in the early 20th century. He played for the 1906 World Series champion Chicago White Sox and the 1907 Sox team, contributing as a utility infielder. The right-hander also put together four minor-league seasons hitting over .300, plus another at .298; he helped his clubs […]

While appearing in only 176 major-league games over six seasons, George McConnell split his time among three leagues (American, Federal, and National) and between two positions requiring different skill sets (first base and pitcher). McConnell’s versatility hampered his development, because he could not focus on pitching until after he had passed his athletic peak. A […]

“You Called That a What . . . ?” The Newsletter of the Official Scoring Committee Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)   October 2020, Volume 6, Number 1 Past newsletters   Editor: Stew Thornley From the Co-Chairs Conundrums of the Month (or Quarter or Whatever) Profile: Mel Franks It Finally Happened: A Four-Base Over-the-Fence […]

Willie Mays missed nearly two full seasons due to military service. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)   An Alabama Draft board summoned Willie Mays almost immediately after his debut season with the New York Giants in 1951, triggering a conscription process, necessitated by America’s military intervention in Korea, that dragged through the winter and […]

Keith Hernandez of the New York Mets had three five-hit games from August 8 to October 3, 1985.1 The third game in this stretch occurred in the finale of a three-game set with the St. Louis Cardinals, whom the Mets were battling for first place in the National League East. After winning the first game […]