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He neither slugged like Aaron nor pitched like Spahn, but Lou Perini made his own indelible mark on baseball history. In fact, one can argue that few men ever made a greater impact on the game without playing professionally than the construction giant who moved the Braves from Boston to Milwaukee. For a half-century from […]

The Clown Prince of BaseballDid 5,000 gigsFor 50 years he shared the billWith circus dogs and talking pigsAnd by the 9th inningHe’d be back at the motelWith an early morning wake-up callAnd the next night he’d be someplace else.1   Max Patkin never made it to the big leagues as a player. But that did […]

Across the decades, baseball players from the celebrated to the obscure have traded in their spikes for movie or TV scripts. Some — Chuck Connors, Bob Uecker, and Greg Goossen come to mind — enjoyed careers in the entertainment industry as, respectively, the star of TV’s The Rifleman, a sometime film and TV actor and […]

Jim Gantner played 17 years in the big leagues, all with the Milwaukee Brewers. In many ways, he was considered the “heart and soul” of the 1982 Brewers, bringing a competitive spirit and hard-nosed approach to the game. The image of Gantner and Charlie Moore embracing each other at home plate in County Stadium after […]

“Beware of robbing a wretch or attacking a cripple. Do not laugh at a blind man, nor tease a dwarf, nor cause hardship for the lame. Don’t tease a man who is in the hand of the god (i.e. ill or insane)…” [Instruction of Amenemope, Ancient Egypt]1 Frank James Burke was born on March 19, […]

A right-handed relief pitcher whose major-league career spanned the entire decade of the 1950s, Ernie Johnson retired with a lifetime record of 40-23 and an ERA of 3.77 in 273 games. “Maybe not the stuff of Cooperstown,” remembered Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews, a former teammate, “but damn it, the man could pitch.”1 Johnson’s even […]

Karl Kolseth owed his big-league career to two-way talent and a stroke of luck. When his pitching arm wore out, he had enough pop in his bat to reinvent himself as a slugging first baseman. Also, he was a star amateur player in Baltimore in 1915, when the Federal League’s Terrapins threw their doors open […]

Euthumn Napier remembered a bus ride north on April 15, 1947, on which he joined his Homestead Grays teammates in whiling away the hours by talking about the biggest baseball news of the day. Jackie Robinson had started at first base that day for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the modern color barrier. “We were all […]

On September 28, 1903, the New York Highlanders auditioned a 21-year-old right-hander. The surname of this youngster had much in common with the duration of his tenure as a major leaguer — and indeed, his life. All were quick. More particularly, the entire big-league career of Eddie Quick consisted of one game appearance and 12 […]

Ten years a backup catcher for five major league teams, Matt Batts was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He lived in the north part of the city at the time, but San Antonio has grown so much since he was born on October 16, 1921, that where he lived would be nearer the […]

Three days before World War II ended, Philadelphia Phillies scout Fred Mathews convinced the mother of Stephen George Ridzik that she should let her 16-year-old son become a professional baseball player.1 Julia Ridzik agreed to sign the contract, provided that Steve finish his last two years of high school. Thus began a 22-year pitching career […]

Don Dennis was a right-handed relief pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965 and 1966. He was the winning pitcher in the inaugural game at Busch Stadium II. The sinkerballer appeared in 79 major-league games, compiling a 6-5 record with a 3.69 ERA. Donald Ray Dennis was born on March 3, 1942 in Uniontown, […]

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 […]

The first superstar in American League history, Napoleon Lajoie combined graceful, effortless fielding with powerful, fearsome hitting to become one of the greatest all-around players of the Deadball Era, and one of the best second basemen of all time. At 6’1″ and 200 pounds, Lajoie possessed an unusually large physique for his time, yet when […]

The Braves had last hosted a World Series game in 1948, and that game was played in Boston. In 1957 the Braves, in their fifth season in Milwaukee, won the National League pennant. The first two games of the World Series were played in New York. The Yankees, behind Whitey Ford, had won the opener, […]

The World Series returned to Philadelphia for the second year in a row in 1911, and 26,286 baseball fans swarmed a wet Shibe Park on October 16, 1911, for Game Two of the 1911 World Series between the New York Giants (99-54) and Philadelphia Athletics (101-50). Despite their losing Game One, 2-1, at the Polo […]

Marcia Haddix was at home — on a Clark County, Ohio, farm — when her mother-in-law called to tell her to turn on the radio — her husband was pitching a pretty good game in Milwaukee. The reception of Pittsburgh’s KDKA was poor so she got in her car and drove a few miles to […]

The 1974 baseball season had arrived and all eyes were focused on Hank Aaron. Hammerin’ Hank had finished 1973 with 713 career home runs, one behind Babe Ruth’s total. Aaron’s Atlanta Braves were scheduled to open on the road with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds before returning to Atlanta for an 11-game homestand. […]

The Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves were two teams headed in opposite directions. Brooklyn, with 96 wins and the National League pennant already clinched, had a World Series date with the New York Yankees. On Saturday, September 27, 1952, Dodgers manager Charlie Dressen gave the ball to pitcher Joe Black as a final regular-season tune-up.1 […]

When Warren Spahn took the hill for Game Four of the 1957 World Series, he had started two previous Series games, losing to Bob Lemon of Cleveland in 1948 and to Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees in 1957’s Game One. Would today be his day? He was up against Tom Sturdivant of the […]

It was the start of a dynasty. Or so thought Milwaukee’s baseball fans. On September 21, 1958, the Braves won the National League pennant for the second year in row. Hank Aaron propelled the reigning World Series champs with a 2-for-3 afternoon, sending four runs across Crosley Field’s home plate. Red Schoendienst knocked in a […]

It was “my greatest thrill ever,” said carrot-topped Del Crandall after launching a walk-off home run in the 12th inning to give the Milwaukee Braves a dramatic 2-1 victory over their arch-rival Brooklyn Dodgers.1 The 25-year-old backstop had been mired in a terrible slump, hitless in his last 23 at-bats, before his extra-inning heroics made […]

In 1911, their 11th year in the American League, the Nationals had yet to have a winning season.  The team had been so lackluster in its years in Washington that its ownership solicited fan suggestions and changed its name from the Senators to the Nationals in 1905 in hopes of inspiring a change in fortunes.1 […]

As the Mutuals of New York prepared to host the Athletics of Philadelphia in a National League championship (regular-season) contest on August 10, 1876, the two clubs seemed to be moving in opposite directions. In fact, they were both headed to oblivion. The Mutuals had won 7 of their last 11 after a disappointing 10-20 […]