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The story of General Abner Doubleday inventing baseball as a young man in Cooperstown, New York, has long been recognized as apocryphal, a creation myth fashioned as proof that baseball is wholly American. Baseball historians agree that the sport was being played long before Doubleday purportedly came on the scene in 1839. Another Union general […]

The Houston Astros were in the midst of their first-ever winning season in 1972 when a relative newcomer to the team, Jerry Reuss, on the eve of his 23rd birthday, spun a one-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 18. The game was among the first that brought national attention to Reuss, who wound up […]

Dave “Boo” Ferriss began his major-league career with an astonishing eight consecutive wins in 1945. The start of his career was unprecedented, because Ferriss had minimal time as a professional player before his major-league debut with the Boston Red Sox. His eight victories were all complete games, and four of them were shutouts. In that […]

It was a “sticky, gray day and the sun never did break through the heavy haze,” according to Tommy Holmes of the Brooklyn Eagle.1  A crowd of 29,074 arrived at Shibe Park for Opening Day 1950. The city bustled with excitement and “lines of traffic from every direction were jammed and tangled. The holiday spirit […]

The year 1971 was a good time to be a sports fan in Baltimore. The Baltimore Colts had won Super Bowl V earlier in the year, defeating Dallas 16-13. It was the Colts’ third NFL championship. Earlier in the spring, the Baltimore Bullets made it to the NBA finals before getting swept by Milwaukee. And […]

The Chicago White Sox were in unusual territory. Not since the days of Hall of Fame player-manager Eddie Collins had the Pale Hose sported at least a .500 record on the last day of August; however, Jimmy Dykes, in his first full season as player-manager, had the fifth-place White Sox (61-60) in position for their […]

Until Rickey Henderson donned New York Yankee pinstripes in 1985, Fritz Maisel’s 74 stolen bases had been the franchise’s single-season record for 71 years. The diminutive Maisel, nicknamed “The Catonsville Flash” for his Maryland hometown, spent all or parts of six seasons (1913-1918) with the Yankees and St. Louis Browns. For 57 years he was […]

It was Ted Williams who dubbed Bobby Doerr “the silent captain of the Red Sox” and a more down-to-earth Hall of Famer might be hard to find. A career Red Sox player, Doerr’s fame enjoyed a resurgence in 2004 with the publication of David Halberstam’s book about him and his famous teammates.1  Born in the city of […]

A baseball lifer, Wayne Terwilliger found himself with more notoriety at age 80 than he had garnered in his previous 56 seasons in Organized Baseball combined when he agreed to return for the 2005 season as manager of the Fort Worth Cats in the independent Central League.1 In doing so, he joined the legendary Connie […]

He terrorized teammates with snakes. He tossed firecrackers under benches and into bullpens. He was a master of the fine art of the hotfoot. Often forgotten is that Moe Drabowsky could pitch a little, too. In a 17-year major-league career with eight teams, it was his two stints with the Orioles that brought him lasting […]

“I got traded for him and now he’s my insurance broker,” said Bill Buckner in 2011.1 Buckner was recalling a January 1977 trade when the Los Angeles Dodgers sent both him and Ivan de Jesus to the Chicago Cubs for Mike Garman, Rick Monday, and a minor-leaguer. Buckner settled in Boise after his baseball career; […]

A versatile defender who played as a utilityman in both the infield and outfield, Harry Hanebrink played for the two Milwaukee Braves teams that won the National League pennant in the 1950s, one of which won the World Series. He was also part of a much larger team that captured an even more important victory […]

Even casual baseball fans know of the 1927 New York Yankees, considered the best team of all time by many. Featuring “Murderers’ Row” at the heart of the batting order, they rolled to the American League pennant with a 110-44 record and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. But, as great as the […]

Although many baseball fans may believe otherwise, Bill Buckner was not exiled from Boston after his infamous 1986 World Series miscue. He appeared in 75 games for the Red Sox in 1987 before the team released him, looking to rejuvenate its outfield by shifting Dwight Evans to first base, freeing up playing time for Todd […]

This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure to those who stared face to face with it. It will simply tell of a generation of men who even though they may have avoided the shells were destroyed by the war. –Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on […]

Today’s multimillionaire players probably don’t know Danny Gardella or the impact the wartime New York Giants outfielder had on their high salaries. Gardella’s brief adventure in the Mexican League and his challenge to baseball’s reserve clause was one of the first steps toward modern-day free agency. At a “not much taller than a fire hydrant” […]

The June 6, 1945, headline in The Dispatch (Moline, Illinois) read, “Cincinnati Clowns to Play at Davenport Friday Night.” The piece to follow reported, “Some of the greatest names in Negro baseball appear in the Clowns’ lineup, among them being Roosevelt ‘Duro’ Davis, second only to ‘Satchel’ Paige in Negro pitching circles.” Hyperbole or not, Davis, 41 […]

Few have eclipsed Lefty O’Doul as a baseball legend in San Francisco. He was known first as a pitcher and then as one of the game’s best hitters. Later, he managed the local Seals club for 17 years. He was always readily identifiable for his attire and was nicknamed “The Man in the Green Suit” […]

Joe Frazier’s chance to manage in the majors came at the dawn of free agency and the beginning of a tumultuous period for the New York Mets, the team he led in 1976 and for two months in 1977. After a professional career as a player and manager that began before World War II, he […]

Andy Coakley is remembered most as “Lou Gehrig’s coach” in his 37 years as head of Columbia University’s baseball program. But this overlooks his extensive influence on the game. Once a promising right-hander with Connie Mack’s Athletics in the early 20th century, Coakley was also a labor pioneer, a forward-thinking league organizer, a team owner, […]

“Eddie Morris, chubby little commodore of the Massachusetts Bay Yachting Association, recently had a Bosch radio receiving set installed in his power cruiser by the Motor Parts Company of 106 Brookline Avenue. Eddie is well pleased with the performance of the set, as it enables him to keep in touch with Fred Hoey at the […]

Harland Rowe served Connie Mack. He served his country in combat. And he served banking customers in his Maine hometown for 50 years. The latter two accomplishments dwarf the first; Rowe was one of those players for whom pro baseball was more of a footnote in life than a defining highlight. His career consisted of […]

Signed as a shortstop by the New York Giants in 1949, Foster Castleman appeared in 170 games with them in four seasons (1954-57). Finally in 1958 the Baltimore Orioles platooned the right-handed-hitting Castleman with switch-hitter Willy Miranda at shortstop. Castleman had begun his pro career as a heralded fielder, but three knee surgeries had taken […]

In a 1968 interview, former pitcher Bob Logan said this of his friend and one-time teammate, Frank Sigafoos: “He was a swell guy, one of the best, quiet and unassuming . . . he never bragged about himself and he had great talent.”1 Indeed, Sigafoos had a standout career as a skilled infielder at the […]