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As the 49-year-old midtown Cincinnati ballpark hosted Game Five of what proved to be its final postseason, it sported a new paint job, applied after the end of the 1961 regular season. Crosley Field was all dressed up in its gaudiest colors in years. The outside of the ballpark had a gleaming coat of white […]

An ugly incident on July 3, 1965, between budding superstar Dick Allen and veteran bench player Frank Thomas threatened to tear the Philadelphia Phillies apart. It began with some verbal sparring during batting practice and quickly escalated. Allen punched Thomas, who responded by striking Allen on the shoulder with his bat.1 It took seven or […]

On the morning of August 11, 1921, the New York Giants were in second place, 2½ games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. If the National League pennant race remained close, any one of a number of factors could be the difference between success and failure. Doubtless with some satisfaction, the Standard Union (Brooklyn) claimed, “[s]hould the […]

Until the Negro Leagues were officially recognized as major leagues in December 2020, Dan Bankhead was on record as the first African American to pitch in the majors. After the Brooklyn Dodgers acquired him from the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League, the 27-year-old made his debut in the National League on August […]

In 16 big-league seasons, Phil Garner hit a total of 109 regular-season home runs.1 Three were with the bases loaded – and two of those grand slams came on back-to-back nights in September 1978. The second of Garner’s successive slams, a first-inning shot off Woodie Fryman, paced the surging Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-1 win […]

Walter O’Malley is a bane or a blessing dependent upon which coast the person describing him resides. In Brooklyn, baseball fans remember O’Malley with contempt for transporting their beloved Dodgers to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. LA baseball fans are proud that O’Malley’s decision not only made the city a major-league metropolis, but also […]

In the 1890s, Paterson, New Jersey, was a thriving city of 100,000 people. It was known as the Silk City, because its mills produced large quantities of the fashionable fabric. Its minor-league baseball team was nicknamed the Silk Weavers. In the spring of 1896, co-owners Ed Barrow and Charles McKee entered the team in the […]

The 1971 World Series pitted the best teams from each league, the NL’s Pittsburgh Pirates (97-65) against the AL’s Baltimore Orioles (101-57). The first game of the fall classic provided excitement for the 53,229 fans who packed Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. This was “the third-largest [crowd] to ever see a baseball game at the Stadium.”1 In […]

Praise rained down on Nolan Ryan of the California Angels following his historic 19-strikeout performance on August 12, 1974, which set an American League record for a nine-inning game and tied the NL/AL record held by Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver.1 “He had great stuff,” declared Boston Red Sox skipper Darrell Johnson, whose team had […]

The 1964 National League pennant race might not have been the greatest one in league history, but it certainly ranked among the most exciting finishes. The Philadelphia Phillies had taken over first place from the San Francisco Giants on July 17 after a month of trading spots with them atop the NL standings. Philadelphia then […]

A combination of fine weather, a state holiday,1 the largest recorded crowd at the South End Grounds to date, and serious Boston batting made the Beaneaters’ 1896 home opener an event to be remembered for some time, although not for the quality of the baseball. In 1896 the South End Grounds in its third iteration […]

On August 24, 1918, the Chicago Cubs hosted the fifth-place Brooklyn Robins, who were 24½ games back of first place but had won nine of 15 games against the front-running Cubs. The second-place New York Giants were 10½ games out of first with a little more than a week left in the season and the […]

Hometown boy makes good. This time-honored cliché certainly applies to Orioles pitcher Tom Phoebus, who was born and raised in Remington, a predominantly Italian neighborhood in the northwestern section of Baltimore. After receiving a $6,500 signing bonus from the Baltimore Orioles in 1960, Phoebus established himself as one of the future stars in the Birds’ […]

The dreary weather for the San Francisco Giants’ 1985 finale matched the gloom that engulfed the downtrodden franchise. Some 14,537 fans showed up on a Sunday afternoon – a large crowd by Giants’ standards of the day1 – potentially to witness unwanted history and possibly to see their team play in San Francisco for the […]

“Cupcake,” a euphemism for a should-be-easy-to-beat opponent, entered the sports lexicon in the 1970s.1 Forty-some years earlier, the New York Yankees would’ve agreed it applied to their September 23, 1932, opponent: the cellar-dwelling, 63 games back2 Boston Red Sox. The hapless 1899 Cleveland Spiders were the last major-league team to face an opponent 60 or […]

Major-league baseball came to Jersey City, New Jersey, for the 1956 and 1957 seasons. The ongoing saga of the mid-1950s determining the future of baseball in Brooklyn now included New Jersey. Over these two seasons, the Dodgers played 15 home games at Roosevelt Stadium, one against each National League team each season, and two against […]

After winning five straight pennants, and two world championships in the first half of the decade, the New York Yankees were certainly getting a different view of the American League standings. After decades of being rulers of the roost, the Bronx Bombers were now, well, part of the roost. After the Yankees won the pennant […]

Jackie Robinson’s theft of home plate in Game One of the 1955 Fall Classic is widely considered one of the most electrifying moments in World Series history. Standing in the batter’s box as Robinson broke for home was Brooklyn Dodgers pinch-hitter Frank Kellert, who saw up close New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra’s tag, one […]

Francis Isaiah “Monkey” Foreman’s life began and ended in Baltimore, Maryland. In between he played virtually everywhere in the Northeast and Midwest and seemingly forever. He was one of 19 men who played in four major leagues: the Union Association, the American Association, the National League, and the inaugural seasons of the American League. His […]

Norman “Bobby” Robinson was the starting center fielder on the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons team that played in the last Negro League World Series. At least he was until an injury sidelined him. By the time he returned to action, he was moved to left field because a rookie and future baseball legend had replaced […]

Ralph Kiner was baseball’s leading home-run hitter for a few years after World War II. As a broadcaster for the New York Mets, he became famous for his verbal strikeouts. Although best remembered for his long career behind the mike, he still ranks as one of the premier sluggers in baseball history. Ralph McPherran Kiner […]

It would have been fun to see Gene Brabender wrestle with Frank Howard: “a polar bear versus a grizzly,” suggested his old teammate, Jim Bouton. At 6 feet, 5 1/2 inches and 225 to 240 pounds, “Bender” gave away roughly two inches and 30-40 pounds to “Hondo.” Yet the big man from Black Earth, Wisconsin, […]

Bobby Bragan was a backup catcher whose pinch-hit double in Game Six of the 1947 World Series was his final moment of glory as a major-league player. However, Bragan left an enviable legacy as a manager and executive at the major and minor-league levels. He managed three major-league clubs, developed the farm system of the […]

When Sam Lacy was growing up in Washington, D.C., he dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. But in segregated America, the options for talented Black athletes were limited. So, after playing and managing in semipro leagues, he found his calling as a sportswriter. Lacy’s career in journalism lasted more than seven decades. Along the […]