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It was evident to at least one person that Dennis Eckersley was destined to be a top pitcher in the big leagues. But the man who held this opinion, Frank Robinson, had to do some prodding to convince others. Cleveland’s rookie manager in 1975, a veteran of 19 seasons in the majors and as accomplished […]
It was the culmination of the 1971 baseball season. Game Seven of the World Series pitted the defending world champion Baltimore Orioles vs. the upstart Pittsburgh Pirates. For the Orioles, it was their third consecutive World Series appearance, losing to the New York “Miracle” Mets in 1969 and defeating the Cincinnati Reds in 1970. It […]
Greg Minton did everything for the San Francisco Giants during the 1982 season, including stealing the team bus. More about that later. The right-handed relief ace achieved a milestone when he recorded his 30th save of the season in the Giants’ come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 25 at Dodger Stadium. […]
The managerial move was finally made during the All-Star break. By most accounts, it was not a surprise. Baltimore’s record in the first half of the 1968 season was 43-37, but the Orioles did not appear to be headed to the World Series. So, Orioles personnel director Harry Dalton promoted Earl Weaver to take the […]
In 1957, the fans, with some help from Commissioner Ford Frick, selected the starters for the All-Star Game. The folks of Cincinnati exercised their franchise by stuffing the ballot box and selecting Reds players at all but one position. Five Reds started the game, as Frick named outfielders Willie Mays and Henry Aaron to start […]
In late August of the seventh season since the St. Louis Browns’ move to Baltimore, the Orioles were in the midst of a full-fledged pennant race for the first time since the relocation. Well on their way to their first winning season in Baltimore, they were within striking distance of the first-place New York Yankees […]
A “sticky wicket” of summer heat1 shrouded Crosley Field as the third-place Cincinnati Reds and the league-leading Philadelphia Phillies met on Saturday, July 18, 1964. The squads were pairing up for the 10th time this season in the second game of a five-game series. So far, the Phillies were up on the Reds six games […]
Opening Day on April 11, 1966, at D.C. Stadium in Washington figured to be the most important day in umpire Emmett Ashford’s career, yet he came close to missing it. The hometown crowd of 44,168 got a bonus when they attended the Washington Senators’ season opener against the Cleveland Indians. They witnessed history when Ashford […]
On Saturday, August 18, 1956, the Cincinnati Redlegs and Milwaukee Braves combined to hit 10 home runs, tying a major-league record (at the time) as the Redlegs came away with a 13-4 victory at Crosley Field in front of a crowd of 30,244, fans, including 8,772 ladies night guests. It was an early-arriving crowd; the […]
This infielder was the original “Sugar Bear” — several years ahead of Floyd Rayford, who bore the same nickname in the 1980s. With their pleasant, sleepy-eyed expressions, both men resembled the easygoing cartoon character in the ads for Post Super Sugar Crisp cereal. Yet contrary to popular belief, that is not how Blanks got his […]
Milt Pappas thought he deserved to be in the Hall of Fame. Wasn’t his won-lost record practically identical to Don Drysdale’s — even a bit better? Wasn’t Drysdale elected? Pappas was an outstanding pitcher for a long time; his closest comps include Orel Hershiser and Catfish Hunter as well as Drysdale.1 But he is remembered […]
Blond-headed Wee Willie Sudhoff, although short in stature, was a solid, if mostly unspectacular, pitcher who spent all or parts of 10 seasons in the major leagues. He was the first Missouri-born player to appear for both the National League’s St. Louis Cardinals and the American League’s St. Louis Browns. The bulk of his career […]
Jackie Robinson in a portrait with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. (SABR-RUCKER ARCHIVE) Jackie Robinson is perhaps the most historically significant baseball player ever, ranking with Babe Ruth in terms of his impact on the national pastime. Ruth changed the way baseball was played; Jackie Robinson changed the way Americans thought. When Robinson took […]
“I was born in 1912 [sic] in Giddings, Texas, a little town between Austin and Houston. Rube Foster came from about twenty-five miles from my house, a little town right above me.” — Hilton Smith 1 Something must have been in the air as the state of Texas produced eight Negro League Hall of […]
In 1896, the Des Moines Prohibitionists were dismantled in the middle of a season while cruising to the Western Association pennant after having won 25 straight games.1 Their utter domination had drained fan support in competing cities, prompting league officials to slash salaries in a failed attempt to keep the league afloat. The ace of […]
(The sound of knocking on an office door) “Come in.” “Sir, you asked me keep an eye out for a boy in the ranks who looked like he had the makings of someone you could use around the office; a boy who can be trusted.” “Yes.” “Well, sir, I think I’ve found one. He’s a […]
J. Leslie Wilkinson (1878-1964) was one of the most respected and influential figures in the history of Black baseball. His trailblazing role in helping to found the Negro National League in 1920, in addition to his establishing and operating the renowned Kansas City Monarchs for many years, earned him a plaque in the National Baseball […]
George “Jeff” Jefferson’s meteoric rise and fall differed greatly from the trajectory of his older brother Willie’s late-blooming career. At just 22 years old, George was pitching in the Negro World Series for the Cleveland Buckeyes, and by his 30th birthday he was out of professional baseball. George Leo Jefferson was born 18 years after […]
A huge man for the Deadball Era, standing 6’2″ and weighing 214 lbs., Orval Overall was a right-handed curveball specialist who compiled a lifetime 108-71 record and 2.23 ERA, the eighth best ERA in major-league history. “Overall pitches his curve with a wide, sweeping overhand swing, releasing the ball over the side of the index […]
How do you throw a spitball? “The idea is to get part of your grip wet, and the other dry. When the ball leaves your hand, it slips off your wet fingers and clings, just tiny-like, to the dry part on your thumb. The ball jumps on account of it. If it’s a good ’un, […]
During a relatively short late 19th century playing career, Tommy McCarthy forged a reputation as an inventive baseball strategist, a fine defensive outfielder, and a good, if not exceptional, batsman. A significant member of pennant winners in both the American Association and the National League, McCarthy lingered in memory as the lesser half of the […]
This article was originally published in The 1939 Baltimore Elite Giants (SABR, 2024), edited by Frederick C. Bush, Thomas Kern, and Bill Nowlin. In 1939 the minor-league Baltimore Orioles, winners of seven consecutive International League pennants from 1919 to 1925, endured a losing season under first-year manager Rogers Hornsby, the 43-year-old future Hall of […]
This article appears in SABR’s “Go-Go to Glory: The 1959 Chicago White Sox” (2019), edited by Don Zminda. The Go-Go Sox were born on Opening Day at Comiskey Park in 1951, children of a fast-talking general manager and a slow-talking manager. After the Black Sox were banned, the White Sox recorded only seven winning […]
SABR Bibliography Committee Research Guide No. 4: Index to Baseball Stars, 1950-75 Editor’s note: This guide was first published by the SABR Bibliography Committee in 1986. To download the original in PDF form, click here. By Frank PhelpsDecember 1986 This popular annual series of collective biographies commenced with Baseball Stars of 1950, resumed after a […]