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It was 1925; the Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were frequently referred to then) were assembled for spring training in Clearwater, Florida. They were a veteran team that had won 92 games the previous year and finished second in the National League, and hopes were high entering the spring that they could better that performance. […]

Though he was an outstanding catcher for the Baltimore Orioles during the 1890s, Wilbert Robinson is remembered today primarily as the jovial, rotund “Uncle Robbie” who managed the Brooklyn Robins to two National League pennants and a 1,399-1,398 record from 1914 to 1931. His congenial nature and happy-go-lucky attitude made him one of the most […]

Jerry Moses aspired to become a major-league ballplayer, and declined football scholarships at Southeastern Conference (SEC) universities to pursue his dream. A 1970 American League All-Star, Jerry became the youngest Red Sox to hit a home run, at age 18 and 289 days, with a pinch-hit rocket off Jim “Mudcat” Grant on May 25, 1965. […]

One might think Ed Kenna was a genteel soul who overachieved in his baseball life by appearing in two games with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1902. After all, the “poet pitcher” was a well-educated son of a US senator who authored two volumes of verse.1 Yet for years after his Philadelphia stint, Kenna starred in […]

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 […]

“The mentality of a basestealer is, when you get to first base, you see, you look around and say, ‘Now they’re in my ballpark.’ Know why? Cause I can get a lead and take two steps. Pitcher ducks. Catcher’s coming out. Shortstop’s coming across. Second baseman’s coming across. Center fielder’s coming up. Cause I took […]

Frank Bowerman’s major-league career spanned 15 seasons, from 1895 through 1909. It included stops with the Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Giants, and Boston Doves. Bowerman was a sturdy, robust player who stood 6-feet-2 and weighed approximately 190 pounds. Although known mainly as a catcher, the righty could play almost any position. Bowerman logged […]

After serving his country for three years during World War II, Chuck Diering played parts of nine seasons (1947-1956) for three major league teams. Regarded as a top-notch defender by his contemporaries, the lithe center fielder became the first player to earn team Most Valuable Oriole honors when big league baseball returned to Baltimore in […]

Doug DeCinces spent the first part of his major-league career shaking off comparisons to a Baltimore Orioles legend. Then, before he could make his mark in Baltimore, he was traded to make room for another Oriole icon. DeCinces essentially bridged a path between two Hall of Fame infielders, Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken Jr.   […]

A gritty and hard-nosed middle infielder, Larry Brown debuted as a 23-year-old with the Cleveland Indians in 1963. Once described by The Sporting News as “one of the top shortstops in the league,” the 150-pound Brown proved that a rifle arm, sure hands, defensive versatility, and sheer determination could lead to 1,129 games in a […]

Among potentially awkward encounters between semipro baseball teammates off the field, one player having to arrest another must rank very high. Carl “Sailor” Howard, who participated in spring training with the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1935 and pitched in a couple of midseason exhibition games for the team, was on the receiving end of such an […]

The rough and tumble world of early 20th century baseball demanded powerful men on the mound, and Edward Pfeffer possessed all of the necessary attributes. Strong, big, and durable, Big Jeff had every quality of the heavyweight champion who lent him a nickname. Over a professional career that spanned twenty seasons, Pfeffer took no quarter, […]

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2021 as part of the SABR Century 1921 Project. 1921 New York Giants team photo (SABR-RUCKER ARCHIVE)   On the morning of July 31, 1921, the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates were tied for first place in the National League, each with a record of […]

This article appears in SABR’s “Puerto Rico and Baseball: 60 Biographies” (2017), edited by Bill Nowlin and Edwin Fernández.   Major-League Spring Training in Puerto Rico The 1936 Cincinnati Reds “The Cincinnati Reds put on the first major league baseball game in Puerto Rican history yesterday” was lead of an AP wire story on February […]

This article was originally published in SABR’s The National Pastime, Vol. 19, in 1999.   The whole history leading up to Jackie Robinson has usually been that an electric light went on in the head of the noble Branch Rickey one morning and he ended baseball discrimination.” As the lean, white-haired Lester Rodney speaks in […]

Carlos Bernier’s game-changing speed fueled the native Puerto Rican’s rise through the minor leagues after Jackie Robinson integrated major-league baseball in 1947. Reaching the majors in 1953 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bernier’s debut as a pinch-hitter in a 4-2 loss to the New York Giants at Forbes Field on April 22 made him – in […]

For the New York Giants and Christy Mathewson, things could not get much better than they were in 1905. Coming off a National League championship the year before, by mid-June the Giants were comfortably in first place with a winning percentage of .725 and a sizable lead over the second-place Philadelphia Phillies. Mathewson was the […]

The Kansas City Royals were on the rise when they came to Cleveland for a three-game set in August 1975. The previous month they had fired manager Jack McKeon, who’d been with the organization since the team first took the field in 1969. The change in field leadership seemed to have righted the ship; Kansas […]

Bill Doak is little remembered. Those who do know his name likely recall seeing it on the palm of a fielder’s glove, either in their youth, or more recently in a display of baseball memorabilia. Doak’s name graces those old gloves because in 1919, in collaboration with Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, he came up with […]

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 […]

Late in the 1987 season, Sam Horn took Boston by storm. After hitting .321 with 30 home runs and 84 RBIs in 94 games for Triple-A Pawtucket, he was called up when the Red Sox released veteran Bill Buckner on July 23. In his major-league debut, on July 25 against Seattle, the 6-foot-5 left-handed slugger […]

The eyes of the baseball world were focused on the National League pennant race as the 1959 regular season ended on Sunday, September 27. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves, tied for first place, each won their final game, forcing a best-of-three tiebreaker series.1 But there was also a down-to-the-wire contest in the American […]

“They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays,” Ted Williams said,1 and Mays showed why in the 1963 All-Star Game. Wondrous Willie didn’t hit a home run, but the rest of his formidable tools were on display as he had a hit and a walk, stole two bases, scored two runs, knocked in two runs, […]

The 1952 baseball season had turned the page to May, and the season’s stories were just starting to bloom like ivy on the brick walls of Wrigley Field. The Chicago Cubs led the National League with nine wins (against four losses), yet were percentage points behind the first-place Brooklyn Dodgers, who had a record of […]