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Hugh Duffy strode to home plate in the bottom of the ninth inning. His Bostons trailed 12-11 but Bobby Lowe stood on third and Herman Long was on second after his clutch double. It was another roller-coaster thrill ride for the 2,100 fans in attendance but this was special, as it would be the last […]

It was a perfect day for a perfect game. Under a clear blue sky 64,519 fans trooped into historic Yankee Stadium to witness a World Series contest between the two dominant teams of the era. The world champion Dodgers were facing the club that had won more World Series titles than any other two clubs […]

Walter O’Malley, president of the Dodgers, gives Carl Erskine a $500 check for tossing a no-hitter. Also celebrating are (L-R) Carl Furillo, Preacher Roe, Roy Campanella, and skipper Charlie Dressen. (Photo: SABR-Rucker Archive)   Some wondered if the game would even start. It was a hot, muggy Thursday afternoon in Brooklyn with temperatures in the […]

The Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates were heading in opposite directions on Memorial Day 1955. Entering the day, the National League-leading Dodgers claimed the majors’ best record at 30-10, six games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. The cellar-dwelling Pirates were tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the majors’ worst record at 13-29. The Dodgers opened […]

Upon their debut in 2008, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs quickly became one of the highest-drawing teams in the Triple-A International League.1 The Philadelphia Phillies’ top farm team, based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, has established itself as a supportive community presence, hosted future stars on the way up, and played the merchandising and promotion game as well […]

Detroit’s Briggs Stadium, renamed after 1935 for new owner Walter Briggs, was a roomy ballpark by 1939 standards. Taking over 23,000-seat Navin Field, which had opened in 1912, Briggs had expanded capacity to over 50,000 in 1938. In response, the Tigers drew 10,121 per game, second in the American League, as the country climbed out […]

For the third time in seven years, the gut-wrenching thud of a baseball hitting a skull reverberated from the batter’s box at Fenway Park, silencing 7,395 fans and leaving Boston Red Sox and California Angels players in a state of shock. As Boston second baseman Doug Griffin squared to bunt in the first inning on […]

In the summer of 1949, preparation was underway for one of the most popular Negro Leagues events: the East-West Classic. The annual all-star game – which had been held at Chicago’s Comiskey Park every year since 1933 – had long been a fan favorite.1 In August 1948, more than 42,000 had turned out to watch […]

Since being swept by the Red Sox in the 2004 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals had twice been world champions — beating the Detroit Tigers in 2006 and the Texas Rangers in 2011. Boston had won the World Series again in 2007, over the Colorado Rockies. All told, the Red Sox had six world […]

When Bob Melvin was a 27-year-old big-leaguer, journalist Bill Glauber described him as “the strong, silent type, with gnarled hands and a no-nonsense manner that commands respect. He is part psychologist, and part intimidator. A good cop. And a bad cop. He is, of course, a catcher.”1 Following a playing career that spanned 10 seasons […]

Harold Wolfe is among the several baseball players from northern Ohio to make it to the big leagues via the minor-league Duluth (Minnesota) White Sox in the second decade of the 20th century. The White Sox player-manager from 1909 to 1916 was Cleveland native Thomas J. “Darby” (aka “Dook”) O’Brien (1876-1964). O’Brien recruited boys from […]

During Hank Peters’ 12 seasons (1976-1987) as the Baltimore Orioles’ general manager, his teams won at least 90 games six times. Twice he was named The Sporting News’ Executive of the Year – following Baltimore’s 1979 American League pennant and 1983 World Series championship. But Peters accomplished much more over his 45 years in professional […]

First baseman Candy LaChance was a switch-hitting 33-year-old veteran when his Boston Americans won the first World Series, in 1903. He played in every one of his team’s 141 regular-season games that year and each of the eight World Series games as well. That kind of “iron man” endurance wasn’t so uncommon at the time; […]

Pitcher Chet Kehn (pronounced keen) appeared in just three games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in April and May 1942. He got no decisions and posted a 7.04 ERA. Yet he holds a distinctive position in baseball annals, being one of just 10 big leaguers to hit 1.000 in a career of more than one at-bat.1 […]

Cuban infielder Giraldo Sablón – known in the U.S. as Chico Ruiz – ignited two tinderboxes. On September 21, 1964, his steal of home scored the game’s only run, starting the collapse of ten straight losses that cost the Philadelphia Phillies the National League pennant. On June 13, 1971, he waved a handgun in the […]

Patience and power made Ken Singleton one of baseball’s premier switch-hitters. After beginning his 15-year career (1970-1984) with the Mets and Expos, he was a three-time All-Star right fielder for the Orioles and the designated hitter for Baltimore’s 1983 World Series champions. After retiring, Singleton became a popular Yankees broadcaster. Kenneth Wayne Singleton was born […]

Throughout his 18-year major-league career, Lew Burdette was known for his antics as much as for his success on the mound. One of the best control pitchers of the 1950s, the right-hander paired with his roommate and best friend Warren Spahn to form one of the greatest and most durable pitching combinations in baseball history. […]

Because of his dark complexion, he was called Nig.1 For the same reason, some sportswriters referred to him as the Cuban Warrior or the Cuban Hero. But Nig Cuppy was not African-American or Cuban. He was a first-generation American, son of immigrants from Bavaria. George Maceo Koppe was born on July 3, 1869, in Logansport, […]

As a ballplayer, Judy Gans is a bit of an enigma. On the one hand, his official statistics paint him as a good, but not great, player. On the other, acknowledgment of his greatness by newspaper writers and his peers can be found scattered throughout the early pantheon of Black baseball history. Hall of Fame […]

“Catchers are in demand,” declared the Fort Worth Record in 1907; they “are scarcer than snowflakes in July.”1 Catchers’ equipment was primitive, and injuries were common. Who wanted to endure abuse from fastballs and foul tips? Tommy Hess was willing. From 1890 to 1911, he caught for minor-league teams in at least 10 U.S. states […]

Some music is so well known that you can listen to it in a dark room and immediately associate it with an event. The tooting of a calliope immediately brings to mind the circus or a merry-go-round. “The Wedding March” lets passersby outside a church know that some guy’s bachelorhood just bit the dust. And […]

Roberto Clemente’s greatness transcended the diamond. On it, he was electrifying with his penchant for bad-ball hitting, his strong throwing arm from right field, and the way he played with a reckless but controlled abandon. Off it, he was a role model to the people of his homeland and elsewhere. Helping others represented the way […]

Equally at home rounding the bases or rounding up cattle, Dave Philley played major-league baseball with the same no-nonsense efficiency he successfully utilized in operating his 557-acre ranch and managing his other business enterprises. David Earl Philley was born on May 16, 1920, in Garret’s Bluff, a suburb of Paris, Texas, in the northeastern part […]

By Andrew North Some 70 cranks from Canada and the United States gathered on November 3-4, 2018, in London, Ontario, for the third annual Canadian Baseball History Conference. The Conference featured 14 half-hour research presentations, in addition to these special events: A tour of Labatt Park, the world’s oldest continuous use baseball park. Named Tecumseh […]