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Catcher Fred “Bootnose” Hofmann played in part or all of nine major-league seasons (1919-25; 1927-28). He never played in The Show for a team other than the Yankees and the Red Sox, but his minor-league career (which began in 1915) continued through 1937. Hofmann also served as a minor-league manager, coached with the St. Louis […]

“By now, I’ve been around long enough not to be surprised at anything.” That’s what former pitcher Walt Ripley told newspaper columnist Ed Bridges in 1982.1 Ripley was talking about the sudden interest in his autograph at the time. After all, he’d only pitched in two major-league games, way back in 1935, both for the […]

A speedy line-drive-lashing lefty with a strong arm, veteran Wally Moses joined the Red Sox midway through the 1946 season, shored up right field during Boston’s run to the American League pennant, and batted .417 in four World Series games. A well-liked and respected Georgian who spent 41 seasons in the majors, 17 as a […]

Gerald (Red) Fahr had an average major league fastball and curveball. At 6’5” and only 185 pounds he gave the “impression that he was composed only of arms and legs.”1 His gangly appearance made him appear out of control, but he had an uncanny ability to put the ball exactly where he wanted it. Howard […]

The New York Giants were known as the “Windowbreakers” when they smashed the single-season record for home runs in 1947. Leading the assault were the four big bats in the middle of the lineup: Johnny Mize with 51 homers, Willard Marshall with 36, Walker Cooper with 35, and Bobby Thomson with 29. Marshall, the left-handed […]

Fred Glade was a wealthy man before playing major league baseball. His family owned milling businesses which eventually became a piece of the modern conglomerate ConAgra. He had pressing family and business responsibilities and didn’t need a salary from baseball. He appeared at spring training on his own schedule, if at all. He jumped clubs […]

Frank McManus was a turn-of-the-century catcher who saw brief tours of duty with four major league teams. A substandard batsman, McManus was a first-rate defensive backstop with an exceptional throwing arm. At various times during his career, observers wondered why, given his talents, McManus seemed unable to secure a place on a big league roster. […]

One of the most controversial figures of the Deadball Era, Charles W. Murphy owned the Chicago Cubs from 1906 to 1913, the period during which they reached their greatest heights. The Cubs won four National League pennants and two World’s Championships under his ownership, making Chicago the center of the baseball universe. But instead of […]

Cincinnati was a veritable catcher factory in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Beginning with Buck Ewing, the region churned out long-time performers like Farmer Vaughn, Kid Baldwin, Mike Kahoe, Admiral Schlei, and Red Dooin, plus an equal number of short-term major leaguers. The surge peaked when the 1906 Philadelphia Phillies took three catchers from […]

Being able to hear the sounds of the game is important to a baseball player, particularly to an outfielder. Hearing the distinctive sound of bat meeting ball enables the fielder to be off at the crack of the bat, getting a jump on the ball, and racing to the spot where he can catch the […]

Jim Ollom was in his first big-league spring training camp as an 18-year-old. He made his major-league debut in September 1966 at the age of 21. Three years later, at the age of 24, after just 24 appearances as a big-league pitcher, he retired. But he had no regrets. “The whole experience was great for […]

When the Houston Astros and the Arizona Diamondbacks took to the field on August 28, 2009, both teams were playing for little more than pride. With playoff dreams just distant memories, the remaining month of the season instead offered both clubs a chance to audition new talent and assess the needs of their rosters. Indeed, […]

The Brooklyn Tip-Tops had just lost five games at Washington Park to the visiting Indianapolis Hoosiers, who now stood atop the Federal League standings. Today the Brooklyn nine faced a doubleheader with player-manager George Stovall’s Kansas City Packers. Ed Lafitte, a big right-hander, took the mound for the first game against Kansas City left-hander Nick […]

“Every kid dreams of pitching in the major leagues and I will never forget my debut.” — Kenny Greer, 20221 That statement is true of any rookie pitcher, but Kenny Greer’s first big-league game was especially memorable. Greer, a 26-year-old New York Mets righty in his sixth pro season, entered in the 17th inning of […]

Barry Bonds’ home runs typically identified themselves at impact, soared dismissively over outfield fences, and culminated in ceremonially paced processions around the bases.1 But one Bonds homer, hit in his second big-league season of 1987, broke from the norm, bounding past the glove of a diving infielder, taxing the full capacity of his game-changing footspeed, […]

Imagine setting a baseball record that has stood for over a hundred years and never even knowing you had set it. Such was the case for Oscar Ray Grimes, Sr. (You can call him Ray.)     It was 1922. In many ways, the game of baseball was the same as in the twenty-first century. The […]

It was a bad day. The weather was drab, home plate was missing, and the Minnesota Twins lost their last game ever at Metropolitan Stadium. When the grounds crew reported for work they discovered that vandals had gotten into the ballpark and had sliced through the rubber tarpaulin that covered the home-plate area and removed […]

In late July 1978, comedian Bill Murray traveled to Grays Harbor County in Washington State to film a segment for a Saturday Night Live television special.1 The location was a world apart from the hustle and bustle of New York, where SNL was normally produced. Despite being only moderately successful at that point in his […]

The Boston Red Sox were red hot going into the last month of the 1946 season with a league-leading 13½-game lead over the New York Yankees, and no one on the team was more sizzling than pitcher Dave “Boo” Ferriss. He was tied for the American League lead (with Detroit’s Hal Newhouser) with 23 wins […]

Despite his busy schedule as one of baseball’s top hitters with the Milwaukee Brewers, Paul Molitor took time to partake in some dress-up in the middle of the 1991 season. Before a July 31 night game, Molitor made an appearance at the Women for the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Children’s Luncheon and Fashion Show […]

Jim Bouton’s Ball Four is full of cutting personal commentary on players, coaches, managers and front-office staff. One of the most memorable and damning criticisms is credited to Bouton’s roommate, pitcher Gary Bell: “Carl Yastrzemski is for himself first and second and the hell with everybody else.”1 While Bouton depicted the longtime Red Sox star […]