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Sid Gordon was a solid ballplayer with the New York Giants, the Boston and Milwaukee Braves, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. A powerfully built man, he came to play every day no matter whether the manager played him in the outfield or third base or where he inserted him in the lineup. An amiable and well-liked […]

With a fourth-grade education from the Marshall Street school in San Antonio, Jake Volz did his family proud. Born in the city of San Antonio on April 4, 1878 to parents who had immigrated from Germany a little over 10 years earlier, Jacob Phillip Volz took up baseball as a youth and broke in professionally […]

A promising young right-handed pitcher, Del Paddock once tossed two no-hitters in a minor-league season. But he was also a capable hitter, prompting managers to seek to convert him into a position player. Paddock reached the major leagues as an infielder, where he batted .287 in 47 games in 1912, and finished his career in […]

Bobby Grich was one of the best second basemen in baseball over a 17-year major-league career that began in 1970. During his first season, Grich played with the Orioles primarily as a utility infielder. Known for his sharp fielding and consistent hitting, Grich became a regular in 1972 and played in his first All-Star Game […]

Right-handed pitcher Howie “Spud” Krist overcame a series of ailments and potentially career-threatening injuries to post an undefeated season (10-0) for the Cardinals in 1941 after a three-year absence from the major leagues. As an important member of the Cardinals’ World Series teams in 1942 and 1943, Krist sported a 37-11 lifetime record before a […]

The children of the elite often will have difficulty establishing their own identities and achieving success, particularly if their interests parallel those of a parent. Such was not the case with Joe L. Brown, whose father was Joe E. Brown, the popular comic actor, film star, and baseball aficionado who (unlike practically all celebrated sports […]

The high mark of Frank Allen’s six-year major-league career surely took place on April 24, 1915, when, in his fifth appearance for the Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federal League, he pitched a no-hitter in defeating the St. Louis Terriers 2-0 at Handlan’s Park in St. Louis. The masterpiece brought the 26-year-old southpaw’s record to 4-0 […]

If You Are There had done an episode on nineteenth century baseball, Edward “Eddie” Kennedy could have been the lead character. He would play in the first World’s Series, and both the first professional game and the first American Association game in New York City. His career would also mirror the experience of many of […]

With almost a century having passed since the end of his fitful professional career, right-handed pitcher Hi Jasper is an elusive subject, a hard man to pin down. But two Jasper characteristics are unmistakable. He had ability — such astute talent evaluators as Jimmy Callahan, Frank Chance, and Pants Rowland recognized his merits. Yet Jasper’s […]

After an early professional career filled with numerous false starts, position changes, injuries, and demotions, Jeff Blauser carved out 13 seasons in the major leagues, primarily as an offense-first shortstop. In 11 years with the Atlanta Braves (1987-97) and two with the Chicago Cubs (1998-99), he was a two-time All-Star and played on four World […]

When you review how professional baseball integrated, it is easy to begin and end with the story of Jackie Robinson’s struggles. Scant attention is given the fact that African Americans faced tremendous resistance to their presence throughout the 1950s and 1960s, especially in the Deep South. One such player who experienced this was Blue Moon […]

Indians fans in Cleveland awoke the morning of May 23, 1957, to the musings of columnist James E. Doyle of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Doyle often wrote a small poem at the beginning of his column, and this spring day was no exception. Soxcess with Cal “That stuff served up by Cal McLish,” The Red […]

His adoring fans called him “Little Nic.” At 5-feet-4 and 145 pounds, Hugh Nicol was small in stature but large in accomplishments. His showmanship and acrobatic antics on the baseball field reminded observers of circus performers. He was a 19th-century forerunner of Ozzie Smith. His greatest claim to fame was his speed on the basepaths. […]

Perhaps the greatest defensive shortstop of his generation, Bobby Wallace was a fair right-handed hitter whose spectacular glove work catapulted him to the Hall of Fame. Wallace began his major league career as a pitcher, where his dazzling fielding soon convinced management to find a position that better suited his unique combination of skills. After […]

Outfielder George Stumpf was a .235 hitter in the major leagues, playing for both Sox teams, albeit in just 260 at-bats in 118 games. In a 19-year minor-league career, Stumpf hit .289 in 8,509 plate appearances. Of German ancestry, Stumpf was born 10 days before Christmas in 1910 – December 15 – in New Orleans. […]

Red Thisted never saw a professional baseball game until he was 20 years old. He made up for lost time, though. Over the course of four decades, he attended every home game played my Milwaukee’s ballclub, plus all of the away games when not prevented by wartime travel restrictions. From the start of the 1926 […]

The bleachers at Ebbets Field were filled two hours before the first pitch. The game was a sellout by noon, and many of the estimated 10,000 fans who were turned away continued to line the streets around the park. Young boys tumbled over a gate near the corner of McKeever Place and Montgomery; most were […]

By 1931, Al Capone was the kingpin of the criminal enterprise system that ruled Chicago from top-level politicians down to neighborhood shopkeepers. There were other gangs, but his South Side “Chicago Outfit” stood supreme. This was not to say, though, that he was secure. He was in constant danger from rivals—to the point that he […]

Vermont is one of the least-represented states on Baseball-Reference’s state-by-state register of minor-league and independent teams. At the end of the 2020 season, the Green Mountain State had hosted just 62 professional teams, trailing only Alaska, Wyoming, and Hawaii among US states.1 You can imagine, then, that the arrival of a new pro team in […]

In the summer of 1975, a London punk named John Lydon was invited to audition for a rock band after he was seen wearing a T-shirt with the phrase “I HATE PINK FLOYD.”1 He passed the audition and adopted the name Johnny Rotten. The band became the Sex Pistols, and the pen-scrawled shirt entered punk-rock […]

It had already been an interesting weekend of baseball in Cleveland for the visiting Boston Red Sox. After opening the 1992 season with two weekday losses in Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox came to Cleveland to play the Indians’ home opener on Saturday afternoon, April 11, and a doubleheader on Sunday, before returning to Boston […]

Beginning on March 18, 1981, Comiskey Park was the new ballpark where Carlton Fisk would work to hone his craft. The catcher known as “Pudge” signed on the dotted line of a five-year $3 million contract with the Chicago White Sox. It would seem unlikely that the Boston Red Sox, Fisk’s former team, would have […]

Members of the Buck O’Neil/North Florida SABR Chapter gathered in the private room at the Tally Fish House for their monthly meeting on July 20, 2022, in Tallahassee, Florida. In attendance were: Matt Keelean, Chapter President Jim Wolf Rick Swain Brent Kallestad Frank Alarcon Renee Watters Glenn Robertson Matt Hudson Steve Lastowski Members gathered at […]