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Robert Ruliph Morgan Carpenter Jr. was born August 13, 1915 in Montchanin, a community in New Castle County, Delaware. A month later, in nearby Philadelphia, the Phillies captured the first National League pennant in the team’s 32-year history. There was no connection then between these two events, but in time the Carpenter name and the […]

“That young man was in baseball in the wrong era. In the ’90s he would have been a second Willie Keeler, but he entered the majors when baseball was home run mad. If an outfielder could not hit the wall or drive the ball out of the park in the Ruthian manner he never had […]

Albert Elliott Haywood was born in Whaleysville, Virginia, near Norfolk, on January 12, 1910, the son of Robert E. Haywood and Mary Goodman. He had one older sister, Sarah (White). Albert’s mother was a hospital dietician. His father worked in the shipyards at Portsmouth. His father lost his job when Albert was 16, so Albert […]

The obituary published in The Sporting News when Gene Moore died centered on his having made his only World Series appearance because of “a weird circumstance.”1  Although accurate, the article overlooked the fact that Moore was a player of All-Star caliber, the type of player any manager would want on his team.  Statistics did not […]

When the legendary University of Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant was growing up in Arkansas in the 1920s, he and his friends eagerly followed the exploits of quarterback Carey Selph of Ouachita Baptist College in Arkadelphia.1 Then called “the greatest football player in Arkansas,”2 Selph was a fierce competitor who “simply believed no team […]

When many reflect on the 1990s Mariners, often the flashier stars jump to mind: Ken Griffey, Jr., Randy Johnson, Álex Rodríguez. However, few on those teams would disagree that the stalwart of the Mariners was a player who toiled just outside of the spotlight. Known as Gar, El Papa, or Papi, Edgar Martinez was the […]

It was early in the evening on March 9, 1934, as the City Light truck made its way down Fourth Avenue South in downtown Seattle. The driver saw a rotund older man step from the curb to cross the street a short distance ahead. The truck slowed to allow him to cross, but when he […]

Left-handed pitcher Bill Wight spent twelve seasons in the Major Leagues with eight different clubs. He appeared in 347 games, compiling a mediocre 77-99 won-lost record and a 3.95 earned run average. Wight does hold one record; however, it’s for batting, and it’s one he never took pride in. Pitching for the Chicago White Sox […]

In 1957, cricket star turned baseball player André Rodgers became the first major leaguer from the Bahamas after Negro Leaguer Ormond Sampson. By the end of the 2022 season, seven other Bahamians had followed him, although there was a gap from May 1983 to September 2011. Rodgers had by far the most extensive big-league career […]

“When he pitched, he looked like a spider doing aerobics,” one witness said.1 Lanky right-hander Pascual Pérez entertained fans and infuriated opponents with his spontaneous, emotional style over all or parts of 11 seasons (1980-1985, 1987-1991) with the Pirates, Braves, Expos and Yankees. Perhaps best known for getting lost on the way to his home […]

Rico Brogna’s high school athletic career was almost too good to be true. On the football field, where he led Watertown (Connecticut) High School to a 31-0 victory in the 1986 state championship game, Brogna was the first quarterback in state history to throw for over 6,000 yards, and his 59 touchdown passes were the […]

Fred Koster’s major-league career consisted of only 76 games for the 1931 Philadelphia Phillies as a back-up outfielder. But for years any conversation around the greatest athletes from Louisville, Kentucky, often started with his name. Decades after Koster graduated from the University of Louisville he was still heralded as the best all-around athlete to come […]

Baseball was already a fixture on the Cuban scene by the early 1870s and it had arrived burdened with its own home-grown Cuban apostles and its own full-blown and home-spun creation myths. It is well documented that a pair of Havana-bred brothers named Guilló (often misspelled as Guillot) had returned from Mobile, Alabama’s Springhill College […]

Buzzie Bavasi had a ball running a ball club. In 18 years directing the baseball operations of the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, he assembled four World Series champions and eight pennant winners (and two more clubs that tied for first), more than any team except the Yankees. He had the benefit of owner […]

David Green was one of baseball’s big “what if” stories. The imposing Nicaraguan was often called “the next Roberto Clemente.” His talent has also been compared to that of Vladimir Guerrero, André Dawson, and Darryl Strawberry — even Willie Mays. Alas, personal troubles and nagging injuries stopped him from realizing this vast potential. Looking back […]

Rookie sensation Willie “Bubber” Hubert hurled the final pitch of the 1939 Negro National League championship, completing a four-out save for the victorious Baltimore Elite Giants over the Homestead Grays. Hubert, plucked into the NNL from the barnstorming Miami Ethiopians Clowns a year earlier, became a frontline starter for the Elite Giants the next season […]

No matter how you measure it, Tony Conigliaro’s career got off to a terrific start, but tragedy repeatedly intervened and the great promise of his early years remained unfulfilled.  A local boy made good, Tony was born and raised in the Boston area, signed with the hometown team, and made his major-league debut in 1964 […]

Although he played just one game with the Boston Braves, in August 1920, Tom Whelan is one of nearly six dozen men who have played both major-league baseball and NFL football.1 Whelan is one of the few who played both sports in the same year, as he played with the Canton Bulldogs in the fall […]

Carlos Beltrán jump-started his terrific career in 1999 by winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award. He rose to national stardom in 2004, when he turned in one of the greatest postseason performances ever, batting .435 with eight home runs in 12 games. Possessing a rare combination of power and speed, Beltrán is one […]

Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 185 pounds, Missouri native Johnny Sturm could accurately be described as tall, dark, and handsome, a ubiquitous term applicable to literally thousands of ballplayers. What’s rare about Sturm is his abbreviated major-league career, a single season as the regular first baseman on the 1941 New York Yankees. Although he legitimately contributed […]

Infielder Charlie Montoyo played just four games in the big leagues, with Montreal in 1993. However, his extensive minor-league experience led to a lengthy career as a manager in both the minors and the majors. Montoyo faced several challenges during his life and career but still managed to succeed both on and off the field. […]

The Pittsburgh Pirates ousted the St. Louis Cardinals from first place in the National League East Division with a week remaining in the 1974 season by winning the first two games of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. Aiming to sweep the series and expand their half-game lead on September 25, the Pirates jumped ahead […]

East Field as pictured in 2021.   Over the course of a month and a half in March and April 1980, East Field in Glens Falls, New York, went from an unremarkable city-owned baseball field notable mainly for its swampiness to a showcase for some of the Chicago White Sox’ top prospects.1 It happened this […]