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Any list of the greatest sluggers ever to wear a Detroit Tigers uniform has to include Hank Greenberg. Despite losing four years of his physical prime to World War II, he still put together a 13-year career (all but one with the Tigers) that included 331 home runs with 1,276 RBIs. A .313 hitter, he […]

Sherry Smith was a laconic Georgian who narrowly lost a World Series game to the young Bambino, fashioned a long mound career despite missing a season as a doughboy during World War I, and later nabbed small-town scofflaws as efficiently as he had baserunners who’d strayed too far off the first sack. Sherrod Malone Smith […]

Jack Dunn was a right-handed pitcher who played professionally during the late 19th and early 20th century. His signature pitch was a slow curveball, and he was one of the few pitchers of his era who did not wear a fielder’s glove. Dunn was also a skilled position player, playing equally well in the infield […]

For decades, Emil Verban was remembered as an obscure minor-league infielder who made the majors because of depleted wartime rosters, then played for losing teams and hit one home run in 2,911 times at bat. But more than 20 years after his retirement, Verban won a measure of fame as the namesake of the Emil […]

On April 20, 1970, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, a new pitching role was initiated for Dave Giusti. That Monday night, Dennis Menke of the Houston Astros stepped into the batter’s box to face Dock Ellis of the Pirates. Within a few moments, Menke smashed a line drive through the pitching box. Unfortunately, Ellis’ right hand got in […]

In August 1948, both the Braves and their centerfielder Jim Russell were riding high. The Braves were in first place and Russell, acquired in an offseason trade with the Pirates, was having another strong season leading the team in home runs and RBIs. A switch-hitter with speed as well as power, he was batting .264 […]

At the close of the 1890 season, the Cincinnati Reds had high hopes for rookie backstop Jerry Harrington. The 21-year-old had proved a major asset for the fourth-place (77-55-2, .583) ball club – an able handler of pitchers; a sure-handed receiver with a powerful and accurate throwing arm, and a decent enough batter for any […]

Eddie Rommel had two careers in baseball, and created some milestones in both of them. As a right-handed pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics he was the first moundsman to make extensive use of the knuckleball. After retiring as a player and working briefly as a coach and minor-league manager, he became an umpire, one good […]

This article is #1 in a series of three about the Brooklyn clothier-turned-politician and his iconic sign that adorned the right field fence in Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. It remains perhaps the most famous ballpark sign in baseball history. This article is a biography, focusing on Abe Stark’s life and achievements. For a […]

Pitching isn’t just about throwing hard. It’s about contrast and ball movement, and Enrique Romo kept hitters off stride and guessing. He had a broad repertoire, featuring a screwball, which he delivered from various arm angles while constantly changing speeds. “He’s the kind of pitcher you don’t want to face even once in a game,” […]

Earl Potteiger was the head coach of the New York Giants when they first won the National Football League’s championship. He grew up where a large percentage of professional football and baseball players did, in the heart of Pennsylvania. After attending Ursinus and Albright Colleges, where he played each sport plus basketball, Potteiger had professional […]

In the locker room celebration after the New York Mets won the 1969 National League pennant, he was quoted by the New York Daily News as saying, “I’ll walk down the street in New York now and people will say, ‘There’s Art Shamsky of the Mets.’ People used to laugh. They won’t anymore.’”1 Indeed, after his performance […]

An auto accident curtailed this pitcher’s modest major-league career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1960s. But when he moved on to Duke University, Butters became a smashing success. He served as baseball coach from 1968-70 and then found his true métier — The Sporting News labeled him the world champion of fundraisers. Noted sports […]

When Joe Nathan graduated from high school, he seemed destined for great things. Just not necessarily on the baseball diamond. “He was one smart dude,” recalled Tom Walraven, his baseball coach at Pine Bush (New York) High School, describing Nathan as a “thin little kid who batted .230” while playing shortstop his senior year.1 “I […]

Although pitcher Jim Panther never appeared on a Topps baseball card, he nonetheless was able to stake a claim in baseball history as one of the original members of the Texas Rangers. After his relatively brief big-league career came to an unceremonious end, a new career in baseball began for Panther as a decorated high-school […]

Baseball writers were intrigued by the unlikely story of a slightly built walk-on working his way up to play for the New York Yankees. As a result, Bernard Oliver Bengough was referred to as “the Peter Pan of baseball” during the early years of his professional career.1 The youngest child of James Bengough (1862-1930), a […]

A 23-year-old minor-league outfielder named Maurice Archdeacon became a well-known individual in baseball circles when he gained the title of “the fastest man in baseball” following a baserunning contest. Archdeacon’s feat came about on September 2, 1921, when the fleet outfielder attempted to circle the bases faster than the then record of 13.8 seconds set […]

When Elvis Presley died, Mark Clark didn’t cry. He cried when Bake McBride was traded. “Can you believe that? Elvis meant absolutely nothing to Mark?” his mother, Marjorie Clark, said. “He didn’t cry for Elvis, but he cried for Bake.”1 When the king of rock ‘n’ roll died in August of 1977, the 9-year-old Clark […]

“It would be so easy to believe, had you not seen it, that there couldn’t possibly be, ever, such a game as this. Having seen it, you know you never had seen one like it before and that you never could forget it. Never as long as you live.” – Frank Graham1   Writing about […]

Born and raised in the northern St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights, Missouri, John Fulgham grew up a Cardinals fan who imagined playing for his hometown team.1 His fantasy became reality on June 19, 1979, when Fulgham made his major-league debut with the Cardinals against the San Diego Padres. It wasn’t merely a postscript appearance […]

The Polo Grounds had been an important part of the New York sports scene since its original use in the nineteenth century as a field for polo players and then, in several different incarnations, as a home for professional baseball. The park “opened for baseball use September 29, 1880”1 and over the years a number […]

Going into 2017, not many in baseball had high expectations for the Arizona Diamondbacks or Colorado Rockies. Both were National League West Division afterthoughts after a 2016 season in which Colorado went 75-87 and Arizona 69-93. The D-backs had not made the postseason since 2011, the Rockies since 2009. When ESPN consulted 35 experts for […]

The Ballpark at Old Orchard Beach, as pictured in 2023. (Courtesy of Kurt Blumenau)   Before there was The Ballpark at Arlington, The Ballpark at Jackson, The Ballpark at Harbor Yard or The Ballpark at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, there was simply The Ballpark, in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.1 The pine-bordered park with the […]

Winning six pennants from 1901 to 1914, the Philadelphia Athletics were the first sustained American League dynasty. At the heart of Connie Mack’s teams in this era were set pitcher-catcher batteries. This study examines their statistical accounting and insights into their makeup, and considers their place within the evolution of the sport. “It is especially […]