Search Results

In the early 21st century, Jerry DaVanon is probably best known as the father of eight-season big leaguer Jeff DaVanon, but he played as many years in the majors himself, starting in 1969. In contrast to his son, who played somewhat regularly for four years, Jerry appeared in just 262 games at the top level, […]

If it were not for bad luck, Creepy Crespi may not have had any luck at all. The infielder with one of baseball’s great alliterative nicknames played parts of five seasons in the big leagues, all with his hometown Cardinals, including the World Series title club of 1942. An ankle fracture sustained while playing baseball […]

October 9, 1961. Game Five of the World Series, at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field. All that separated the New York Yankees from another championship was outlasting the Cincinnati Reds. New York scored five runs in the top of the first, chasing Reds starter Joey Jay. A home run by Roger Maris in the top of the […]

World War II veteran Dick Kryhoski was a lefty-hitting first baseman for seven years in the majors. The son of Polish immigrants played for five teams, including the final St. Louis Browns club and the first edition of the modern Baltimore Orioles. Richard David Kryhoski was born on March 24, 1925, in Leonia, New Jersey. […]

Joe Cambria was one of the most prolific scouts in major-league history, signing hundreds of men to professional contracts as a scout for Clark Griffith and the Washington Senators. He also inked countless others as a promoter of semipro and Negro Leagues baseball in Baltimore and minor-league teams throughout the country. He was one of […]

James Elbert Greene, who went by the first name Joe, was one of the iconic catchers of the Negro Leagues. Greene was born on October 17, 1911, in Stone Mountain, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Greene was a durable and solid receiver who caught Satchel Paige and the balance of the elite pitching […]

Burt Hooton is one of a few quality pitchers who parlayed the use of a devastating signature pitch into a long and effective major league career. Hurlers who relied on a distinctive pitch include Christy Mathewson (“fadeaway”); Carl Hubbell (screwball); Roy Face (forkball); Mariano Rivera (cutter); and Hooton, who baffled big league hitters with a […]

Edythe Perlick (later Keating), the star left fielder for the Racine, Wisconsin, Belles from 1943 through the 1950 season, exemplified the kind of women who played hardball in the All-American Girls Base Ball League, today called the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A steady and productive hitter, a speedy defensive outfielder with a strong and […]

Johnny Marcum was a farm boy from Eminence, Kentucky, the son of Kentucky natives Ben and Grace Marcum. The second oldest of five children, three boys and two girls, he was born on a farm at Campbellsburg, about a dozen miles north of Eminence, on September 9, 1909. When John was three years old, the […]

What was Yankees manager Bucky Harris thinking? With his team leading the Brooklyn Dodgers, 3–2, with two outs in the sixth inning of Game Seven of the 1947 World Series, he sent rookie Allie Clark up to pinch-hit for rookie Yogi Berra. Out of context, given Berra’s Hall of Fame career, the move might seem […]

From 1955 to 1965 Bill Virdon established his reputation as one of the finest and fastest center fielders of his generation, and was known for his accurate throws from the deep center-field power alleys in spacious Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Ironically, one of his throws that inadvertently hit his manager may have led to his […]

“Only 56 more and I’ll catch Babe Ruth,”1 quipped Chuck Hiller after accomplishing what the Sultan of Swat never could. On October 8, 1962, this singles hitter made history by striking the seventh World Series grand slam – and the first by a National Leaguer – in leading the San Francisco Giants to a 7-3 […]

A journeyman outfielder during his 12 major-league seasons, Dave May was called by The Sporting News “a good man to have on a team.”1 The stocky 5-foot-10½, 186-pound left-handed hitter played in 1,252 games for Baltimore, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Texas, and Pittsburgh, posting a .251 average with 96 home runs and 422 runs batted in. Best […]

At 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds (or more), burly Joey Meyer could really lay into a ball. The Hawaiian was a very promising minor-league slugger. On June 2, 1987, he unloaded a homer that is still talked about today — a shot into the second deck of the left-center stands at Denver’s Mile High Stadium that […]

Robert Cannon came to love baseball as a boy growing up in Milwaukee. His father, Ray Cannon, represented several of the accused Black Sox in salary disputes and took Charles Comiskey to court in 1924 on behalf of Joe Jackson. Ray Cannon also fought on behalf of all the players as head of a short-lived […]

“Baseball isn’t statistics; it’s Joe DiMaggio rounding second.” — attributed to Jimmy Breslin by Herb Caen, San Francisco Chronicle, June 3, 1975.   Joe DiMaggio was one of the most recognizable and popular men in mid-twentieth century America. He was celebrated in song and literature as an iconic hero, and he was married, briefly, to […]

Baseball history was made at Boston’s Fenway Park on Friday afternoon, September 14, 1951. In the top of the second inning, in his first major-league at-bat, Bob Nieman of the visiting St. Louis Browns hit Mickey McDermott’s low-and-away 1-2 pitch into the screen above Fenway’s Green Monster. An inning later, in his next trip to […]

“Dad always told me: ‘When you put on a uniform, you hustle.’” So said Del Unser in 2011, looking back at his career and the lessons he learned from his father.1 Al Unser served the game for more than 40 years as a professional player (including four in the majors during World War II), manager, […]

“I take a great deal of pride in my background and my heritage.”1 That was Ruben Amaro Jr. in 2011, on being a third-generation Latino baseball man. Yet he has often spoken the same way about his maternal side. Altogether, his background is unique in major-league history: Cuban-Mexican/Jewish-American. From this start, a unique career path […]

Winner of 188 major-league games despite years of arm problems, John Lackey became only the second rookie to start and win a World Series-clinching game in 2002 with the Anaheim Angels. He won World Series rings with three different teams, the Angels, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs, over his 15-year career. John Derran Lackey […]

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 […]

Apart from a lackluster stint with the 1910-1911 St. Louis Browns, first baseman Pat Newnam spent his long professional career in the minor leagues, mostly in his native Texas. His principal shortcoming as a player was a common one: marginal ability. The righty batting and throwing Newnam had good size (6-feet, 180 pounds), exceptional foot […]

An 11-year major-league infielder, Darrel Chaney stayed in the game due largely to his versatility and positive attitude. After a career that included appearances in three World Series, Chaney became a successful announcer, businessman, and motivational speaker. Darrel Lee Chaney was born on March 9, 1948, in Hammond, Indiana, the second of Carlos and Eleanore […]

Curt Schilling’s father, Cliff, served in the United States Army for 22 years, a master sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division who was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base adjacent to Anchorage, Alaska, when his son Curtis Montague Schilling was born on November 14, 1966. Curt was the middle child of Cliff and Mary Schilling. […]