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Bob Cobb (1899-1970) embodied the American Dream. Rising from humble beginnings, he revolutionized both the restaurant industry and baseball entertainment in Los Angeles, California. His journey from a Montana boarding house to ownership of both the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant and the Pacific Coast League’s Hollywood Stars exemplified how vision, determination, and an unwavering commitment […]

On September 27, 1940, the Detroit Tigers were in Cleveland to start a three-game series against the second-place Indians. The Tigers had a two-game lead in the pennant race, so one win in the series would bring a league title back to Detroit. But Cleveland was starting off the set by sending the top pitcher […]

Rarely is the first game of a major-league career the pinnacle of that career. But when New York Yankees manager Joe McCarthy handed Russ Van Atta the ball on April 25, 1933 against the Washington Nationals, it was. Van Atta masterfully blanked Washington, 16-0, retiring 14 of the last 16 batters as the Yankees unleashed […]

When one examines the Miracle Braves’ performance it is obvious that the bulk of the pitching effort rested with just three men: Dick Rudolph, Bill James, and George Tyler. Starting 107 of the 158 games the team played, they won 68 of the Braves’ 94 victories. Yet, when Boston clinched the pennant against the Chicago […]

For years after his major-league debut in 1898, Bert Conn was known throughout the Philadelphia area as the “schoolboy twirler” despite having hurt his arm and moved from a pitcher in the major leagues to an everyday player in the minors. But Conn’s rapid rise from Philadelphia high-school pitcher to Philadelphia Phillies starter at the […]

Dave Thies (pronounced teace) was a tall righthander who pitched in nine games for the 1963 Kansas City A’s. His career could have been summarized in a headline, “Thies Talent Teases A’s Top Brass.” Arm miseries diminished Thies’ pitching career, but they never dampened his enthusiasm for a life he said has been “blessed.” David […]

Chris Carpenter spent 15 seasons in major-league baseball, first with the Toronto Blue Jays and then with the St. Louis Cardinals .His won-lost record was 144-94 with an earned-run average of 3.76, and in 2005, his 21-5 season and 2.83 ERA won him the National League’s Cy Young Award. But statistics alone don’t tell the […]

Eleanor Callow was more than just the greatest power hitter in All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) history. On top of being the all-time leader in home runs and triples, Callow was perhaps the league’s best all-around position player. A speedy outfielder with a strong throwing arm, Callow ranks in the Top 10 in career […]

Young Lee Delhi attended Santa Monica (California) High School and pitched for its baseball team 1908-10. As a pitcher for Santa Monica, he was known as Turk, Red and Demon Delhi. By 1909 Delhi had began to draw attention from the Pacific Coast League. Happy Hogan, the manager of Vernon, wanted to sign the young […]

Geoff Blum’s baseball life has featured many highlights, but he will always be best remembered for one dramatic at-bat. In Game Three of the 2005 World Series between Blum’s Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros, he belted a home run in the top of the 14th inning to break a 5-5 tie and propel […]

Chances are if one were to poll SABR members about the greatest left-hander in the history of the Dodgers franchise, the most frequent response would be, “Sandy Koufax.” But they would be incorrect. Without a doubt, the honor of greatest southpaw in organizational history belongs to Vincent E. Scully. Since the emergence of baseball broadcasts, […]

Do we call him Junior or Gene? Was Junior his given name or a nickname? Could it be both? No matter. As a fresh-faced youngster Junior Thompson helped the Cincinnati Reds win two consecutive National League pennants. As a mature veteran Gene Thompson impacted the game of baseball for half a century. Junior Eugene Thompson […]

A roly-poly right-hander with a corkscrew motion, Víctor Cruz pitched parts of five seasons for the Blue Jays, Indians, Pirates and Rangers between 1978 and 1983. In his native Dominican Republic, Cruz was known as “El Policía” (The Policeman) for his ability to impose order on opposing hitters. The side-arming reliever saved 37 games in […]

Looking back over a century of hometown baseball, a Pittsburgh sportswriter observed that pitcher Nick Maddox “may be the best September call-up in Pirates’ history.”1 No wonder. In his September 13, 1907 major-league debut, the 20-year-old right-hander threw a two-hit, 14-strikeout shutout at the St. Louis Cardinals, winning 4-0. Three days thereafter, he set the […]

Harry Moran was born in Slater, West Virginia, on April 2, 1889. He was the son of L. D. (Lorenzey Dow) and Ella Moran, two native-born West Virginians. He was brought into at least a modestly wealthy family. At Harry’s birth L. D. was, according to the 1880 Census, a blacksmith laborer, a trade he […]

Dorian “Doe” Boyland was a good prospect who never got a proper chance to show what he could do in the major leagues. The first baseman received three trials with the Pittsburgh Pirates — in 1978, 1979, and 1981. He got into a total of 21 games, but started none of them and played in […]

Marc Sullivan started 35 games in 1986 as backup to All-Star catcher Rich Gedman. He made the squad in spring training because of his defensive skills, but many critical Red Sox fans and beat writers would not overlook his offensive shortcomings. He hit only .193, with 23 hits in 119 at-bats, and seemed to be […]

For nearly a quarter century, Gussie Busch simultaneously led a nationwide brewing company and the St. Louis Cardinal franchise. Nicknamed “The Big Eagle”, Gussie lived life to its fullest. His enemies called him profane, tyrannical, hot-tempered, a philanderer, and a huckster. His friends saw him as soft-hearted, congenial, open, personable, philanthropic, and loyal. In 1953, […]

This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure to those who stared face to face with it. It will simply tell of a generation of men who even though they may have avoided the shells were destroyed by the war. –Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on […]

He is, perhaps, the most exquisitely talented writer ever to focus sustained attention on the subject of baseball. Yet Roger Angell was never a “baseball writer” in the normal sense of the term. Instead, his work on baseball has been an extension of his keen observation and appreciation of the sport as a fan. Moreover, […]

When the Detroit Tigers took the field at Yankee Stadium on October 3, 1990, for the final game of the regular season, it didn’t feel like a momentous event. Only 13,380 fans were present on a Wednesday night to watch the home team finish the season in last place. The Tigers, who also had a […]

Maple Leaf Stadium, circa 1929. (City of Toronto Archives)   Toronto is a world-class city with a proud baseball history, but its ballparks have not always met a high standard. Exhibition Stadium, the American League Blue Jays’ home from 1977 to 1989, was a converted football stadium whose seating arrangements were not entirely suited to […]

“People don’t know how good the Pacific Coast League is,” a onetime miner named H.V. “Hardrock Bill” Lane said in 1935. “There’s Oakland, or San Francisco.”1 A year later he moved the then-Double-A Hollywood Stars to San Diego, renamed them Padres for a nearby mission, opened single-tier 9,100-seat Lane Field, and began to fill a […]

From early July 1889 until the removal of the franchise to the West Coast following the 1957 season, the New York Giants played baseball – often exciting and sometimes championship-caliber – at the northern Manhattan ballpark known as the Polo Grounds. Inexorably over the decades, Giants players, managers, club owners, front office personnel, sportswriters, and […]