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One of the early relief specialists in the majors, George “Sarge” Connally started just 67 times in 304 games across a 12-year big-league career (1921; 1923-29; 1933-34). Connally never shied away from hard work. In 1933, at the age of 34, he exemplified his other nickname—“Rubber Arm”—by making eight relief appearances for Cleveland from June […]
Many young boys will ponder the important matters of the day, and some young boys will just daydream as they skip rocks across the surface of a lake. In the case of Fred Lasher, the enjoyment of skipping rocks across a tranquil lake helped transform Fred into a nasty submarine pitcher that minor and major […]
Fred Lovett Lake was born on October 16, 1866, in the Township of Cornwallis, Nova Scotia. This area today is located in the district that can be found between the towns of Kentville and Canning in the Annapolis Valley. In 1866, Nova Scotia was a colony of Great Britain. Canada would be formed in 1867, […]
During the time when so many strong ballplayers were making their way from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees, catcher Al DeVormer was one of those sent to Boston in exchange. Most of the deals had already been done. Babe Ruth was sold in January 1920. Others on the 1922 Yankees who […]
He’s been termed a “reluctant pioneer.” All Pumpsie Green wanted to do was play professional baseball. He didn’t even aspire to the major leagues at first, and would have been content playing for his hometown Oakland Oaks in the Pacific Coast League. That said, Pumpsie Green took pride in the fact that he helped accomplish […]
“You were a good man to have on a team. You kept the spirits up. You were the life of the party.” — Ted Page, to Jake Stephens 1 Jake Stephens may have been the greatest defensive shortstop of all time. He was on par with Modern Era defensive shortstops like Mark Belanger and […]
John Dopson pitched in 144 major-league games over eight seasons from 1985 to 1994. He had a career-high 12 wins with the 1989 Boston Red Sox (against eight losses) – but arguably his best year came with the Montreal Expos in 1988, when he was 3-11. He started 26 games and had a 3.04 earned […]
In 1902 Cleveland manager Bill Armour raved about his pitcher Bill Bernhard: “Critics may choose [Rube] Waddell or Cy Young and be welcome, but neither of these two men has anything on ‘Berny.’”1 From 1899 to 1907, Bernhard compiled an impressive 116-81 major league record. The fury of his fastball contrasted with his calm demeanor. […]
In 1964 columnist Dick Young cracked, “Battered plate umps will insist upon double Blue Cross coverage if Jesse Gonder continues to do all the catching for the Mets.”1 The humor in the reference to Gonder’s league leading 21 passed balls was lost on the African-American backstop. Until later in life, when he appeared to come […]
The light-hitting, 5-foot-6 shortstop William Benjamin Fuller parlayed his excellent fielding into a nine-year career in the majors (1888-1896), beginning with a 49-game stint with the National League’s Washington Nationals. In 1889 he began a seven-year stretch as a starting shortstop, first with the American Association’s St. Louis Browns and then later back in the […]
Joe Adcock smashed some of the longest home runs ever witnessed. Although measuring the distance home runs traveled has historically been an imprecise science, driven by myth and legend, Adcock belongs to a select few sluggers, among them Mickey Mantle, Frank Howard, and Willie Stargell, whose feats still inspire awe. As a vocal leader of […]
Infielder Owen Friend played in parts of five major-league seasons, appearing in 208 total games, with 119 of them for the 1950 St. Louis Browns. Scout Fred Hofmann signed him to the Browns in 1943, and he more or less began playing for his hometown team. Of course, the Cardinals would have qualified on that […]
The assertive teenager’s pro baseball career began with a simple letter, jointly submitted with a friend and mailed from his hometown of Kinston, North Carolina. “We would like to seek a job or a tryout with your ballclub. We are now at the age of nineteen years old, we have had two years of experience […]
Ulysses “Tony” Lupien played just four full major league seasons, but he made a lasting impact on baseball through his pioneering player-rights efforts after World War II and his development of college players as baseball coach at Dartmouth College for more than twenty years. As a lefthanded-hitting first baseman in the 1940s, Lupien displayed remarkable […]
Manning Vaughan was the main baseball writer of the Milwaukee Sentinel for much of the Deadball Era. His style was colorful and full of panache. Vaughan had a wonderful way of bringing baseball games to life in people’s parlors or at the local drinking establishments. He was a “homer” when the Brewers were winning, honest […]
Before the Wizard of Oz, the St. Louis Cardinals had Mr. Shortstop. Marty Marion never turned a backflip, but he was the National League’s premier defensive shortstop in the 1940s and is the only man to win a Most Valuable Player award with his glove. No Scooter or Rabbit or Pee Wee, he was a […]
Right-handed pitcher Bill Pertica was a prospect who showed promise early in his career, had one prime season with the Cardinals, and ultimately faded into obscurity. He was born in Santa Barbara, California, on August 17, 1898, and made the big leagues (albeit about as briefly as possible) in his first year of pro ball. […]
The first year the Red Sox wore uniform numbers was 1931. The first man to wear #1 was Bill Sweeney. It was his last year in the majors. Sweeney lived out the rest of his life in baseball, twice managing the Pacific Coast League Los Angeles Angels to pennants, in two stints eight years apart […]
The 1934 Philadelphia Stars, champions of the second iteration of the Negro National League (NNL2), used a balanced four-man rotation that consisted of two righties and two lefties for most of their league games. Slim Jones, a 21-year-old southpaw, emerged as the team’s ace as he pitched to a 20-4 record and a 1.29 ERA […]
Bill Shores was not a superstitious player. After winning 23 games as a promising swingman for the Philadelphia Athletics championship teams in 1929 and 1930, he became the first big-league player to wear number 13 when he asked for the jersey in 1931. Then he suffered a string of unfortunate incidents: infected toe, hit by […]
It would have been fun to see Gene Brabender wrestle with Frank Howard: “a polar bear versus a grizzly,” suggested his old teammate, Jim Bouton. At 6 feet, 5 1/2 inches and 225 to 240 pounds, “Bender” gave away roughly two inches and 30-40 pounds to “Hondo.” Yet the big man from Black Earth, Wisconsin, […]
Brock Holt admits he was swinging to hit a home run. And why not? It was the top of the ninth inning and the Red Sox already had a 14-1 lead in Game Three of the American League Division Series. Yankees manager Aaron Boone had conceded the game, inserting a position player – backup catcher […]
The Blue Jays entered Game Six of the 1992 ALCS just one win away from winning their first-ever playoff series and advancing to the first World Series in Canadian history. The team had 10 consecutive winning seasons, winning the American League East in 1985, 1989, and 1991, but had always fallen short in the playoffs. […]
Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, home of the Orioles from 1954 to 1991 (DAVID STINSON) Memorial Stadium was located at 900 East 33rd Street in Baltimore, a mile northeast of Oriole Parks (I)-(V).1 Memorial Stadium was the home of the American League Baltimore Orioles from 1954 to 1991, and the National Football League Baltimore Colts […]