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Norris Phillips may have had a short-lived career in the Negro Leagues, but he had the distinction of being a member of the powerhouse 1942 Kansas City Monarchs pitching staff during the regular season.1 The team captured the Negro League World Series championship, but since Phillips was a back-end starter who toiled behind Hall of […]

If ever there were a battery that was bound together in life and in death, it was probably pitcher Rube Waddell and catcher Osee Schrecongost. They were both born in small communities in western Pennsylvania, on opposite sides of the Allegheny National Forest, and a little less than 100 miles from each other. They both […]

Twenty-two regular-season tiebreaker games were played in the National and American Leagues from 1946 to 2018. The 18th took place on September 30, 2008, between the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox or, as it’s better known in Chicago, “The Blackout Game.” The White Sox won the game 1-0 on a Jim Thome home […]

John Fowler was one of the true pioneers of American baseball, one overlooked by the National Baseball Hall of Fame for more than a century after his death until he was elected in 2022 to Cooperstown — the same village where he had grown up as a teenager. In Black baseball history, he is the […]

Even the most casual of baseball fans are aware of Christy Mathewson’s on-field accomplishments, but the baseball career of his younger brother Henry Mathewson is less than common knowledge. And while the events leading to the death of the famous “Matty” have been told several times, few know of the tragic life of Henry or […]

John Lawrence Antonelli, Jr.1 was a Memphis native who carved out a full life in baseball despite a series of setbacks, detours, and U-turns. A high-school pitching phenom, he suffered an elbow injury that forced him to become a full-time infielder, where he played for over 1,700 minor-league games. He then fought his way to […]

The Negro Leagues featured many of baseball’s greatest two-way players: Leon Day, Martín Dihigo, Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, and Bullet Rogan. Yet before these leagues began in 1920, many Black players alternated between pitching and position play. Few in this era excelled in multiple roles as did Harry Buckner. From 1896 to 1914, the righthander […]

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 […]

Few individuals saw more Astros history than Alan Ashby. An Astro for 20 of their first 50 seasons, he spent eleven on the Astrodome carpet, coordinating one of the more challenging pitching staffs of his time. After one year as their bullpen coach Ashby moved to the broadcast booth for another eight, culminating with Houston’s […]

Lou Piniella was a key member of the expansion franchise Kansas City Royals. Piniella earned the nicknamed “Sweet Lou” because of his sweet swing and (facetiously) his temper tantrums. As a member of the Yankees of the 1970s, Piniella was never the best player on a team of superstars, but he was always a fan […]

Bill Killefer began his 48-year career in Organized Baseball in 1907 as an unlikely professional, weighing only 125 pounds when he played with Jackson of the Southern Michigan League. According to his brother Wade, “the bats he used were almost as big as he was.” It would be years before he grew to be 5’10 […]

In March 1956, New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel watched in “amazement” as Rod Kanehl, the club’s versatile 22-year-old prospect, “scaled the fence in a do-or-die effort to catch” a home run ball during a meaningless practice game.1 The effort left a lasting impression on Casey that when the New York Mets hired the future […]

Not many players can say they had a higher batting average than both Joe Jackson and Nap Lajoie. Moxie Meixell could claim that distinction, even if it was for just one day. In his major-league debut with Cleveland, on July 7, 1912, he was a late-inning defensive replacement for Jackson in right field and rapped […]

Young Tommy Long had quite a productive two-year major league run in the mid-1910s. In 1911 he jumped from the First District (Alabama) Agricultural School squad to the majors in five months. Later, still listed as a rookie in 1915, his 25 triples set the St. Louis Cardinals record for triples in a season, and […]

Benn Karr wanted to leave the family farm in Mount Pleasant, Mississippi, and see the world. He’d gone through the public schools in Mount Pleasant and spent a couple of years at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.  Then he was offered the opportunity to play professional baseball and he signed on. “I took a pro […]

Jack DiLauro, a left-handed pitcher from Akron, Ohio who appeared in 23 games for the New York Mets in 1969, played a small but valuable role in the Mets’ march to the National League pennant that season. Jack Edward DiLauro was born on March 3, 1943 in Akron. He starred in football, basketball, and baseball […]

The life of Ken Caminiti parallels the path of a classic Greek tragedy. He was an athlete blessed with extraordinary physical abilities who diligently worked to develop those gifts and dedicated himself to achieving excellence. A tough, tireless leader on the field, he climbed to the highest levels of the baseball world. Then, at the […]

The cover of the March 20, 1978, annual baseball preview issue of Sports Illustrated featured a picture of Kansas City Royals rookie Clint Hurdle looking ready for action, with the caption “This Year’s Phenom” in bold yellow letters right next to his smiling face. Keeping with the “phenom” theme, the article described the 20-year-old Hurdle […]

“Clem Labine was one of the main reasons the Dodgers won it all in 1955. He had the heart of a lion and the intelligence of a wily fox.” – Vin Scully1 By definition, the relief pitcher is “a substitute pitcher who enters the game, often in a critical situation, to take over for the […]

The Minnesota Twins (92-60) were ready to party. All that stood between them and clinching the American League West title was one win over the second-place Oakland A’s, who were 8½ games back at 84-69. Given the standings and the Monday night game, perhaps it wasn’t surprising that only 4,284 fans were in attendance. Starting […]

Mike Schmidt began 1987 needing five home runs for admission to baseball’s 500-home-run club. On a sunny April afternoon in Pittsburgh, he punched his ticket with a ninth-inning game-winner, rescuing the Phillies from collapse and sinking a Pirates’ comeback. Already entrenched among the game’s all-time greats,1 Schmidt bolstered his legend in 1986 by posting a […]

Vida Blue was nervous. He had notched his 19th win of 1971 on July 25, three days before his 22nd birthday, but lost his next start, followed by a no-decision. If the two dimes the Oakland A’s left-hander carried in his pocket1 weren’t enough pressure to remind him, the fans and media were there with […]

Jim Ray Hart broke into the majors with the San Francisco Giants as a 21-year-old third baseman in 1963.1 From 1964 through 1967, he averaged 29 home runs per season, finishing in the top 10 in the majors three times. Accolades included placing second in the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year voting,2 receiving […]

Twenty-one members and guests of the Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter attended the May 19, 2014, monthly roundtable, held at its usual location, The Original Crusoe’s Restaurant in South St. Louis. Chapter president Brian Flaspohler called the meeting to order. Chapter secretary Jim Leefers read the annual chapter report that will be submitted to the SABR national […]