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Barely more than one square mile in size and with about 15,000 residents, Harrison, New Jersey, was an improbable site for the construction of a new major-league ballpark in early 1915. But timing, circumstance, and geography were all the impetus needed for the erection of spacious Harrison Park. In its maiden year, the new ballpark […]

It was a few minutes after 4 P.M. on September 29, 2004, and the telephone rang in the office of Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams. It was Commissioner Bud Selig calling with a short but monumental message, “Congratulations. It’s been a long time coming.”1 Washington had a major-league baseball team for the first time since […]

For the end of July in Washington, 84 degrees and a light breeze was pleasant baseball weather for the 38,049 fans attending the evening game at Nationals Park. Given that it was a summer weekend, there were a substantial number of Phillies fans on hand1 as well as Nationals fans. The Phillies (56-47) were 3½ […]

After 11 straight games at home to start the 1984 season, the Oakland A’s made their way to Seattle for the start of a nine-game road trip. The A’s had won seven games but were coming off a 12-8 loss to the California Angels the previous day. The Seattle Mariners were enjoying the best start […]

The reigning NL Central champion Houston Astros made a bold move at the July 31 trading deadline in 1998 by acquiring left-hander Randy Johnson from the Seattle Mariners in a trade the club hoped would propel them to their first World Series appearance. The trade, however, was risky. The 34-year-old, 6-foot-10 hurler with his signature […]

Boston and Montreal — two cities tied together by one of the greatest rivalries in sports. The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League have been longtime rivals and frequent postseason foes. The Canadiens are the most successful team in the history of the NHL, with an astounding 24 Stanley Cups won […]

The third game of the 1999 World Series was a critical moment for the visiting Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees alike. The Yankees had burned Atlanta in the first two games in Atlanta, 4-1 and 7-2, so were now leading the World Series two games to none. A win in this game would […]

The New York Yankees entered 1940 as baseball’s first-ever defending four-time World Series champions. They struggled during the season’s first half, however, losing eight straight games in May and going 1-8-1 in a 10-game stretch in June. After the games on July 16, the Yankees were stuck in fourth place, 5½ games behind the American […]

Ballplayers are trained to always know the count, but perhaps it was Dallas Braden’s blissful ignorance of the balls and strikes on May 9, 2010, that helped him finalize a coveted spot on the perfect-game list alongside Hall of Famers Cy Young, Sandy Koufax, and Randy Johnson. The Oakland Athletics southpaw retired the first 26 […]

Alice Hoover played one season in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League with the 1948 Fort Wayne Daisies. The 4’11”, 105 pound infielder from Reading, Pennsylvania was, not surprisingly, nicknamed “Pee Wee” by her Fort Wayne teammates. Born in Reading on October 27, 1928, to Ethel (Shurman) Hoover and Charles Hoover, Alice was the oldest of four […]

James Edward “Ed” Goodson (nickname: Goody) had an eight-year major league career in the 1970s, beginning with the San Francisco Giants, followed by a stint with the Atlanta Braves and ending with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His final contract was a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians’ AAA Portland team in 1978. Goodson, who […]

Ron Necciai is the real-life Sidd Finch, the greatest pitcher who never was.1 The right-hander struck out 27 batters in a nine-inning game when he was 19. The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the governing body of the minors, called it “the greatest individual performance in the history of baseball.”2 Instead of walking away […]

Baseball is a game in which one or two numbers can become burned into collective memory, ultimately defining a player’s career. In the case of Babe Ruth, the numbers are 60 and 714. In the case of Ty Cobb, they are 4,191 and .367 (even though those numbers were shown to be inaccurate more than […]

oglivieBenjamin Ambrosio (Palmer) Oglivie was born in Colòn, Panama, on Friday, February 11, 1949. He was born into a Panama which offered certain privilege and opportunity, fed by the construction, completion, and use of the Panama Canal. Additionally, the post-World War II era affirmed a sense of optimism. Prior to 1949, the founders of the […]

Lore Verne “King” Bader was a lesser member of the 1918 Boston Red Sox. A right-handed hurler, he pitched in just five games, starting four and compiling an unexceptional 1-3 record. All told, Bader appeared in a modest 22 games over three major league campaigns, in 1912 (with the New York Giants) and 1917-18 (with […]

The 1914 home run leader in professional baseball wasn’t Gavvy Cravath or even Frank “Home Run” Baker, but an unassuming 21-year-old Georgia lumber farmer named Everett Bankston, who banged out 31 homers with Cordele in the Class D Georgia State League in his very first professional season. He never came close to matching that production […]

When the name Jim Brown is mentioned, most sports fans call to mind the NFL’s Hall of Fame running back who starred for the Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. There was, however, an earlier Jim Brown – a catcher, first baseman, and, later, a manager – who played for Chicago American Giants squads that […]

For many African American males growing up in poverty-stricken households throughout Los Angeles, sports offered a chance to break away from the cultural and economic restraints imposed on them by their surroundings. This was no different for a young Darryl Eugene Strawberry (born March 12, 1962, in Los Angeles). Darryl was the third boy born […]

Former Army drillmaster Clyde Barfoot, a tall, husky, brown-haired and blue-eyed pitcher, relied on a “twisting fadeaway” called a “screw ball,” much like Christy Mathewson before and Carl Hubbell after him.1 His three seasons in the majors were sandwiched around his most successful professional campaign, winning 26 games in the Pacific Coast League in 1925 […]

Gerald “Gee” Walker was one of the most popular players in Detroit Tigers history, even though he often drove his managers crazy with his risk-averse approach to baserunning. Walker also played for the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and Cincinnati Reds in a major-league career that went from 1931 to 1945. Walker was […]

Twelve managers have won more games than Bill McKechnie. None has won more respect. Deacon Bill McKechnie was the first to lead three different teams to the World Series and the first to win championships with two different teams. In 25 seasons as a manager, between 1915 and 1946, he earned respect as a baseball […]

“What have you done for me lately?” is a common refrain heard among fans of all sports. Diehard and casual fans are known to be a fickle bunch. Any time a player has an outstanding performance in one game, he or she is the toast of the town. The next day they falter and they […]

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2022 as part of SABR’s Jackie Robinson 75th Anniversary Project. When Jackie Robinson trotted out to first base on April 15, 1947, his steps were no less historic than those of Neil Armstrong just over two decades later. Baseball’s senseless and shameful color barrier had at last […]