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“One of the greatest scholastic pitchers ever turned out in Louisiana,”1 Seth Marvin Morehead was seemingly on a fast path to stardom. In 1957, Cincinnati manager Birdie Tebbetts dubbed him the “best young left-hander in the National League and a pitcher who has the potential to be a 25-game winner. Morehead has the natural equipment […]

Sammy Hughes’ name will almost certainly appear on any list of the top players of the Negro Leagues in the 1930s and 1940s. Hughes didn’t draw the attention of some of the bigger personalities of the day like Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, but it is generally agreed that he was one of the most […]

Over a span of 60 years, left-hander Bill Spanswick served the Red Sox as a pitcher for the 1964 team, and as a “rookie usher” wiping down seats at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, the team’s spring training home. In the spring of 2012, Spanswick said of his usher’s job and the $9,000 he made […]

Sportswriter Charles J. Doyle of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described southpaw Emil Yde as a “cyclonic sensation” when he debuted for the Pirates in 1924.1 In his second start, Yde tossed a shutout, the first of eight consecutive winning decisions to commence his big-league career, en route to a 16-3 slate. He went 17-9 the next […]

Jimmy Sebring was one of those players who surface ever year or so that are identified as “can’t miss” candidates for major league baseball stardom. Big for his time at 6 feet, 180 pounds, Jim had it all when it came to baseball: instincts, a strong and accurate throwing arm, speed, and a natural hitting […]

Hardrock Johnson: it’s one of the great tough-guy names. Roy Johnson got the monicker as a minor-league manager in Arizona, circa the late 1920s, because “he was a stickler for hard playing.”1 Johnson, a righty pitcher, was in the majors for part of just one season, 1918. He posted a 1-5 record in 10 games […]

Mark Clear was a hard-throwing righty pitcher who was released by the Phillies after one year in the minors but became a durable two-time All-Star after converting to a reliever. He played from 1979 through 1990 for the Angels, Red Sox, and Brewers. The 6-foot-4 inch, 200-pound hurler, earned nicknames “The Elongated Man” and “Horse,” […]

John Gibbons has seen a lot of ups and down in his career. A highly touted prospect for the Mets who was expected to be their future catcher, but a lack of production and the acquisition of Gary Carter stood in the way. Gibbons became a major-league manager for the Toronto Blue Jays, but mediocre […]

William Matthews is one of those early 20th century players for whom a lot is not known. He was a right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox near the end of the 1909 season, but we don’t have any information on his height or weight – though one news report had him as 6 feet […]

Dick Sisler, who hit the most famous home run in Phillies history, came from a baseball family. His older brother, George, played in the minors, later forging a distinguished career as a minor-league executive. Dick’s younger brother, Dave, pitched in the majors. Their father, George Harold Sisler, was a Hall of Famer whose playing accomplishments […]

Hezekiah Allen, a catcher by trade, appeared in the one and only major league game of his life in 1884 for Harry Wright’s Philadelphia Quakers. In that game Ki performed well at bat, establishing a career .667 batting average, but did not field his position well. He was soon injured and returned to his hometown […]

Chris Welsh was a prodigal son who returned as a journeyman southpaw pitcher for his hometown club. When his days on the mound ended, he ventured into the booth and gradually transformed himself into a broadcast fixture in Cincinnati. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, on April 14, 1955, Welsh was the third of four children and […]

Bill Craver was known as one of the best catchers of his time and an innovator at that position. He was also known as a gambler and a troublemaker — one of baseball’s early wily characters. His run-ins with fans, opponents, teammates, and umpires were noteworthy, yet the biggest impact made by this early star […]

Jim Boyer was born and raised in Maryland. He died in Maryland and is buried there. And when he left the American League’s umpiring staff in 1950 after almost seven seasons, it was to take a job in the Old Line State. Unfortunately, Boyer never umpired a major-league game in Maryland, since the St. Louis […]

“I was born in 1912 [sic] in Giddings, Texas, a little town between Austin and Houston. Rube Foster came from about twenty-five miles from my house, a little town right above me.” — Hilton Smith 1   Something must have been in the air as the state of Texas produced eight Negro League Hall of […]

Orel Hershiser set a major-league record by pitching 59 consecutive scoreless innings in 1988, but he was well behind the mark established by Oliver “Rube” Faulkner, who pitched 78 consecutive scoreless innings in 1903 for the Wilmington (Delaware) Athletics.1 Faulkner was an enigma. A right-hander blessed with talent, he declined opportunities to pitch in the […]

A star outfielder at the University of Georgia and reputedly a cousin of Ty Cobb, Rucker Ginn received a two-game tryout with the 1914 Cleveland Naps. Farmed out for seasoning, Ginn proceeded to lead the Eastern Association in batting. Yet by the following June, his professional playing days were behind him. Over the ensuing 15 […]

Art McGovern, the carpenter’s son. He came to America and made good in New England, only once in his baseball career briefly returning to the land of his birth, Canada. Art was a right-handed catcher who was born in St. John, New Brunswick, on February 27, 1882. His father, John, was a native New Brunswicker […]

As of the start of the 2019 season, the San Diego Padres are the only existing major-league team that has not had a pitcher toss a no-hitter. While they have never had a no-no, the club has thrown 30 one-hitters.1 One of these one-hitters took place on Thursday, July 19, 2012, when journeyman Edinson Volquez […]

“He just pitched beautiful,” raved Chicago skipper Leo Durocher about Fergie Jenkins, whose complete-game victory captured the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds (43-35) and solidified an 11-1 homestand for the Cubs.1 Entering the game, the Cubs had won 16 of their previous 18 contests, including their last five. Cellar-dwellers in 1966, Durocher’s first season […]

Less than a week before he boiled over on an umpire and caused his team to forfeit a game, Napoleon Lajoie was queried by a Chicago sportswriter about the toils of being among the finest ballplayers in the country. “Being a headliner in this game is all right, but it has its drawbacks and the […]

The best winning percentage the New York Yankees ever enjoyed was .714 in their 110–44 1927 world championship season. The Yankees would have had to improve to 139–15 to match the .899 winning percentage the Boston Red Caps (71–8) held at the end of the 1875 season. It was as good a year as any […]

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2021 as part of the SABR Century 1921 Project. A crowd gathers outside the New York Herald newspaper building to watch a billboard diagram of a game during the 1911 World Series between the Philadelphia A’s and New York Giants. (LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)   If you were […]

  High and Inside The Newsletter of the BioProject Committee Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) October 2018 Past newsletters Editor: Andrea Long From the Directors From the Editor Update on BioProject Submissions Project Poobahs   From Co-Director, Rory Costello Disappearing Images Perhaps you’ve noticed that the pictures accompanying certain biographies have either disappeared or […]