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St. George Grounds began as a paradise, created alongside the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty, in what became the city that never sleeps.1 The centerpiece of developer Erastus Wiman’s resort on the northeast prow of Staten Island, New York, the Grounds were, variously, the last home of the American Association Metropolitans, the setting […]

To many who saw Al Luplow dive over the right-center field fence at Fenway Park on June 27, 1963 to glove a potential game-winning home run, it was the greatest catch they’d ever seen. An outfielder with the Cleveland Indians, Luplow was instinctively doing something he’d done as a Michigan State running back — launching […]

Steve Bilko was a heavy hitter. Baseball encyclopedias list him at 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds, the greatest tonnage that baseball allowed in print in the 1950s until the mammoth Frank Howard came along. When anyone asked Bilko how much he weighed, as so many did, he’d say between 200 and 300. Years later he told […]

 Most famous today for being the second of three baseball-playing brothers, Mateo Alou was part of the first wave of Dominicans who helped change the very culture of American baseball in the 1960s. After years of sporadic playing time, often competing with his brothers, he finally left them and became a batting champion, and one […]

Modern metrics have demonstrated that a pitcher’s won-loss record is not necessarily a true reflection of his effectiveness. Take Sid Peterson, for example. The right-hander’s major league career consisted of just three games with the wartime 1943 St. Louis Browns. He worked ten relief innings and, despite surrendering fifteen hits and three walks, he managed […]

Like Bob Caruthers, Jack Stivetts, and Guy Hecker, right-hander Dave Foutz embodied a singular 19th-century baseball species: the staff ace so adept with the bat that he was often penciled into the lineup on his pitching off-days. In fact, after a thumb injury reduced his hurling effectiveness, Foutz spent the latter part of his career […]

He accomplished what no other pitcher had done — came straight off the prep diamonds and hurled a major-league shutout. Fresh out of Chester (Pennsylvania) High, 18-year-old Lew Krausse strode to the mound on June 16, 1961, before the largest single-game crowd of the season up to that point in Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium to […]

Handicapped by attitude and injury problems, Deadball Era outfielder Guy Zinn never achieved the success predicted for him. Nevertheless, his time in the game was not without modest distinction. On Opening Day 1912, New York Highlander Zinn became the first major-league player to enter the batter’s box; the first to reach base; and the first […]

Raúl Ramón Mondesí possessed a wide array of skills making him a sought-after player early in his career despite a questionable temperament. A powerful arm in right field, he struck fear in baserunners. The might of his swing pushed runners home and balls over the fence. Most surprising given his 5-foot-11 and roughly 220-pound physique, […]

Carl Mays is best remembered for throwing the pitch that led to the death of Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman in August of 1920. But he also had a career record of 207-126 and a 2.92 ERA over fifteen seasons, and remains one of the best pitchers not honored in the Hall of Fame. Throwing with […]

A good-field, no-hit middle infielder as a player, Joe Cantillon never came close to reaching the major leagues. But as an umpire, manager, owner, scout, and executive, few men had a more profound impact on baseball during the Deadball Era. He had lifelong friendships with Charles Comiskey and Clark Griffith and feuded with Ban Johnson […]

“Smoky Burgess was fat. Not baseball fat like Mickey Lolich or Early Wynn. But FAT fat. Like the mailman or your Uncle Dwight. Putsy Fat. Slobby Fat. Just Plain Fat. In fact I would venture to say that Smoky Burgess was probably the fattest man ever to play professional baseball.” – The Great American Baseball […]

A short but stellar stint with the late 19th century Baltimore Orioles and a famous last name have preserved Joe Corbett in baseball memory. A right-handed pitcher and the younger brother of heavyweight boxing champ James J. Corbett, Joe first came to public attention as a 20 year-old, hurling two 1896 Temple Cup victories for […]

Sandy Nava, the first Mexican-American in major-league history, was quite a bit younger when he entered the major leagues than the encyclopedias indicate, ten years in fact. He was actually 22 years old at the time of his debut with the Providence Grays, as a backup catcher for Monte Ward and Hoss Radbourn in 1882. […]

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 Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse was filled with press and well-wishers the evening of June 3, 1968, all there to celebrate the fifth consecutive shutout of veteran right handed pitcher Don Drysdale. Amid the throng came longtime clubhouse man Nobe Kawano, holding a telegram for Drysdale that had just come in from Silver Spring, Md. […]

Bill Hutchison was among the last of a breed. Over a three-year stretch, from 1890 to 1892, the ironman right-hander averaged 40 wins, 595 innings, 63 complete games, and 65 starts per season. He led the NL in every one of those statistical categories each season during a time when the pitching distance to home […]

In his debut as manager of the Atlanta Braves on August 9, 1966, Billy Hitchcock sent 27-year-old left-hander Denny Lemaster to the mound against one of the greatest pitchers of all time, future Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax. Before what then the largest crowd at Atlanta Stadium (52,270), Lemaster was every bit the equal of […]

The Chicago Cubs had a 32-19 record when they arrived in Boston on June 13, 1952. They beat the Braves, 5-0, in Friday evening’s series opener, with Bob Rush going the distance and giving up just three Boston hits. The Cubs were tied for second place with the New York Giants, 3½ games behind the […]

A promotional poster advertising the September 4, 1916 matchup between Mordecai Brown and Christy Mathewson. This game would be the last of 24 times in which the two future Hall of Famer pitchers would face each other. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)   “Great Masters Are Through.”1 On September 4, 1916, famed pitching foes […]

On the dusty shelf of forgotten US Bicentennial knickknacks, behind the commemorative plates and drinking glasses and red, white, and blue iron-on decals, you’ll find a Williamsport Tomahawks cap and T-shirt. The 1976 Tomahawks — known to sportswriters as the “Tommies” or “Toms” — were a single-season entry in the Double-A Eastern League, affiliated with […]

With two shortstops sidelined and their improbable run for the National League Central Division title in jeopardy, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had spent 1997’s run-up trading off experienced players and shedding salary obligations, played against type by acquiring veteran Shawon Dunston from the Chicago Cubs at the August 31 postseason roster deadline. Dunston made an […]

On May 30, 1938, some 81,000 people crammed into Yankee Stadium for a Yankees-Red Sox doubleheader, possibly the biggest crowd in baseball history up to then. The home fans got what they wanted, a Bronx Bombers sweep, powered by four hits and four RBIs from Lou Gehrig, who was climbing out of a disconcerting early-season […]

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the 1987 SABR Baseball Research Journal. 1927 Philadelphia Royal Giants in Japan (COURTESY OF JOHN THORN)   There were no professional baseball teams in Japan before 1935. Baseball had been introduced into this country long before that, but our teams were all amateur. Why were professional teams […]