Search Results

The high mark of Frank Allen’s six-year major-league career surely took place on April 24, 1915, when, in his fifth appearance for the Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federal League, he pitched a no-hitter in defeating the St. Louis Terriers 2-0 at Handlan’s Park in St. Louis. The masterpiece brought the 26-year-old southpaw’s record to 4-0 […]

Referred to as “the original dirt player” by Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox, Mark Lemke was a throwback second baseman who rarely left the field with a clean uniform.1 Standing at 5-feet-10-inches and weighing between 165 and 170 pounds, the undersized second baseman contributed in ways that didn’t always show up in a box score. […]

“Hit in the air . . . Yount . . . makes a GREAT CATCH! Juan Nieves has thrown the first no-hitter in Milwaukee Brewer history!” That was broadcaster Jim Paschke’s call on April 15, 1987. More than 30 years later, the masterpiece by Nieves remained the only no-hitter in franchise history, and only one […]

A five-time All-Star, catcher Frankie Hayes had a lengthy career spanning the years 1934 through 1946, with three games in 1933 and five games in 1947 bookending his work behind the plate. Eleven of those 14 seasons were spent with the Philadelphia Athletics. At one point, he set an “iron man” record for catchers, appearing […]

After Fred Thomas of the Boston Red Sox left for the Navy in July of 1918, third base was a tough position for manager Ed Barrow to fill. Catcher Wally Schang played there on occasion, but the hot corner was mostly played by a succession of career minor leaguers. All had strengths and weaknesses as […]

Catcher Steve Lembo was a lifelong New Yorker. He was born in Brooklyn, played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and every one of his big-league appearances took place at Ebbets Field. In between those seven games, five in 1950 and two in 1952, he also played a small yet significant role at the Polo Grounds. On […]

Stanley Cayasso (1906-1986) is one of Nicaragua’s baseball icons. Like Lou Gehrig, he was known as El Caballo de Hierro, The Iron Horse. A strong and durable hitter who also pitched in his younger days, Cayasso became a respected manager and coach. He came to symbolize his nation’s baseball because of his personality traits: honor, […]

On a chilly October night, Marquis Grissom gracefully glided to his right from his position in center field at Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium and gloved the final out of the 1995 World Series. After three tries, the Atlanta Braves were the champions of professional baseball. The man who gloved that final out was the only […]

Phil McCullough remembered sitting in sleet and freezing rain in the Washington Senators’ bullpen in Griffith Stadium on April 22, 1942. “It was just a terrible day. We tore up chairs and benches and furniture to make a fire in the bullpen to keep warm. It was so cold.”1 The sturdy (six-foot-four, 204 pounds), curly-haired […]

Catcher Russell “Hack” Ennis played in one major-league baseball game. Though he did not get to bat, he was behind the plate when Ty Cobb got his last hit in a Detroit Tigers uniform. On September 19, 1926, with his Washington Senators ahead, 7-6, Ennis entered in the bottom of the ninth inning of the […]

He had just 11 big-league at-bats in 1990, but Brian Traxler was still a cult figure. Over 13 years as a pro, the first baseman delighted fans across the minors, the Caribbean winter leagues, Asia, and independent circuits. His immediate appeal was visual. “Trax” was rotund — leniently listed at 5-feet-10 and 200 pounds, he […]

Harry Coyle taught us how to watch baseball on television. As the director of 36 World Series telecasts, beginning with the first one in 1947, he invented many of the images that shape our view of the game. One of his innovations, the center field shot showing the pitcher, batter, catcher, and umpire, became the […]

Tetelo Vargas was a player with exceptional skills in nearly all aspects of the game. He hit for average, had good power for his physique, and was a superb defender. He possessed a strong throwing arm and superior speed – which won him the nickname El Gamo Dominicano, or “The Dominican Deer.” He was an […]

During the mid-1890s, the National League’s problematic decision to expand to twelve teams meant that many clubs had little to play for by midseason or earlier. Morale on such franchises was understandably abysmal while local fans saw little reason to attend games. Matters were especially bad in St. Louis, where owner Chris von der Ahe, […]

David Alexander Liddell is the only New York Mets position player to bat a perfect 1.000 for his career.1 Born on June 15, 1966, in Los Angeles,2 Liddell had the proverbial “cup of coffee” in the major leagues, getting a pinch-hit single in what turned out to be his only at-bat in the major leagues. […]

The Pittsburgh Pirates hit two grand slams and beat the Philadelphia Phillies 10-0 on May 1, 1933. The Pirates had five future Hall of Famers in their lineup (Freddie Lindstrom, Pie Traynor, Arky Vaughan, Lloyd Waner, and Paul Waner), and all five had at least one hit in the shutout win. It was “a fine […]

Thomas F. McCullough, business manager of the Southern Association’s Memphis team, was fed up with postponements due to wet grounds at Red Elm Park, the local ballpark. So he came up with a solution: Elevate the diamond so that rainwater drained from it. His innovation was unveiled in the spring of 1907.1 From the summit […]

After wins in Games Six and Seven in Cincinnati by scores of 5-4 and 4-1, respectively, it was clear the Chicago White Sox were no longer playing to lose. Dickey Kerr wasn’t as brilliant in Game Six as he was in Game Three, but he went the distance in a 10-inning affair that saw the […]

(Photograph by Duane Rieder) After winning three straight games at home, including Nelson Briles’ masterful two-hit, 4-0 shutout in Game Five, the Pirates returned to Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium with the hope of clinching their fourth World Series championship in Game Six. A win in Baltimore was a tall order, 6-feet-3 to be exact, which was […]

“Always stand on principle … even if you stand alone.” — John Adams1   During the 1970s, four American League games ended in forfeit. Three were the result of fans throwing caution to the wind – near the end of the Senators’ farewell to Washington in September 1971, during the Cleveland Indians’ 10-cent beer night […]

Christmas card sent by Carl Fazio and Kip Horsburgh, featuring them in Elmira Pioneers uniforms.   By the time August 28, 1972, arrived, Carl Fazio and Kip Horsburgh were overdue for a few smiles. The friends and business partners, both in their early 20s, had purchased the Elmira (New York) Pioneers of the Double-A Eastern […]

It was a Saturday afternoon game at Cleveland Stadium. The Cleveland Indians (37-29) were in first place in the American League, one game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles and two games ahead of both the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. The 30-37 Boston Red Sox were just a half-game above the last-place Kansas […]

Tribe fever was at an all-time high as the Cleveland Indians’ train pulled into Terminal Tower from Boston. It was the first World Series the locals were able to see in person since 1920. Their opponent, the Boston Braves, had a similar history. Their last trip to the Series was in 1914. Both teams won […]

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 […]