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“I was a character in baseball. I saw it as an interim type of career,” Lou Skizas told Bill Gleason.1 Skizas, known as “The Nervous Greek” during his four-season major-league playing career, was perhaps best known for an unusual ritual that he followed before coming to bat. Before reaching the plate, the right-handed-batting Skizas dropped […]

It would not have been surprising if Armon Stovall had wished his only brush with fame had been as batboy for the champion 1934 Philadelphia Stars. Instead, 18 years later, he was the subject of a brief news item printed coast to coast over many months because his strong attraction to a certain model of […]

Fred Cook pitched in the major leagues but not under his real name, and fought in World War I but not for the country of his birth. Such was the life of this enigma, who is known to the major league record books as “Fred Winchell” and was ultimately buried in an unmarked grave. The […]

Jan Dukes was a left-handed pitcher who pitched in 16 games for the Washington Senators (1969-70) and the Rangers (1972) between 1969 and 1972. Exclusively a reliever in the major leaguers, Dukes had been a highly touted pitcher at Santa Clara College, where he remains a fixture in the schools’ baseball record book. The Washington […]

Charlie Gilbert’s baseball career came under the tutelage of his father Larry Gilbert Sr. at an early age. Larry Sr. certainly had a relevant background to help build his son’s future; he had been a major-league player for parts of two seasons, and later was a player and manager for the New Orleans Pelicans (Class […]

St. Louis merchant and businessman Hugo Duesenberg died on February 14, 1941, and his passing was noted by the Post-Dispatch in a brief item that listed a wife and five children as survivors. No mention was made of the notorious act thirty-four years earlier that had made headlines all across the country. Perhaps that is just as […]

Hugh “Red” Alexander was a promising 20-year-old, having just hit 57 home runs with a high batting average in two minor-league seasons, and tasting his first cup of coffee in the big leagues. He managed one single in 11 at-bats during his late-season callup and was looking forward to a long career as a player. […]

On page 1,444 of the fourth edition of The Baseball Encyclopedia published in 1979, Joe Staples nestles in obscurity between journeyman outfielder Leroy Stanton and Hall of Famer Willie Stargell.1 The scant entry is the reflection of a rather unremarkable career. He appeared in seven games with the 1885 Buffalo Bisons, recorded just one hit […]

One of the greatest pitchers in minor-league history, lanky righthander Louis “Crip” Polli compiled a minor league lifetime record of 263-226 over 22 seasons. After a late start in professional ball, Polli had the mixed blessing of spending his prime years in the juggernaut New York Yankees organization of the late 1920s and early 1930s. […]

The Cleveland Naps met the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 11, 1914. The pitching matchup was intriguing: The Naps started Willie Mitchell, a 24-year-old left-hander with a biting curveball, and the Red Sox sent a 19-year-old lefty, Babe Ruth, to the mound for his major league debut. The Naps were anxious to […]

Swede Hollow was an immigrant settlement in Minnesota that squatted for a century in Phalen Creek ravine, south of Seventh Street on St. Paul’s Lower East Side. It has now receded into St. Paul’s often picturesque history, the site occupied by a city park. It was mostly a region of untold stories. Successive waves of […]

The very best parts of a game always were at the end for Eric Plunk. He was a starting pitcher early in his career, but like many hard throwers, he had problems with his command, especially with his secondary offerings, and he found his highest and best use in major-league bullpens for 14 seasons. Plunk’s […]

Discovered in the Dominican Republic by Chicago White Sox scout Denny Gonzalez, 16-year-old infielder Pedro Michel López signed as an amateur free agent in 2000. He was born in Moca, Dominican Republic, on April 28, 1984, and attended high school there. A prospect touted for his defensive prowess, he played in the major leagues for […]

Undersized and a powder puff hitter, late-19th century utility man George Ulrich parlayed hustle, cunning, and defensive versatility into a nine-season professional career that saw him don the uniform of 23 different teams, including, albeit briefly, three National League clubs. Perhaps tellingly, Ulrich never lasted a complete season with any one of them, regularly drawing […]

Left-handed all the way, Elmer Sutcliffe ranks 4th in games caught by a southpaw and 10th in games played by a lefty shortstop. The classic hayseed when he arrived in the majors, he was immediately dubbed “Old Sy” because he looked like a New England farmer. Eight years later he departed the game in disgrace […]

In 1950 Casimir James Konstanty, a sometime gym teacher and baseball nomad, and Edwin Sawyer, a manager who had never played in the big leagues, led the Philadelphia Phillies to their first pennant in 35 years. Eddie Sawyer summoned Konstanty from the bullpen 74 times that season to set a record for appearances. Along the […]

The Cincinnati Reds of the 1930s were the National League’s weakest team, logging five last place finishes from 1931 to 1937. That futility ended when Bill McKechnie took over as the Reds’ manager in 1938. McKechnie led Cincinnati to back-to-back pennants in 1939 and 1940 and a world championship in 1940. Although several key players […]

It was only after a stint in the United States Air Force that right-hander Dave Hillman entered professional baseball. Named (indirectly or otherwise) after Darius the Great, king of Persia from 550-486 BC, Darius Dutton Hillman was born on September 14, 1927, in the small southwestern Virginia town of Dungannon. The population of Dungannon at […]

When it comes to players who pitched for both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, Vito Valentinetti’s name is seldom mentioned. Yet he took the mound for the Mets from 1962-1982 and for the Yankees from 1967-1986. He was paid $20 a day, working roughly 15 minutes. The retired major-leaguer – 108 […]

The first owner of the St. Louis Browns, Robert Hedges was a visionary leader, years ahead of his time. He was also a shrewd businessman who maximized the value of his baseball franchise, in spite of its mostly losing ways. Hedges’ innovations and financial success in baseball contrasted vividly with his teams’ lack of success […]

To former Los Angeles Dodgers great Tommy Davis, the American League’s adoption of the designated hitter in 1973 was a godsend. “If it wasn’t for the designated-hitter rule … I probably would be [home] in Los Angeles right now, working eight hours a day,” he told The Sporting News three months into the season.1 The […]

There are many long-standing myths about Washington, one of which asserts that the city was originally built on a swamp. The myth perhaps explains the misery inflicted on its residents through unbearable heat and humidity on many midsummer days. In the summer of 1932, there was much to be miserable about and not just the […]

Homer’s Odyssey recounts how Odysseus, conqueror of Troy, overcomes a Cyclops, Sirens, and the six-headed monster Scylla during his perilous 10-year journey home.1 Mickey Cochrane’s odyssey from his breakdown in June 1936 to once again playing for his World Series champion Detroit Tigers took but 10 weeks, yet seemed almost as harrowing. After Tigers owner […]

The exterior of the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, is pictured in 2021. (Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans, licensed under Creative Commons 4.0)   When most people think of the Louisiana Superdome,[1] they don’t associate it with baseball. More likely, they relate the domed stadium in downtown New Orleans with football: the New Orleans Saints […]