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Violent crimes have been charged to professional athletes long before the days of O.J. Simpson. In fact, these cases go back almost to the beginning of professional sports. During the latter part of the nineteenth century, at least three major league baseball players committed murder. Edgar McNabb and Marty Bergen killed themselves before they could […]

Imagine an infielder who played his last game more than half a century ago, who appeared in 1,058 games and batted .262 lifetime. Probably only his family and his most diehard fans would know his name. But that’s not so in the case of William Richard “Billy” Cox. Anchoring the infield on three Brooklyn pennant […]

In the history of major-league baseball, there have been two players named Hausmann. Both of them debuted in April 1944, played in 1945, and then returned to the majors for one final year in 1949. They were not related in any known way; New York Giants second baseman George Hausmann was born in St. Louis, […]

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. […]

After being stuck in the New York Yankees minor-league system for seven seasons, Lee Thomas spent 1961 through 1968 as a big-league player. The first baseman/outfielder was an All-Star in his best year, 1962 – but his finest day came in the final month of his rookie season. On September 5, 1961, Thomas (then with […]

Six-foot-three right-hander Oral Hildebrand was a .500 pitcher for the Indians and Browns for eight years (1931-38) before landing with the World Champion Yankees and starting Game Four of the 1939 World Series. Oral Clyde Hildebrand was born on April 13, 1907, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Asked one time about his unique first name, Oral replied, […]

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 […]

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 […]

At spring training in 1921, Branch Rickey, vice president of the St. Louis Cardinals as well as the club’s field manager, was looking over the rookies in camp at Orange, Texas. Turning to veteran shortstop Doc Lavan, he said, “Tell that bat boy to get out of the infield.” Advised that the “bat boy” was […]

Floyd (“Jack”) Farmer, baseball and football star at Cumberland University (Lebanon, Tennessee), was the only player in the first 135 years of the major leagues to hail from that institution.1 Farmer enjoyed a solid debut as a second-half starter for the sixth-place 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates, and as an occasional double-play partner of 42-year-old Honus Wagner.2 […]

John J. McHale Sr. was a highly esteemed major-league executive from 1948 through 1989. He worked for the Detroit Tigers, the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, the Commissioner’s office, and the Montreal Expos. On two occasions, McHale received significant support as a possible commissioner himself. Jim Fanning, a colleague for many years with the Braves and […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

Contemporary accounts of Cleveland second baseman Bill Wambsganss’ fielding almost universally used the word “slick” to describe his play. Ever since his final year in the majors, 1926, he’s largely been remembered as the man who pulled off the only unassisted triple play in World Series history but he was also an important member of […]

As a star pitcher with the Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Indian School, Charlie Roy was favorably compared to a famous alumnus, and his fellow Ojibwe from Northern Minnesota, Chief Bender. The right-hander attracted the attention of several major-league organizations, and was the subject of a drawn-out contract dispute between two of those clubs. However, his big-league career […]

The Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter gathered at The Original Crusoe’s Restaurant in South St. Louis on Monday, July 21, 2014, with 23 members and guests in attendance. Chapter president Brian Flaspohler called the meeting to order. There was discussion, and universal agreement, on the suggestion by Kris Lokemoen to establish an annual chapter award to honor […]

The Yankees were cruising to their fifth straight AL pennant in 1953 when they took on the Senators in New York for a three-game series beginning on August 18. The Nats1 had just split a doubleheader in Boston with the Red Sox, while the Yankees had won four straight after pummeling the sixth-place A’s in […]

After a 40-year drought, the Chicago White Sox clinched the American League pennant on September 22, 1959, with a 4-2 victory in Cleveland. Sirens were activated in Chicago to announce the significant baseball happening. The long-wailing scream pierced the night and frightened many sleepy residents who thought the city was under nuclear attack. Mayor Richard […]

The Mets have an unusual affinity for finding themselves in notable marathons. Take that late May 1964 game at Shea Stadium, for instance — a nightcap of a doubleheader that went on for 23 innings and nearly 7½ hours and ended in a San Francisco Giants victory behind Gaylord Perry’s 10 frames of relief. Fast-forward […]

On July 22, 1953, the Mattoon (Illinois) Phillies and Decatur (Illinois) Commodores of the Class D Mississippi-Ohio Valley League played a doubleheader at Mattoon Baseball Park.1 These were the second and third games in a five-game series between league-leading Decatur, known in the local media as the Commies, and third-place (6½ games out) Mattoon.2 The […]

This Sunday-afternoon game in Chicago has a Shakespearean plot. Its twists and turns began 75 years prior and they continue today as a trivial footnote. It reads like a game from the Deadball Era: “Player/manager goes 2-for-5 — game suspended due to darkness.” It’s something young fans would be puzzled by today, along with myriad […]

Baseball fans, tune in this season to SABRcast with Rob Neyer, a new weekly podcast hosted by award-winning author and longtime SABR member Rob Neyer. SABRcast will feature insights and analysis of what’s happening in modern baseball on and off the field, plus compelling interviews with figures from around the game — and music from […]