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Ty Cobb once called Jim Bagby “the smartest pitcher he ever faced.” Bagby was a star as both a starter and reliever, noted for his fadeaway pitch and outstanding control. He is best remembered for his 1920 season, when he went 31-12 and led the Indians to their first pennant and first World Series victory. […]

Following his death in February 1945, long-forgotten turn-of-the-century pitcher Ham Iburg was accorded a singular accolade by The Sporting News. “Iburg is credited with having the slowest ball ever hurled in the majors or higher minors,” declared the Bible of Baseball. “He had three speeds – slow, slower and slowest.”1 Some 40-plus years earlier, it […]

“Reading has signed a new pitcher. His name is Riddlemoser. If he has an arm anything like his name, he will break many a batsman’s jaws.”1   When it comes to unusual surnames in baseball, Riddlemoser must be near the top of the list. His family name seemed to fascinate sportswriters of the day. Though […]

“They set all the records and we won the game.” That was Gino Cimoli’s comment after Game Seven of the 1960 World Series, won in dramatic fashion by the Pittsburgh Pirates when Bill Mazeroski’s home run fell over the ivy in left field, as outfielder Yogi Berra of the New York Yankees could only watch. […]

Left-hander Drake Britton had one win and one loss in his time in the big leagues, but he has a World Championship ring to treasure forever as a member of the 2013 Boston Red Sox. It was a year in which he almost lost the opportunity to pitch. John Drake Britton was born in Waco, […]

New York fans had to be pleased at the scene that was unfolding before their eyes on May 12, 1959. Their Bronx heroes trailed the league-leading Indians 7-6 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. Cleveland starter Cal McLish, who was attempting to raise his record to 5-0, was lifted by manager Joe Gordon […]

At the end of the 2019 baseball season, 25 former major-league baseball players who had seen military service in World War II survived. One of them was Massachusetts native George Edward Yankowski, who served in the United States Army and saw combat with General George S. Patton’s Third Army. At age 96, this ex-catcher said […]

Billy MacLeod was a left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He faced 10 batters in two games in September 1962, walking one, striking out two, and allowing four base hits. He only gave up one run, an earned run, but it was in the bottom of the 12th inning and resulted in him bearing […]

A three-sport star in high school, Don Gullett became a professional baseball player at the age of 18. After a short stint in the minors, he became the mainstay of the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff. Before he was 25 years old he was being compared to Sandy Koufax and seemingly was headed for Cooperstown. But […]

During the 2011 baseball season, Jeanette “Jan” Stocker Bottazzi was one of a number of guests of the Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Pennsylvania) Iron Pigs of the International League selected to throw out the first pitch of an Iron Pigs home game. Although 65 years had passed since she played for the Kenosha (Wisconsin) Comets of the […]

The hot days of summer strolled lazily by Cleveland in 1954. The Indians were looking to sweep the visiting Chicago White Sox on the July Fourth holiday and make it four straight victories over the Pale Hose and seven straight overall. Cleveland was flexing its muscles, in first place with a 4½-game lead over the […]

In 1949 left-handed hurler Alexander Raymond Kellner joined his namesake, Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander, among others with a 20-win campaign in his freshman season. The next year Kellner joined a smaller community, losing 20 games in his sophomore year. Through 2015, only 15 pitchers (11 from the 19th century) have won 20 games […]

Tacks Latimer was a journeyman catcher during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although his major league career was brief, 27 games and 86 at-bats spread over five different seasons (the writer Bill James has suggested that this might be some sort of record), he played professional baseball for over a decade and a […]

An excellent defensive catcher who provided the Boston Red Sox with above-average offense for his position, Bill “Rough” Carrigan batted .257 in 709 career games, and once finished as high as eighth in the American League in batting average. Behind the plate, the 5-foot-9 175-pounder compensated for his lack of size with sheer toughness. Confrontational […]

Howie Fox was a right-handed pitcher who spent most of his career with the Reds during the club’s franchise-worst stretch of 11 consecutive losing seasons. By the time Cincinnati finished over .500 again, Fox had been traded, released and tragically murdered. Howard Francis Fox was born on March 1, 1921, in Coburg, Oregon — population […]

In 1883, the city of New York returned to the National League after a six-year absence and the team posted a mediocre 46-50 record under the leadership of player-manager John Clapp. Then as now, mediocre wasn’t good enough for New York fans or management, and team owner John B. Day spent the off-season contemplating how […]

St. Louis Cardinals fans saw one of their favorite sons reach a milestone on June 4, 1982. Right-handed pitcher Bob Forsch, in his ninth season in St. Louis, won the 100th game of his major-league career as the high-flying Cardinals defeated the defending World Series champion – but now flailing – Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-2, […]

The fourth-place Boston Beaneaters hosted the Chicago Colts at the South End Grounds for the finale of a four-game series on June 11, 1891. The Colts appeared to have no trouble in winning the first two games of the series, taking the opener 5-3 and the second game, the following day, by 9-7. In the […]

In his second at-bat of the second All-Star Game in 1960, Willie Mays made history by completing the All-Star Game cycle. In the span of just two days, Mays had collected the four necessary hits to hit for the cycle: a single, double, triple, and home run. No major leaguer has ever hit for the cycle […]

August of 1921 had been a good month for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and by August 22, it appeared that the Pirate ship had fully righted itself again. Having led the league most of the season, the Bucs had fallen into a tie with the New York Giants on July 30. Now, as part of their […]

Interleague play brought National League clubs to American League ballparks – and vice versa – during the 1997 regular season, an occurrence previously limited to the World Series and exhibitions. The first interleague game at Minneapolis’s Metrodome was played on June 16, when the Minnesota Twins hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mark Smith, the first-ever designated […]

Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella bashed NL pitchers in 1953. Jackie slashed .329/.425/.502 with 12 home runs and 95 RBIs, while Campy won his second of three NL MVP wards with his best season, setting personal records with 41 home runs, 142 RBIs, and a .611 slugging percentage. (Photo: SABR-Rucker Archive)   The New York […]

Roberto Clemente made five hits and drove home four runs on the same day that he criticized “a few” Pittsburgh Pirates for not hustling on the field. “They know who they are,” Clemente said.1 The Pirates were muddling along with a 72-74 won-lost mark, stuck in seventh place. During an interview with a San Juan, […]

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2021 as part of the SABR Century 1921 Project.   1921 New York Yankees team photo (SABR-RUCKER ARCHIVE)   The 1921 New York Yankees are the team that started it all. As the most successful franchise in baseball history, the Yankees (as of 2020) have won 27 […]