Search Results

“If somebody came up and hit .450, stole 100 bases, and performed a miracle in the field every day, I’d still look you right in the eye and tell you that Willie was better. He could do the five things you have to do to be a superstar: hit, hit with power, run, throw and […]

On August 29, 2008, 25-year-old Will Venable, made his major-league debut with the San Diego Padres. Although the Padres lost to the Colorado Rockies that day, 9-4, outfielder Venable, brought up from Triple-A Portland, tripled to right center in the second inning, in his first at-bat, and then scored on Aaron Cook’s wild pitch. Venable, […]

If a young, successful major league pitcher had decided to become an outfielder in 2001, it would have been news. And if he had hit above .300 for the next five straight years, culminating in 2005 by winning the league’s batting crown with a .377 average, he would have graced magazine covers. Finally, if upon […]

In announcing the March 1921 indictments of the players and gamblers involved in the Black Sox Scandal, Cook County (Illinois) State’s Attorney Robert Crowe announced that the World Series fix originated in St. Louis, specifically with Carl Zork and Benjamin Franklin, rather than in Boston and New York by the Eastern clique of Arnold Rothstein, […]

Frank Robinson would not want to be remembered as a racial pioneer. He would prefer to be immortalized as a baseball player who conducted his craft to the best of his ability in the field and at the plate. Robinson knew from a young age that he would face his share of obstacles in life. […]

During his days with the Baltimore Orioles at the end of the 1970s, Pat Kelly talked a lot with skipper Earl Weaver. While Weaver spoke about baseball strategy, Kelly – who became a born-again Christian in 1975 – persisted in talking about Jesus Christ. In one of those dialogues, Kelly proposed to Weaver, “Why don’t […]

The Black Sox dealt with a gambler they knew only as “Brown,” “identified” soon after as New York City gambler “Rachie” Brown. In his article “A Black Sox Mystery: Who Was Rachael Brown,” author Bill Lamb makes a convincing case that this man was actually casino operator Nat Evans, a friend of Arnold Rothstein, who […]

Fittingly, pitcher Leroy Matlock was called “the Black Carl Hubbell” in press releases promoting a 1937 barnstorming tour.1 Hubbell, who entered the Hall of Fame in 1947, had completed a high-profile streak of 24 wins in a row earlier in 1937 for the pennant-winning New York Giants. Matlock, also a lefty, had 26 straight victories […]

One of the most feared hitters of his generation, Lee May is one of only 11 major leaguers to have 100-RBI seasons for three different teams. He also had 11 consecutive seasons (1968-1978) of at least 20 home runs and 80 RBIs. In an 18-year major-league career, the “Big Bopper of Birmingham” played for the […]

He was a baseball man in the purest and most complimentary sense of the term, at various times in his professional career playing as a pitcher and an outfielder, along with a few occasions at second base, and finally working as a manager over a 26-year professional span. “He was a good contact hitter, had […]

Joe Simmons was a pioneer for the Jim Leylands and Ron Washingtons of the game, men who are affectionately referred to as “baseball guys.”  Simmons was a great fielder but an inconsistent hitter who managed to catch on with pro teams throughout the 1860s and 1870s. As a manager, he was a firm disciplinarian who […]

Harry O’Neill played in just one major-league baseball game, had no times at bat, and no putouts or assists. Still, he won a measure of immortality as one of only two major leaguers who lost their lives during World War II. He was killed in action on March 6, 1945, during the battle for the […]

The obstacles a rookie follows to become a major leaguer are daunting. Add to that the pressure of being described as a can’t-miss prospect or the next Joe DiMaggio and that process can be overwhelming. Johnny Groth faced such a situation with the Detroit Tigers in the spring of 1949. He would become and remain […]

“Moe was just scary. The whole league was afraid of him.” – Terry Ryan, future Minnesota Twins GM and teammate of Moe Hill’s in 19731 “A living legend, the Hank Aaron of Class A ball.” – Rick Wolff, a Midwest League opponent of Hill’s in 19742   If ever a player personified minor-league baseball, it […]

Albert Wickland was born in Chicago on January 27, 1888, the son of Lars and Charlotte Wickland. He had two older brothers — August, a lawyer, and Henry, a bank clerk. At the time of the 1910 Census, Al himself was working as a stationery salesman. Al played most of his professional career as an […]

Earl “Flat” Chase, ca. 1947-1954. (Archives and Special Collections, Leddy Library, University of Windsor)   Earl “Flat” Chase (1913 – 1954) was skilled as a batter, pitcher, catcher, and any field position he was asked to play. Chase was nicknamed Flat for his running style, and his skills on the field and charismatic athleticism earned […]

In 1915, America’s leading syndicated sportswriter, Hugh Fullerton, published a forgettable baseball novel in which a star left-handed pitcher named Williams is bribed and threatened by gamblers to lose the pennant for his team.1 Fullerton, who dedicated the novel to his friend and mentor, Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey, had been writing about the […]

“Turkey Stearnes — that cat could play and hit. He could’ve made it.” — Thomas “Monk” Favors1 Over the years, the Baseball Hall of Fame’s research department routinely requested retired baseball players to submit a form whose details painted a picture of the player’s birth, family, and early years, and a sketch of his playing […]

George “Mule” Suttles emerged from Alabama coal mines to become one of the greatest power hitters in Negro League history. He drew comparisons to Babe Ruth for his tape-measure home runs, and he hit for average, too; his career batting average is estimated to be .317 by Seamheads.com. The genial first baseman and outfielder was […]

Monday, September 29, was the last day of the American League’s 1902 season. The National League wrapped up its season with a Sunday doubleheader in St. Louis on October 5. There was only the one game in the AL played on the 29th. The last-place Baltimore Orioles hosted the Boston Americans, who were in third […]

The Federal League Kansas City Packers and Chicago Chi-Feds played the first game ever at Weeghman Park on April 23, 1914, to an overflow crowd of 21,000, much fanfare, and chilly weather. “Chicago took the Federal League to its bosom yesterday,” wrote Sam Weller in the Chicago Tribune, “and claimed it as a mother would […]

The Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians experienced completely different kickoffs to their 1921 campaigns. The 1920 season ended with Cleveland capturing their first World Series, over the Brooklyn Robins, after a season-long battle with the White Sox and the New York Yankees for the American League pennant. The White Sox were constantly battered by […]

At a time when the St. Louis Browns were sorely lacking for talent and ticket sales, club executives saw a two-in-one solution to address both problems. Three days after drawing a mere 478 fans to Sportsman’s Park for a Monday afternoon game against the Washington Senators,1 the Browns made a surprising announcement on July 17, […]

Fans flocked to Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium in record numbers1 to watch the Blue Jays soar to new heights in the summer of 1983, and those who turned out on this hazy, humid night were hoping for a four-game series sweep. Toronto sat one game out of first place while the Yankees, despite dropping the first […]