Search Results

Buddy Hunter described himself as an S.O.B. – a South Omaha Boy. Harold James Hunter was born in Omaha on August 9, 1947, and went to South High in the Nebraska city. As of 2014 he still lived about 20 miles south of downtown Omaha. Hunter’s parents were both involved with cattle. His father, Harold […]

When George Brett incurred some nuisance back problems in the late stages of his career with the [Kansas City] Royals, he sought relief from a chiropractor in Overland Park[, Kansas]. On one of his first visits, perhaps the first, Brett lay face down on the table — vulnerable, as he recalls — waiting for treatment, […]

When the first big-leaguers from the Dominican Republic became All-Stars and competed in the World Series in 1962, Mariano Duncan was in his mother’s womb. He grew up to start one All-Star Game and play for two World Series champions – the 1990 Cincinnati Reds and 1996 New York Yankees. Primarily a middle infielder, Duncan […]

Fred Toney was a big, strong, temperamental right-handed pitcher who authored two of the best performances in baseball history. Pitching for the Winchester Hustlers of the Class-D Blue Grass League, the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder tossed a 17-inning no-hitter in 1909. But it was his 10-inning no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs on May 2, 1917, that put […]

In the 1951 St. Louis spring training camp, considerable focus turned to Bobby Tiefenauer as the answer to Philadelphia Phillies reliever Jim Konstanty, a high bar for the 22-year-old rookie to reach. Konstanty was the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, It was hoped that Tiefenauer’s knuckleball could match Konstanty’s success with off-speed sliders and […]

Marc Sullivan started 35 games in 1986 as backup to All-Star catcher Rich Gedman. He made the squad in spring training because of his defensive skills, but many critical Red Sox fans and beat writers would not overlook his offensive shortcomings. He hit only .193, with 23 hits in 119 at-bats, and seemed to be […]

Curt Flood was a vital cog in the 1964 Cardinals’ world championship run, but that achievement may have been all but forgotten in light of Flood’s subsequent role in the arrival of free agency for baseball players. Curtis Charles Flood was born in Houston, Texas, on January 18, 1938. His parents, Herman and Laura Flood, […]

Jimmy Walsh was among the last natives of Ireland to play in the major leagues. He appeared in 541 games from 1912 to 1917, batting .232 with six homers. He was a member of two American League pennant winners with the Philadelphia Athletics, including the 1913 World Series winners, and he joined the Boston Red […]

Which team was more determined to win? During the Philadelphia Athletics-Boston Red Sox game at Shibe Park on April 29, 1951, the Athletics came back five times to either take the lead or tie the game. It took three different Red Sox hitting home runs in extra innings to outlast the relentless Athletics in 13 […]

After going 28 consecutive innings without scoring a run, the anemic Rangers offense gave starter Pete Broberg a two-run lead in the first inning of their July 16 game against the Cleveland Indians at Arlington Stadium. Broberg eventually allowed Cleveland to tie the score and did not receive a decision for his 8⅓ innings of work. Instead, […]

He wasn’t kin to former Dodger mound greats Dazzy Vance or Sandy Koufax, but Gene “Sandy” Vance1 was a vital component in manager   Walter Alston’s Los Angeles rotation when Bill Singer was lost to unusual circumstances early in the 1970 season. Singer, a 20-game winner for the Dodgers in 1969, was sidelined by infectious […]

In 1910 attendance at the South End Grounds, home of the Boston Doves, was the lowest in the National League. By all accounts, only 985 fans showed up to see “the first game of the last series of 1910 on the local grounds,”1 a contest between Boston and the Philadelphia Phillies. The spectators witnessed the […]

Greater Boston native son Tony Conigliaro was a star for the Boston Red Sox. He hit a home run over Fenway Park’s left-field wall on the first pitch he saw as a member of the Red Sox.1 He hit 24 homers in his 1964 rookie year, setting a major-league rookie record for the most home […]

More than one football coach has used the adage “A tie is just like kissing your sister.”1 On May 28, 1964, the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers must’ve felt the same, after their 17-inning, 4-hour and 58-minute marathon at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field ended in a 2-2 tie. This was the longest game of the […]

When healthy, Eric Davis possessed a rare combination of power and speed, but he could never stay completely healthy in his career. Injuries and inconsistent performance limited Davis to 113 games in his first two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. But in the next five seasons, 1986 to 1990, Davis hammered 148 homers and swiped […]

Detroit’s Bennett Park hosted a four-game series between the Senators and Tigers in mid-July 1909. Detroit won the first three games of the set, with the finale set for Friday, July 16. The Tigers began that day atop the American League, with a 50-28 record. Washington lay in last place, at 23-52. Detroit was pursuing […]

“It’s true, ladies, all true. THE game did last almost until dawn’s early light and your old man was not out on the town, even if he may have looked it.”—Morris Siegel1 Open any book about baseball or any page on the SABR website to reveal myriad ways to contemplate the game. Consider that baseball […]

On June 11, 2003, six Houston Astros combined to pitch a record-setting no-hitter against the New York Yankees in an interleague affair. Roy Oswalt, Peter Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octovio Dotel, and Billy Wagner “shut down the Bronx Bombers in the House That Ruth Built …”1 The Yankees’ starter was Jeff Weaver, who was […]

For 35 seasons, Ed Williamson of the Chicago Cubs held the major-league record for home runs in a season. In 1884, when pitchers tossed from a 4-foot-by-6-foot box, the front of which was located 50 feet from home plate, Williamson walloped 27 round-trippers, during a season in which he and three of his teammates, Fred […]

Dave Morehead was sometimes stingy with hits. A graduate of San Diego’s Hoover High School—the same school that Ted Williams had attended—he broke into the majors with the Boston Red Sox at the age of 19 in 1963. His first game was a five-hit shutout of the Washington Senators on April 13. He threw a […]

Even the most “ageless” ballplayers, the ones who hold their places in the game the longest, eventually fade away. Pitcher Luis Tiant’s time came in the late summer of 1982, when he made six final appearances and earned two last wins with the California Angels to wrap up a 19-season big-league career. The Cuban-born fan […]

Kazuo Matsui arrived in the United States looking like a superstar. The flamboyant orange-haired shortstop with an “iron man” reputation signed a three-year, $20 million contract with the New York Mets before the 2004 season. His contract terms, including a travel allowance, housing, and interpreters, were almost exactly the same as the deal signed by […]

The 1949 World Series opened with Allie Reynolds facing Brooklyn’s best pitcher, Don Newcombe. Yankees manager Casey Stengel wanted the 1950 World Series to start that way as well. Reynolds against Philadelphia’s best pitcher. But it did not work out that way as Jim Konstanty rather than Robin Roberts started Game One. Eddie Sawyer’s gambit […]

Montreal mayor Jean Drepeau with (from left) John Bateman, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, and Maury Wills on Opening Day in New York, April 8, 1969 (COURTESY OF THE McCORD MUSEUM, MONTREAL)   It somehow seemed inevitable when it all came to an end in 2004. Fate didn’t really smile on the ’Spos (Les Expos de Montreal) […]