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Frank Kostro played parts of seven seasons in the major leagues in the 1960s but never advanced beyond roles as a right-handed-hitting pinch-hitter and utilityman. He started only 80 games in the big leagues (at five different positions) and never had more than 151 at-bats in a season. But he earned a World Series ring […]

Except for a brief September call-up in 1953, Eddie Phillips spent his entire 11-year pro baseball career in the minor leagues. Yet, during those 2½ weeks with the St. Louis Cardinals, he established a record for most runs scored in the major leagues (four) without a plate appearance or taking a defensive position. His pinch-running […]

Over the last century of major league baseball, many marvelously talented ballplayers have represented their hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hall of Famer Al Simmons, 1917 World Series hero Happy Felsch, and Yankee all-star Tony Kubek were gifted Cream City natives remembered by even casual fans. Ken Keltner should be recollected in the same class. Not […]

“What is one to say about June — the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade?” — Gertrude Jekyll1   On the afternoon of June 23, 1984, at Wrigley Field, the hometown Chicago […]

In the American criminal justice system, and under the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, a person accused of a crime is considered innocent until proved guilty. But often the mere fact that he is accused can deprive him of his chosen profession and forever alter his life. So it was with Jesse Levis. A […]

East of Puerto Rico lie the isles of Vieques and Culebra. Along with a sprinkling of cays, they are sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. As of 2018, pitcher Julio Navarro was the only viequense ever to make the majors, largely because the island is an undeveloped place with a population of only about […]

January 29, 1981, was one of the most impactful days in White Sox history. That was the day Jerry Reinsdorf assumed control of the club, getting a 14-to-0 vote from American League owners at the O’Hare Hilton. Reinsdorf would go on to become the longest-tenured owner in the major leagues. At age 88 in 2024, […]

How many people can claim Benjamin Franklin, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and Washington Irving as their brothers? Lil Stoner could! The 9th edition of The Baseball Encyclopedia lists him as Lil Stoner, but he was born Ulysses Simpson Grant Stoner. Lil pitched for parts of nine seasons in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers, […]

Perhaps Gene Oliver was born too soon. With the advent of the designated hitter in 1973, he was already four years removed from his ten-year major-league career. He was a power hitter who drew favorable comparisons to sluggers Frank Howard and Joe Adcock. His glove work was often (and unfairly) derided – making him a […]

Neil Allen enjoyed three good years as a closer with the New York Mets in the early 1980s. However, over the course of his 11 years in the majors (1979-1989), the righty bounced back and forth between starting and relieving. Yet despite a rocky road professionally and personally, Allen’s native enthusiasm remained intact. That made […]

Karl Olson was an outfielder who began to show a great deal of promise coming up through the ranks in the Red Sox farm system, until a stint in the military during the Korean War years seemed to derail his career.  He nonetheless played parts of six seasons in the majors, largely in a backup […]

Major-league right-hander Bob Chakales was one of five sons born to Edward Peter and Blanche Wiggs Chakales – (sons in order: Robert, Charles, Dwight, and twins John and James). Bob was born on August 10, 1927, in Asheville, North Carolina. His mother worked in retail, selling women’s clothing, and his father – known as Eddie […]

Left-hander Ted Bowsfield spent seven seasons in the big leagues, initially signing with the Red Sox but later becoming arguably the best pitcher in the first year of Los Angeles Angels baseball. He later became director of stadium operations and team travel for the Angels, then head of the Kingdome in Seattle. Bowsfield was born […]

Baseball has had its share of memorable nicknames, particularly in a bygone era. The moniker ‘Cuddles’ bestowed on Clarence Marshall is certainly one of these. Marshall pitched for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns in parts of four seasons between 1946 to 1950. He was a tall righty with a lively fastball but […]

During his nine-year major-league career, all with the Boston Red Sox, Willard Lee Nixon never won more than 12 games in a season, and he lost more games than he won. Yet, when he died more than 40 years after his career ended, Time magazine noted his passing in its “Milestones” section, which typically features […]

To say that Alexander Schacht was obsessed with baseball is to understate. He was possessed by it. Schacht was an undersized man with an oversized heart and love of baseball. It consumed him as he traveled from hamlet to hamlet trying to sell his wares as a pitcher. When he did finally make it to […]

A.J. Bushong was better known as Doc or Bush in baseball circles. The Bush nickname is self-explanatory. The doctor reference denotes his degree in dentistry from the University of Pennsylvania. He obtained the degree early in his major-league career but only dabbled at the profession until his baseball career ended nearly a decade later. As […]

Right-handed pitcher Howie “Spud” Krist overcame a series of ailments and potentially career-threatening injuries to post an undefeated season (10-0) for the Cardinals in 1941 after a three-year absence from the major leagues. As an important member of the Cardinals’ World Series teams in 1942 and 1943, Krist sported a 37-11 lifetime record before a […]

Bill White spent 51 years in a game he didn’t love. The eight-time All-Star became the first black play-by-play broadcaster for a major-league team and the first black president of a major sports league. He railed against racism in baseball, though he acknowledged that, even as National League president, he couldn’t do much about it. […]

Ted Wilks burst on the national scene as a 28-year-old rookie pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1944 by winning a league-best 11 games in a row en route to a 17-4 record and helping lead the Redbirds to their second World Series title in three years. When the hard-throwing right-hander developed career-threatening chronic […]

On September 2, 1969, Phil Hennigan made his major-league debut in Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium in relief of Cleveland Indians starter Luis Tiant. Entering the sixth inning with his club trailing 5-1 and the Twins threatening more, Hennigan retired the always-dangerous Rod Carew on one pitch by inducing the future Hall of Fame famer to fly […]

Organized Baseball faced challenges on several fronts during World War I. Naturally, the able-bodied men employed in baseball were also wanted and even expected to perform in the service, like other men throughout the country. While it is true that many ballplayers performed in battle and other essential tasks, some were placed with their athletic […]

1882 Buffalo Bisons team portrait. Players are: outside, clockwise from top: Hardy Richardson, second baseman, Davy Force, shortstop, Pud Galvin, pitcher, Deacon White, third baseman, Purcell, left fielder, Tom Dolan, catcher, Jack Rowe, catcher, Foley, right fielder. Inside, clockwise from top: O’Rourke, manager, Dan Brouthers, first baseman, One Arm Daily, pitcher. (Courtesy of the Boston […]