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On April 28, 1875, the Richmond Daily Dispatch announced to its readership that “the famous Red Stockings of Boston (the champion club of the United States)” would play a championship game against “the celebrated Washingtons of Washington, D.C.” on the next day. This was, the New York Clipper said, the first professional baseball game to […]

The Brooklyn Tip-Tops had just lost five games at Washington Park to the visiting Indianapolis Hoosiers, who now stood atop the Federal League standings. Today the Brooklyn nine faced a doubleheader with player-manager George Stovall’s Kansas City Packers. Ed Lafitte, a big right-hander, took the mound for the first game against Kansas City left-hander Nick […]

In late July 1978, comedian Bill Murray traveled to Grays Harbor County in Washington State to film a segment for a Saturday Night Live television special.1 The location was a world apart from the hustle and bustle of New York, where SNL was normally produced. Despite being only moderately successful at that point in his […]

Griffith Stadium played host to the 23rd All-Star Game on July 10, 1956. A sellout crowd of 28,843 saw the National League win its sixth decision in the past seven encounters, 7-3. The overflow crowd filled the seats behind the center-field wall, creating a bad background for the batters, and there were 17 strikeouts in […]

Welcoming back their popular soldier-catcher Hank Gowdy after nearly a two-year absence, the Boston Braves held a ceremony in his honor on Saturday afternoon, May 24, 1919, before a game against the Cincinnati Reds.1 Gowdy had been the first active major leaguer to enlist for military service in World War I. John Heydler, the president […]

Philadelphia Phillies manager Eddie Sawyer faced a dilemma. Who would pitch the first game of the World Series? His ace, Robin Roberts, had started three games in five days, including a 10-inning pennant-clinching effort on the last day of the season. He needed rest. Curt Simmons, whose 17 wins in the league were second only […]

The Triple-A Rochester Red Wings’ home opener against the Richmond Braves on April 22, 1971, brought together some baseball names on their way up, others on their way out – and one caught intriguingly in the middle. The future stars on the rise included Rochester’s Don Baylor and Bobby Grich and Richmond’s Darrell Evans, who […]

Some Boston Red Sox fans were allowing themselves to harbor hope. The team had been down three games to one to the Cleveland Indians in the 2007 American League Championship Series, but they won Game Five to bring the series back to Boston. The 86-year-old “curse” had been snapped in 2004; the Red Sox won […]

“It was just another one of his usual days. I got over being amazed at him 10 years ago.” – Ken Boyer, speaking of Stan Musial, September 27, 19621 “I’ll just have to try to stroke the ball to left field. O’Dell has good breaking stuff.” – Stan Musial, September 27, 19622   A late […]

Gary Carter had been The Sporting News’ National League Rookie Player of the Year in 1975.1 He was the Montreal Expos’ sole representative at the 1975 All-Star Game and the recipient of the team’s Player-of-the-Year Award.2 But despite all of the accolades, Carter went into spring training in 1976 battling for playing time at catcher […]

“How good was Stan Musial? He was good enough to take your breath away.” — Vin Scully, on-air radio broadcast (1989)1   Early in the 1957 season, the St. Louis Cardinals were off to a sluggish start. But their star first baseman, Stan Musial, at 36 years old and playing in his 16th season, was […]

Wrigley Field at night, as pictured in 2014.   After rain washed out the Chicago Cubs’ initial attempt at an inaugural game under the lights on August 8, 1988, there was an anticlimactic sense to their first official night game at home the following day. True, the game itself was historic. When umpires halted the […]

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner became the champion of player free agency and trade transactions, routinely looking past his top prospects to build out his roster. His 1984 team was built around free-agent acquisitions Dave Winfield, Don Baylor, Steve Kemp, and Phil Niekro, as well as Ken Griffey, Omar Moreno, Toby Harrah, and Butch […]

Hyland Gunning had himself a good education, graduating from South Orange (New Jersey) High School and attending both Andover and Princeton. [Gunning’s player questionnaire at the National Baseball Hall of Fame] He’d been born in Maplewood, New Jersey, on August 6, 1888, and he was a good size for a first baseman – 6-feet-1 and […]

“The bonus rule will ruin baseball if it isn’t curtailed,” proclaimed Branch Rickey, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager, in August 1952.”1 A revised rule was adopted by the major leagues that winter. Clubs were required to carry any player receiving a signing bonus of more than $4,000 on their major-league roster for a minimum of two […]

When he got his shot at major-league baseball, speedy outfielder Jeff McNeely did very well indeed, batting .297 in 21 games. His on-base percentage was .409 and he stole six bases. That call-up came late in the 1993 season; the 23-year-old was then in his fifth year as a pro. Yet he never made it […]

It might have been a case of “no coaching is the best coaching.” Steve Farley, Pat Neshek’s college baseball coach at Butler University, said he spent a lot of time trying to fix a couple of mechanical issues Neshek had with his unorthodox sidearm delivery. But at the end of Neshek’s sophomore year in 2000, […]

Before the 1915 Army-Navy baseball game, 24-year-old Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower led his fellow Army cadets in the “Long Corps” yell: “Rah, Rah, Ray! Rah, Rah, Ray! West Point, West Point, AR-MAY!”1 Playing left field for the Army team was 22-year-old Omar Bradley. By a score of 6-5, Army defeated Navy for the seventh consecutive year […]

The 6-foot tall, 210-pound catcher for the Jersey City Jerseys looked like a giant to the boy. It was Camera Day at Jersey City’s Roosevelt Stadium in 1960. The Jerseys were the Cincinnati Reds’ Triple-A club. The catcher was Dutch Dotterer, a charming and intellectual athlete. Years later, Santa Ana High School’s Athletic Director, Frank Alvarado, would […]

“When he pitched, he looked like a spider doing aerobics,” one witness said.1 Lanky right-hander Pascual Pérez entertained fans and infuriated opponents with his spontaneous, emotional style over all or parts of 11 seasons (1980-1985, 1987-1991) with the Pirates, Braves, Expos and Yankees. Perhaps best known for getting lost on the way to his home […]

About one of every 200 high-school baseball players is drafted by a major-league team. Of those drafted, about 66 percent of first-round draft picks ever get to play in a major-league game, let alone make an Opening Day starting lineup.1 Of the 18,911 players who have donned a big-league uniform, only four have hit three […]

“Now Ol’ Rebel Oakes come up from the South With some tan on his face and a chew in his mouth; When asked if he thought he could build up a team That can drag down a pennant and fulfil a dream, Ol’ Oakes, he say: ‘Mebbe so!’”1 Ennis Telfair Oakes was born in the […]

“You Called That a What . . . ?”The Newsletter of the Official Scoring Committee Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) November 2018, Volume 4, Number 1 Past newsletters   Editor: Stew Thornley From the Chair Conundrum of the Month (or Quarter or Whatever) Meet Sven Muencheberg Profile: Pat Thompson 9.17 From 1944 Conundrum Solution […]

“You Called That a What . . . ?”The Newsletter of the Official Scoring Committee Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) November 2018, Volume 4, Number 1 Past newsletters   Editor: Stew Thornley From the Chair Conundrum of the Month (or Quarter or Whatever) Meet Sven Muencheberg Profile: Pat Thompson 9.17 From 1944 Conundrum Solution […]