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William Orange Forman, who pitched briefly for Washington in 1909 and 1910, was born on October 10, 1886, in Venango, Pennsylvania, the youngest of William (Billy) and Almira (Myra) Forman’s three children. The elder Forman came to northwestern Pennsylvania during its oil rush, and made a living drilling wells and refining their product. Young Will […]

Morris “Red” Badgro is best known as a Hall of Fame end on the 1930s New York football Giants. His professional baseball career lasted six years and included two seasons as an outfielder on the 1929-30 St. Louis Browns. At the University of Southern California 1923-27, he starred in baseball, football, and basketball. Born December […]

Tall, powerful, and fleet-footed, Burnis “Wild Bill” Wright was one of the Negro Leagues’ brightest stars for nearly a decade before embarking on a lengthy and successful Hall of Fame career in the Mexican Leagues. A towering 6-foot-4, 220-pound switch-hitter who slashed for average and slugged with power, he bunted effectively, ran like the wind, […]

Most famous for his wildly successful tenure in the New York Yankees front office from 1920 through 1945, Ed Barrow left his mark on the Deadball Era as well. Though he never played a game of professional baseball, the ubiquitous Barrow was a key participant in the careers of countless players and a major actor […]

Right-handed pitcher Jim Dorsey spent 11 years in professional baseball, six years in the Angels system and five in the Red Sox system. Both Los Angeles teams had been after him as a prospect. The Angels drafted him out of Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda (California) in the 21st round (486th overall) in June […]

“(For Dykstra) no dare was too bold, no drink too strong, no car too fast, no poker hand too big.”  — Jeff Pearlman, author of The Bad Guys Won!1 “The Dude would be an experience even if it had nothing to do with baseball. You could meet the Dude away from the field and come […]

When Jackie Robinson debuted with the Montreal Royals on April 18, 1946, he became the first Black player to appear in what was then known as Organized Baseball in nearly 47 years. Canadians feel a special connection to Robinson because of his year spent in Montreal. What many Canadians don’t know is that they have […]

Kid Elberfeld, called “the dirtiest, scrappiest, most pestiferous, most rantankerous [sic], most rambunctious ball player that ever stood on spikes” for his vicious arguments on the diamond, patterned his combative style after that of his favorite team, the Baltimore Orioles of the mid-1890s. He believed, like those Oriole players, that an umpire should be kept […]

“He was what could be classified as a crazy ball player. You could never defense him well or pitch him certain kinds of pitches because he was so unpredictable. If you were nine runs down, Holloway might try to steal home if he thought it might help to motivate the team in their comeback effort.” […]

Was it nature or nurture? Plenty of both figured in the life of Milton Joseph Bolling III, a former Red Sox shortstop who spent 43 years with the organization. He was born on August 9, 1930, in Mississippi City, Mississippi, while his parents were on vacation; but he grew up in a baseball town – […]

Forever known in Toronto Blue Jays lore as the team’s first Cy Young Award winner, Pat Hentgen by his accomplishments on the mound has been anointed as one of the best pitchers in Blue Jays history. Standing at 6-feet-2 and 210 pounds, Hentgen was a high-command fastball/curveball pitcher who had a stretch of being one […]

“Mothell was the greatest utility man in the game of baseball. He could step in at any position, except pitcher, and you’d never notice that the regular player was missing.” – Cool Papa Bell1   Playing a variety of positions over the years, the versatile Dink Mothell was a member of three Kansas City Monarchs […]

A member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, Pete Donohue was a right-handed pitcher from Texas who won 127 games for them over a 10-year stretch, including three years of 20 or more wins in the early to mid-1920s. He led the league with 27 complete games in 1925 and wins in 1926. By […]

Quincy Trouppe’s passion for baseball led to a long career as player, manager, and scout. An exceptional catcher and switch-hitter, “Big Train” played on Negro League teams including the St. Louis Stars, Kansas City Monarchs, and the Homestead Grays. He also played for and managed the Cleveland Buckeyes, twice leading them to the Negro American […]

After the landmark Messersmith-McNally decision was handed down by arbitrator Peter Seitz in December 1975, the California Angels quickly engaged in what some pundits referred to as “checkbook baseball,” a process in which financially well-off teams like the Angels and the New York Yankees sought to bolster their rosters by bidding for the best free […]

Daryl Irvine worked in 41 major-league games for the Boston Red Sox in the years 1990-1992. He was a right-handed reliever pursued by both the Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays before signing with Boston. He won four games and lost five in his work in the big leagues. Irvine came from Grottoes, Virginia, […]

Although he was overshadowed by four future Hall of Famers on the same team, shortstop Don Kessinger played an integral role on the pennant-contending Chicago Cub squads of the late 1960s and early 1970s. After a short stint with the St. Louis Cardinals afterwards, he ended his career on the South Side of Chicago as […]

During 24 years in the National League, August John Donatelli was one of major-league baseball’s most respected umpires. He worked four All-Star games (1953, 1959, 1962, 1969), five World Series (1955, 1957, 1961, 1967, 1973), and two League Championship Series (1969, 1972).  Moreover, he was the home-plate umpire for four no-hitters: Warren Spahn (1961), Carl […]

There have been 36 major leaguers nicknamed Cy, and only one of them had the first name Cyrus (Cy Malis). There were three Cyrils and one Ceylon. The most notable Cy was, of course, Cy Young – and there were four Cy Youngs, though the actual first names of the four Cy Youngs were Denton, […]

For most of his 16-season professional baseball career, George Maisel distinguished himself as a fleet center fielder who made many circus catches. He compiled a .282 major-league batting average with the St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago Cubs. But illness, injuries, and World War I combined to limit him to just 168 games over […]

With his 29th pitch of the game on October 21, 1975, Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Pat Darcy retired his sixth consecutive Boston Red Sox batter, Carl Yastrzemski, on a weak grounder to shortstop Dave Concepción to end the 11th inning and keep the score tied in the most pressure-packed game of his life: Game Six […]

In the midst of a successful career in the major leagues, Jim “Nixey” Callahan quit the Chicago White Sox after the 1905 season, pinning his fortunes on a plan to establish a semipro club in Chicago. He first purchased the rights to an old amateur playing field in Logan Square, a section of Chicago. Then […]

The first major-league baseball game this writer ever saw was at the Polo Grounds in New York City on May 24, 1946. Since then he has visited major-league and minor-league parks from Boston to San Diego and many places in between. But he has never seen games anywhere that rival the pageantry of those at […]