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Bob Friend’s place in baseball history is firmly linked to his 15 seasons as a Pittsburgh Pirate. Pitching in the Smoky City from 1951 through 1965, the right-hander won 191 games, made four All-Star Game appearances, won the 1955 National League ERA title, and was a workhorse starter for the Pirates team that won the […]
The New York Mets came into existence in 1962 as the National League expanded for the first time.1 Casey Stengel’s ragtag “Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game” Mets stumbled to a 40-120 record in their first season, finishing dead last of the league’s 10 teams, 60 games out of first place.2 By 1966 the Mets […]
The day started well for Tom Seaver on April 22, 1970. He received his Cy Young Award in a pregame ceremony.1 It was a beautiful spring day in New York. A crowd of 14,197 showed up to see the Mets play the San Diego Padres. The many students who attended the afternoon game at […]
The New York Mets arrived in Philadelphia after a brief stop in Chicago where the teams could play only one game because of the weather. Gary Gentry pitched spectacularly in that May 13 game, throwing the fifth one-hitter in the team’s short history. The win left the Mets 1½ games behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs. […]
In 1921, for the first time in the brief history of the modern World Series, all the games were played at one venue, in this case the Polo Grounds in New York.1 The same two teams played in the World Series in 1922, again with all the games at the Polo Grounds. The same two […]
A paid crowd1 of 28,922 settled in to watch a scheduled doubleheader between the Astros and Mets on a Wednesday afternoon. Less than a week before, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins returned safely in the spaceship Columbia, concluding the Apollo 11 mission and the historic walk on the moon. In 1969 the Mets […]
The long love affair between Minnie Miñoso, the first black player in White Sox history, and South Siders began with a bang in his first game with his new club. Traded as part of a three-team deal on April 30 that also involved the Athletics and the Indians,1 Miñoso, called by Chicago manager Paul Richards […]
On April 7, 1970, one historic first and one historic last occurred at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field. In their ninth try, the New York Mets finally captured their first Opening Day victory, while Forbes Field hosted its final Opening Day after 61 years. The Mets, basking in the glow of their Miracle championship from last year, […]
The National League’s 1969 season was one of the most memorable in history because of the legendary collapse of the Chicago Cubs and the improbable rise of the New York Mets to claim the East Division title and go on to win their first-ever World Series. Both teams had reputations for being perennial losers, so […]
When fireworks launched on America’s 196th birthday, the nighttime celebration was an afterthought for Mets fans. Earlier in the day, Tom Seaver gave them another reason to rejoice when he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres; Leron Lee’s one-out, broken-bat single prevented the Mets ace from getting his first […]
When the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Mets met in Game Four of the 1969 World Series, the sports world was watching closely. The Mets had taken the lead in the Series after winning Game Three, 5-0, behind the pitching of Gary Gentry and Nolan Ryan. When the teams took the field on the […]
“If the ball drops, I might have had an inside-the-park [grand-slam] home run. I was just a step away from second base when he [Tommie Agee] caught it.” — Paul Blair after the second of Tommie Agee’s iconic catches.1 On October 12, 1969, the Mets had returned from Baltimore with the World Series tied […]
The NL dominated the headlines on the last day of the 1951 regular season. With identical 95-58 records, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants squared off against their respective opponents, Philadelphia and Boston, on the road with the chance to claim the pennant or end the season in a tie, thus necessitating a […]
On Tuesday, June 16, 1914, the St. Louis Terriers welcomed the visiting Brooklyn Tip-Tops for the first of a four-game series. After 55 games, the Terriers sat in seventh place in the Federal League, a few percentage points ahead of cellar-dwelling Pittsburgh. The Tip-Tops occupied fifth place, three games under .500. The St. Louis nine […]
Until 2021 — the franchise’s 53rd season — no San Diego Padres pitcher had thrown a no-hitter. The Padres were the last major-league team to hold that dubious distinction. Yet they might have gotten one as early as their second year in the National League. On July 21, 1970, righty Clay Kirby held the New York […]
Rolland Edison “Tex” Hoyle was the third youngest of nine brothers in a baseball-playing family. He was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, on July 17, 1921, to Alexander S. Hoyle Sr. and Alice (Hazen) Hoyle. His father was of English and Welsh descent and his mother German. The elder Hoyle was a baseball fan. He played […]
Though his major-league career was limited to parts of four seasons, Rod Gaspar was anything but a footnote player. While he played in only one full year in the majors, it was as a World Champion. Gaspar led National League outfielders in double plays while scoring a pivotal run in the 1969 World Series. Six […]
In the history of Bucknell University athletics, George Cockill’s name looms large. A three-sport varsity athlete in football, basketball, and baseball at the college in central Pennsylvania, the Class of 1905 alumnus returned to serve as varsity head coach in all three sports. He was posthumously selected to the school’s athletic Hall of Fame.1 Cockill’s […]
“He’s too young to throw a no-hitter!”1 With the words of Cincinnati Redlegs manager Birdie Tebbetts still ringing in his ears, 17-year-old southpaw Dave Skaugstad took the mound on September 29, 1957 at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Appearing in his second major-league game, he relieved 20-year-old rookie Jay Hook, who’d held the National League pennant-winning Milwaukee […]
For a player who endured nicknames such as Twiggy Mini-Hawk, and Mighty Mouse for his light weight and short stature, Bud Harrelson is perhaps best known to the casual baseball fan getting into a fight. There’s no doubt that Pete Rose got the better of him in their brawl at second base during Game Three […]
On the evening of September 21, 1964, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Art Mahaffey was pitching a gem of a baseball game. In the top of the sixth inning it was a scoreless duel in between Mahaffey and the Cincinnati Reds’ John Tsitouris at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. With two outs, 25-year-old Reds rookie Chico Ruiz […]
In high school in Grove, Oklahoma, Jim Beauchamp was a standout athlete in all sports. But in baseball, he really stood out and with his speed and power drew comparisons to another Oklahoma native son, Mickey Mantle.1 But injuries and bad luck deprived him of stardom and relegated him to a 10-year major-league career as […]
Kevin Collins was a hard-nosed infielder who stood up for his teammates and whose teammates stood up for him. He rose through the ranks with the Miracle Mets of 1969 only to be traded for the final piece of that championship puzzle. “When people say I wasn’t an important part of the 1969 Mets, I […]
Team pictures of the New York Mets in the 1960s and ’70s showed a shorter, older gentleman wearing glasses and business attire. His face could also be spotted deep within the Mets’ yearbooks. Near the Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink ads featuring Yogi Berra were head shots of club officials and other employees. Devoted Mets fans who […]