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An unlikely big leaguer who reached New York from the bushes by way of the Ivy League, Walt Bernhardt appeared oh-so-briefly for the war-depleted Yankees before entering the U.S. Army in 1918. He afterward built a life outside of baseball, tending to dental patients and Holstein cattle. Walter Jacob Bernhardt was born on May 20, […]

Right-hander Pedro Astacio made national news by tossing a shutout and fanning 10 in his major-league debut and proceeded to record four shutouts in just 11 starts as a midseason call-up for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1992. Never the superstar his meteoric rise might have suggested, Astacio eventually developed into a sturdy, and sometimes […]

In the history of major-league baseball, there have been two players named Hausmann. Both of them debuted in April 1944, played in 1945, and then returned to the majors for one final year in 1949. They were not related in any known way; New York Giants second baseman George Hausmann was born in St. Louis, […]

New York Yankees scout Joe Devine approached a young, struggling outfielder toiling in the lower minors with the following advice: “Frank, the closest you’ll ever come to center field in Yankee Stadium is in a postcard. But I think you could make the major leagues as a manager.”1 The right-handed-hitting youngster, who’d unsuccessfully tried switch-hitting […]

Bill McGilvray’s major-league career lasted two months and 11 days, but for seven years he was at the top of his game in the minors (1906-12) spanning Denver to Birmingham. He crossed paths with some of the game’s greats – finishing second to Shoeless Joe Jackson in batting in 1910, but leading the league in […]

“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 […]

At age 25, after becoming the best hitter in three different minor leagues – preceded by two-years’ service as an officer in the US Navy – Frank Saucier was the St. Louis Browns’ most sought-after and anticipated post-World War II rookie since the club signed future 20-game-winning pitcher Ned Garver and slugger Roy Sievers, the […]

World War II ended when the Axis powers surrendered to the Allied powers in 1945. Men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces returned to an America deeply affected by years of war, and they sought to resume a simple, more pedestrian way of life. They looked to an America which embraced enterprise and entertainment, […]

The same week Joe Jackson debuted in centerfield for the Cleveland Naps, another minor league star debuted in leftfield. Jackson is a baseball legend. The other newcomer, Dave Callahan, is all but forgotten. Callahan’s major league stay was brief, but he played seventeen years in the minors, noted for his defense and timely hitting. David […]

It was a career that included playing minor-league baseball, owning a minor-league club, scouting for the New York Giants, doing political work, running a business, and taking part in a legendary fistfight at the side of John McGraw. He was also said to be an amateur violinist. He built the first ballpark in Springfield, Illinois. […]

In 1949 left-handed hurler Alexander Raymond Kellner joined his namesake, Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander, among others with a 20-win campaign in his freshman season. The next year Kellner joined a smaller community, losing 20 games in his sophomore year. Through 2015, only 15 pitchers (11 from the 19th century) have won 20 games […]

On September 30, 1907, St. Louis Cardinals manager John McCloskey penciled the name Joe Delahanty into the lineup for a meaningless contest against the Boston Doves. A 31-year-old minor-league journeyman, Delahanty had recently been acquired by St. Louis and was about to be given a late-season look-see by the management of a club headed for […]

Between the two of them, brothers Michael and Larry Corcoran won 177 games and pitched three no-hitters in the major leagues. But all of those wins and pitching marvels belong to Larry, who was one of the best pitchers in baseball in the early 1880s, and led Chicago to three straight pennants. Michael, however, had […]

Immediately following his graduation from Tufts College Dental School in June 1916, catcher Ralph Carroll joined the Philadelphia Athletics, where his tenure was brief (10 games) and distinguished only by the fact that the club dropped every game in which Carroll appeared. Or perhaps that was not much of a distinction, as the hapless A’s […]

During a relatively short late 19th century playing career, Tommy McCarthy forged a reputation as an inventive baseball strategist, a fine defensive outfielder, and a good, if not exceptional, batsman. A significant member of pennant winners in both the American Association and the National League, McCarthy lingered in memory as the lesser half of the […]

During a stellar career at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, Charlie Moran1 was “considered the crack college shortstop in the country”2 and had several major league clubs bidding for his services. Once he entered the professional ranks he soon developed a reputation as a trouble-maker and malingerer, wearing out his welcome with such celebrated managers […]

Days after his graduation from college in June 1915, Rupert Mills was signed by the Newark Peppers of the Federal League. A Newark native and a locally renowned schoolboy athlete, Mills was deemed the potential fan magnet desperately sought by Peppers management. Unhappily, the new recruit proved unequal to the task, batting an anemic .201 […]

Chick Fraser spent his entire life in baseball as a pitcher, coach, scout, and minor-league manager, and though his playing career wasn’t especially successful it was certainly unique. He went 175-212 over 14 seasons, lost at least 20 games in a season five times, including three straight from 1904-1906, and ranks second all-time with 219 […]

The Boston Red Sox played their first game under that name on April 14, 1908, at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston. After the franchise was launched in 1901, they had gone through seven seasons without a formal name, but they were often known as the Boston Americans, since they played in the American League […]

The Philadelphia Phillies were in first place by 1½ games when the second-place Chicago Cubs came to town on July 20, 1911. But the Phils were without their most potent hitter, Sherry Magee, suspended for the balance of the season1 by National League President Thomas J. Lynch after flattening umpire Bill Finneran in a disagreement […]

Johnny Mize, a country boy from Demorest, Georgia, had been given the nickname of Big Cat because of his defensive prowess, but it was Mize’s offense that made him a star early in his career. Mize had a fine pedigree, being a distant cousin of Ty Cobb and a relation to Babe Ruth through marriage. […]

On Wednesday evening, September 25, 1974, Ralph Houk was managing an aging Tigers squad trapped in last place in the AL East at 71-83, 12½ games behind the first-place Orioles. The season’s high point had come the previous night. Al Kaline reached “his promised land,” becoming the 12th player to get 3,000 hits.1 Earl Weaver’s […]

On August 12, 1911, the Washington Nationals played the third of a five-game series against the visiting New York Highlanders at National Park. Washington’s home grounds had burned down on March 17, but, amazingly, a new ballpark was built on the site in less than a month. Although it was ready by Opening Day, the […]

In early 2007 major league baseball marked the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s first season with the Dodgers, bringing an end to a sixty-year ban on black players in the major leagues. The story of Robinson and the brave men who followed his lead and helped change the game has been told often and well over […]