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Who was George Whiteman? This is oversimplifying things, but in some ways he was a cross between Roy Hobbs and Crash Davis. Eleven years after having a cup of coffee with Boston and five years after having another one with the Yankees, he became an unlikely World Series hero for the 1918 Red Sox. Then he went back […]

In 1955 the Kansas City Athletics coaching staff “observed [rookie right-hander Art] Ditmar during spring training and prophesied that he was destined for distinction on the mound.”1 This bright assessment was echoed three years later by New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel, who said, “I believe … Ditmar could grow into one of the big […]

Other than Abner Doubleday, perhaps no person associated with the beginnings of baseball is more celebrated yet disputed than Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr. No evidence exists for Abner Doubleday’s having anything to do with baseball. There is, on the other hand, sufficient evidence to connect Cartwright with baseball. However, in light of interviews with other […]

“Couldn’t seem to hit, but could field as sweet as you ever saw.” – Connie Johnson, remembering Archie Ware in 19971   Archie Virgil Ware was born on June 19, 1918, in Greenville, Florida. His father was Virgil Ware, and his mother was Sally Emma Simmons. He attended Elder Jordan Elementary School,2 and his formal […]

Though Galen Cisco pitched in nearly 200 games over his seven-year major-league career, his athletic accomplishments were much more substantial and longer-lasting than that: He played in a Rose Bowl game as a young man, and was still helping major-league pitchers four decades later. Galen Bernard Cisco was born on March 7, 1936, to Beryl […]

Tragedy and controversy characterized the career of pitcher Kurt “Casey” Hageman. In the closing days of the 1909 season, he killed an opposing player with a pitched ball, the tragedy changing the path of his minor-league career. During the 1912 season, Hageman challenged a minor-league assignment. The ensuing court case was essentially an early challenge […]

Tom Simpson’s career in the major leagues was fairly brief, but he did put in a full season with the Chicago Cubs in 1953 and pitched in 30 games. Simpson was a 6-foot-1 right-hander, listed at 190 pounds. He had five years of minor-league experience behind him when he joined the Cubs. Thomas Lee Simpson […]

Although most current reference works assign Oliver Hazard Perry Caylor the nickname of Ollie and omit Hazard as one of his middle names, Caylor made it known that his full name included Hazard and he loathed the nickname Ollie, preferring to sign his correspondence either Opie or O.P. Caylor, depending on his spirits at the […]

At first glance, the 16-year baseball career of Floyd Vernie Speer doesn’t seem to amount to much. Appearing briefly in only three major-league contests, he could barely qualify as having a cup of coffee in the bigs. Even his major-league debut was inauspicious. It came on Sunday, April 25, 1943, with the Chicago White Sox […]

In baseball history, few major leaguers have turned to sports writing as a full-time profession after their playing days. Sam Crane and Tim Murnane were nineteenth-century players who then wrote for, respectively, the Boston Globe and the New York Evening Journal. Charley Walters twirled in a half-dozen games for the 1969 Twins before becoming a […]

When the Washington Senators called up right-handed hurler Jim Heise from the minor leagues in early summer 1957, the team was “desperate” for pitching.1 They were in last place with a major-league worst 22-47 record and had dropped 11 of their previous 15 games on their way to their third consecutive sub-.400 season. At that […]

In August 1897, the Baltimore Orioles called up left-hander Morris “Doc” Amole to fortify the club’s pitching staff for a late-season National League pennant run. In spot starter/relief duty, Amole pitched creditably, posting a 4-4 record, with a 2.57 ERA in 11 games. He was traded to Washington in the offseason and big things were […]

“You dream of things like this, but you never think of it happening to you. It’s something out of the movies.” — Mike Devereaux, October 15, 1995, after being named NLCS MVP1   Mike Devereaux became an instant hero on an Atlanta Braves team filled with future Hall of Famers. Having played with five different […]

Willy Miranda epitomized the “good field, no hit” shortstop. He was a lot more than good in the field, though—Tom Lasorda, to name just one, thought the flashy little Cuban was the best he ever saw at short.1 Wielding the same battered, patched, and secretly doctored glove for nearly his entire pro career, Miranda was […]

Warren Giles’ half century in professional baseball was highlighted by 18 years of service as president of the National League, a period of both considerable turmoil and much success for the Senior Circuit. He left behind many friends, especially the club owners whom he loyally defended and fought for over his career. Warren Crandall Giles […]

Shawon Donnell Dunston was one of the most recognized shortstops in the game for a period in the mid-1980s. Known for his remarkable throwing arm, he played alongside Ryne Sandberg as a double-play combination on some of the best Cubs teams at that time. Injuries limited his playing time and Dunston eventually became a journeyman […]

Keith MacWhorter was a right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox who appeared in 14 games during the 1980 season. He was perhaps handicapped by a limited sinking fastball-slider pitching arsenal. A native New Englander, MacWhorter was born on December 30, 1955, in Worcester, Massachusetts, and spent most of his youth in Rhode Island. In […]

In 1945, The Sporting News reckoned Eddie Mayo as “an excellent example of the Salvation Army adage, ‘A man may be down, but he is never out.’”1 Acquired by the Detroit Tigers a year earlier after he had failed in several attempts to stick in the big leagues, the 34-year-old infielder helped pace the club […]

A three-sport star in high school, Don Gullett became a professional baseball player at the age of 18. After a short stint in the minors, he became the mainstay of the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff. Before he was 25 years old he was being compared to Sandy Koufax and seemingly was headed for Cooperstown. But […]

The Dodgers had another chance to stop the Yankees’ World Series winning streak at nine games.  Brooklyn had blown a golden opportunity to at least tie New York in the top of the seventh but Pee Wee Reese ran into an out and Dixie Walker’s subsequent groundout ended the threat.  Dodgers manager Leo Durocher was […]

Brothers Bob and Ken Aspromonte were both graduates of Brooklyn’s Lafayette High School and both became major-league ballplayers. Ken was the eldest of the two, by nearly seven years, but Bob made the majors first, breaking in with the Brooklyn Dodgers (for all of one at-bat) in 1956. He didn’t return to the big leagues […]

The idea of a winter retreat appealed to many in the baseball business. The men the game attracted were by their nature sportsmen. Unless a man resided in a remote area during the winter, he gravitated towards his baseball companions, especially if he was a bachelor, to partake in any number of activities such as […]

The Sporting News’s headline for the April 29, 1955, game between the Fort Worth Cats and Dallas Eagles was “Cats, Eagles in Long Thriller,”1 but the significance of this game extends beyond the back-and-forth drama in this marathon between longtime minor-league adversaries. It was the last series between the Cats and Eagles before the death […]

It is a universally acknowledged truth in baseball that pitching at Coors Field is challenging.1 The thin air allows baseballs to fly farther once hit, and the reduced movement on off-speed pitches makes the pitchers’ arsenal less effective.2 Yet some pitchers succeed there—Germán Márquez being one. Not only was he a top contributor to the […]