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Erv Palica, a laconic Californian, was little more than a bit player during the 1947 season, but four years later he was at the epicenter of a midseason controversy that may have cost the Dodgers the 1951 pennant. Palica was born on February 9, 1928, in Lomita, California, a small town west of Long Beach. […]

Clarence “Lefty” Heise had an extremely brief major-league career. He opened the 1934 season with the Cardinals but was released to their Columbus farm team on May 1 when major-league rosters had to be cut to 25 players. He pitched in just one major-league game, and he was the only man who played in a […]

Joseph John Brovia, who starred on California sandlots and in high school as a righthanded pitcher and a lefthanded-hitting outfielder, signed his first professional contract before he turned eighteen in 1940. When he joined the San Francisco Seals for the 1941 season, he was already a rising star. By the time his playing days were […]

In any competition for most eventful one-game major-league career, that of turn-of-the-century left-handed pitcher Larry Hesterfer must be adjudged a serious contender. Plucked from a nearby semipro team by the pitching-deprived New York Giants, Hesterfer hurled a darkness-shortened complete game in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 5, 1901. Although […]

“Sleepy Bill” Burns pitched for five major-league teams in five seasons from 1908 to 1912. At his peak, he beat Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson. The great Ty Cobb, a left-handed batter, said he would rather bat against the right-handed Johnson than face Burns, a tough lefty.1 Burns was blessed with natural ability, but he […]

Young Lee Delhi attended Santa Monica (California) High School and pitched for its baseball team 1908-10. As a pitcher for Santa Monica, he was known as Turk, Red and Demon Delhi. By 1909 Delhi had began to draw attention from the Pacific Coast League. Happy Hogan, the manager of Vernon, wanted to sign the young […]

Right-hander Elmer Singleton pitched professionally for 23 seasons — more than half of them in the Pacific Coast League, where he won 146 games and once carried a no-hitter into the 13th inning. Over parts of eight major league campaigns with the Boston Braves (1945-1946), Pittsburgh Pirates (1947-1948), Washington Senators (1950), and Chicago Cubs (1957-1959), […]

Quietly dependable though seldom spectacular for most of his five full major-league seasons as an infielder, Steve Yerkes grasped immortality when he played a central role in one of baseball’s legendary episodes. In the bottom of the 10th inning of the deciding game of the epic 1912 World Series, Yerkes raced home with the winning […]

“We are a baseball family, I guess,” said Charlie Ganzel of his clan in a 1904 interview.1 One of a bevy of family members who achieved success in baseball, Charlie was arguably the most prominent of the Ganzel brothers. Although he was a key contributor to five pennant-winning National League teams during the late nineteenth […]

A journeyman who spent parts of seven seasons in the American League, Wally Mayer joined the Red Sox in 1917 and spent two campaigns as a reserve catcher.   Although he did not appear in the 1918 World Series, “Kid” Mayer did help Boston get there by smacking a pair of 12th-inning game-winning hits against AL […]

Tommy Barrett hit for some very good averages and stole a lot of bases in the minor leagues. Originally a New York Yankees farmhand, he broke into major league baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1988, making 36 of his 54 big league appearances. He got into 14 more games for the Phillies in 1989 […]

Kevin Gryboski pitched parts of five seasons (2002-2006) in the major leagues. The big right-handed reliever with an excellent sinker spent the bulk of his time with the Atlanta Braves. As of 2021, he owned the distinction of being the only player to twice pitch in all five games of a League Division Series, having […]

Of the Jefferson brothers who briefly constituted one of the most formidable one-two punches in any Negro League pitching rotation, Willie “Bill” Jefferson was the more accomplished. Yet unlike his brother, Willie was a late bloomer, not reaching his prime until he was approaching his 40s. Also unlike his brother, who had a well-documented and […]