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Frederick Romaine Applegate, who won one of three decisions pitching for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1904, was born on May 9, 1879. His father, James, emigrated from England to America in 1871. James settled in Williamsport, Pennsylvania’s timber-industry hub, where he worked as a grocer. In April 1878 he married New York native Mary Williams.1 […]

Undersized pitcher Roy Radebaugh won 74 games for the Columbus (Georgia) Foxes of the Class C South Atlantic League over the three years from 1909 through 1911. Then aged 30, he earned a two-game tryout with the St. Louis Cardinals towards the end of the 1911 season. After pitching on in the minors through 1917, […]

National League umpire Cy Rigler was a model of restraint in confrontations involving disputed calls, earning a reputation as the “least thin-skinned” of his contemporaries. The genial arbiter chose the role of peacemaker, refraining from profanity and seldom ejecting a player or manager, and it’s a good thing that he did——Rigler stood nearly 6’0″ and […]

Tall right-handed pitcher Ralph Brickner had an enviable first year in major-league baseball, with a .750 winning percentage and a career 2.18 earned run average. Unfortunately, his time in the minor leagues was not as productive and his career was a relatively short one. A Cincinnatian – born, raised, and buried there, Ralph Harold Brickner […]

A fill-in catcher in a rookie-loaded lineup for Connie Mack and the World Series-bound Philadelphia Athletics on September 30, 1913, Navy man and “one-hit wonder” Joe Giebel’s only major league appearance would fortuitously occur right in his hometown of Washington, DC. Joseph Henry Giebel was born in Washington, District of Columbia, on November 30, 1891, […]

Stout left-hander Ed Zmich won only one big-league game, but for a few weeks in the summer of 1910, the Class-D hurler caught the attention of the baseball world, resulting in an unusually fierce bidding war. Edward Albert Zmich was born on October 1, 1884, in Cleveland. His father, Max, emigrated from Germany in 1873 […]

How did a ballplayer from Indiana whose entire major-league career saw him pitch for the Boston Americans come to be known as Tex? His given name was Charles Leroy Pruiett. It wasn’t his lanky stature; he was 5-feet-8 with a listed playing weight of 176 pounds. The answer is probably a simple one: It likely […]

In his seven seasons in the major leagues, Frederick Harrison Corey played every position on the diamond, appearing in 237 games at third base, 93 as the pitcher, 46 in right field, 38 at shortstop, 29 in center field, 11 at second base, 8 in left field, 7 at first base, and one at catcher. […]

Although he didn’t enjoy the prominence of many players of his era, Alfred Armour posted a solid professional baseball career, including three all-star appearances and a Negro League World Series championship in 1945. Because the peak years of his career predated talks of integrating the White major leagues, he never attained enduring fame on the […]

In the early years of the 20th century college players became more commonplace in major league baseball. One of the most widely known was Christy Mathewson, who attended Bucknell University in Pennsylvania before embarking on a Hall of Fame career with the New York Giants. So when another Bucknell pitcher named William Parson had success […]

Family, friends, and teammates could easily have called Charles E. Brown “Charlie Brown” instead of Buster Brown. Given that he would own the worst career winning percentage (.331) for a pitcher with a minimum of 150 decisions, a name that long after his death would have recalled the perpetually defeated Peanuts comic-strip character would have […]

On May 22, 1926, in the bottom of the seventh inning at Fenway Park, Chicago White Sox manager and second baseman Eddie Collins just watched his bullpen turn a close game into a rout. The Chicago Tribune described the inning as “too complicated and painful to bear narrating.”1 Two relievers combined to surrender five runs, […]

The Baseball Landmarks Committee invites all baseball fans to enjoy and learn more about the SABR Baseball Map. (Click on the image above to view the map at Maptive.com.) What will I find on the SABR Baseball Map? BALLPARKS – Active Major League, MiLB, Independent Minor League, and Summer Collegiate Leagues (categorized by level) STATUES – […]

After Game Four of the 1986 World Series, reporters asked Boston Red Sox manager John McNamara about his slumping hitters, notably former batting champion Bill Buckner and reigning batting champ Wade Boggs, who against the New York Mets were hitting a combined .171 (6-for-35), effectively neutering the advantage provided by their hottest hitter, Marty Barrett, […]

On the rainy evening of March 17, 1871, delegates from 10 professional baseball clubs met at Collier’s Rooms in New York City, an upstairs saloon run by 32-year-old character actor James W. Collier at the corner of Broadway and 13th Street, just across from Wallack’s Theatre, where he frequently trod the boards. The clubs had […]

Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey anticipated that his outfit would be competitive and draw strong crowds during the American League’s first season as a declared major league in 1901, but even he was taken aback by how many fans descended upon South Side Park on April 28 for the first Sunday game of the […]

With four home runs, 11 extra-base hits, and an argument that delayed the game for 15 minutes, the June 3, 1955, matchup between the Class B York (Pennsylvania) White Roses and the Lynchburg (Virginia) Cardinals was packed with events to remember. The game’s real significance, though, didn’t become fully apparent until years later. In the […]

The winningest pitcher of the 1970s wore the white, orange, and black of the Baltimore Orioles. With 186 regular-season victories,1 Jim Palmer narrowly nosed out Gaylord Perry (184 wins) for pride of place among major-league moundsmen.2 Win number 186, however, was scarcely a triumphant victory lap for the Baltimore righty. Handed a 12-2 lead after […]

Bill Moore’s major-league career was brief and unfortunate. Pitching in relief for the Detroit Tigers on April 15, 1925, Moore began the sixth inning by walking the only three Chicago White Sox batters he faced. He was removed from the game and never appeared in the majors again. Reliever Lil Stoner allowed two of the […]

The Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox had some postseason (or late season) history. In 1948 they were tied on the last day of the season and had a one-game playoff to determine who won the American League pennant. The visiting Indians beat the Red Sox, 8-3 – and then stayed in Boston, where two […]

On April 10, 1963, the US nuclear submarine USS Thresher sank in the Atlantic Ocean during a test dive about 220 miles east of Boston, with a loss of 112 sailors and 17 civilian technicians, scientists, and observers. Eighty-six of those lost were reportedly New England residents.1 The men aboard the Thresher left behind 187 […]

1952 Globe Printing Dave Hoskins baseball card   Entering the 1952 season, the Texas League had never seen a player like Dave Hoskins, neither in talent nor complexion. Like Jackie Robinson five years earlier, Hoskins was an experiment. Dallas Eagles owner Richard Burnett wanted a Black man on his team.1 As evidenced by the 200 […]

The 1999 American League Division Series shifted back to a sold-out Jacobs Field1 for a Monday night winner-take-all Game Five between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox had retreated to Fenway Park down two games to none after losing Game Two on October 7, unsure if their ace Pedro Martinez would […]

Editor’s note: In 2010, SABR’s Nineteenth Century Research Committee selected Deacon White as its Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend. This article first appeared in the committee’s Fall 2010 newsletter. In December 2012, the Veterans Committee elected White, along with former Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert and longtime umpire Hank O’Day, to the National Baseball Hall of […]