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Game Five of the 1918 World Series was an elimination game for the Chicago Cubs. The Boston Red Sox held a three-games-to-one lead. Should the Red Sox win Game Five, they would win the World Series. There was, though, the possibility that the players would decline to play. The players were looking to ensure, among […]

George McQuinn led the offense as the Browns swept the Boston Red Sox, 9-3 and 4-3, in a doubleheader at Sportsman’s Park on July 19, 1941. McQuinn’s 4-for-5 performance in the first game included the only batter’s cycle of the 1941 season. McQuinn, considered the best defensive first baseman in the American League at the […]

The Reds were on the brink. Twenty years removed from their only World Series championship, against the infamous Black Sox in 1919, Cincinnati was poised to become NL champions. Hosting the second-place St. Louis Cardinals in the final home game on the 1939 schedule, the Reds could clinch the pennant at Crosley Field by defeating […]

It was nailbiting time in Cincinnati when the Reds met the Pittsburgh Pirates for the second game of a three-game set at Crosley Field. The Reds unexpectedly found themselves in one of the most contested pennant races in history and appeared headed to an unprecedented three-way with the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies. Just […]

In 1879 Will White of the National League’s Cincinnati Reds set single-season major-league records for complete games (75) and innings pitched (680) that will almost certainly never be broken. The first major leaguer to wear glasses on the field, White had as his batterymate a future Hall of Famer whom baseball historian Peter Morris called […]

Future Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams both homered in the Boston Red Sox’ 18-7 win over the St. Louis Browns in the second game of a doubleheader at Sportsman’s Park on June 9, 1939. It was one of 111 losses that year for the inept Browns, who finished an American League-record 64½ […]

For 35 seasons, Ed Williamson of the Chicago Cubs held the major-league record for home runs in a season. In 1884, when pitchers tossed from a 4-foot-by-6-foot box, the front of which was located 50 feet from home plate, Williamson walloped 27 round-trippers, during a season in which he and three of his teammates, Fred […]

Would “The Kid” still have it? Opening Day of the 1946 season saw Ted Williams come back after three years in military service during the Second World War. He’d set a rookie record in 1939 that still stood in 2020, with 145 RBIs. In 1941, he hit .406 — the last batter in major-league baseball […]

As Pete Rose stood on second base, basking in the cheers of the Expos faithful on hand for the 1984 home opener, it’s reasonable to think that he was feeling pretty good. He had made it through the most difficult offseason of his major-league career to that point, with the Expos the only team to […]

The St. Louis faithful filed into Handlan’s Park hoping their Terriers would avoid a four-game sweep by the second-place Indianapolis Hoosiers, who were fighting to reduce the two-game deficit between themselves and Joe Tinker’s league-leading Chi-Feds of Chicago. The home team was buried in seventh place, 13 games off the pace. On the hill for […]

Prior to the start of Game Two of the 1918 World Series, Fred Mitchell, manager of the National League pennant-winning Chicago Cubs, recalled George “Lefty” Tyler’s previous World Series appearance. Mitchell earned his current position at the helm of the Cubs from successful work with his pitchers, especially Tyler, during his tenure in Boston. During […]

Babe Ruth put on a home-run show in his hometown on April 18, 1919. The Boston Red Sox pitcher-outfielder swatted four round-trippers in four at-bats during a chilly, one-sided exhibition game against the Baltimore Orioles. The Babe had begun to make his grand transition from top-flight left-handed pitcher to full-time outfielder and slugger. In 1918 […]

Doc Gessler was also known as Brownie – a right fielder and left-handed first baseman who played in 880 major-league games over eight seasons for a total of five teams. He hit only 14 home runs in his career, but was the first man wearing a Boston Red Sox uniform to hit a homer in […]

Billy MacLeod was a left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He faced 10 batters in two games in September 1962, walking one, striking out two, and allowing four base hits. He only gave up one run, an earned run, but it was in the bottom of the 12th inning and resulted in him bearing […]

Law enforcement has provided post-baseball employment for any number of former ballplayers, but right-handed pitcher Epp Sell followed a different career trajectory. Some ballplayers become police officers; Sell was more like an officer with a sideline in pitching. Sell joined the Reading, Pennsylvania, police department before he reached the majors, and was given leave during […]

One of the more obscure players in Red Sox history, Eusebio Gonzalez was the first foreign-born Latino to play for the Bosox. Eusebio Miguel Gonzalez Lopez was born in Havana, Cuba on July 13, 1892. Batting right and throwing right, he was an infielder listed as 5’10” with a playing weight of 165 pounds. Gonzalez […]

Outfielder Román Mejías played in 627 big-league games from 1955 to 1964. Alas, just three of those came with the 1960 Pirates, his one US team that won a pennant. He was not on the roster when Pittsburgh won the World Series that year. Mejías was “an affable, good-natured player …  whose demeanor, humility and […]

In baseball parlance a journeyman is a player who is experienced, reliable, and a good, solid performer, as distinguished from one who is a brilliant or colorful star. Chick Fulmer was a prototypical journeyman ballplayer. He had his colorful moments, but mostly he was just a clever, dependable teammate of more flamboyant players, whom he […]

Right-handed pitcher Bob Spade had one notable season in the majors (17-12 with 2.74 ERA) with the 1908 Cincinnati Reds but it almost never happened. An ill-advised trade attempt and paperwork nightmare necessitated the Reds ownership formulating a deal for Spade even while he was still in uniform with them. Spade had two more lackluster […]

Righthander George Stueland won more than 20 games in each of his first two professional seasons in Class D. The Chicago Cubs took notice and brought him to the major leagues at age 22, where he was tutored by teammate Grover Cleveland Alexander. Ahead of the 1922 season, his manager, Bill Killefer, said, “he [Stueland] […]

Frank Bowerman’s major-league career spanned 15 seasons, from 1895 through 1909. It included stops with the Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Giants, and Boston Doves. Bowerman was a sturdy, robust player who stood 6-feet-2 and weighed approximately 190 pounds. Although known mainly as a catcher, the righty could play almost any position. Bowerman logged […]

Although many baseball fans may believe otherwise, Bill Buckner was not exiled from Boston after his infamous 1986 World Series miscue. He appeared in 75 games for the Red Sox in 1987 before the team released him, looking to rejuvenate its outfield by shifting Dwight Evans to first base, freeing up playing time for Todd […]

Editor’s note: This article was presented at the SABR Black Sox Scandal Centennial Symposium on September 28, 2019, in Chicago. It also appears in the SABR Business of Baseball Committee Newsletter, “Outside the Lines,” in Fall 2019. The story of the infamous Chicago Black Sox is well known, but less well understood. Groundbreaking research over […]