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Editor’s note: This article first appeared in SABR’s “The National Pastime,” Vol. 6, No. 1, Winter 1987. To read more from the TNP archives, click here. Conceived and nurtured by Information Concepts Incorporated (ICI), a systems company, and published by The Macmillan Company, The Baseball Encyclopedia: The Complete and Official Record of Major League […]
Editor’s note: At this year’s SABR convention in Long Beach, Harry Stovey was selected by SABR’s Nineteenth Century Research Committee as its Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend for 2011. The announcement was made during the committee’s annual business meeting. Harry Duffield Stowe was born December 20, 1856 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Stowe (or Stow by […]
This article was published in From Setbacks to Success: The 1945 Cleveland Buckeyes (SABR, 2025), edited by Vince Guerrieri, Thomas Kern, and Bill Nowlin. As 1945 dawned, World War II was winding down toward its conclusion – even if that wasn’t apparent as the year began. After repelling the Nazis in the Battle of the […]
Hitting mammoth home runs and striking out ten hitters a game look great in highlights or on the back of a baseball card, but those who excel at these feats are few and far between. The soul of the game is the baseball lifer. Lifers count their number of spring trainings in decades, not just […]
May 11, 1964, was a good day for pitchers to be born to the majors. On that day, Red Sox hurler Jeff Sellers, 16-year veteran Bobby Witt and Expos staffer Floyd Youmans were all delivered into the world. It was the world at the height of the Cold War. Nuclear tests being performed in Nevada […]
He legitimately could be called the Father of Professional Baseball, yet few modern fans are familiar with the name of Aaron Burt Champion. As president of the Cincinnati Base Ball Club, Champion conceived the idea of fielding an all-professional team in 1869, the first openly professional club in the history of baseball. With the help […]
Right-handed pitcher Bob Kline was a very large ballplayer, with a self-reported playing weight of 235 pounds and standing 6’4”. [1] When Red Sox trainer Bits Bierhalter put him on a diet regime, he lost effectiveness. Red Sox scout Jack McCallister discovered him at Central High School in Columbus, Ohio, where he played baseball, football, […]
Charlie Jamieson was a star American League outfielder during the 1920s. In a career spanning 1915-1932, the speedy singles hitter achieved a .303 batting average with 1,990 hits in 1,779 games. In addition to being a very good leadoff man, he also had a fine reputation in the field. Jamieson initially struggled to find his […]
“If you do stink it up today, you get to come out the next day and get another shot,” said Scott Radinsky. “That’s why I love being a reliever.”1 A hard-throwing left-hander, Radinsky was never afraid of failure, or a challenge. He made a big jump from Single A to the majors, debuting with the […]
Rumor in Town is a very persuasive book. Subtitled “A Grandson’s Promise to Right A Wrong,” Matt Dahlgren’s 2007 book tells the story of the life of first-baseman Babe Dahlgren and how his life in baseball (1934-48) was tarnished by rumors of drug use.1 Murray Chass of the New York Times wrote of grandson Matt’s […]
“Some people say he was the greatest African American player ever. That may be so — I don’t know — but what seems clear is that he was the best black player of his time.” — Monte Irvin The story of John Henry “Pop” Lloyd has many facets. It is a story of communities […]
He made his way from the Moline Plowboys to the major leagues, but John Kroner was unique at the time: the only registered pharmacist in major-league ball. This led to predictable lines such as “Pharmacist Kroner Fills Prescription.” [1] His was a career that saw him a contender for rookie of the year in 1936, […]
There are many types of baseball lifers. Some play, then manage, like Joe Torre. Some play, then move to the front office, like Billy Beane. Some never play but still make a career of the sport, like Roland Hemond or Vin Scully. But perhaps most baseball lifers play, achieving some success but little fame, and […]
The Red Sox faithful’s devotion to Nomar Garciaparra, cultivated through multiple All-Star seasons and batting titles, had seemingly reached its breaking point after a July 1, 2004, loss to the Yankees. While Garciaparra sat out the game due to his Achilles tendon injuries, his perennial rival Derek Jeter reached base twice and dove headfirst into […]
Born on October 17, 1859, in Hoagland, Ohio, a small town about 53 miles east of Cincinnati, William Ewing was the uncle of twentieth-century major league pitcher Bob Ewing and the older brother of major league pitcher John Ewing, with whom he formed a formidable battery for two years (1890-91) before John left the game […]
The Triple-A Rochester Red Wings’ home opener against the Richmond Braves on April 22, 1971, brought together some baseball names on their way up, others on their way out – and one caught intriguingly in the middle. The future stars on the rise included Rochester’s Don Baylor and Bobby Grich and Richmond’s Darrell Evans, who […]
As June started in the 1950 season, the Detroit Tigers traveled to Philadelphia for a two-day, three-game series against the Athletics at Shibe Park, which included a doubleheader played before a crowd of 17,449. Winners of four of their last five, the second-place Tigers (22-12) trailed the New York Yankees by three games in the […]
As the 1940 season began, the Cardinals were sputtering in the early going. Losers of their first three games and eight of their first 13, the runners-up to the Cincinnati Reds for the 1939 pennant were limping along a game and a half ahead of the miserable Boston Braves at the bottom of the standings. […]
Less than a year after Red Grange and the Chicago Bears debuted professional football in Boston, Beantown had its own professional franchise. Once again Grange was on the gridiron at Braves Field for one of the city’s singular sporting events. Credit for Boston’s entry into the professional ranks belonged to Grange’s business partner, Charlie Pyle. […]
“Doesn’t matter if he throws a no-hitter, he’s going back down.” That’s what Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona said when right-hander Clay Buchholz was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket for his major-league debut, a spot start on August 17, 2007, three days after turning 23.1 Buchholz pitched well in that game, allowing three runs […]
Boston’s love affair with Mike “King” Kelly fittingly began on Valentine’s Day. It was on February 14, 1887, that the Boston Base Ball Club of the National League agreed to pay $10,000 to Al Spalding and the Chicago White Stockings for the rights to the 29-year-old reigning NL batting champion. In its front-page story breaking […]
The Boston Red Sox held a one-game lead over the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East Division, but it was only 28 games into the season. Both teams were getting over disappointments from the year before. The Yankees had denied the Red Sox the pennant in a seven-game AL Championship […]
What follows is a narrative on the greatest comeback in baseball history.1 Since they began in the American League in 1901, the Washington Senators as of 1922 had finished fourth or better just six times. In 1915 and 1921 they were fourth, in 1914 and 1918 they were third, and in 1912 and 1913 they […]
What possible reason would there be to include a Celtic-influenced punk rock band from Boston on the SABR BioProject site? Just ask former Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon or pitchers Bronson Arroyo and Lenny DiNardo, who sang backup for the band on a song called “Tessie” in 2004. The superstitious members of Sox Nation will […]