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The older half of an obscure Deadball Era brother act, left-handed pitcher Herb Juul was a two-game member of the 1911 Cincinnati Reds. Younger brother Harry Juul,1 a right-hander, appeared in nine games for the 1914 Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League. Possessed of good breaking stuff, Herb was likely the more talented Juul. But […]

James Edward “Pete” Runnels occupies a place in Washington Senator and Boston Red Sox history as a stalwart, versatile infielder who learned how to hit from possibly the greatest hitter of all time. He parlayed his tutelage from none other than Ted Williams into two American League batting championships and lost a third title on […]

After tossing a complete-game victory in a one-game tryout with the Chicago Cubs in 1913, Doc Watson’s ticket was stamped for the minors again in 1914. But instead of returning to the small stage, Watson violated his reserve clause and jumped to the “outlaw” Federal League, where he pitched for both the Chicago Chi-Feds/Whalers and […]

Second baseman George Cornelius Smith played professional baseball for 14 seasons, mostly in the minor leagues, but with two years in the Negro Leagues and four in the major leagues. Smith was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, on July 7, 1937 or 1938.1 He attended David Elementary School and graduated from Gibbs High School, where […]

Some pitchers are more intense than others. Randy Johnson hit 190 batters in an era when brushbacks were frowned upon. Lefty Grove threw furniture in the clubhouse after tough losses. Among the fiercest competitors in history, Johnny Allen took his frustrations out on anyone who barred his path to victory. Allen’s temper was so notorious […]

At age 18 Larry McKeon lost 41 games in 1884, just seven short of John Coleman’s all-time major league rookie record for losses set in 1883. Two years later, still just 20 years old, McKeon threw his last big league pitch, and long before he turned 25 his pro career was over. McKeon was born […]

Michael “Fancy” O’Neil was a boxer and ballplayer who stepped on the field with four future Hall of Famers in his only major league game. He also had to be institutionalized multiple times and his death details were a mystery until 2019. O’Neil was born in Hudson, New York, to Irish parents Michael and Sarah […]

“I wish I had my own baseball card,” Chris Singleton remembers Keith Foulke saying to him during a road trip in El Paso while they were playing together in the Giants’ minor-league system. “He wasn’t a guy who was highly touted, but I said, ‘You’re good, man. It’s just a matter of time.’ Now, here […]

Casey Stengel, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1934 to 1936, was impressed with New York Giants left fielder Jo-Jo Moore. “Every time we play the Giants, Moore is robbing one of our hitters of an extra-base hit with a great catch,” said Stengel. “Every time I look up from the bench Moore is rounding […]

Cleveland manager Kerby Farrell rushed to the mound after pitcher Herb Score was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Gil McDougald on May 7, 1957. “He was bleeding from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. All we could think of doing was trying to save his life,” […]

A steady, left-handed pitcher can always find employment in baseball. Bob McClure was armed with a tremendous competitive spirit and a deceptive curveball. He turned his talent into 19 major-league seasons. “Bob Uecker told me that if I were right-handed I would have been digging ditches 10 years ago,” McClure said.1 After his playing days, […]

From his debut in the majors to his fifth and final game spanned a mere 11 days in April 1947, despite his getting two hits in that last game. But Frank Strickland Shofner played nine years in the minor leagues. Though both were Texans, Strick Shofner was no known relation to pitcher Milt “Pinky” Shoffner, […]

James Thomas “Moe” Mahoney was signed as a pitcher, but converted to a middle infielder. He played in an even 100 games at the big-league level, 89 at shortstop, 10 at second base, and one at third base. He was utilized as a pinch-runner in another 20 major-league games. Mahoney was a native of Englewood, […]

Mike “King” Kelly was professional baseball’s first matinee idol: the first ballplayer to “author” an autobiography, the first to have a hit song written about him, and the first to have a successful acting career outside the game. A handsome man with a full mustache and a head of red hair, Kelly through his fame […]

The Pittsburgh Federal League club (known in many newspapers as the Rebels or Pittfeds) was mired in last place as the calendar neared the waning days of July 1914. The promise exhibited by 20,000 fans showing up for the season opener back in April1 led to very little but a subpar record and a 15-game […]

Veteran New York sportswriters were impressed with 21-year-old Sandy Koufax’s overpowering four-hitter with 11 punchouts at Wrigley Field in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ one-sided win over the Chicago Cubs on August 1, 1957. “Sandy’s strikeout record against the Cubs is remarkable,” declared New York Times scribe Roscoe McGowen.1 Dick Young of the Daily News quipped, “Koufax, […]

New York Mets pitcher David Cone was back on the mound facing the St. Louis Cardinals for the second time in a week. Six days earlier in St. Louis, on September 14, Cone and reliever Jeff Innis had combined for the 19th one-hitter in the Mets’ 30-season history, but the Cardinals beat the Mets, 2-1, […]

On July 13, 1872, the New York Clipper reported as follows: “The Boston on a Rest. On July 6th, the Boston Reds went into camp on the Island in Boston Harbor to fish, shoot, bathe and recuperate generally for the fall campaign.”  The island in question was Calf Island, one of the Brewsters, where, in […]

Before the 1980 season, Detroit manager Sparky Anderson had a goal of 90 wins.1 The Tigers had won 85 games the year before but finished fifth in the tough American League East Division. Anderson, starting his first full season in Detroit after having had success with the Big Red Machine in Cincinnati, was looking for […]

The New York Giants were on an upswing when they headed to the Polo Grounds on Sunday morning, June 3, 1951, for a doubleheader with the St. Louis Cardinals, the sixth and seventh games of a 14-game homestand. They had won seven of the previous nine games to improve their record to 23-21, moving from […]

In a time when a pitcher’s ability to finish games was thought to say something about his character, even his masculinity, Hank Borowy was developing a reputation as a man who couldn’t finish what he started. An All-Star with the New York Yankees, Borowy was considered one of baseball’s best pitchers, but in 1945 the […]

The Boston Red Sox celebrated the 100th birthday of Fenway Park on April 20, 2012. Fenway had already become the oldest park in major-league baseball, and coming off a decade of offseason renovations was envisioned to last for at least another 30 or 40 years past 2012. Fenway has hosted more than 8,000 big-league baseball […]

More than a decade after the 2005 World Series win, the White Sox play their crosstown rival Cubs on a warm July 25 night in 2016. The Sox went on to win 5-4. (Courtesy of the Chicago White Sox)   The saying “To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in […]