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Jack Ryan was actually born as Jack Ryan; his first name was not a nickname. He did acquire some colorful nicknames in baseball, however: “Gulfport” was one, but he was also known as “Coffee Grounds” and “Mud Artist.”1 And the Red Sox once traded Cy Young to get him. Later in his career, he was […]

Kevin Collins was a hard-nosed infielder who stood up for his teammates and whose teammates stood up for him. He rose through the ranks with the Miracle Mets of 1969 only to be traded for the final piece of that championship puzzle. “When people say I wasn’t an important part of the 1969 Mets, I […]

For a player who appeared in only 19 games during part of a nineteenth-century season, Daniel Albion Jones Jr. received an inordinate amount of notoriety. Among the many cameo players who flitted briefly across the major-league scene, Jones was perhaps the most unique. He was a Yale man who sang in the college’s glee club. […]

Miguel González enjoyed a long and prolific career as a major-league catcher and coach, and along with Adolfo Luque is considered to be one of the two true patriarchs of baseball in Cuba, where he was a player, manager, and owner in the Cuban League from 1910 through 1960. He was a coach on the […]

John Dopson pitched in 144 major-league games over eight seasons from 1985 to 1994. He had a career-high 12 wins with the 1989 Boston Red Sox (against eight losses) – but arguably his best year came with the Montreal Expos in 1988, when he was 3-11. He started 26 games and had a 3.04 earned […]

John Samuel “Jocko” Thompson pitched in 41 major-league games between 1948 and 1951. The 6-foot left-handed pitcher spent his entire major-league career with the Philadelphia Phillies. Overall, Thompson played 12 years of professional baseball between 1940 and 1955: four with the Boston Red Sox organization (1940-1941, 1946-1947) and eight with the Phillies organization (1948-1955). He […]

Gary Wagner threw a no-hitter in the first game he ever pitched — for his college team. Wagner was a right-handed pitcher who worked in 162 major-league games over six years in the majors for two teams, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox. Four of his games were starts; primarily he worked as […]

The photograph hanging on the wall of a Cincinnati area pizzeria inspired Russ Gastright to delve into some family history, specifically about the life and up-and-down career of a certain right-handed pitcher. A friend of Russ’s spotted the photo, a team shot of the 1896 Reds. One player’s name stood out. “My friend, Mike Draznik, […]

After seeing Nomar Garciaparra play, Red Sox great Ted Williams called Boston’s general manager Dan Duquette and said, “That shortstop you brought up reminds me of a player, but I can’t figure out who.”1 Exuberant upon remembering, Williams called back. Without saying hello, he yelled, “DiMaggio! That’s who he reminds me of, DiMaggio! The build, […]

Career goals for a kid growing up in rural Kansas are pretty simple – either he works the family farm or comes up with a talent that allows him to see a world beyond a wheat field. The talent in Jerry Robertson’s right arm opened doors for him and allowed his childhood dream of being […]

After the Red Sox purchased his contract in the middle of the season, Neal Ball played in only 18 regular-season games for Boston in 1912, collecting nine hits. To the baseball world, Ball is better remembered for a defensive play he made against Boston three years earlier while playing shortstop for the Cleveland Naps: the […]

For several years baseball was very, very good to Danny Tartabull. The game gave him honors and recognition, though not quite as much as he thought he deserved. Baseball paid him millions of dollars, enabling him to live a luxurious life style that most people could barely imagine. But it wasn’t enough. He was unable […]

Neill “Wild Horse” Sheridan was a classic “cup of coffee” major leaguer who saw brief duty in just two major league games, with the Red Sox in 1948. Neill was born November 20, 1921 in Sacramento, CA. His father, Sol, worked for the California State Employment Service, and the family lived in Berkeley. His mother, […]

Approximately 200 diehard fans returned to a cold and cloudy Ebbets Field on February 23, 1960. Among those present were former players Ralph Branca, Roy Campanella, Carl Erskine, and Tommy Holmes, reminiscing about the glory days in the iconic ballpark — opened in 1913 and vacated following the close of the 1957 season. Attendees sadly […]

Mike Marshall did everything wrong, according to baseball’s establishment. He looked all wrong for a pitcher, standing just 5-feet-8½.1 He believed in pitching more, not less. He worked out with weights and ran long distances instead of wind sprints. He threw a screwball, which breaks the wrong way from a curve. He refused to sign […]

Standing only 5’5″ and weighing a good deal less during the Deadball Era than his listed playing weight of 155 lbs., Rabbit Maranville compiled a lifetime batting average of just .258 and is known as much for his zany escapades and funny stories as for anything he accomplished on the diamond, but his outstanding glove […]

For Red Sox outfielder Tommy McBride, the 1946 World Series between Boston and the St. Louis Cardinals had some great moments mixed with some bad memories. One high point came on Sunday, October 6, at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis when McBride, playing alongside Ted Williams and Dom DiMaggio, started in right field in the […]

“Steps back up onto the mound, tucks the ball in his right hand. Now into the glove. Holds it in front of the letters. Nods yes. The wind; the one-two pitch. Swing, and a groundball to the left side. Castro’s got it. Spins, throws. He got him! A perfect game for Roy Halladay! 27 up […]

When the 1960 season ended, Washington Senators fans had good reason to be optimistic about the team for the following season. The Senators narrowly missed out on a fourth-place finish, which would have been their highest since 1946. Losing 11 of their last 12 games of the season scotched hopes for the higher finish. The […]

After a short respite to stretch and refresh, the 5,500 fans at Federal League Park settled into their seats for game two with excitement still buzzing over the “miracle” of game one.1 The starter for the Tip-Tops was left-hander Rudy Sommers, whose only previous major-league experience was a one-game stint with the Chicago Cubs in […]

In a wild back-and-forth game, the Yankees won the 1939 World Series, the fourth straight title for the Bronx Bombers, with a 7-4 victory in 10 innings. Although gaining notoriety for a collision at the plate that stunned Cincinnati catcher Ernie Lombardi, the contest featured solid starting pitching and clutch rallies by both the triumphant […]

By the numbers, Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield’s start against the White Sox on June 10, 1996, looks like one of the worst games of his 19-season career. On a foggy night, Wakefield yielded a career-high 16 hits, along with eight runs, as Chicago steamrolled the struggling Red Sox 8-2 before a crowd of […]

It was the culmination of the 1971 baseball season. Game Seven of the World Series pitted the defending world champion Baltimore Orioles vs. the upstart Pittsburgh Pirates. For the Orioles, it was their third consecutive World Series appearance, losing to the New York “Miracle” Mets in 1969 and defeating the Cincinnati Reds in 1970. It […]

Fans arriving for the second portion of the Boston Beaneaters’ morning-afternoon Memorial Day twin bill with Cincinnati on May 30, 1894, had reason to anticipate a pleasant afternoon. It was warm and sunny, with a breeze blowing from the south and southwest.1 Beyond the pleasant conditions, their three-time defending National League champions had won four […]