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“If the talents of Christy Mathewson, John McGraw, Ban Johnson and Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis were combined in a single body, and that body was enveloped in a black skin, the result would have to be named Andrew ‘Rube’ Foster. As an outstanding pitcher, a colorful and shrewd field manager, and the founder and stern […]

For a player so significant in Red Sox history, surprisingly little is known about Samuel Pond “Sad Sam” Jones. Despite his incredible contributions to the Red Sox World Series victory in 1918, the most often discussed thing about Jones is his curious nickname. Born July 26, 1892, to Delbert and Margaret Clingan Jones, in Woodsfield, […]

With a major-league record of a single subpar season for one of the worst teams of the 20th century, Scotty Ingerton might seem like an obscure one-year blunder. While hitting, however, Ingerton showcased first-class power over parts of two seasons, suggesting that he might have prospered had he more quickly escaped the clutches of the […]

“He’s got that slow, easy delivery, and then – poof! – it’s on you. It’s very tough to hit. Very tough.” – Dave Winfield1 Winfield was far from the only hitter who found Tom Henke’s lively fastball problematic. Henke, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-hander, was one of the most dominant closers of his era. He debuted […]

The velocity of his fastballs earned him the nickname “The Hoosier Thunderbolt.” Amos Rusie played long before the invention of the radar gun, so we don’t know how fast his pitches were. John McGraw said of Rusie’s fastballs, “You can’t hit ’em if you can’t see ’em.”1 Sportswriters of the day claimed that batters were […]

Stan Benjamin used to say, “If they let you steal first base, I would have batted a thousand.”1 He was easygoing with a great sense of humor, often self-deprecating. His personality must have been forged early in life because a cartoon of the top regional high-school football players in 1932 labeled him “happy-go-lucky” and showed […]

Ray Chapman, star shortstop for nine seasons with the Cleveland Indians, might have ended up in the Hall of Fame had he not been fatally injured by a Carl Mays fastball on August 16, 1920, at the Polo Grounds. An ideal number two hitter who crowded the plate, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Chapman led the league in […]

Three scoreless innings in his first two major-league games followed by one bad inning in his third outing would seem to indicate that a promising 24-year-old right-handed pitcher might get another shot at the big leagues. That chance never came for Willie Ludolph. Later in his career, Ludolph explained his failure to stick longer with […]

Entering the twilight of a 12-year major league career, Nelson Potter joined the Boston Braves in midseason of 1948 and became the top relief man and spot starter for the NL champs with an impressive 5-2 record and a 2.33 ERA. This was his second stint with a pennant-winning team; as a nearly full-time starter, […]

Veteran broadcaster Lanny Frattare was the “Voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates” for two generations of fans. He belongs to a special roster of long-serving Pirates on-air talent that includes Rosey Rowswell, Bob Prince, and the team’s current play-by-play man, Greg Brown.1 Frattare served the Bucs from 1976 to 2008. He never called a World Series […]

In addition to being a pretty good pitcher and the first German-born player in the major leagues, Charles Getzien had one of the better nicknames in nineteenth-century baseball: Pretzels or Pretzel Twirler. Before becoming a Boston Beaneater, Getzien gained prominence as a star for the Detroit Wolverines of the National League, winning a championship with […]

Nellie Fox was the heart of the 1959 Go-Go White Sox, the team that brought Chicago’s South Side its first pennant since the tarnished Black Sox season 40 years earlier. The image of Little Nel in his batting stance has become iconic — a choked-up grip on his bottle bat with a wad of chewing […]

Ty Cobb once called Jim Bagby “the smartest pitcher he ever faced.” Bagby was a star as both a starter and reliever, noted for his fadeaway pitch and outstanding control. He is best remembered for his 1920 season, when he went 31-12 and led the Indians to their first pennant and first World Series victory. […]

Sad but no great surprise, any number of baseball careers have been short-circuited by hunting accidents. Unintentional firearm discharges, accidental shootings, falls from elevated hunting blinds, and other misadventures are risks inherent in shooting activities, and ballplayers, like other hunters, undertake them willingly, knowing full-well the effect an errant shotgun pellet or a tree tumble […]

Harry Luff was amenable to manning every position on the diamond except catcher. That afforded him brief tours of duty in four different 19th-century major leagues: the National Association (1875); National League (1882); American Association (1882-1883), and Union Association (1884). He also played in various minor leagues during an 11-season professional career that ended in […]

Typically, baseball ground rules require the public-address system of a ballpark to be silenced during a game. But when the leader of the free world is resigning from office, exceptions can apparently be made. The Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard reported that a portion of President Richard Nixon’s resignation speech on the night of August 8, […]

The Washington Nationals and Cleveland Indians entered their game on June 15, 2013, with identical 33-33 records. Expectations had been high for the Nationals after they won the NL East in 2012, but they were in second place 5½ games behind Atlanta.1 Cleveland hadn’t had a winning season since 2007 but this year was looking […]

When Boston and New York met at Fenway Park on August 14, 1957, the reigning World Series champion Yankees were in first place with a 73-38 record. The Red Sox were in third, 13 games behind at 60-51. In terms of competition, the rivalry was no longer what it had been in the years immediately […]

For many baseball fans, 1901 marks the beginning of the “modern” era.1 That year saw the arrival of the eight-team American League to go with the recently realigned eight teams of the National League, and a stability that lasted for over 50 years.2 It also marked the emergence of one of the greatest pitchers in […]

  The Eastern League meeting of July 10, 1898, had no shortage of drama. The Spanish-American War had taken a huge toll on attendance across professional baseball that summer, and league president Pat Powers came prepared to shut down operations,1 just as the New England League had done a few days earlier.2 Instead of disbanding, […]

The highlights for the St. Louis Cardinals had thus far in 1908 been few and far between. Skipper John McCloskey’s squad quickly fell into the NL basement and had occupied the last spot uninterrupted since July 10. They had dropped nine of their first 10 games on a four-city road swing in the Northeast to […]

The Dodgers and Pirates broke off what New York Daily News sportswriter Dick Young called their “weird affair”1 at just before midnight on June 24, 1950. Brooklyn led, 19-12. A report from the Associated Press boasted, “The crowd of 22,010 was treated to one of the wildest games in Ebbets Field history.”2 And it wasn’t […]

Bob Watson’s situation before the Houston Astros’ game on June 24, 1977, was desperate, he told reporters crowded around his locker at the end of the game. “I’ve had a lot of problems lately, and, seriously, I got with my wife today and we said a prayer.”1 Watson had been seeing a doctor weekly to […]

In the first inning of a National League contest on August 8, 1877, Louisville Grays leadoff batter George “Jumbo” Latham fouled off an offering from St. Louis Brown Stockings pitcher Joe Blong. The ball struck catcher John Clapp on the left side of his face.1 His cheekbone was smashed and feared broken, Clapp left the […]