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I arrived in Atlanta in the spring of 1948 to work as a statistician and gofer for Atlanta Crackers broadcaster Ernie Harwell and at the radio station that carried the Crackers’ games. I was 18. Midway through the season, Harwell was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers for a catcher, Cliff Dapper, who became the Crackers’ […]

A note from the editor of the Fall 2014 BRJ.

Editor’s note: An abridged version of this interview was published in the SABR Deadball Era Committee’s October 2020 newsletter.   David Crawford Jones is a former chairman of the Deadball Era Committee and the editor of Deadball Stars of the American League, published by Potomac Books in 2006. With a master’s degree in U.S. History […]

The good hot stove question is: What ballplayer, at the peak of his career, could you most solidly say, “I wouldn’t trade him for anybody“? Stated another way, if we take all major leaguers and track their careers as they progress (with no future knowledge), which one would have been perceived as having the highest […]

This article was originally published in “A Celebration of Louisville Baseball,” the 1997 SABR convention journal.   The city of Louisville has a rich baseball history. Louisville was a charter member of the National League as well as the major league American Association. Pete Browning, perhaps the greatest hitter not in baseball’s Hall of Fame, […]

In the 1915 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies, the second, third, and fourth games all ended in identical scores of 2-1. Remarkably, the Red Sox won each of these games (the Phillies won the first game 3-1). Nonetheless, each of these games was unique. The final score does not […]

The creation of the National League in 1876 provided a stable base for the rapid development of professional baseball nearly a century ago. Yet within five years of its creation, major population centers including New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Cincinnati were excluded from membership. The spirit of enterprise that has been an […]

John Montgomery Ward, one of the early masters of the curve ball, is also credited with developing the raised pitcher’s mound. He devised many infield techniques as well, including signaling for pitchouts to prevent stolen bases and using the intentional walk to increase chances for a double play. When Ward retired after the 1894 season, […]

The Japanese Base Ball Association in 1911. (COURTESY OF ROB FITTS)   Since the mid-nineteenth century, baseball has helped immigrants assimilate into American society. By following their local team or taking the diamond, foreigners improve their English, become part of the cultural fabric, and learn American values. Between the mid-1890s and 1910, over 100,000 Japanese […]

Sandy Koufax made the National League All-Star team each year from 1961 to 1966. (SABR-Rucker Archive)   Who can truly be compared to the great Sandy Koufax? This article offers a historical comparison between Koufax and other “short-term-peak” pitchers. Ron Guidry and Johan Santana will be the comparisons, with concluding thoughts on a current pitcher, […]

As the story goes, in 1899 Barney Dreyfuss purchased the Pittsburgh National League club, arranged a trade with the team he previously owned, the Louisville Colonels, and spirited away all of Louisville’s best players, including Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, and Rube Waddell. This established the Pirates as one of the dominant National League teams for […]

Jackie Robinson, center, shows his son Jack Jr. and the son of Roy Campanella the statue of Abraham Lincoln that stands outside the Essex County Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey in February 1951. (SABR-RUCKER ARCHIVE)   On July 18, 1949, Jackie Robinson appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to testify against Paul Robeson, […]

On August 9, 2006, the first-place New York Mets were hosting the San Diego Padres at Shea Stadium. The Mets were headed toward their first division title since 1988 and first playoff berth since 2000. It was an ordinary late summer series against an out-of-division team as the Mets held a big 13.5 game lead […]

Fans packed the Tokyo Dome for Game 1 of the 2006 Aeon All-Star Series. (Photo by Robert Fitts)   In March 2006 the Japanese national team, known as Samurai Japan, surprised the baseball world by winning the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Japan had finished second to South Korea in its pool in the preliminary round […]

Entrance to Replay Operations Center, New York City.   In 1955, a producer on Canadian television used a kinescope to show a replay during a Hockey Night in Canada telecast, the first time anyone had shown a play a second time on television. In the early 1960s, a director for CBS Sports invented a replay […]

In the late nineteenth century, Philadelphia was a hotbed of baseball activity, and specifically of idiosyncratic match-ups. For three weeks in October 1866, Philadelphia was the scene of two “world” championship series that helped determine the future course of baseball in the areas of professionalism and race. The 1860s were a decade of rapid social […]

When judging the greatness of a baseball player’s career by whatever metrics one may put stock in, we weigh them from two perspectives: 1. Total Value: How much did they accomplish in their career? How many years did they play at a high level? What career milestones did they achieve? 2. Peak Value: How productive […]

Gladys Goodding was more than just an artiste whose musical stylings entertained the Ebbets Field faithful from the early 1940s on. This cheerful, occasionally mischievous woman was a baseball pioneer. Hers was the first organ permanently situated in a big-league ballpark and she predated Eddie Layton, Jane Jarvis, Wilbur Snapp, and other ballyard organists. Her […]

With an attack on a future Hall of Famer’s batting average, a lifetime ban handed down to a minor-league executive, and a power struggle between the American League president and the commissioner, the 1922 baseball winter meetings did not lack for story lines. Controversy abounded even before the meetings started, as there was serious concern […]

SABR Salute: Mark Rucker Editor’s note: The SABR Salute, first bestowed upon writer Fred Lieb in 1976, was designed as a manner of recognizing the contributions of some of the older members of the Society. Subsequent SABR Salutes appeared in the SABR Membership Directory and honored members who had made great contributions to baseball historical […]

SABR Salute: Ralph Horton Editor’s note: The SABR Salute, first bestowed upon writer Fred Lieb in 1976, was designed as a manner of recognizing the contributions of some of the older members of the Society. Subsequent SABR Salutes appeared in the SABR Membership Directory and honored members who had made great contributions to baseball historical […]