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Of the Jefferson brothers who briefly constituted one of the most formidable one-two punches in any Negro League pitching rotation, Willie “Bill” Jefferson was the more accomplished. Yet unlike his brother, Willie was a late bloomer, not reaching his prime until he was approaching his 40s. Also unlike his brother, who had a well-documented and […]

It is rare for a single moment to pivot a career. Dick Stockton is an exception, not rule. Before 1975, Stockton moved from Syracuse University via KDKA Pittsburgh’s revolutionary news to pro basketball’s Boston Celtics. After 1975 he aired a Klondike of more national sports, including the Red Sox, A’s, and network baseball postseason and […]

When asked to make a list of the best hitters of the late 1940s and early 1950s, few would mention left-handed slugger Ferris Fain, but perhaps they should. Fain broke in with the Philadelphia Athletics as a 26-year-old rookie in 1947 and established a reputation as a daring first baseman with a discerning eye at […]

It marked the pinnacle moment in Luke Sewell’s managerial career. According to author David Alan Heller in As Good as It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns, the club’s skipper intended to bench left fielder Chet Laabs during their last series of the 1944 season, only changing his mind at the last minute after watching […]

“The great Jackie Robinson once said, ‘A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.’ This afternoon, as the Mariners acknowledge Tuesday’s league-wide celebration of the life of Jackie Robinson, the Mariners are pleased to welcome a special guest who personifies Jackie’s spirit and has dedicated his life to serving […]

Dick Schofield spent 19 years in the big leagues working for seven teams as a versatile utility player. Born on January 7, 1935, in Springfield, Illinois, to John and Florence Schofield, John Richard “Dick” Schofield was the second in a succession of four generations of professional baseball players. His father, John “Ducky” Schofield, played ten […]

This wiry catcher didn’t have much power, but his agility, strong arm, and knowledge kept him employed behind the plate for more than two decades. Turning pro as a youth of 15 in 1973, Alex played in 939 major-league games with five teams from 1978 to 1990. He ran well enough to serve as a […]

Mike Blyzka was part of one of major-league baseball’s biggest trades – a 17-player mega-swap between the Orioles and Yankees in the fall of 1954. Headlining New York’s acquisitions were future Cy Young Award winner Bob Turley and Don Larsen – the pitcher who later twirled the only (as of 2022) perfect game in World […]

Dave Thies (pronounced teace) was a tall righthander who pitched in nine games for the 1963 Kansas City A’s. His career could have been summarized in a headline, “Thies Talent Teases A’s Top Brass.” Arm miseries diminished Thies’ pitching career, but they never dampened his enthusiasm for a life he said has been “blessed.” David […]

A lefty reliever with a devastating curveball, Tippy Martinez pitched for 14 major league seasons from 1974 to 1988. Between starting his career with the New York Yankees and ending it with the Minnesota Twins, he spent 11 years with the Baltimore Orioles, where he was an All-Star and World Series champion in 1983. That […]

Vic Aldridge, the Hoosier Schoolmaster, taught big-league hitters about his sharp-breaking curveball and nasty heater for nine seasons, notably in the Windy and Smoky Cities. In 1925 he held class in the World Series, disciplining his pupils from the nation’s capital with two complete games in the Pirates’ championship campaign. Victor E. Aldridge was born […]

Norm Cash would have loved it. The story drew upon metaphors including baseball, the Old West, and the camaraderie of friends. Its title, City Slickers, was evocative of the relationship between the burly cowboy and the legions of brewers, auto manufacturers, and teamsters who became his fans. The director, Billy Crystal, who also played the […]

In the eyes of Pittsburgh Pirates fans, Don Robinson showed up right on time for a city and a team looking for homegrown talent to fill out the Pirates pitching staff and add a piece to a team capable of winning a pennant in the late 1970s. Had the Philadelphia Phillies selected Robinson in the […]

Many images come to mind when one hears the name Yogi Berra. One of the more obvious is that of a winner. Berra won three American League Most Valuable Player awards and appeared in 14 World Series as a player and another five as a manager or a coach. He won 13 championship rings and […]

Cal Koonce was a valuable and reliable member of the Mets bullpen under Gil Hodges. A starter early in his career, he became a reliever who won six games and saved seven for the 1969 Mets. His alliterative name and easygoing manner made him a memorable member of the Miracle Mets; his skill as a […]

Baseball writers were intrigued by the unlikely story of a slightly built walk-on working his way up to play for the New York Yankees. As a result, Bernard Oliver Bengough was referred to as “the Peter Pan of baseball” during the early years of his professional career.1 The youngest child of James Bengough (1862-1930), a […]

On the night of September 26, 1997, the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets were playing out the dregs of the regular season before a small crowd at Shea Stadium. But if part of baseball’s appeal is that any trip to the ballpark can yield historic accomplishments, the partisans of New York were in for […]

“I’m sure God never meant me to be a ball player,” Taft Wright said. “If he had, I wouldn’t be built so close to the ground and always worrying about my weight and being muscle bound.”1 Sportswriters called him “Fat Wright” and “Round Man.”2 Wright was a born designated hitter — born decades too soon. […]

When Dave Sisler initially toed the rubber at Fenway Park as a Red Sox pitcher in the spring of 1955, the occasion was far from ordinary. The date was May 23. The game — an exhibition featuring the reigning world champion New York Giants played for the benefit of local hospitalized army vets — featured […]

The Southern Tier Expressway does not lend itself to reflection or nostalgia. The six-lane divided highway breaks off from Interstate 81 in Binghamton, New York, and heads west, offering drivers — when construction allows — the fastest possible route to Elmira, Corning, the Finger Lakes, and other destinations in the Empire State’s southern and western […]

Steve Garvey played on 10 All-Star teams for the Dodgers and Padres and holds the National League record for playing in 1,207 consecutive games. (SABR-Rucker Archive)   The Los Angeles Dodgers, returning to the postseason after an eight-year absence, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates twice on the road to open the 1974 National League Championship Series. […]

“He looms over the batter, brings his hands up over his head and down violently as if he were ringing a church bell, down and back behind him as far as they can go, then up to his head again and then he throws, violently, falling off the mound a little toward first base as […]

The National League’s ill-advised crackdown on balks had reached its zenith. On May 4, 1963, Milwaukee Braves starter Bob Shaw was charged with five balks in an abbreviated outing against the Chicago Cubs. The infractions were stunning considering Shaw had begun the season with just one balk in 970⅓ career innings in the big leagues. […]

In Wisconsin during the mid- and late 1950s, the most recognizable voices in the entire baseball-crazy state belonged to Earl Gillespie and Blaine Walsh, the Milwaukee Braves’ tandem of radio broadcasters. In stores, on front porches, in open convertibles at stoplights, their descriptions and accounts of the games was unavoidable. Love-struck residents of the Badger […]