Happy St. Paddy’s Day!
“When I sat at a table with Joe and other people…all the men were always looking at Joe instead of me!!” – Marilyn Monroe, speaking of husband Joe DiMaggio….
The Classic 1946 World Series: Enos Slaughter’s “Mad Dash”
The 1946 season was a great one for MLB. World War II had ended, the regulars returned, and attendance soared.
The World Series that year pitted the St. Louis Cardinals versus the Boston Red Sox. Both teams were stocked with superior players, including two of the greatest hitters of all time: Stan Musial and Red Sox Ted Williams…
1941: The Dodgers start wearing helmets. Let’s Recall the Tragedy of Ray Chapman
Eighty-three years ago today, the Dodgers announced their players would start to wear helmets, but the safety headgear would not be made mandatory in the National League until 1954, with the American League following suit four years later….
Player Spotlight: The Senators’ Tom Cheney – The Real Strikeout King!
Today Vince Jankoski returns with an interesting essay setting the record straight on who actually is the record holder for strikeouts in a major league game. It’s not someone I ever would have guessed!…
Tribute to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League!
What better way to celebrate Women’s Month than with a tribute to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League….
Black History Month Trivia, Part Four!
As our month-long tribute to Baseball and Black History Month comes to an end, here’s Part Four of Vince Jankoski’s trivia quiz. We thank Vince for the great job he did in putting this together…
Lets remeber the Great Honus Wagner’s Birthday!
We can’t let this week go by without mentioning the birthday anniversary of Honus Wagner, born on February 24, 1874, 150 years ago yesterday…
The Babe Comes Through For a Kid Again!
Today we welcome back Andrew Sharp with an interesting essay making the point that the Babe would do anything to make a kid happy…
Joe Louis and Satchel Paige meet at Comiskey Park on August 13, 1948!
“The fact that most baseball fans did not see him in his prime is one of the great tragedies of the game.” –Iconic Baseball photographer George Brace, speaking of Satchel Paige.
With February being Black History Month, here’s a salute to the great Hall of Famer Satchel Paige, who many baseball historians think may be the greatest pitcher ever…
Black History Month Trivia, Part Three
Today we continue with our tribute to Black History Month with Part Three of Vince Jankoski’s 28 trivia questions. Before we get to the questions, here’s a few words about the Homestead Grays. Photo sent to me by Chris Whitehouse….
The Shot BEFORE the Shot Heard ‘Round the World!
Today we welcome back Matt Kastel with an interesting account of a tragic incident that occurred at the Polo grounds on July Fourth, 1950. This is something I had never heard of before. Many years later, it’s still painful to read about what happened to a fan casually sitting in the stands and enjoying a ball game…
Salute to The Great Josh Gibson
Today, I’ll continue with our month-long celebration of Black History Month with a short tribute to Josh Gibson I wrote a few years ago. How he would have hit if allowed to compete against major league pitching for his entire career career, we’ll never know. But there’s no debate that he was a great hitter, one of the best ever…
Emmett Ashford’s Debut comes at D.C. Stadium, April 11, 1966
As part of our continuing coverage of Black History Month, we welcome Andrew Sharp with an interesting essay about the career of the major league’s first African-American umpire, Emmett Ashford…
BLACK HISTORY MONTH TRIVIA, Part Two
Today, in our ongoing tribute to baseball and Black History month, we’ll continue with Vince Jankoski’s baseball trivia questions. As I mentioned last week, I’ll be posting seven trivia questions each Thursday, one for each day of the week for the entire month…
“42” MOVIE REVIEW
Today we welcome back Bill Schaefer with an interesting “review of a review.” Bill analyzes Boston Globe sportswriter Bob Ryan’s “take” of the movie “42,” written in 2013. Bill then adds his own comments as he goes along. Read Bill’s essay, and see if you agree with Bob Ryan and/or Bill Schaefer!…
Our Annual Birthday Tribute to the Great Bambino, Babe Ruth!
We can’t let the day go by without our birthday salute to Babe Ruth, born on this day, February 6, 1895, 129 years ago….
Great Photo of Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby!
Here’s a real neat photo sent to me by a friend. That’s Larry Doby on the left and of course Jackie Robinson on the right. But here’s a real surprise…Who do you think is the player on the far left, sitting on the dugout steps??…
BLACK HISTORY MONTH TRIVIA, Part I
Many thanks to Vince Jankoski for reminding us that February is notable for two reasons – and no, the month’s terrible weather is not one of them!..
Equal Time for the 1939 Reds!
We’ve all read a lot about the great Yankee teams of the 1930s, especially the 1939 team, which many historians consider one of the greatest of all time. That got me thinking about their National League opponents in the 1939 World Series, the Cincinnati Reds…
Bud Harrelson, RIP
Today Vince Jankoski shares with us a tribute to recently deceased Bud Harrelson with an interesting analysis of his career. Vince addresses the question of how the light-hitting Harrelson (.236 career average) could have survived for 16 seasons in the major leagues…
Don Newcombe Retires, January 19, 1961
This past Friday, January 19, 2024 was the sixty-first anniversary of Don Newcombe’s release from the Indians, bringing to a close his remarkable twelve-year major league career…
Vern Stephens: The Most Ignored Great Shortstop
When my son Gordon and I began our Almost Cooperstown podcast nearly four years ago, we set out to put nine players in the Hall of Fame who had not been elected. This was in our very first episode, and Gordon put out Vern Stephens, a player with whom I was completely unfamiliar…
Joe McCarthy’s Boston Years, 1948-1950
Forty-six years ago today, January 13, 1978, Hall of Fame manager Joe McCarthy passed away in a Buffalo hospital at age 90. We’re all familiar with Joe McCarthy’s success as the winningest manager in Yankee history from 1931-1946…
How About a New Generation of Baseball Movies?
Over the holidays this year, I caught up watching some baseball movies that have been around for a while. Several of them I never watched before…
We Know Andre Dawson Was A Great Player, But Did You Know That…
“I always thought that Andre was a renaissance man, but this is taking it to a different level!” – Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson
My Interview with Former Major League Scout, George Biron!
“Jim Bouton once said, ‘All those years I thought I had a good grip on the baseball, but I found out it was the other way around.’ I think I feel the same way about baseball myself.” – George Biron…
Stan Musial and Joe Garagiola Were Teammates and Friends, But Did You Know That…
George Curcio shares with us some interesting information about the friendship between two well-known teammates from the Cardinals’ 1946 World Series championship season, Stan Musial and Joe Garagiola. The story has, to put it mildly, a rather unexpected ending…
Our Annual Tribute to Roberto Clemente: “HE’S GOT IT!!”
“If it was humanly possible for a ball to be caught, Roberto Clemente was going to get it.” –Pirates’ manager, Danny Murtaugh…
Yankee Johnny Murphy Was A Pretty Good Pitcher, But Did You Know That…
As I’ve said many times, whenever you look closely into a major leaguer’s career, you’ll invariably discover something interesting and/or unusual — something more other than just the bare statistical information found on the Baseball Reference website…
The Cubs’ Bill Moisan: The Inspiring Story of a Genuine Baseball War Hero
Bill Moisan was a genuine World War II hero. As long-time major league scout George Biron told me, “It’s an amazing story of determination and perseverance and I felt it should be told to preserve the memory of a forgotten hero.”…
Merry Christmas From Baseball History Comes Alive!
I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all our loyal readers a very Merry Christmas. And to all our Jewish friends, I hope they’ve had a very Happy Hanukkah season…
George Lee Anderson (Who?) Is Traded to the Phillies, December 23, 1958, Did Anybody Notice?
Sixty-five years ago yesterday, the Dodgers traded journeyman minor league infielder George Lee Anderson to the Phillies for Rip Repulski and two minor league pitching prospects. Did anybody notice? Yawn…
My Review of “The Gashouse Gang,” by John Heidenry
Now that we are firming in what I call the baseball “No-Man’s land,” – the time between the last out of the World Series and until we hear the magic words, “Pitchers and catchers report” – it’s a good time to catch up on some unfinished business. So I thought I’d post a review I wrote a few years ago but never got around to publishing. The book is The Gashouse Gang, by John Heidenry. I really enjoyed it and I hope my detailed review stimulates your interest to read it…
KEN MacKENZIE, RIP
Vince Jankoski returns today with an interesting article about a player I’ve never heard of: Canadian-born pitcher Ken MacKenzie. Two things I’ve said many times here on BHCA: One, anyone who makes it to the major leagues is special in our eyes, whether a star or sub; and Two, when you look deep into the career of almost any major leaguer, you’ll invariably find something of interest…
Making the Case: Cecil Travis For the Hall of Fame
Two months ago, Michael Keedy submitted an essay highlighting the career of the Washington Senators’ outstanding shortstop, Cecil Travis. As he did his research for this essay, he became impressed with the accomplishments of a player he had barely heard of. The more he read about Cecil Travis, the more convinced he became that a strong case can be made that this overlooked star belongs in the Hall of Fame…
A Memorable 1969 Day In The Wrigley Field Bleachers!
For years I’ve been trying to get my good friend Mike Handley (aka: “Budman”) to send me details of the memorable day in September, 1969 when he was in the Wrigley Field bleachers and caught a home run ball hit by the Pirates’ Steve Blass. He finally did it!…
My Review of: Baseball’s Endangered Species, Inside the Craft of Scouting by Those Who Lived it, by Lee Lowenfish
I was recently to review “Baseball’s Endangered Species, Inside the Craft of Scouting by those Who Lived it.” Author Lee Lowenfish is an accomplished, highly acclaimed author, and I was honored to be asked…
A Perfect Game Rarity: What Are The Odds? Who Can Do The Math??
I just finished reading a great book by Lee Lowenfish, “Baseball’s Endangered Species: Inside the Craft of Scouting By Those Who Lived It.” A detailed review of the book will follow in short order. I have to comment about one extremely interesting item I uncovered in the book…
Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: A Rivalry That Has Been Largely Forgotten
It’s less than 300 miles between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh and both the Reds and Pirates have been around for a very long time. Their NLCS clashes during the 1970s remain some of the best and most exciting in baseball history!
Stan Musial Named 1948 MVP!
Seventy-five years ago, December 2, 1948, Stan Musial was named the National League MVP. “Stan the Man” led the league in hitting with a .376 batting average and 131 RBIs, but just missed the Triple Crown by one home run. So let’s take a moment to pay tribute to the memory of one of the true greats in baseball history…