1930 was a good year to be a hitter in the major leagues…but definitely not a pitcher!…
Joe DiMaggio’s 56-Game Streak Comes To An End: July 17,1941!
Even though I’m a couple days late on this, I couldn’t let the week go by without mentioning the 80th anniversary of Joe DiMaggio’s incredible 56-game hitting streak coming to an end…
Baseball “Babes,” Part Six: Ballplayer-Turned-Umpire, Babe Pinelli!
“Kill the SOB, Carl! Kill ’em!”- Umpire Babe Pinelli to Carl Furillo, who had Dodger manager Leo Durocher in a chokehold during an on-field melee in 1953…
We’re Contacted By “Acquaintance” of 1930s-40s Star Dolph Camilli!
“Dolph Camilli was a quiet, gentle man but he was as strong as an ox. Nobody knew how well Dolph could fight because, quite frankly, nobody had ever wanted to find out”…
Subscriber Matthew Clifford Creates A New Art Form: “Baseball Fence Art!”
Back in 2016, life-long Cub fan and avid baseball history fan Matthew Clifford bought a home on a half-acre of land in the rural northern Illinois town of Leland. The property came with a rickey-rack six-foot fence enclosing his backyard…
New Book By Our Subscriber, Adam Rothstein!
As I mentioned many times, we’re always happy to “plug” books written by our subscribers and/or contributors…
Baseball “Babes,” Part Five! A Trade of the “Babes”: Babe Dahlgren for Babe Phelps!
In recent days, I’ve written about Babe Ruth, Babe Dahlgren, Babe Herman, and Babe Adams. I thought I’d go for a “clean sweep” with a few words about another “Babe,” Babe Phelps…
A Baseball Babe “Four Bagger!” Babe Adams
In recent days, I’ve written about “Babe” Ruth, “Babe” Dahlgren, and “Babe” Herman. Thanks to one of the readers who suggested I make it a Babe “Four Bagger” by including “Babe” Adams, the rookie hero of the 1909 World Series…
Another Baseball “Babe”: Babe Herman!
Dubbed “The Headless Horseman of Ebbets Field” by Dazzy Vance for his various base running misadventures, Herman was one of the great power hitters of the 1930s..
The Cubs’ Recent “Combined No-Hitter” Calls to Mind 1917!
I’m sure most of you heard that the Cubs recently threw a combined no-hitter. When I heard about it, my baseball history antenna immediately went off…
BILL SCHAEFER’S TWENTY MINUTES WITH WILLIE MAYS!
“He can hit. He can run. He can field…If he could cook, I’d marry him!” -Leo Durocher, speaking of Willie Mays…
“The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat,” World Series Style: Part III
Today in Part III of this series, I’ll do away with the “Defeat” and just concentrate on the “Thrill.”…
1939 East-West Negro League All-Star game!
Every so often, I like to repost this great photo from the 1939 Negro League East-West All-Star game…
Happy Fathers’ Day!
“It was at St. Mary’s that I met and learned to love the greatest man I’ve ever known…He was the father I needed”…
Baseball’s Version of “The Thrill of Victory…and The Agony of Defeat!” Part Two
Here’s the “flipside” to one of the most memorable days in baseball history: Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard Round the World” at the Polo Grounds in 1951…
The Thrill of Victory…and the Agony of Defeat, Part One
There’s nothing better in the great game of baseball than being a World Series hero – even if it’s only for a day!…
New Blog Topic: Just What Is It About This Game We All Love?
I thought I’d offer you something just a little bit different today. I’ll take off my “baseball history cap” for a moment and put on my “reflections cap.”…
New Blog Topic: YET ANOTHER CHEATING SCANDAL
Here we go again. Baseball has been hit with another scandal, undoubtedly the biggest since the so-called Steroid Era…
From the Lighter Side! Pepper Martin and his “Mudcat Band”
“Pepper Martin’s performance in the 1931 World Series was the greatest individual performance in the history of the World Series.” –John McGraw…
New Blog Topic: BASEBALL’S INJURY EPIDEMIC
Unlike many of today’s players, yesterday’s sluggers, including Ted Williams, were not musclebound. But they still did pretty well…
New Blog Topic: RANDOM MUSINGS OF A LIFE-LONG GIANTS FAN
Today, lifelong Giants fan Bill Schaefer shares with us some random thoughts and humorous stories he’s picked up over the years from observing at close hand the great game we all love…
NEW BLOG TOPIC: My Review of “Arky, The Baseball Life of Joseph Floyd ‘Arky’ Vaughan”
I recently finished the outstanding biography of Arky Vaughan written by our reader, Frank Garland. I really enjoyed the book and wrote a review…
NOBODY’S PERFECT: The Story Behind Baseball’s First Perfect Game
These last few baseball seasons have been puzzling to long time baseball fans who have been barraged by analytical terms such as launch angles, exit velocities…
Were the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics the Worst Team Ever?
Bill Gutman’s recent essay about the fine Dead Ball Era pitcher Jack Coombs got me thinking about the great Philadelphia Athletics teams from 1910-1914…
Baseball and the Military on Memorial Day Weekend
On this Memorial Day Weekend, 2021, here’s a little information about baseball and World War I…
New Blog Topic: Ty Cobb had it SO much easier than Mike Trout!
Already at least half the people reading this are aggravated with the headline!…
“SCIENCE” AND BASEBALL
All baseball history fans, especially old Cub fans like me who suffered through decades of mismanagement during the P.K. Wrigley years, will enjoy Paul Doyle’s interesting essay today…
New Blog Topic: WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HITTING?
Editor’s Note: If you’re concerned about the trend today’s game is on, I urge you to read Bill Gutman’s blog post today. What Bill has uncovered in his research is unsettling and a cause for concern for all of us who love the game…
My Interview with Matt Dahlgren, Grandson of Babe Dahlgren, the Man Who Replaced Lou Gehrig
We always enjoy it when we’re contacted by a relative of a former major leaguer. In this case, it’s even more special…
Another Edition of Baseball’s Forgotten Stars: Arky Vaughan
Recreating the life of a man born over a century ago is no easy task, and it’s even more daunting when that man has been dead for nearly 70 years…
New Blog Topic: CURT FLOOD AND THE HALL OF FAME
On numbers alone, former Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood does not belong in the Hall of Fame. It’s true that Flood was an excellent ballplayer…
New Blog Topic: Kevin Trusty’s New Book!
It’s always exciting for us when one of our contributors comes out with a publication of his own, and we’re always glad to give it as much exposure as we can…
Joe DiMaggio’s 56-Game Hitting Streak Begins!
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From the Lighter Side: Who Says You Can’t Steal First Base??
“They say it can’t be done, but I saw him do it. In fact, I was standing right on third base, with my eyes popping out when he did it.”…
THE STRANGE CASE OF VON McDANIEL
“[Von McDaniel] was an instant major league pitching sensation in 1957, a struggling Class B hurler in 1958, and a career minor league infielder by 1959.”…
New Blog Topic: WHO’S THE GREATEST?
As the great Willie Mays celebrated his 90th birthday last Thursday, the tributes and accolades rolled in from everywhere…
Happy Mothers’ Day From Old-Time Baseball Photos!
As has become my custom, I like to find a baseball connection to each passing holiday. With today being Mothers’ Day, I didn’t have to look far…
A Birthday Tribute To Willie Mays As He Turns 90!
“What can I say about Willie Mays after I say he’s the greatest player any of us has ever seen?” –Leo Durocher, who spent over 50 years in baseball…
New Blog Topic: Baseball – Can It Improve From Here?
Ah, America’s Pastime. It would be a mistake for today’s under-35 baseball fans to believe that baseball before 1973 (the first year of the Designated Hitter,) was baseball in the stone age…
THE “PHENOMENAL” GAME OF BASEBALL
In today’s essay, Paul Doyle returns with an interesting account of one of the true eccentrics from the nineteenth century,