I’ve posted the iconic Norman Rockwell painting The Three Umpires before, but I never knew what rainy-day incident served as the inspiration for the painting. Was it based on something historic? Or did Rockwell just make it all up?…
MAJOR LEAGUE VETERANS – KOREAN WAR CHAPTER
Today Vince Janoski turns his “what if” spotlight on major league baseball and the Korean War. He highlights a few baseball stars, among the many who served their country during this conflict…
More Fun With Triple Plays…Especially Unassisted Triple Plays!
In reading the National Pastime This Day in Baseball History website, I discovered that yesterday was the twentieth anniversary of the twelfth unassisted triple play in major league history, pulled off by the Braves’ Rafael Furcal on August 10, 2003…
World War II and Major League Baseball
We welcome back Vince Jankoski will another of his specialties: “What ifs?” Today he tackles “what if” WW II hadn’t rudely intruded on the careers of many of baseball’s biggest stars…
Beautiful Color Restoration of the Addie Joss Benefit Game by Chris Whitehouse
Addie Joss was a much-beloved ace starting pitcher for the Cleveland Naps whose life was tragically cut short at the age of 31…
My Review of “Sugarball, A Novel of Negro League Baseball,” by R. Lee Procter
It’s not often that we baseball history buffs venture into the realm of historically-based novels. It’s also not often that we encounter one such book from this genre that happens to be right up our alley…
Check Out this Beautiful Restoration of the Homestead Grays Team Photo!
Chris Whitehouse does some amazing work, as you can see from this beautiful color restoration of the 1939 Homestead Grays. Chris was kind enough to allow me to post it today on my Baseball History Comes Alive website…
Babe’s Best Year Ever, 1923!
Steve Falco returns today with an interesting account of what was arguably the Bambino’s best season, 1923. We hear a lot about his 1927 season, but this one is often overlooked…
The Case For Eddie Mathews
Vince Jankosi is back today, this time making the case that Eddie Mathews is the best pre-Mike Schmidt third baseman. As usual, Vince has done his homework and makes a very strong case. See if you agree…
The Greatest Games I’ve Ever Seen
Today Mark Kolier returns with the kind of essay I enjoy the most: personal reflections on the game of baseball from years gone by…
Wes Ferrell: The 1930s Version of Ohtani!
Wes Ferrel may very well be one of the best players not in the Hall of Fame. As you will see, he was an outstanding pitcher and one of the best-hitting pitchers in major league history…
Who Was the Better Third Baseman, Brooks or Clete?
Today we welcome back Vince Jankoski with another thought-provoking essay, asking the question: Who was a better fielder, Brooks Robinson or Clete Boyer?…
Book Review: Some Catch – Thirty Gems Capturing the Humor and Drama of the Game
I’m very happy to report that contributor Bill Schaefer’s first book, Some Catch: Thirty Gems Capturing the Humor and Drama of the Game, is now available on Amazon in both paperback and ebook versions…
The Wit and Wisdom – and Luck! – of Yogi Berra
There are certain players you can never quite get enough of. For me, the list includes Willie Mays, certainly the great Bambino Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, and, most definitely, the player born Lorenzo Pietro Berra, known to us as Yogi Berra…
Refreshing Chatter: Recalling Baseball From the Back Yard to the Men’s Senior League
Today, we have something a bit different. We welcome back contributor Mark Kolier with an interesting essay reflecting back on what baseball meant to him in different stages of his life: From playing wiffle ball in the backyard, to coaching his son’s Little League team, to playing on a Men’s Senior League team against “real” players…
Part Two: Was Kansas City Really a “Farm Team” for the Yankees?
Those of you who read Part One of this two-part series will recall that Vince Jankoski is doing a “deep dive’ into the trades between the Athletics and Yankees from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Vince is making the case that K.C. serving as the Yankees’ “farm team” is a myth…
Michael Keedy’s Mystery Player No. Eight!
We welcome back Michael Keedy (fresh off his book signing tour!), with another edition of our ongoing series of Mystery Players. As usual, his identity won’t be too hard for our crack, highly-informed readership to decipher…
It’s All-Star Week: Let’s take a Look Back!
With All-Star Week upon us, it’s always fun to take a look back at some of the earliest games of the Mid-Summer Classic series…
My Review of: “Baseball Photography of the Deadball Era”
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Deep Dive Into the Question: “Was Kansas City Really a ‘Farm Team’ For the Yankees?”
Today, we welcome guest contributor Vince Jankoski, who takes an in-depth look at trades between the Kansas City Athletics and the Yankees in the 1950s and early 1960s, dispelling the myth that the A’s were a “farm team” for the Yankees…
What a Week! Including Baseball’s 24th Perfect Game!
My baseball history alarm bells went off so many times this week that I thought I was in a four-alarm fire! The week including Domingo Germain’s Perfect Game…
The All-Quirky All-Star Team!
“Ah…You can’t beat fun at the old ballpark,” famously said beloved broadcaster, Harry Caray. For that matter you can’t beat fun here on our Baseball History Comes Alive website, either!…
We’re Contacted by Relative of Joe “Ducky” Medwick!
My essay on Joe “Ducky” Medwick last week really touched a nerve. It’s now been seen by over 2.7 million Facebook users, has received over 6,400 “likes” and generated hundreds of comments…
SLUGGER TURNED MALAPROP MAESTRO: RALPH KINER
Today Bill Schaefer returns with a long-overdue tribute to slugger Ralph Kiner. If you ever had any doubts that Kiner is a legitimate Hall of Famer, as I once did, I think you’ll be in for a surprise…
Baseball’s Forgotten Stars: The “Mayor of Wrigley Field,” Hank Sauer!
In doing a recent search through the content on my Baseball History Comes Alive website, I realized that I had never even mentioned one of the true stars of the early 1950s, Hank Sauer…
Happy Father’s 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. He taught me to read and write, and the difference between right and wrong.” -Babe Ruth, speaking of his father figure and mentor, Brother Mathias…
Joe “Ducky” Medwick Beaned and Nearly Killed, June 18, 1940
“When he dies, half the National League will go to his wake just to make sure that S-O-B is dead.” –Unknown former teammate, speaking of Joe Medwick…
Great New Yogi Berra Documentary: “It Ain’t Over”
If you’re a baseball fan, you’ve got to find the time to watch the new Yogi Berra documentary, which I viewed last night. Aptly titled, It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over, I found it to be an outstanding production and gives equal coverage to both Yogi’s baseball career and his personal life…
“Babe Ruth Day” at Yankee Stadium, June 13, 1948 and the Twenty-Five Year Reunion of the 1923 Yankees!
This photo was taken 75 years ago yesterday, June 13, 1948, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of Yankee Stadium, which, of course, later became known as “the House That Ruth Built.”…
Baseball History Comes Alive Tops the One Million Hits Mark!
Seven and a half years ago, on January 20, 2016, the Baseball History Comes Alive website was born…
Peter Wilt’s Journey to Find the “Eight Men Out,” Part Two
In Part One, Peter described his visits to the graves of Joe Jackson, Hap Felsch, and Buck Weaver. He continues his story with visits to the graves of Eddie Cicotte, Lefty Williams, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, and the ringleader, Chick Gandil.
Michael Keedy’s Mystery Player No. Seven!
Today, our contributor and soon-to-be best-selling author, Michael Keedy – fresh off the release of his new book “Top Ten Greatest World Series Catches” – returns with another interesting installment in our ongoing series of “Mystery Players,”…
Babe Ruth’s “Improbable” Combined No-hitter!
Question: Did Babe Ruth ever throw a no-hitter? Short Answer: “Yeah…sort of. It’s in the record books.”
Long answer: Well, you’ll just have to read on to learn the details and you can decide for yourself if he actually threw a no-hitter…
My Journey to Find the “Eight Men Out”
Today we welcome a guest essay from Peter Wilt. Peter is a man after my own heart: just as I do, he has an ongoing interest in the Black Sox scandal…
The Interesting Connection Between Early American Baseball and International Soccer
As a sports-playing fanatic growing up in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago, it was baseball in the spring and summer, basketball in the winter, and football in the fall, or, as we knew them, the All-American games…
Let’s Remember Baseball’s Rodney Dangerfield: Knuckleballer Wilbur Wood!
“Who did you say? Wilbur Wood? Yeah, I vaguely remember him. Wasn’t he one of those trick pitch knuckleballers?…
Hot Off the Press! Michael Keedy’s New Book Now Avilable!
I’m very pleased to announce that a new book by our outstanding contributor, Michael Keedy, is now available on Amazon: “Michael Keedy Counts Down the Top Ten Greatest World Series Catches”…
Tribute To Baseball’s Great Innovators!
On May 15, 1915, 108 years ago the Pirates player-manager Fred Clarke files a patent for flip-down sunglasses designed for outfielders…
Wearn Field…and The Ghost of Phillies’ Spring Training Past
Today we have something a bit different. Guest contributor Matt Kastel returns with an interesting account of Phillies’ Spring Training – 1919 style – at Charlotte’s Wearn Park…
Fun With Baseball Ejections!
With all the ‘heavy writing” we do around here, every once in a while it’s fun to step back and just have a little fun. So I thought this might be a good time to put out of my old file cabinet an essay I wrote about four years ago on an overlooked baseball topic: ejections…