Guy Hecker had an incredible 1884 season. The 28-year old righty started an American Association-leading 73 games for the Louisville Eclipse (completing 72 of them and making 75 appearances overall). He also led the league with 52 wins (against just 20 losses for a .722 winning percentage), a 1.80 ERA, 171 ERA+, 0.868 WHIP, and 385 [...]
Archive for the ‘Historical topics’ Category
Guy Hecker’s 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys: The Least Talented Team Ever
Posted: 3rd April 2012 by Adam Darowski in Historical topics5
Killing Santa Claus: Abner Doubleday Did Not Invent Baseball
Posted: 21st February 2011 by Maria Rainer in Historical topicsEditor’s note: Please welcome Maria Rainier, a freelance writer, baseball fan, and the first-ever female to guest post on this Web site. This is the rude awakening in which you learn that Abner Doubleday, the Santa Claus of baseball, did not invent baseball. Or, maybe not. Maybe you already know about the Doubleday myth. John [...]
Roy Halladay and others who won 20 games their first year in a new league
Posted: 22nd September 2010 by Graham Womack in Historical topics[Editor's note: Joe Guzzardi's usual Wednesday guest post will appear on Friday this week.] Upon hearing news that Roy Halladay won his 20th game on Tuesday, I began to make a list. Halladay is the latest addition to a small club: pitchers who won 20 games their first year in a new league after playing [...]
Fantastic finishes: Pitchers who won 20 games in their final season
Posted: 13th September 2010 by Graham Womack in Historical topicsA regular reader emailed me recently with a question. He wrote: Besides Henry Schmidt (only season) and Mike Mussina, can you think of any other major leaguers who won 20 games in their last season? The answer is yes, though it’s a small club. I found nine pitchers who’ve managed this feat and only two [...]
Remembering a good brawl
Posted: 30th August 2010 by Graham Womack in Historical topicsTags: 16th annual PCL reunion, Bob Usher, Pacific Coast League historical society, PCL brawl August 2 1953, Stars Angels brawl
Bob Usher is 85 and hasn’t played professional baseball in more than 50 years, but he hasn’t forgotten an infamous moment in Pacific Coast League history. On August 2, 1953, while with the Los Angeles Angels, Usher participated in a legendary brawl. I met Usher at the 16th annual Pacific Coast League reunion, held Saturday [...]
The original Dusty Rhodes story
Posted: 16th August 2010 by Graham Womack in Historical topicsTags: Gordon Dusty Rhodes
Jeff Engels is writing a book. Engels, who writes Jeff’s Mariners Fan Blog, is the grandson of former major leaguer Gordon “Dusty” Rhodes. This isn’t the same Dusty Rhodes who pinch hit a home run in the 1954 World Series and wound up driving a bus in the World’s Fair in New York ten years [...]
Update: There is now color footage from 1940 of Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams online
Posted: 21st June 2010 by Graham Womack in Historical topicsTags: George Case Around the League 1939-1946, George Case Washington Senators
A few weeks ago, I did a post here on a DVD, “Around The League: 1939-1946″ compiled from 8 mm color footage shot by Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians outfielder George Case. I got a fun story with great anecdotes from Case’s son George Case III and good still shots from the film. The one [...]
Home movies
Posted: 11th June 2010 by Graham Womack in Historical topicsTags: George Case Around the League 1939-1946, George Case Washington Senators, Pre-World War II color film footage of baseball
Ossie Bluege of the Washington Senators in 1939 (George Case) Every year when George Case returned from another season of baseball, it was time to show his movies. The four-time American League All Star outfielder, who played for the Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians from 1937-1947, loved 8 mm color film. He shot footage of [...]
Nolan Ryan the most durable pitcher all-time? Not so fast
Posted: 29th May 2010 by Graham Womack in Historical topicsTags: nolan ryan most durable pitcher ever?
I was at an old-timers lunch recently in Sacramento, and a former big league scout named Ronnie King, who’s something of a baseball legend in my hometown, asked me who I thought the most durable pitcher all-time was. I thought for a moment and then answered Walter Johnson. He scoffed, said Nolan Ryan, and promptly [...]
It’s the Battle of the Area Codes: 717 vs. 415
Posted: 27th May 2010 by Graham Womack in Historical topicsTags: baseball players from 415 area code, baseball players from 717 area code, great baseball area codes, which area code has the most baseball players
A few days ago, I got an email from a reader named Fredrico Brillhart who saw my starting line-up of combat veterans for the Baseball in Wartime blog and wanted to know why I failed to include Negro League veterans. He sent information that seemed noteworthy enough to merit a follow-up post. Shortly after my [...]