It was 100 years ago and the Philadelphia Phillies were on the way to their initial appearance in the World Series. The Phillies took the lead for good after back-to-back wins by Pete Alexander and go on to claim their first National League pennant. On Friday, Aug. 20, the Phillies were tied with Brooklyn in […]
Category: 1920s Baseball History
Jimmie Foxx was one of the greatest home run hitters of all-time. After Babe Ruth reached the 500 mark, Foxx became the second player in the major league history to climb to that plateau. The slugger finished his career in 1945 with 534 homers and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in […]
Playing minor league baseball has always been difficult with long bus rides and sleepless nights between stops. There is also a certain amount of anonymity that goes with being in the minors. A popular question from fans is “Who is that guy?” As I sat in the stands at Victory Field in Indianapolis, no one […]
There are a lot of people today who claim that the pace baseball is slow. Just takes too much time and not enough action. Those people would have been happy to be at Navin Field when that afternoon’s contest lasted one hour and 13 minutes on Aug. 8, 1920. Detroit right-hander Howard Ehmke tossed a […]
Two teams splitting a doubleheader isn’t really that unusual. Joel Youngblood was part of a win and a loss on August 4, 1982. The unique part of his story is that the win was in Chicago and the loss in Philadelphia. Youngblood began the day in Wrigley Field as the centerfielder for the New York […]
This time of year my focus always turns to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. A visit to the induction ceremony should be on any baseball fan’s bucket list. My list was checked in 2000. Tony Perez, Sparky Anderson, Carlton Fisk and Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman were the highlights of the weekend. But from […]
After an unimpressive beginning to his major league career, Dazzy Vance eventually became a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955. Vance started in the big leagues in 1915 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees and went 0-4 that season. Vance also had a stint in 1918 with the Yankees, […]
The date was June 2, 1925. One day after pinch-hitting against Washington, Lou Gehrig was inserted into the lineup at first base 90 years ago for the New York Yankees. By 1939, he had played a major league record 2,130 straight games that would stand until Cal Ripken, Jr. passed the mark in 1995. The […]