Near the top of a sloping hillside at the northern end of the sprawling 300-acre Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, the modest marker of Negro Leagues baseball slugger Josh Gibson is not even visible from the asphalt roadside at the bottom of the hill. There is a small sign by the side of the road informing […]
THE 1968 DODGERS AND THE GREATEST DRAFT CLASS IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME
It’s rare for a single draft to clearly determine the long-term fortunes of a franchise. When that does happen, it’s generally because of a single great draft pick. What would the Royals have been without George Brett? The Mariners without Ken Griffey Jr. For gosh sakes, the Pirates without Barry Bonds. In 2009, the Cardinals drafted Shelby […]
RING LARDNER: BASEBALL’S COMEDIC GENIUS
Award-winning sportswriter Ring Lardner was one of the greatest humorists of the early twentieth century. Beat writer, columnist, essayist, and short-story writer as well as poet, playwright, music lyricist, and (briefly) comic-strip author, Lardner’s favorite subject was baseball. Pomrenke concludes his series by describing how Lardner used the game and its many colorful characters to […]
DANNY GOODWIN AND THE RISKS OF THE PICK
In this five-part series on the MLB draft, Rob Neyer begins in the 1970s with a profile of Peoria high school legend Danny Goodwin—the only player in baseball history to have been the first overall pick in two separate drafts. Goodwin’s professional performance—which failed to live up to the promise of his amateur career—highlights the […]
THE TIM MURNANE ALL-STAR BENEFIT GAME
In part 7 of his series, Jacob Pomrenke explains how Tim Murnane left his mark on every aspect of nineteenth-century baseball. His early career as player, umpire, scout, and executive was followed by an influential second act as editor, publisher, and columnist. In 1978, his fellow baseball writers recognized Murnane’s lasting impact by selecting him […]