At the time, it was the cornerstone of baseball’s centennial celebration, a much-heralded, fan-driven promotion designed to get everyone involved with the festivities. It was 1969, the centennial of professional baseball, 100 years since the Cincinnati Red Stockings started paying salaries for playing ball. Major League Baseball was just embracing serious marketing and licensing concerns. […]
IN HIS DAY, LEON DAY WAS THE BEST
Satchel Paige, “Smokey” Joe Williams, “Cannonball” Dick Redding, and “Bullet Joe” Rogan are often remembered as the top pitchers in the Negro Leagues. But time and time again, Leon Day was their equal and even bested some of these better-known hurlers. Standing just 5-feet-10 and weighing 170 pounds, Day found a way to dominate hitters […]
THE BLACK SOX SCANDAL: A COLD CASE, NOT A CLOSED CASE
It has been 50 years since Eliot Asinof’s landmark book on the 1919 Black Sox scandal, Eight Men Out,was first published. Baseball fans have been captivated by his compelling narrative about the talented but disgruntled Chicago White Sox ballplayers, underpaid and ill-treated by owner Charles Comiskey, taking bribes from gamblers to fix that year’s World Series […]
THE ORIGINS OF THE ART OF PITCHING DURING THE 19TH CENTURY
In the old bat-and-ball games that preceded baseball as we know it, the pitcher sometimes was known as the feeder, who merely tossed the ball softly toward the batter. His role was to initiate the action, which began in earnest when the ball was hit. There was no calling of balls or strikes, and the […]