Category: Players from 1871-1950

If you were to ask a casual baseball fan to list the greatest players on the New York Yankees’ dynasty from the 1920’s through the 1940’s, virtually every name would be an offensive star: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Berra. If asked to name the best pitcher on those great Yankee teams, you might get a […]

100 years ago today, on January 31, 1919, baseball legend Jackie Robinson was born. He was Major League Baseball’s first acknowledged African-American player when he made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame just 15 years later. Besides being forever tied with the historical […]

One hundred years ago today, on November 3, 1918, Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller was born in Van Meter, Iowa. Feller, known as “Rapid Robert” or the “Heater from Van Meter” was a baseball immortal, known most for his blazing fastball. Although Feller wasn’t particularly big (his Baseball-Reference page lists him as 6’0″, 185 […]

There are certain baseball personalities that just make you smile when you think about them. New York Yankees legend Phil Rizzuto is one of those personalities. The 5’6″ Rizzuto, known as the Scooter, was a slick-fielding shortstop, a member of 7 World Championship teams with the Bronx Bombers and then a mainstay in the Yankees’ […]

Hall of Famer Jim O’Rourke was born on September 1st, 1850 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. O’Rourke was one of the star hitters of 19th century baseball, playing 22 seasons from 1872-1893 before a one-game cameo in 1904. O’Rourke’s nickname was “Orator Jim” because of his loquaciousness. Orator Jim would entertain (or annoy) his teammates by reciting […]

125 years and one day ago (on August 18, 1893), Burleigh Grimes was born in Emerald, WI. Grimes would later spend 19 years as one of Major League Baseball’s last legal spit-ballers and would eventually become a member of the baseball Hall of Fame in 1964, voted in by the Veterans Committee 30 years after […]