Gary Livacari | Baseball History Comes Alive

A Follow-up to My Birthday Tribute to Cool Papa Bell!

With our Old-Time Baseball Photos Facebook page currently having over 85K followers, we never know where our essays might go and who might read them...

Posted on: February 26, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 4 Comments

Welcome to the New “Mystery Player World Series Tournament!”

Welcome to the New Mystery Player World Series Tournament: East Division, Entry One!

Posted on: February 25, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 1 Comment

A MEMORABLE DAY AT YANKEE STADIUM

Bill Schaefer returns today with personal remenensences about a game he attended with his dad at Yankee stadium way back in 1946...

Posted on: February 25, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 8 Comments

Birthday Tribute to the Great Honus Wagner, Born February 24, 1874

Thanks to our resident baseball artist, Don Stokes, for calling to our attention that today is the birthday anniversary of Honus Wagner...

Posted on: February 24, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 2 Comments

Let’s Take a Moment to Dream A Little…

Here’s a quick little something a just bit different. In this post, there’s no historical records to examine, no mention of no-hitters or perfect games, no spotlight on a great player...

Posted on: February 22, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 4 Comments

(Entry No. 16) Can You Name This Week’s Mystery Players?

(Entry No. 16) This week's Mystery Players are both in the Hall of Fame. They were teammates in the Negro Leagues...

Posted on: February 20, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 8 Comments

Our Salute to the Negro Leagues: James “Cool Papa” Bell

“Bell was so fast he could turn off the light and be under the covers before the room got dark!”-Satchel Paige, speaking of “Cool Papa” Bell...

Posted on: February 19, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 1 Comment

Can You Identify This Week’s Mystery Players?

(Entry No. 15) Can you identify these two mystery players?

Posted on: February 12, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 0 Comments

Minnie Minoso’s “Grand” Return to the White Sox, 1960!

With February being Black History Month, I think this is a good time to shine our baseball spotlight on one of the recent inductees to the Hall of Fame, Orestes "Minnie" Minoso...

Posted on: February 12, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 16 Comments

The Sad Saga of Babe Ruth and the Baby Ruth Candy Bar

Since I never tire of writing about the great Bambino, today I've got a follow-up to my "Happy Birthday, Babe" post from a few days ago.

Posted on: February 9, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 4 Comments

Happy Birthday, Babe!

Many thanks to Don Stokes for reminding us that today is the birthday of the great Bambino, Babe Ruth, born on this date in 1895, 127 years ago...

Posted on: February 6, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 12 Comments

(Entry No. 14) Can You Name This Week’s Mystery Player?

(Entry No. 14) Can You Name This Week's Mystery Player, once voted the handsomest player in the major leagues!...

Posted on: February 5, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 1 Comment

Another Edition of Lopsided Trades: Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown Goes to the Cubs!

Brock for Broglio? Yeah, that wasn't a bad deal...But how about getting Mordecai "Three Finger " Brown almost for free?? Now that's a deal!...

Posted on: February 5, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 6 Comments

Yogi Berra: Baseball’s Original Mr. Clutch

We've all heard that Yogi Berra was a "clutch hitter," but what exactly does that mean? Is there a way to quantify it?...

Posted on: February 4, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 6 Comments

We’re Contacted by Acquaintance of Brooklyn Dodger Great, Preacher Roe, Part Two

"Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you!” –Preacher Roe, commenting after once being taken out of a game in the second inning...

Posted on: January 30, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 5 Comments

Can You Name This Week’s Mystery Player?

(Entry No. 13) This week's Mystery Player was a major league umpire who worked in the National League from 1941 to 1965...

Posted on: January 29, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 4 Comments

We’re Contacted By An Acquaintance of Brooklyn Dodger Great, Preacher Roe! (Part One)

“The Preach was a master of his craft. He was a smart control pitcher with a phenomenal sense of timing.” -Teammate Carl Erskine...

Posted on: January 25, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 10 Comments

Will There Ever Be Another Player Like Hammerin’ Hank?

“The pitcher has got only a ball. I’ve got a bat. So, the percentage in weapons is in my favor and I let the fellow with the ball do the fretting.” -Hank Aaron

Posted on: January 23, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 11 Comments

(Entry No. 12) Can You Name This Week’s Mystery Player?

(Entry No. 12) I've featured ballplayers and umpires in this Mystery Player series, so today I'm featured a ballplayer who became an umpire!...

Posted on: January 22, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 4 Comments

Tribute To Ernie Banks (January 31, 1931- January 23, 2015)

This week will mark the seven-year anniversary of the death of the great Hall-of-Famer, Ernie Banks. Since he was my favorite player as a kid growing up in Chicago, I thought this would be a good time to re-post my tribute to Ernie which I wrote at the time of his death...

Posted on: January 20, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 16 Comments

Hank Greenberg Sent Packing From Detroit…For Being Photographed Wearing a Yankee Jersey!

You're probably wondering why I chose for the featured photo a pic of the Tigers' great Hall-of-Famer Hank Greenberg in a Pirates' uniform. Read on to find out why!...

Posted on: January 19, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 3 Comments

Tommy Lasorda’s “Wild” First Major League Inning (And I Do Mean Wild!)

“I bleed Dodger Blue…and when I die I’m going to the Big Dodger in the sky!” –Tommy Lasorda...

Posted on: January 16, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 15 Comments

(Entry No. 11): Can You Name This Week’s Mystery Player?

(Entry No. 11) He was a third baseman, manager, coach, and front-office executive in major league baseball who spent his entire playing career with the Washington Senators..

Posted on: January 15, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 1 Comment

THE CLOWN PRINCE OF BASEBALL: Al SCHACHT

“I came into this world very homely and haven’t changed a bit since.” - Al Schacht...

Posted on: January 12, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 17 Comments

(Entry No. 10) Can You Name This Week’s Mystery Player?

(Entry No. 10): This week's Mystery Player is not exactly a former player, but he's close enough! It’s sort of a trick question…so put your thinking caps on!

Posted on: January 8, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 4 Comments

Marine Captain Ted Williams Recalled to Active Duty, January 9, 1952

"If there was ever a man born to be a hitter it was me...A man has to have goals - for a day, for a lifetime - and that was mine, to have people say, 'There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived' " –Ted Williams...

Posted on: January 8, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 19 Comments

Sammy Byrd, The Greatest Baseball Golfer Ever!

Here we are in the heart of winter caught that "no man's land" between the end of the World Series and the start of spring training...

Posted on: January 4, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 3 Comments

When You Survive a Torpedo Attack, I Guess Everything Else Is Easy!

"I was just another gob, luckier than most” –Gene Bearden, modestly speaking of his war-time experiences...

Posted on: January 2, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 8 Comments

Can You Name This Week’s Mystery Players?

(Entry No. 9): I found this neat photo on the home page of one of my Facebook friends, Chris Baker. It's a group of Yankee players from the 1920s for you to test your knowledge...

Posted on: January 1, 2022
By: Gary Livacari
With: 0 Comments

Our Annual Tribute to Roberto Clemente! “HE’S GOT IT!!”

“If it was humanly possible for a ball to be caught, Roberto Clemente was going to get it.” –Pirates’ manager, Danny Murtaugh

Posted on: December 31, 2021
By: Gary Livacari
With: 3 Comments

The Yankees’ Slugging Sparkplug: Roger Maris

Earlier this month many of us were once again disappointed that Roger Maris failed to make it into the Hall of Fame...

Posted on: December 31, 2021
By: Gary Livacari
With: 8 Comments

To create a bigger and better Baseball Hall of Fame – All it would take is 1/3 of 1%

With the recent actions of the Golden Days Era Committee, Buck O’Neil, Minnie Minoso, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, and Bud Fowler are all now to be inducted into Cooperstown...

Posted on: December 29, 2021
By: Gary Livacari
With: 6 Comments

Merry Christmas from Baseball History Comes Alive!

On behalf of everyone here at Baseball History Comes Alive, I'd like to extend to all our readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays..

Posted on: December 25, 2021
By: Gary Livacari
With: 11 Comments

Can You Name This Week’s Mystery Players?

(Entry No. 8) This week I thought I'd try something a bit different! Instead of just one Mystery Player, today we have an entire group!...

Posted on: December 24, 2021
By: Gary Livacari
With: 0 Comments

New Blog Topic: “WELLING”-A Backstop Invents a Backstop!

Today we welcome a guest post from Kevin Barwin, sharing with us some interesting information about the origin of something we take for granted but is a pivotal element of the game: the backstop...

Posted on: December 22, 2021
By: Gary Livacari
With: 3 Comments

Can You Name This Week’s Mystery Player?

(Entry No. 7) This Week's Mystery Player was a starting and relief pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1926 through 1943...

Posted on: December 18, 2021
By: Gary Livacari
With: 3 Comments

Another Edition of Lopsided Trades: Yankees Deal Urban Shocker To the Browns!

As I continue my series on lopsided trades, today I'll be featuring one that was consummated near the end of the Dead Ball Era (1918) and had ramifications well into the 1920s...

Posted on: December 18, 2021
By: Gary Livacari
With: 1 Comment

Another Edition of Baseball’s Forgotten Stars: Ewell “The Whip” Blackwell

“His pitching delivery looks like a Picasso impression of an octopus in labor”- Sportswriter Joe Williams, speaking of Ewell Blackwell

Posted on: December 17, 2021
By: Gary Livacari
With: 6 Comments

Another Edition of “Baseball’s Lopsided Trades”: Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas!

Today in my ongoing series on lopsided trades, I’d like to highlight the December 9, 1965 trade of the great slugger, Frank Robinson, from the Reds to the Orioles for Milt Pappas...

Posted on: December 11, 2021
By: Gary Livacari
With: 5 Comments

Name This Week’s Mystery Player!

{Entry No. 6} [He] played for the Cleveland Indians from 1921 to 1925 and the rest of his career from 1926 to 1934 with the Chicago Cubs. Who is he?...

Posted on: December 10, 2021
By: Gary Livacari
With: 6 Comments