Today we welcome back Vince Jankoski with an interesting essay about the early evolution of the relief pitcher from Firpo Marbeerry in the 1920s to Jim Konstanty in the 1950…
The Heart-Warming Story of Hall of Fame Slugger Roger Connor and a Little Orphan Named Cecilia
With all the “heavy writing” we do around here on Baseball History Comes Alive, it’s nice every once in a while to step back and simply enjoy a story that, while it has a baseball connection, has nothing to do with anything that happened between the white lines. And so we will today…
“WILD BILL” DONOVAN: THE MOST SUPERSTITIOUS MAN IN BASEBALL!
We all know ball players are superstitious, but today, Ron Christensen tells us about possibly the most superstitious player of all, “Wild Bill Donovan. He’s off the “superstition charts”! It’s a great story that all baseball history fans will enjoy…
There’s No Crying – Or Sleeping! – In Baseball!
Don’t believe me that there’s no crying in baseball? You could have asked Hall of Famer Edd Rousch (if he was still around!).
Our Mothers Day Tribute to Baseball Mothers!
We can’t let a great occasion like Mothers Day pass without finding a connection to old-time baseball! So here’s my little contribution to the day, a salute to “Baseball Mothers!”…
The Designated Hitter Is Born, January 11, 1973!
“The pitcher who can’t get in there in the pinch and win his own game with a healthy wallop, isn’t more than half earning his salary in my way of thinking.” -Babe Ruth. And who am I to argue with the Babe!…
Happy Thanksgiving From Baseball History Comes Alive!
The great American family tradition of “Turkey Day” falls in that “no man’s land” between the last pitch of the World Series and the first pitch of spring training. It’s not exactly our favorite time of the year. But somehow, we manage to make it through year after year…
Perfect Christmas Gift For Baseball Fans to Give or Receive: 2025 Vintage Baseball Cards Calendar!
If you have a baseball fan on your Christmas list this year – or if someone is asking you what you would like for Christmas – I’ve got the perfect gift idea: The 2025 Vintage Baseball Cards Calendar!…
Mothers Day Tribute to Baseball Mothers!
We can’t let an occasion like this pass without a connection to old-time baseball! So here’s my little contribution to the day, a salute to “Baseball Mothers!”…
Here’s lookin’ at you Toots!
Today we welcome back Mark Kolier with something just a bit different. Mark recounts the story of Toots Shor’s restaurant and sports bar. During its heyday, it was a favorite hangout of some of the biggest names in sports and show business…
Such A Deal! Free “Baseball History Comes Alive” Bookmarks!
To celebrate the success (hopefully!) of my new book, “Out From Under the Shadow of the Babe,” I’ve had some custom-made book marks made up. I actually designed these myself, and I have to admit they came out pretty nice. I’m making them available FREE OF CHARGE…
Fun With “Erased” No-Hitters!
Wow…you learn sometime new about this game every day! Here’s something I was previously unaware of: Erased No-Hitters!…
Beautiful Color Restoration of the Addie Joss Benefit Game by Chris Whitehouse
Addie Joss was a much-beloved ace starting pitcher for the Cleveland Naps whose life was tragically cut short at the age of 31…
Refreshing Chatter: Recalling Baseball From the Back Yard to the Men’s Senior League
Today, we have something a bit different. We welcome back contributor Mark Kolier with an interesting essay reflecting back on what baseball meant to him in different stages of his life: From playing wiffle ball in the backyard, to coaching his son’s Little League team, to playing on a Men’s Senior League team against “real” players…
Baseball History Comes Alive Tops the One Million Hits Mark!
Seven and a half years ago, on January 20, 2016, the Baseball History Comes Alive website was born…
Tribute To Baseball’s Great Innovators!
On May 15, 1915, 108 years ago the Pirates player-manager Fred Clarke files a patent for flip-down sunglasses designed for outfielders…
Fun With Baseball Ejections!
With all the ‘heavy writing” we do around here, every once in a while it’s fun to step back and just have a little fun. So I thought this might be a good time to put out of my old file cabinet an essay I wrote about four years ago on an overlooked baseball topic: ejections…
Happy Thanksgiving From Baseball History Comes Alive!
As some of you may remember, I always try to find some connection between our national holidays and baseball history…
Baseball’s Other “Babe,” Babe Herman: The Only Major Leaguer To Double Into a Double Play!
I was recently reading about baseball oddities (including “The Most Unusual Home Run Ever!”) and it got me to thinking about some other unusual occurrences on the baseball diamond…
THE CLOWN PRINCE OF BASEBALL: Al SCHACHT
“I came into this world very homely and haven’t changed a bit since.” – Al Schacht…
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..
Subscriber Matthew Clifford Creates A New Art Form: “Baseball Fence Art!”
Back in 2016, life-long Cub fan and avid baseball history fan Matthew Clifford bought a home on a half-acre of land in the rural northern Illinois town of Leland. The property came with a rickey-rack six-foot fence enclosing his backyard…
New Book By Our Subscriber, Adam Rothstein!
As I mentioned many times, we’re always happy to “plug” books written by our subscribers and/or contributors…
Happy Fathers’ Day!
“It was at St. Mary’s that I met and learned to love the greatest man I’ve ever known…He was the father I needed”…
AN IMPORTANT FIFTH ANNIVERSAY MESSAGE FROM BASEBALL HISTORY COMES ALIVE
As Baseball History Comes Alive celebrates its fifth anniversary, we not only wanted to thank you, our subscribers, for your continued support, but also to bring you up to date on the ways we’re trying to build and improve our website…
The Beautiful Color Restorations of Chris Whitehouse
Those of us who frequent baseball history web sites know that there are a few very talented baseball artists out there…
ANOTHER EDITION OF “FROM THE LIGHTER SIDE!”: THE NEW YORK METS’ FAMOUS “SIGN MAN”
Karl Kurt Ehrhardt was born in Unterweissbach, Germany, on November 26, 1924, the son of Willie and Elsie Voight Ehrhardt…
Anatomy of a Sports Bettor: The Compelling Story of Our Contributor, Bill Schaefer
Whatever winnings you accrue betting games, you will give back…and then some -Bill Schaefer…
BASEBALL’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE LEXICON
This week, Bill Schaefer treats us to an interesting essay dealing with the many ways in which baseball’s jargon has found its way into everyday English usage…
The Famous Phil Linz “Harmonica Incident” Sparks 1964 Yankees
In today’s essay, Paul Doyle recalls for us the confrontation between Yogi Berra and utility player, Phil Linz during the 1964 pennant race…
Cub Players Shot by Scorned Lovers, Part I: “The Showgirl and the Shortstop!”
“Billy Jurges was one in a hundred thousand. I met him at a party…and I fell hard.
The 1931 Tour of Japan
Those of you who read Bill Gutman’s interesting post about Lefty O’Doul will recall Bill mentioned that Lefty was on the 1931 tour to Japan…
The Continued Evolution of Baseball
In today’s interesting essay, Paul Doyle gives us a summary of how the game has evolved regarding home runs, contrasting the Dead Ball Era with the Live Ball Era and with our present post-1965 era…
Who Was The Greatest Hitter Of All Time? Cast Your Vote!
As we ponder our existence in a world without baseball, I thought it might be fun to pass some time debating something real basic: Who was the greatest hitter of all-time?…
The Iconic Norman Rockwell Painting: “The Dugout”!
In a recent photo of the Cubs at spring training, one of our readers noted that the Cub players in the bullpen wore uniforms similar to the Cub batboy in the iconic Norman Rockwell painting, “The Dugout.”…
Incredible Home Runs That Actually “Broke the Bat!”
Today we welcome a guest post from Mike Epson. Mike has chosen an interesting topic, broken-bat home runs. It’s a bit different for us at Baseball History Comes Alive!, but it’s well worth reading…
How Fast Are Pitchers Throwing? A Look At Speed Measurement In Baseball!
Today, Matt Brown sends us something a little bit different. Matt has written an interesting essay that briefly explores the evolution of “speed measurements.” I think you’ll enjoy it…
“From the Lighter Side”: A Novel – And Exciting! – Way To End a Batting Slump!
As Harry Caray used to say: “Ahh, you can’t beat fun at the old ball park!”…
Jackie Mitchell Strikes Out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig!
“I don’t know what’s going to happen if they begin to let women in baseball. Of course, they will never make good. Why? Because they are too delicate, that’s why. It would kill them to play ball every day.” –Babe Ruth, after being struck out by Jackie Mitchell…
Fun With Baseball Ejections!
In writing about Stan Musial the other day, someone mentioned that – not surprising – Stan had never been ejected from a game over his 22-year career. This little tidbit of information got my wheels spinning; and so I thought it would be fun to delve a little further into a topic that is almost always overlooked: baseball ejections.
