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!).
“And Don’t Call Me Catfish!” The Story of Bill Klem
We’re happy to welcome Mike Janacek back today with an interesting essay giving some equal time to the “Men in Blue.” Mike shares with us some interesting information on the career of Hall of Fame umpire Bill Klem, who is not only recognized for introducing many innovations to the umpiring profession but is also considered by many historians to be the greatest umpire in baseball history…
Robotic Umpires?? What Next!
Vince Jankoski returns today with a slightly tongue-in-cheek essay about what changes are in store for us next in the game we all love. Robotic umpires might just be a “bridge too far”!…
A Memorable Baseball Brawl: Carl Furillo Gets 50-Year Old Leo Durocher in a Chokehold!
“Durocher was a dirty manager. He was a dirty player… I hated his guts.” –Carl Furillo…
A New Major League Record…For Balks!
“I never called a balk in my life. I didn’t understand the rule., so I never called one.” – Major League Umpire Ron Luciano (1969-1979)
Emmett Ashford’s Debut comes at D.C. Stadium, April 11, 1966
As part of our continuing coverage of Black History Month, we welcome Andrew Sharp with an interesting essay about the career of the major league’s first African-American umpire, Emmett Ashford…
A Historical Look at Umpire Signals and Deaf MLB Players, Part Two
Today we continue with Part Two of Thomas Marshall’s series on deaf players and the development of umpire hand signals. As I mentioned, Part One got a real nice reception from the readers, and I know you’ll enjoy Part Two too. So we’ll pick up where Tom left off…
A Historical Look at Umpire Signals and Deaf MLB Players
After each play, we look to the umpire’s signal to learn the call. Ever wonder how and why those signals got started?…
We’re Contacted By Descendant of Former Major League Umpire, Jim Johnstone!
As I’ve mentioned many times, we always love it when we’re contacted by a relative of a former player. But it’s not often that we’re contacted by a descendant of a former major league umpire!…
The Call From Hell!
Last week, Bill Schaefer described for us what was “Maybe the Best Play Ever.” Today he follows up with the other end of the spectrum: “The Call From Hell.” It’s hard to argue with Bill’s assessment in either case!…
What Inspired the Famous Norman Rockwell Painting, “The Three Umpires”?
I’ve posted the iconic Norman Rockwell painting The Three Umpires before, but I never knew what rainy-day incident served as the inspiration for the painting. Was it based on something historic? Or did Rockwell just make it all up?…
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…
Bill SCHAEFER’S MYSTERY PLAYER NUMBER FIVE!
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Baseball “Babes,” Part Six: Ballplayer-Turned-Umpire, Babe Pinelli!
“Kill the SOB, Carl! Kill ’em!”- Umpire Babe Pinelli to Carl Furillo, who had Dodger manager Leo Durocher in a chokehold during an on-field melee in 1953…
New Blog Topic: There’s No Crying—Or Sleeping!—In Baseball! Just Ask HOFer Edd Rousch!
A recent article in Baseball Digest had some interesting information about baseball ejections…
Norman Rockwell and Baseball, Part Two: The Three Umpires
The best known of Norman Rockwell’s baseball-themed paintings is probably his 1948, The Three Umpires, which appeared on the April 23, 1949 cover of The Saturday Evening Post…
It’s Time For a Quiz!
Can you name the only person enshrined in both the NFL Hall of Fame and also the National Baseball Hall of Fame?…
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.
Our Newest Book! What’s the old saying? “If you Don’t Toot Your Own Horn, No One Else Will!
Subscribe to Baseball History Comes Alive! to receive new posts automatically “The Life and Career of […]
We Say Good-bye to the Great Umpire, Doug Harvey.
Subscribe to Baseball History Comes Alive! to receive new posts automatically Doug Harvey Photo Gallery Click […]
Let’s Give the “Men in Blue” Some Long-Overdue Recognition!
Umpire Paul Pryor Photo Gallery Click on any image below to see photos in full […]
Polo Grounds, Manhattan, NY, October 11, 1923 – Ruth Hits 2 HRs In World Series
Babe Ruth crosses home plate after his fourth-inning solo blast put the Yankees up […]
Braves Field, Boston, MA, September 24, 1936 – The Bees Rabbit Warstler Slides Into Third Base
The Bees Rabbit Warstler beats the throw to third base in the first game […]
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY, September 9, 1928 – 85,265 Watch Yanks Sweep A’s In Key Doubleheader
In the first game of a key doubleheader between the Athletics and Yankees, New York’s […]
Navin Field, Detroit, MI, June 20, 1935 – Bill Dickey Beaned In The Back Of The Head
The Yankees All-Star catcher Bill Dickey is knocked to the ground after getting drilled […]