Pittsburgh August 20th, 1903 On a warm summer morning, a broad-shouldered man bounded up the steps to the entrance of the pristinely kept house on 23 North Willow Lane. This particular man was a celebrity in the Pittsburgh region – a face known to all. His name was Randy Sliger, and he lived in the…
By Drew Visscher RICHMOND RIFLES: 1903 SEASON REVIEW Following a dramatic nine-game series against the Saint Louis Beavers, the Rifles of Richmond secured their first Legacy Cup at home with an excellent Game 9 performance from hometown hero Ivy “Iron Horse” Maw. A surprise contender for the 1903 title, the seasoned Richmond roster enjoyed an…
1903 saw three different division champions compared to the previous season. Unfortunately, the Eastern League Liberty Division crowned a king, too. The Richmond Rifles reclaimed the throne and crushed the Philadelphia Brewers’ season goals of defending the title. New players As soon as the Brewers played their final game in 1902, Kirby Hocking was on…
Published in the Summer of 1960, this bestselling recounting of one of the most famous scandals in baseball history is part memoir, part collection of interviews and essays, and part attempt to exorcise the past while rewriting many of its most basic assumptions. FOREWARD It’s a peculiar feeling, although perhaps not an uncommon one, to…
July 4, 1903 Field of the Whales The Whales’ young lefthanded hurler sat despondent in the home locker room alone on a wet morning in Brooklyn. The trip back from Baltimore was long—not so much in terms of the distance, but rather in the Sisyphus-ian mental reliving of his pitching performance that such a journey…
June 30, 1901 Field of the Whales Brooklyn, New York 6:00 PM Blanketed by rage and whiskey on a chilly summer evening, Marques Williams, the manager of the Brooklyn Whales, tolerated his unwanted visitor with all of the practiced grace of a hippopotamus attempting to use cutlery. At 6’4” and 220 pounds, just about the…
Germantown, Philadelphia – Christmas Eve 1902. Kirby Hocking and Martin Pitsch walked around the Christmas Market organized by the Germantown Cricket Club. It was noon, falling snow covered the streets, and the first stands closed down. After four days, most sold their goods and wanted to go home. Unlike the typical American, most German-Americans stick…
GM of the Year Voting Landon Kerr (BRK) – 25 Points Martin Pitsch (PHI) – 23 Points Doug Olmsted (SLB) – 21 Points Max Ehrlich (TCE) – 11 Points Alexander Madigan (LBL) – 5 Points Herman DeBarr (DET) – 5 Points GM of the Year Winner Landon Kerr (Brendan), BRK In 1902, Brendan managed to…
Ocie Stibbs had been throwing like this for as long as he could remember; 50 pitches a day to keep his arm strong. Unfortunately, this throwing session was mostly serving as the Whales’ backup catcher Noah Forbes’ calisthenics. Every third pitch seemed to whiz by Forbes to the backstop. For some reason, throwing wasn’t coming…
On a gray and uninspiring afternoon in Brooklyn, something extraordinary was happening. In a showing that was clearly practiced but barely choreographed, the long, lithe southpaw from the Western League fired pitch-after-pitch towards Whales’ backup catcher Noah Forbes. His delivery, all limbs and violence, was equal parts riveting and unrepeatable. The ultimate location of each…