Satchel Paige's tombstone

The Polo Grounds after a fire in 1911

Babe Ruth and Shoeless Joe discussing their bats.

Various Brooklyn Dodgers being distracted from baseball by tennis star Gussie Moran, Spring Training 1950.

Brooks Robinson in 1970 World Series..

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LOOKING BACK AT THE 1914 "MIRACLE" BOSTON BRAVES ...
THE GREATEST COMEBACK IN MLB HISTORY ... 110 YEARS AGO
The players had two more practices at spring training, leaving some of the men stiff and sore. There was more batting practice and manager George Stallings had each pitcher take a turn throwing batting practice. Catcher Hank Gowdy said that some of the young pitchers had good stuff.
After trying out with the Columbus Senators, Gowdy began his professional career in 1908 as a first baseman with Lancaster of the Ohio State League, remaining there for two seasons.
In 1911, John McGraw signed him for the New York Giants and gave him a seven-game tryout that September. With Fred Merkle firmly entrenched as the Giants' first baseman, McGraw advised Gowdy to take up catching if he hoped to remain in the major leagues. The following year he had appeared in only four games when the Giants traded him to the Braves.
Gowdy made the switch to catcher in 1912 but spent most of the season on the bench. In 1913 Stallings, sent him to Buffalo of the International League to hone his skills. There he batted .317, earning a late-season call-up.
In 1914 he became the Braves' regular catcher. He batted .243 during the season but became a star in the World Series against the A's.
In Game #1 Gowdy was 3-for-3 with a single, a double, and a triple. The Braves were down by two runs in Game #3 when Gowdy led off the tenth with a blast into the center-field bleachers. It was the only home run of the Series, and it ignited a rally that tied the score. Then in the 12th, he got his third hit and second double of the game, a bullet to left field to start the game-winning rally. In the Game #4 finale, he went 3-for-4, giving him a .545 average for the Series.
Later, Stallings would state that his mild-mannered backstop was his most valuable player during that season’s miracle run.

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Today In 1953: The Brooklyn #Dodgers open Holman Stadium, part of the historic "Dodgertown" spring training complex in Vero Beach, Florida!

Wind-milling that sledgehammer in the on-deck circle, Willie Stargell, listed at 6'2", 190 lbs in his early years, looms so much larger in our memories.** While he wasn't the biggest man in baseball, he might have been the most powerful.
His feats of strength were legendary:
• He was the first player to hit a ball completely out of Dodger Stadium (with Mark McGwire, Mike Piazza and Giancarlo Stanton the only other players to replicate the feat) – and he did it twice.
• The Pirates called Three Rivers Stadium home for 30 years. In that time, six home runs made the right field upper deck. Stargell launched four of them.
• In the 61-year history of Forbes Field, 18 baseballs cleared the roof. Stargell hit seven of them. No one else had more than one.
• He hit the longest home run ever recorded at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia – nothing too unusual about that, as Stargell owned distance records all over the league. What is unusual is the fact that the Phillies commemorated the blast by marking the landing spot.
Yep. Mike Schmidt’s team commemorated a visiting player’s home run.

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Today In 1963: "Meet the Mets", the official song of the New York #Mets is introduced to the public for the first time!

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The Kid! Gary Carter.

The Mick, Roger, & Killebrew signing a young fan’s cast in 1961…

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Praising God for His amazing grace and loving mercy in saving my life this evening from a heart attack. I am so happy and honored to report that all is well." ~ Baseball legend Darryl Strawberry (via Instagram)

Pepper Martin shows off his big lumber that he will be using against Al Simmons and the Athletics in the 1931 World Series

1980 National League Rookie of the Year, '81 World Series Champion, and '82 All-Star Steve Howe would have turned 66 today. He pitched 13 games for the Twins in 1985.

Bob Uecker talking to Hank Aaron pregame

Roberto Clemente making a leaping attempt at the wall.

Dock Ellis was born on this date in 1945, in Los Angeles, California.
Ellis signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1964 and made his MLB debut in 1968.
Throughout his playing career, Ellis achieved remarkable milestones, including pitching a no-hitter on June 12, 1970, while reportedly under the influence of LSD. His best year was 1971 when he was an all-star (& 19 game winner) and helped lead the Pirates to the championship.
Beyond his success with the Pirates, Ellis also contributed significantly to the teams he joined thereafter, including the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, and New York Mets.
After retiring in 1979, Ellis transitioned into a role that allowed him to use his experiences to help others, becoming a drug counselor focusing on substance abuse. Ellis also continued the work he did as a player in being an outspoken advocate for players' rights and against racial inequality.
Happy birthday to Dock Ellis!

Ty Cobb giving out hitting lessons to the Milwaukee Brewers. Hank Aaron listens intently.

Ty Cobb and Shoeless Joe Jackson

With Hank Aaron sitting on 713 career homers to start the 1974 season, the Atlanta Braves plan to sit their prized outfielder for their first three games at Cincinnati to give Aaron a chance at home to tie and then break Babe Ruth’s hallowed record of 714.

Commissioner and noted buzz kill Bowie Kuhn, though, nixes the plan 50 years ago today as he orders the Braves to play the 40-year-old Aaron in at least two of the three season-opening games at Cincinnati.


Aaron promptly starts the 1974 season on April 4 by tying Ruth’s record as he launches a three-run homer off the Reds' Jack Billingham in the first inning at Riverfront Stadium.

Aaron, though, reaches base on an error, walks and flies out in three other plate appearances that day against Billingham and reliever Roger Nelson before sitting out the series’ second game.

He then goes 0-for-3 against Reds starter Clay Kirby with two strikeouts – both looking – and a groundout in the series’ final game at Cincinnati.

The Braves return April 8 to Atlanta, where Aaron breaks Ruth’s record with a fourth-inning homer off Los Angele Dodgers starter Al Downing.

Kuhn is conspicuously absent from that record-breaker moment in Atlanta, opting instead to send one of his top assistants – Hall of Famer Monte Irvin – to represent the commissioner’s office.

During the 11-minute, in-game celebration after the historic homer, Irvin presents Aaron with a watch – yes, a watch – from the commissioner.

Then, as soon as Irvin begins to mention Kuhn’s name, the sellout crowd of 53,775 in Atlanta sets off a cacophony of boos for a commissioner who is not there to hear them.

“I was smiling, because of the boos he was receiving,” Aaron later says. “I hit 714 in Cincinnati. Somebody should have said, ‘He played, he did the best he could, why not let him hit 715 in Atlanta?’ I think I should have been given that privilege.”

Casey Stengel's Hall of Fame induction speech notes.

Al Kaline lies on the ground after getting hit in the head by a pitch, 1958

A young Babe with the Red Sox

Frank Howard playing Winter Ball in The Dominican Republic, 1959. Getty Images

After more than 30 years , Chief Wahoo came down in 1994 after the Indians moved to Jacobs Field.

Sandy Koufax pitches in game 7 of the World Series, October 14, 1965.

Birmingham Black Barons and a 17-year-old Willie Mays celebrate winning the 1948 Negro League World Series

George Foster, Joe Morgan & Ken Griffey

In 1958, after a game against Pittsburgh, a 19-year-old baseball player named Vada Pinson hit his first Grand Slam HR, securing a 4-0 win for his team, the Reds, with the help of Al Jeffcoat. However, Vada later described this milestone as a curse that affected his performance. He began to think of himself as a power hitter, which caused his average to suffer. As a result, he was sent down to Seattle, where he played for the rest of the season and hit an impressive 346 average. Vada returned to the Reds in 1959 as the starting CF.

John Callison was born on this date in 1939 in Qualls, Oklahoma.
He signed his first professional contract with the Chicago White Sox in 1957 and made his MLB debut in 1958.
Callison was best known for his time with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was a three-time All-Star (1962, 1964, 1965) and came in second in the MVP voting in 1964. He famously hit a walk-off home run in the 1964 All-Star Game and led the National League in triples in 1965. Callison was also known for his strong arm in the outfield, racking up assists and putting fear into baserunners.
After retiring in 1973, he worked as a car salesman and bartender. For many years he attended Phillies’ fantasy camps in Florida to the delight of both the fans in attendance and his former teammates.
Happy birthday to John Callison!

#OTD in 1981, the founder of the Negro National League known as the “father of Black baseball” earned election to the Hall of Fame.

A rearview of Babe Ruth ready to attack a pitch.

"Glove in back pocket”

Cesar Geronimo was born on this date in 1948 in El Seibo, Dominican Republic. He signed his first professional contract with the New York Yankees in 1965, but made his Major League Baseball debut with the Houston Astros in 1969. He later was traded to Cincinnati and became a key member of the renowned "Big Red Machine."
During his playing career, Geronimo was known for his exceptional defensive skills, winning four consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1974 to 1977. He was also a part of two World Series championship teams with the Reds in 1975 and 1976, contributing to one of the most dominant teams in baseball history.
Geronimo's best offensive year was 1976 when he hit .307 with a .382 OBP and 22 stolen bases.
After retiring in 1983, Geronimo returned to his home country, where he became involved in youth baseball development, contributing to the sport's growth in the Dominican Republic.
Happy birthday, Cesar!

George H.W. Bush, captain of the Yale Baseball team and Babe Ruth. 1948

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As owner of the Newark Eagles for more than a decade, Effa Manley made her clubs a social force off the field and baseball force on it. We celebrate the first woman elected to the Hall of Fame on #InternationalWomensDay.

Do you remember the Milwaukee Braves centerfielder who played with Henry Aaron? And played centerfield with Al kaline and the Tigers Detroit back in the 1950's and 1960. Billy Bruton.
937 Runs, 1651 H, 241 2B, 102 3B, 94 HR, 545 RBI's, 273 BA.

Stan The Man keeps tabs on the game at his St. Louis restaurant in anticipation of spring training February 15,1949.

“Al Kaline – he’s the only guy who could make the ball come to him”, per the line in the Purple Rose Theatre play the “Vast Difference”.
In a 1985 interview on WJR’s “Focus” show, hosted by J.P. McCarthy, Mickey Mantle said that Al Kaline was the greatest player that he ever saw. “I was no better than Kaline – he was stuck in Detroit. If he’d played in New York…” the implication that, in the bigger market, Al would’ve been recognized nationally on a par with Mick, and Bob Costas might have had Kaline’s card in his wallet. (Author’s note: although I’m sure that Mickey meant well with his comment, I’d much rather be “stuck” in Detroit cheering on the Tigers than living in New York City with the Damn Yankees as my team)
Al Kaline’s entire 22-year major league career was spent wearing the Olde English D. He retired after the 1974 season with a lifetime .297 batting average, 399 home runs, and 3,007 hits. Had he hit one more homer, Al would’ve been the first American Leaguer to have 400 home runs and 3,000 hits (the Babe had 2,873 hits). Instead that honor went to Yaz aka Carl Yastrzemski, who achieved the 400/3,000 plateau in 1979. When informed of this, Al laughed and said, “If I’d have known that, I would’ve swung harder those last few games.”
When asked about his most memorable at bat, Al said, of course, it was his 1968 World Series hit in game 5 that put the team ahead, a hit crucial to the Tigers win that day and the eventual 7-game World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Second, however, took place in another game at Tiger Stadium, this one against the Yankees and his good friend, Mickey Mantle. That day, Al hit two home runs and Mantle hit two home runs – but one of Al’s came with a teammate on base. The headline in the next day’s paper- the New York paper - read, “Kaline 3, Mantle 2”. For years after, Kaline got a lot of mileage kidding Mickey about that one.
Albert William Kaline… 18-time American League All-Star, winner of 10 Gold Gloves in right field, the 12th player in the history of the game w/ 3,000 career hits, voted 1980 into the Hall Of Fame on the first ballot, 1968 World Series Champion, and idolized by the State of Michigan.

Hank Aaron and MC Hammer

This gets my vote for best thread ever in the watercooler forum, and one of the best ever that I have seen on net54. So many photos you will never see anywhere else.

Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying them and I hope others are as well. I'm seeing most of these for the first time and thought you guys might like to see them.
If anyone would like to add photos, please feel free to. I'd like to see them and I'm sure others would too.

Carl Yastrzemski and Orlando Cepeda prior to a Spring Training game, March, 1968 at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Forbes Field and the Cathedral of Learning