by David Krell | Mar 29, 2017 | David Krell
During the summer of 1974, excitement charged the air. We watched with wonder when Philippe Petit walked on a wire between the Twin Towers, with dismay when President Nixon resigned because of the Watergate scandal, and with awe when the Universal Product Code...
by David Krell | Mar 28, 2017 | David Krell
Forget about the 288 wins. Forget about the four pennant-winning teams. Forget about the pioneering surgery that bears his name. You might as well. The Baseball Hall of Fame voters have. Thomas Edward John, Jr., the Terre Haute native who stayed in his hometown to...
by David Krell | Mar 19, 2017 | David Krell
Jim Palmer began his major league career in 1965, when the Braves played their last season in Milwaukee, the Astros unveiled the Astrodome, and Bert Campaneris became the first player to play all nine positions in a major league game. Throughout his 19 seasons—all in...
by David Krell | Mar 17, 2017 | David Krell
Wee Willie Keeler, a diminutive Baltimore Orioles right fielder measuring 5’4″ and 140 pounds, declared of his success, “Keep your eye on the ball and hit ’em where they ain’t!” In 1897, he did it 239 times for a .424 batting...
by David Krell | Mar 10, 2017 | David Krell
One was pugnacious. The other, almost regal. When John Joseph McGraw took the field, he embraced baseball games as bouts, thus earning his nicknames Mugsy and Little Napoleon. When Cornelius McGillicuddy managed the Philadelphia Athletics, he wore a suit rather than...