This day in baseball: Kenesaw Mountain Landis is hired
Posted: November 12, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Black Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Commissioner of Baseball, history, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports, World Series Leave a commentU.S. District Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis accepted the offer to become baseball’s first commissioner on November 12, 1920. The decision to hire a commissioner came in the wake of the 1919 World Series scandal, which involved eight White Sox players who were paid off by gamblers to throw the Series against Cincinnati. Landis would officially begin his new role in January 1921.
Baseball at the Met
Posted: November 10, 2019 Filed under: 19th Century, 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, baseball cards, history, Jefferson R. Burdick collection, Jimmie Foxx, Metropolitan Museum of Art, sports 2 CommentsYesterday I happened across a tidbit stating that one of the largest baseball card collections resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I’ve never been a card collector, so I suppose this might already be common knowledge and I’ve just been out of the loop. I did want to check it out all the same, so I poked around and discovered that the Met is in the process of cataloging the cards, all part of the Jefferson R. Burdick collection, online. You can find the collection here.
Just minutes of exploring has revealed some gems, such as this collection of cartooned baseball stars from 1943:
Metropolitan Museum of Art
And these old school pennants from 1933.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
And there are, of course, a myriad of traditional baseball cards:
Metropolitan Museum of Art
I have to say, this is my type of card collection. A variety of cards, and yet virtual so that they don’t actually take up a bunch of physical space. Happy exploring!
This day in baseball: Mr. Cub is MVP again
Posted: November 4, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Chicago Cubs, Ernie Banks, history, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, MLB, sports Leave a commentErnie Banks won his second consecutive MVP award on November 4, 1959. Mr. Cub finished the season with a .304 batting average and 143 RBIs, including 45 home runs. Banks collected ten of the writers’ 21 first-place votes, with Eddie Mathews (5) and Hank Aaron (2) of the Braves and Dodger Wally Moon (4) dividing the rest of the first-place votes.
This day in baseball: Jackie Robinson passes
Posted: October 24, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers, history, Jackie Robinson, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports, World Series Leave a commentJackie Robinson passed away at the age of 53 on October 24, 1972 as a result of a heart attack. Robinson’s death came nine days after his appearance at the World Series, where he threw the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium. Robinson died in his home in North Stamford, Connecticut following complications of heart disease and diabetes.
This day in baseball: Klein named MVP
Posted: October 19, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Chuck Klein, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, MLB, National League, Philadelphia Phillies, sports Leave a commentOn October 19, 1932, outfielder Chuck Klein became the first Phillie to be named National League MVP when he received all first place votes for the honor. That season, Klein led the NL in hits (226), runs (152), home runs (38), and stolen bases (20).
Goudey
This day in baseball: A Series of shutouts
Posted: October 14, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Chief Bender, Christy Mathewson, Major League Baseball, MLB, New York Giants, Philadelphia Athletics, sports, World Series Leave a commentThe 1905 World Series was the only World Series in history in which every game ended as a shutout. Game 5 of the Series, played on October 14th, featured Christy Mathewson of New York against Chief Bender of Philadelphia on the mound. Mathewson defeated the A’s 2-0, marking his third victory of the Series to secure the Giants’ World Series victory.
Christy Mathewson (Chicago Historical Society)
This day in baseball: Dinneen’s complete season
Posted: October 10, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: American League, Baseball, Bill Dinneen, Boston Pilgrims, history, Jack Chesbro, New York Highlanders, sports 2 CommentsOn October 10, 1904, 41-game winner Jack Chesbro of the Highlanders let loose a wild pitch in the ninth inning of the final game of the season. This snapped a 2-2 tie, allowing Pilgrims right-hander Bill Dinneen to claim victory as the Boston team claimed the AL pennant. Dinneen finished the year having completed every game he started during the season, throwing 337.2 consecutive innings without relief during his streak of 37 consecutive complete games.
Bill Dinneen (The Sporting News)
