Wally Pipp was one of the most misunderstood baseball players in history. Today he is remembered more for missing a game with a headache than for his heroics on the ball field – and there were many!
Category: Baseball
Dave Righetti Story
Hello My Friends,
I posted a great story about Dave Righetti at “It’s About the Money.”
Please take a look!
Thank you!
NY Yankee – Honey Barnes (1926)
NOTE – The following passage comes from a draft of my book The Least Among Them which presents an original and unique history of the New York Yankees. The Least Among Them is currently in the research and editing stages. It is hoped that the final research for this text will be completed in 2017. I have targeted a 2018 publication date.
HONEY BARNES
John Francis “Honey” Barnes began his professional baseball career after graduating from Colgate University in 1925. During his last two season at Colgate, Barnes displayed outstanding batting skills hitting .385 as a junior in 1924 and .350 as a senior in 1925. Barnes was usually the #4 batter in the Colgate lineup as well as serving as the team’s captain. After college, Barnes was signed by baseball scout Paul Krichell who certainly left his mark on Yankees history.
NY Yankee – Harry Hanson (1913)
NOTE – The following passage comes from a draft of my book The Least Among Them which presents an original and unique history of the New York Yankees. The Least Among Them is currently in the editing stage. It is hoped that the final research for this text will be completed in 2017 with a targeted 2018 publication date.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – HARRY HANSON (1913)
It has been seen that the 1912 Highlanders were not a very impressive squad. In 1913, the results on the field for this franchise did not change dramatically. As a baseball team, they were still not very good. In 1912, the Highlanders won 50 games and finished in last place in the eight team American League. The 1913 squad fared only slightly better, earning 57 wins and a seventh place finish in the eight team league. One member of the 1913 team was a man who set a Major League record that still stands today – a catcher by the name of Harry Hanson.
June 11, 1995
This is one of those stories that, at once, is hard to believe, but is the absolute truth. This is one of those stories that remind us all that failure is part of success. This is true even for people who are considered the greatest of all time, for, you see, they weren’t always considered as such.
This seems like a story about baseball, but it’s not. It’s a story about failure. And success. Great success.
Great success that came only after dismal failure.
The N.Y. Yankees and the NFL
(The following passage comes from a draft of my original manuscript The Least Among Them which provides a unique history of the New York Yankees franchise.)
As football season is now upon us, I determined that it is worth sharing this passage that highlights the connections between the New York Yankees and professional football. These connections go back to the early days of both sports. While some of the players’ names in this passage will be familiar to sports enthusiasts, this essay includes the story of one of the least remembered New York sports legends of all time.
Yankees Fun
So, I’m having some fun on Twitter…
The other day I had this crazy idea to tell the story of individual New York Yankees players within the 140 character limit on Twitter.
Becoming Our Heroes
During my youth, the word “hero” meant one thing to me – a professional baseball player.
My first hero was Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles. I loved Nettles. He was a hard-nosed power hitting third baseman. Nettles led the American league in home runs in 1976. In 1977 and 1978, he earned the Gold Glove for his stellar defense at third base.
Mark Koenig and a Legend
The following is an excerpt from a book, The Least Among Them, I am writing about the Yankees that is currently in development:
Mark Koenig was the Yankees starting shortstop for three seasons from 1926 through 1928. Koenig was an erratic fielder, leading the league in errors in 1926 and 1928. As a batter, he usually served as the number two batter in the line-up, hitting just before Babe Ruth. After batting .319 in 1928 and .292 in more limited duty in 1929, Koenig got off to a slow start in 1930. By the end of May, he was batting only .230. On May 30, 1930, the Yankees traded Koenig, along with future Hall-of-Famer Waite Hoyt to the Detroit Tigers for Ownie Carroll, Harry Rice, and Yats Wuestling. Of the three, only Harry Rice, who played 100 games for the Yankees in 1930 (batting .298) had any significant impact on the team. After the trade, Koenig bounced between four teams over the remaining six years of his career, but during that time he influenced one pennant race and, in an indirect way, one of the most legendary moments in the history of baseball.
NY Yankees in WWII
The following is an excerpt from a book, The Least Among Them, I am writing about the Yankees that is currently in development:
Over five hundred Major League baseball players enlisted or were drafted into the United States Armed Forces during World War II. Of course, not all of these players saw combat or dangerous action. In fact, during the war years there was some criticism that star players, being very athletic, were not more involved in combat. This certainly wasn’t true of all big league players. Former (and future) professional baseball players were present at most of the important engagements of the war. This includes numerous players who wore the Yankee pinstripes. The following list summarizes some of the battlefield action faced by Yankees players in World War II.
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