GIL HODGES
Hall of Fame Panel Discussion
Featured:
and
Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers Pitching Legend
a/o: Dec. 1, 2021
HALL of FAME
GOLDEN ERA VOTE
DEC. 5, 2021
Showing posts with label Hall of Fame. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hall of Fame. Show all posts
Thursday, December 02, 2021
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Bedford & Sullivan Podcast: Restoring John Donaldson's Legacy with Negro League Historian Peter Gorton
From the desks: BEDFORD AND SULLIVAN & THE DONALDSON NETWORK
A Bedford & Sullivan Podcast welcomes back Negro Leagues Baseball historian and founder of The Donaldson Network, Peter Gorton. Based in Minnesota, Mr. Gorton leads a group of historians dedicated to discovering the lost legacy of John Wesley Donaldson. Hosted by yours truly, this episode will discuss Donaldson's lone season with the Brooklyn Royal Giants and his career accomplishments. We'll learn about the life of one of the more incredible and inspiring athletes to ever play the game and how his fantastic legacy became lost to a nation. With the Early Baseball Era Committee's upcoming vote on Dec. 5, the hope is John Wesley Donaldson is finally awarded a rightful place in the Hall of Fame.
FOUNDER of
PETER GORTON
FORMER BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS UP FOR CONSIDERATION:
... AND JOHN DONALDSON
⚾
ONCE UPON A SUMMER 1918: JOHN DONALDSON'S LONE SEASON WITH THE BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS
- 6/28 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Acquire Midwest Pitching Great, John Donaldson
- 6/30 - John Donaldson Loses Brooklyn Royal Giants Debut To New York Lincoln Giants
- 7/3 - John Donaldson Poised To Make Brooklyn/Queens Debut At Dexter Park
- 7/4 - John Donaldson Twirls Shutout Over Cuban Stars In Dexter Park Debut
- 7/7 - Joe Williams Wins Second Straight Decision Over John Donaldson; Lincoln Giants and Royal Giants Split Twin Bill
- 7/13 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Glendale at Farmer's Oval, Queens
- 7/14 - John Donaldson Defeats Bushwick; Royal Giants Split Twin Bill At Dexter Park
- 7/15 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Take Series Opener From Atlantic City Bacharach Giants
- 7/16 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Take Game Two from Bacharach Giants; John Donaldson Earns The Victory
- 7/17 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Wrap Up Series With Bacharach Giants at Atlantic City
- 7/18 - N.Y. Ship League Team Defeat Brooklyn Royal Giants at Camden, New Jersey
- 7/21 - Cuban Stars Double-Up Brooklyn Royal Giants; John Donaldson Takes Loss at Dexter Park
- 7/24 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Bow To Stan Baumgartner and Bethlehem Steel at Allentown, PA
- 7/27 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Camp Dix Soldiers*
- 7/28 - Silk Sox Clout John Donaldson's Offerings; Brooklyn Royal Giants Fall at Doherty's Oval
- 8/3 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Prospect Heights at Hackensack*
- 8/4 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Forfeit Game To Glendale at Farmer's Oval
- 8/7 - Bethlehem Steel Team Hosts a Scoreless Tie Against Brooklyn Royal Giants
- 8/11 - New York Lincoln Giants and Royal Giants Split Twin Bill at Olympic Field; Joe "Cyclone" Williams Wins Opener, John Donaldson Wins Game Two
- 8/17 - New York Ship Wins Second Contest Against Brooklyn Royal Giants at Camden, N.J.
- 8/18 - The Tietjen & Lang Shipyard Nine Defeat John Donaldson and the Brooklyn Royal Giants, North Bergen, N.J.
- 8/24 - Morse Dry Dock BBC Defeat Royal Giants in John Donaldson's True Brooklyn Debut
- 8/25 - Irvin Brooks Twirls Shutout; Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Glendale at Farmer Oval, Queens
- 9/1 - New York Lincoln Giants Sweep Twin Bill From Royal Giants at Olympic Field; Joe "Cyclone" Williams Earns Dual Victory, John Donaldson Suffers Loss in Second Tilt
- 9/2 - Brooklyn Royal Giants and Cuban Stars Split Games of a Doubleheader at Dexter Park
- 9/4 - Southpaw John Donaldson Hands Camp Mills Their First Loss This Season; Brooklyn Royal Giants Win, 7 to 6
- 9/8 - John Donaldson's Return Match Against Morse Dry Dock Along Brooklyn Waterfront Likely Rained Out
- 9/12 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Glendale in Eleven Innings at Farmer's Oval, Queens
- 9/14 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Tietjen and Lang Club; John Donaldson and the Backdrop of WWI
- 9/15 - Bushwick Sweeps Both Ends of Doubleheader Against Brooklyn Royal Giants at Dexter Park
- 9/22 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Stage Doubleheader Against New York Giants Players at Jersey City
- 9/29 - Smokey Joe Williams Outlasts Irvin Brooks and John Donaldson in Lincoln Giants Decisive Series Win Over Brooklyn Royal Giants
- 10/6 - John Donaldson Hurls a Gem; Brooklyn Royal Giants Sweep Doubleheader From Long Island City at Recreation Park
- 10/12 - John Donaldson Wins Duel Against Joe "Cyclone" Williams; Royal Giants and Lincoln Giants Split Twin Bill at Dexter Park
- 10/13 - Bushwick Sweeps Twin Bill From Brooklyn at Dexter Park; John Donaldson Plays Last Games With Royal Giants
Saturday, October 16, 2021
Talking Gil Hodges and the Hall of Fame with Baseball & BBQ Podcast
From the desk: BASEBALL & BBQ with JEFF & LEN
Brooklyn Trolley Blogger meets Baseball & BBQ:
My humble thanks and appreciation to Len and Jeff for inviting me onto their podcast to discuss Gil Hodges, his ongoing prominence in Brooklyn, and hopeful enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn
Monday, August 23, 2021
OTD Negro Independent Era 8/23/1899: The Cuban X Giants Defeat the Burlington, New Jersey, Local Nine
From the desk: GO TALK TO E.B. LAMAR
On Wednesday, August 23, 1899, the Cuban X Giants, in a return trip to the outskirts of Philadelphia, defeat the Burlington, New Jersey, local nine.
In the early going, neither starting pitcher allows the opposition to gain a firm footing. Cuban X Giant starter William Seldon is opposed by Woods for Burlington.
A see-saw affair unfolds. After a scoreless opening frame, the teams trade a run each in the second. The X- Giants pull ahead with a run in the fourth. Afterwhich, both sides this time trade two runs each in the sixth. There's a lull in the seventh, but the action picks right back up in the eighth when Burlington pushes across the game-tying run.
But with two runs in the home half, the Giants again retake a 6-4 lead. The ninth inning repeats the previous frame as Burlington plates one, whereas the X-Giants plate two en route to an 8-5 final margin of victory.
This marks the Cuban X Giants' second win against Burlington this season.
Daniels, the shortstop, leads Burlington with three hits, including a double and triple, center fielder Hoover wields two hits with a double, and third baseman Carfrey scores twice. Woods allows eight runs on twelve hits (six for extra bases) and one walk with two strikeouts in the loss. However, a misplay by Hooper, the center fielder, contributes greatly towards Burlington's loss.
The true brains behind the Cuban X Giants, catcher Clarence Williams, leads the team with four hits, two extra bases, and three runs scored. Third baseman Andy Jackson accounted for two doubles, while first baseman Ray Wilson and left fielder Will Jackson wielded one each.
Featuring future Hall of Famers up the middle, shortstop Sol White posts a hit and a run scored with four assists in the field, and second baseman Frank Grant likewise posts one hit with four fielding assists and nary a misplay by either.
William Seldon helps himself at the plate with three singles. Seldon holds Burlington to five runs on the mound on eleven hits and two walks for the win.
⚾
The Cuban X Giants are formed by and comprised of breakaway players from the Original Cuban Giants. They operate under a cooperative agreement. E.B. Lamar is merely their business agent hired by Clarence Williams and the players. Lamar's brother suggested the team adopt X in order to better distinguish themselves from their ex-team.
Monday, June 28, 2021
Once Upon a Summer, 1918: Brooklyn Royal Giants Acquire Midwest Pitching Great John Donaldson
From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS & THE DONALDSON NETWORK
Hailing from the nation's heartland and fast gaining recognition for being one of the greatest pitchers in the country, the now 27-year old southpaw John Donaldson makes his first venture East as a newly signed member of the Brooklyn Royal Giants.
Brooklyn was forced to seek out representative talent needed to replace the oft dominant, not to mention immensely popular and Dick "Cannonball" Redding, drafted into military service with the United States Army and deployed a few weeks ago overseas.
An eleven-year moundsman, Donaldson most recently pitched for the Indianapolis ABCs and winter ball for the Los Angeles White Sox before that. He is perhaps better known for his years hurling throughout the midwest for the All-Nations Club of Des Moines, Iowa.
"John Donaldson's departure (from the Indianapolis ABC's) was sudden. He left for the big city, where he will twirl ball for Nat Strong's Royal Giants. Donaldson's poor showing against the (Chicago) American Giants caused (ABC's manager, C.I.) Taylor to reduce his salary from $250 to $100 per month and John quit." - Chicago (IL) Defender, June 29, 1918, p.13, c.1/Donaldson Network.
Nat Strong is the preeminent booking agent in the East and owner of several teams, including the Brooklyn Royal Giants. For perspective sake, he proffers a curt answer to discrimination charges levied against him by manager Winter Williams of the Pennsylvania Red Caps regarding playing dates in which Nat Strong writes:
"The Royal Giants naturally want the best to be had and are willing to pay for it and have the highest salary list of any colored baseball club playing anywhere. We cannot use all the players of this country but only want sufficient for our team ... our salaried colored teams, hire ball players and give them a salary to do so and pay them regularly with cash." - The New York Age (New York, New York), Saturday, June 29, 1918, p.6, c.4
"The Brooklyn Royal Giants today signed pitcher John Donaldson. Donaldson is reputed to be the highest salaried colored pitcher in the country." - Monday, June 24, 1918 (The Standard Union, Brooklyn New York), p.8, c.5.
John Donaldson begins his baseball career at age seventeen in (his hometown) Glasgow, Missouri, where he plays for the Hannaca Blues and the Higbee Tigers. In 1911, he performs for W.A. Brown's Tennessee Rats until allying with the All Nations the following year and through to the 1918 season, while also playing for Lehigh (Iowa), the Kansas City Colts, and the Florida Hotel League before arriving in California.
BEDFORD & SULLIVAN PODCAST: Restoring Baseball Great John Donaldson's Lost Legacy With Negro Leagues Historian and Founder of The Donaldson Network, Peter Gorton.
Minnesota native Peter Gorton leads a group of historians dedicated to discovering the lost legacy of John Wesley Donaldson. In this episode, we discuss the man, baseball career, and life of one of the more incredible and inspiring athletes to ever play the game, and how his amazing legacy became lost to a nation, most particularly Baseball's Hall of Fame.
Original airdate: March 13, 2021.
Saturday, March 13, 2021
Bedford & Sullivan Podcast Special: Negro Leagues Historian and Founder of The Donaldson Network, Peter Gorton
From the desk: A SAM MAXWELL PRODUCTION
GUEST
Founder
Negro Leagues Historian
seventy-five minutes
Bedford and Sullivan Podcast is pleased to welcome Negro Leagues historian and founder of The Donaldson Network, Peter Gorton. Based in Minnesota, Peter leads a group of historians dedicated to discovering the lost legacy of John Wesley Donaldson. Hosted by yours truly, Saturday's episode will discuss the man, baseball career, and life of one of the more incredible and inspiring athletes to ever play the game, and how his amazing legacy became lost to a nation, most particularly to baseball's Hall of Fame. Please join me and featured guest Peter Gorton for this and more.
Friday, February 26, 2021
Bedford & Sullivan Podcast: On Jackie Robinson, Negro Leagues Baseball, and Black History Month
From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS
BEDFORD & SULLIVAN
PODCAST
a Sam Maxwell Production
On Jackie Robinson, Negro Leagues Baseball, & Black History Month
⚾
GUEST PANEL
Author and Journalist David Krell
Negro League Historian, Speaker, Author Phil S. Dixon
Forbes Contributor, Baseball Historian, Interviewer Nick Diunte
Video Director and Producer hailing from Crown Heights, Phil Maillard
TheBrooklynTrolleyBlogger and host Sam Maxwell
120 minutes
This was simply one of the best broadcast that I have participated on in sometime. Lots of wisdom was given. https://t.co/vnzkZbjTE9
— Phil S. Dixon (@NegroLeagueMan) February 26, 2021
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AND THE GREAT AMERICAN NARRATIVE
Sunday, January 27, 2019
N.Y. Yankees: Hall of Fame Makes Room for Moose and Mo
From the desk of: BLAME CARLOS MAY
I remember Rollie Fingers as a member of the Swingin' Oakland A's. He and the Mets Tug McGraw are the first great relief pitchers of my childhood recollection. I remember Mike Marshall capturing the 1974 National League Cy Young as a member of the Dodgers, after posting a 15-12 record with 21 saves, a 2.42 ERA, through 106 appearances and 208.1 innings pitched, all as a reliever. I also recall when Sparky Lyle captured the 1977 American Cy Young as a reliever for the Yankees. I'll never soon forget Goose Gossage's aura of intimidation; Bruce Sutter's famous splitter; or 1984 when Willie Hernandez won both the Cy Young Award and MVP with a 9-3 record, 21 saves, and a 1.92 ERA through 130.1 innings pitched for the World Champion Tigers.
Damn right Lee Smith deserves enshrinement into baseball's Hall of Fame. He put forth at least ten dominant seasons of thirty saves or more; three times exceeded 40 saves; and led the league in saves on four occasions, with a career high 47 saves in 1991 as a member of the Cardinals. Upon his retirement after the 1997 season, Lee Smith's 478 saves were the most all-time.
I remember when MLB amended the Save rule, spurring great debate and statistical controversy. I have also watched relievers evolve from the Fireman into the modern day Closer. And of course, I watched Tony LaRussa invent the one inning specialist. Few people mention that before Dennis Eckersley the A's closer came into existence, La Russa first invented Bobby Thigpen with the Chicago White Sox.
Since the early/mid 1970's and every era since, I've seen relievers come and go. In fact, I've seen them all. Some relievers/firemen/closers are incredibly over rated, while some are unquestionably great.
It is with great confidence I say there was/is none better than Mariano Rivera.
None ...
In 1997, he earned 43 saves during his first full season as Yankees closer. After missing nearly all of the 2012 season, Mariano returned at 43-years of age to record 44 saves in the final season of his illustrious 19-year career. That's consistency. He had 15 seasons of at least 30 saves; seven years of at least 40 saves; and two seasons of at least 50 saves. In 2005, he recorded a career high 54 saves. His 652 saves are most all-time. He boasts a career 2.21 ERA and 1.00 WHiP in 1,283.1 innings pitched.
He was no single-inning matador either. In order to be great, one needs great competition. For better or worse, his multi-inning efforts throughout his post-season career are the stuff of legend. But with regards to the overall nuanced art of closing out games, nothing in baseball history compares with Mo's exploits:
The irony is never before had the BBWAA enshrined a player into the Hall by a unanimous vote. Some have come close. Alas none had ever achieved the distinction of garnering 100% approval - not Babe Ruth; Ty Cobb; Cy Young; Ted Williams; Willie Mays; Hank Aaron; Greg Maddux, Ken Griffey, Jr., et al - until Mariano Rivera. He will go down in history as the first player to ever be voted into baseball's Hall of Fame unanimously.
Dare I say he is truly one of baseball's few all-time transcendent players.
Cooperstown Sounds Moose Call, But Is Mike Mussina a True Hall of Famer?
Sometimes milestones such as 300 wins or 3,000 strikeouts need not apply. Those are not prerequisites for election into Cooperstown. Every player has their own story. Each differs from player to player, but none follow the same script. There are wunderkind members, as well as workingman members; conquerors and compilers; both majestic and modest. They all perform in their own unique ways.
Mike Mussina was never considered one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. There aren't many italicized statistics on the back of his baseball card. He never led the league in ERA; achieved 20-wins in a season only once; and recorded 200 strikeouts in a season but four times. He never won a Cy Young Award, and his teams never won the World Series. You might say Moose was somewhat unfortunate insofar that he pitched for the Yankees from 2001 through 2008 - the eight seasons nestled between New York's 2000 and 2009 titles.
But what he did was pitch his entire career in the highly competitive American League East and still manage a 3.68 ERA. Very simply, Moose is one of the great craftsmen the American League has ever known. He led the league in wins and shutouts in 1994 as an Oriole, and posted the league's best FIP during his first season with the Yankees. But his true worth came in posting double-digit victories for 17 consecutive seasons; winning 20-games once; 19-games twice; and at least 18-victories on three other occasions. All the while limiting himself to single-digit losses in 12 of his 18 seasons. Mussina made 536 career starts and won 64% of them, retiring with a stellar 270-153 career record. His control was impeccable, finishing with 2,813 strikeouts in 3,562.2 innings pitched, with a career 2.0 W/9 average.
Is he a borderline Hall of Fame pitcher? Although I was initially conflicted, the answer is yes. Capturing just 76.7% of the vote bears that out. But he is Hall of Fame pitcher nonetheless. Mike Mussina wasn't just good enough to get in, he was great enough to be voted in his first year on the ballot.
The Greatest Relief Pitcher/Closer of All-Time
100%
New York Yankees
Hall of Fame Class of 2019
Mo-Body Does It Better; Made Life Sad For The Rest. Mo-Body Does It Half As Good As Him; Baby, Mo's The Best ...I remember Rollie Fingers as a member of the Swingin' Oakland A's. He and the Mets Tug McGraw are the first great relief pitchers of my childhood recollection. I remember Mike Marshall capturing the 1974 National League Cy Young as a member of the Dodgers, after posting a 15-12 record with 21 saves, a 2.42 ERA, through 106 appearances and 208.1 innings pitched, all as a reliever. I also recall when Sparky Lyle captured the 1977 American Cy Young as a reliever for the Yankees. I'll never soon forget Goose Gossage's aura of intimidation; Bruce Sutter's famous splitter; or 1984 when Willie Hernandez won both the Cy Young Award and MVP with a 9-3 record, 21 saves, and a 1.92 ERA through 130.1 innings pitched for the World Champion Tigers.
Damn right Lee Smith deserves enshrinement into baseball's Hall of Fame. He put forth at least ten dominant seasons of thirty saves or more; three times exceeded 40 saves; and led the league in saves on four occasions, with a career high 47 saves in 1991 as a member of the Cardinals. Upon his retirement after the 1997 season, Lee Smith's 478 saves were the most all-time.
I remember when MLB amended the Save rule, spurring great debate and statistical controversy. I have also watched relievers evolve from the Fireman into the modern day Closer. And of course, I watched Tony LaRussa invent the one inning specialist. Few people mention that before Dennis Eckersley the A's closer came into existence, La Russa first invented Bobby Thigpen with the Chicago White Sox.
Since the early/mid 1970's and every era since, I've seen relievers come and go. In fact, I've seen them all. Some relievers/firemen/closers are incredibly over rated, while some are unquestionably great.
It is with great confidence I say there was/is none better than Mariano Rivera.
None ...
In 1997, he earned 43 saves during his first full season as Yankees closer. After missing nearly all of the 2012 season, Mariano returned at 43-years of age to record 44 saves in the final season of his illustrious 19-year career. That's consistency. He had 15 seasons of at least 30 saves; seven years of at least 40 saves; and two seasons of at least 50 saves. In 2005, he recorded a career high 54 saves. His 652 saves are most all-time. He boasts a career 2.21 ERA and 1.00 WHiP in 1,283.1 innings pitched.
He was no single-inning matador either. In order to be great, one needs great competition. For better or worse, his multi-inning efforts throughout his post-season career are the stuff of legend. But with regards to the overall nuanced art of closing out games, nothing in baseball history compares with Mo's exploits:
- 96 career playoff games; 24 appearances via seven trips to the Word Series.
- 141 innings pitched; 86 hits allowed (just two home runs); 21 walks; 110 strikeouts
- 8-1 record; 78 saves; 0.70 ERA; 0.750 WHiP.
- Just 86 hits allowed (only two home runs) through 141 innings pitched; 21 walks; 110 strikeouts
The irony is never before had the BBWAA enshrined a player into the Hall by a unanimous vote. Some have come close. Alas none had ever achieved the distinction of garnering 100% approval - not Babe Ruth; Ty Cobb; Cy Young; Ted Williams; Willie Mays; Hank Aaron; Greg Maddux, Ken Griffey, Jr., et al - until Mariano Rivera. He will go down in history as the first player to ever be voted into baseball's Hall of Fame unanimously.
Dare I say he is truly one of baseball's few all-time transcendent players.
Cooperstown Sounds Moose Call, But Is Mike Mussina a True Hall of Famer?
Sometimes milestones such as 300 wins or 3,000 strikeouts need not apply. Those are not prerequisites for election into Cooperstown. Every player has their own story. Each differs from player to player, but none follow the same script. There are wunderkind members, as well as workingman members; conquerors and compilers; both majestic and modest. They all perform in their own unique ways.
Mike Mussina was never considered one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. There aren't many italicized statistics on the back of his baseball card. He never led the league in ERA; achieved 20-wins in a season only once; and recorded 200 strikeouts in a season but four times. He never won a Cy Young Award, and his teams never won the World Series. You might say Moose was somewhat unfortunate insofar that he pitched for the Yankees from 2001 through 2008 - the eight seasons nestled between New York's 2000 and 2009 titles.
But what he did was pitch his entire career in the highly competitive American League East and still manage a 3.68 ERA. Very simply, Moose is one of the great craftsmen the American League has ever known. He led the league in wins and shutouts in 1994 as an Oriole, and posted the league's best FIP during his first season with the Yankees. But his true worth came in posting double-digit victories for 17 consecutive seasons; winning 20-games once; 19-games twice; and at least 18-victories on three other occasions. All the while limiting himself to single-digit losses in 12 of his 18 seasons. Mussina made 536 career starts and won 64% of them, retiring with a stellar 270-153 career record. His control was impeccable, finishing with 2,813 strikeouts in 3,562.2 innings pitched, with a career 2.0 W/9 average.
Is he a borderline Hall of Fame pitcher? Although I was initially conflicted, the answer is yes. Capturing just 76.7% of the vote bears that out. But he is Hall of Fame pitcher nonetheless. Mike Mussina wasn't just good enough to get in, he was great enough to be voted in his first year on the ballot.
Monday, January 21, 2019
Only Name on My Hall of Fame Ballot: Gil Hodges
From the desks of:
FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS and HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET
THE QUIET MAN
According to baseballhall.org, the BBWAA Rules for Election, Article Five reads:
Voting shall be based upon player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.
Based on their own criteria, it is unfathomable how Gil Hodges is continually denied enshrinement into baseball's Hall of Fame. The highest percentage of votes he ever received by the BBWAA was 63.4% in 1983, his final year on the writer's ballot. However, the former Veterans Committee, in my opinion, was far more negligent in their refusal to pass him through than writers who perhaps did not cover his playing career (and yes, I'm kind about it).
My own personal criteria for election into Baseball's Hall of Fame includes being among the dominant players at both their respective position and the game as a whole for at least a ten-year portion of a player's career.
By all accounts, Gil Hodges qualifies as a Hall of Famer. I'm not breaking new ground. His record reads as such: Baseball-Reference.com
There are 25 first basemen enshrined at Cooperstown; Hodges ranks 11th among them with 370 home runs. For twelve seasons spanning 1948-1959, Hodges led all first basemen in home runs, RBI, extra-base hits, and OPS. For the decade of the 1950s, he ranked second overall in the National League in home runs and RBI. From 1949 through 1959, Hodges slashed .280/.367/.507, while averaging 30 home runs and 101 RBI per season. He exceeded 20 home runs in eleven consecutive seasons, hit at least 30 home runs six times, and hit forty or more home runs twice. He exceeded 100 RBI in seven straight seasons. Upon his retirement, Gil Hodges ranked 11th on the all-time home run list and third among right-hand batters. Moreover, he helped the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers win seven National League pennants and two World Series championships. Gil triumphantly delivered Brooklyn's only two runs in Game Seven of the 1955 World Series against the Yankees. Starting with 1957, he won baseball's first three newly minted Golden Glove Awards for defensive excellence at first base.
His career with the Dodgers, which began in 1943, ended after the 1961 season. In 1962 Gil returned to the city, which still adored him unconditionally. He played 54 games for the expansion New York Metropolitan baseball club and then retired in 1963 after just 11 games. Five years later, he would become their manager. In his second season, the New York Mets would become World Series champions.
- His four-year record managing the Mets: 339-309 (.523)
Gil suffered a heart attack shortly before the start of the 1972 season, and on April 2, passed away at 47-years of age. He rests peacefully at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.
The Hall of Fame's Golden Era Committee reconvenes in 2020. When they do, this epic injustice must finally be corrected.
Hall of Fame, now..!
October 16, 2021
GIL HODGES and the HALL of FAME
with segments featuring
All-Time New York Met Ed Kranepool
and yours truly.
Friday, August 17, 2018
N.Y. Yankees: Babe Ruth Passes Away Seventy Years Ago, Aug. 16, 1948
From the desk of: BLAME CARLOS MAY
George Herman Ruth
Feb. 6, 1895 ~ Aug. 16 1948
THE BABE
Cooperstown Museum and Baseball Hall of Fame
2017
Babe Ruth Museum
BALTIMORE
Oriole Park at Camden Yard
Boston Braves Field
The House That Ruth Built
Yankee Stadium Gate 2
Yankee Stadium Museum
Yogi Berra Museum
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Road Trips 2018: Elysian Fields and the New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club
From the desk of: THE NEW YORK GAME
This a different kind of Road Trip which actually started back in 1977 when I was just a ten-year old baseball fan. While perusing a local second hand shop along Church Avenue I asked my parents to purchase a book. Somehow I got them to fork over $4.50 (in 1977 money) because they knew I would actually read it. In short time I was in possession of The Encyclopedia of Sports (fourth revised edition; 1969; Barnes). Once home, I flipped right through the history of angling and archery, then auto racing and badminton. Finally with one more turn of the page for the very first time the original history of baseball lay before my eyes.
It is then I learned Abner Doubleday inventing the game of baseball wasn't true. A fierce state of debate existed between Albert G. Spalding and (one of the Fathers of Baseball) Henry Chadwick since before the turn of the 20th century regarding this very matter. It's no less amazing how the myth somewhat endures. I like many proud native Brooklynites wear our Borough like a red badge of courage. We know our history well. However, that has not prohibited me from playing along where it concerns honoring the town of Cooperstown, Doubleday Field, and such faux baseball history. In making my first trip to Cooperstown in 1990, I was just happy to be there and soaking it all in. But I finally returned last year nearly forty years after purchasing that book with a wholly different perspective of our National Pastime - particularly the pioneer days of amateurism - because that's what you do when you get older!
This trip indeed started in earnest last summer at Cooperstown Museum and Baseball Hall of Fame, then resumed again this spring with a day trip to Hoboken, New Jersey. After which, I spent many late afternoons right here in Brooklyn exploring Green-Wood Cemetery. The final leg of this journey concluded at New Haven, Connecticut, where this past Sunday (Father's Day) I planted a small American flag at the grave of one of the true Fathers of Baseball.
Founded by Doc Adams and Alexander Joy Cartwright, the New York Knickerbockers are officially organized as a base ball club on Sept. 13, 1845, the first elected officers being Duncan Curry (president), William Wheaton (vice president), and William Tucker (secretary and treasurer).
On Sept, 23, 1945, a list of 20 match rules are adopted.
On Friday, June 19, 1846, at Hoboken's Elysian Fields, the New York Knickerbockers base ball club plays their first ever match game according to their adopted rules, and lose by a 23-1 margin in four innings, against a team generally referred to as the New Yorkers or New York Nine. Alexander Cartwright serves as match umpire.
Truth is, Alexander Cartwright, Duncan Curry, William Wheaton, and William Tucker, all played baseball previously to forming the Knickerbockers. It has been proven the New York Gothams, who at times also went by the name of the Washingtons, pre-date the Knickerbockers.
However, dissatisfied with a lack of uniform rules and varying standards of play, Cartwright, Wheaton, Curry, Tucker, and others broke away from the Gothams to form the Knickerbockers. Through time they seem to have received all the notoriety for being the first officially organized baseball club.
Alexander Cartwright is credited with adjusting the Gotham's playing field design of 1842, into what essentially has become the modern baseball diamond we recognize today. Otherwise, the first standardized rules to govern match play were left to William Wheaton, William Tucker, and Duncan Curry. Only William Wheaton's and William Tucker's signatures appear on the Knickerbockers rules by-laws.
Wheaton is reported saying the rules he and William Tucker drafted for the Knickerbockers in 1845 were scarcely different from those he created for the Gotham club eight years earlier. Duncan Curry said (Henry Chadwick) had nothing to do with the original rules. "William Wheaton, William Tucker, and I drew up the first set of rules and that the game was developed by the people who played it and were connected to it."
I present to you six of the nine Knickerbockers whom participated in the June 19, 1846 game against the New Yorks:
Resources:
The brilliant works and efforts of John Thorn; Thomas W. Gilbert author of Playing First: Early Baseball Lives at Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery; Peter J. Nash author of Baseball Legends of Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery; Base Ball Founders: The Clubs, Players, and Cities of the Northeast that Established the Game, edited by Peter Morris, William J. Ryczek, Jan Finkel, Leonard Levin, Richard Malatzky, whom collectively are revealing the true origins of baseball. I would also like to thank the staff at Green-Wood Cemetery for all their kind assistance.
ROAD TRIPS 2018:
Cooperstown; Hoboken; Brooklyn: New Haven
ELYSIAN FIELDS
and the
NEW YORK KNICKERBOCKER
Base Ball Club
est. 1845
This a different kind of Road Trip which actually started back in 1977 when I was just a ten-year old baseball fan. While perusing a local second hand shop along Church Avenue I asked my parents to purchase a book. Somehow I got them to fork over $4.50 (in 1977 money) because they knew I would actually read it. In short time I was in possession of The Encyclopedia of Sports (fourth revised edition; 1969; Barnes). Once home, I flipped right through the history of angling and archery, then auto racing and badminton. Finally with one more turn of the page for the very first time the original history of baseball lay before my eyes.
It is then I learned Abner Doubleday inventing the game of baseball wasn't true. A fierce state of debate existed between Albert G. Spalding and (one of the Fathers of Baseball) Henry Chadwick since before the turn of the 20th century regarding this very matter. It's no less amazing how the myth somewhat endures. I like many proud native Brooklynites wear our Borough like a red badge of courage. We know our history well. However, that has not prohibited me from playing along where it concerns honoring the town of Cooperstown, Doubleday Field, and such faux baseball history. In making my first trip to Cooperstown in 1990, I was just happy to be there and soaking it all in. But I finally returned last year nearly forty years after purchasing that book with a wholly different perspective of our National Pastime - particularly the pioneer days of amateurism - because that's what you do when you get older!
This trip indeed started in earnest last summer at Cooperstown Museum and Baseball Hall of Fame, then resumed again this spring with a day trip to Hoboken, New Jersey. After which, I spent many late afternoons right here in Brooklyn exploring Green-Wood Cemetery. The final leg of this journey concluded at New Haven, Connecticut, where this past Sunday (Father's Day) I planted a small American flag at the grave of one of the true Fathers of Baseball.
Yet, even this quasi-myth endures ...
According to the Official Historian for Major League Baseball John Thorn,
everything on Alexander Cartwright's Hall of Fame plaque is baseless except for
potentially carrying a baseball to the Pacific Coast and Hawaii (where he lay at rest).
John Thorn lists among the primary Fathers of Baseball:
William Wheaton ~ Doc Adams ~ Louis Fenn Wadsworth
On Sept, 23, 1945, a list of 20 match rules are adopted.
On Friday, June 19, 1846, at Hoboken's Elysian Fields, the New York Knickerbockers base ball club plays their first ever match game according to their adopted rules, and lose by a 23-1 margin in four innings, against a team generally referred to as the New Yorkers or New York Nine. Alexander Cartwright serves as match umpire.
Truth is, Alexander Cartwright, Duncan Curry, William Wheaton, and William Tucker, all played baseball previously to forming the Knickerbockers. It has been proven the New York Gothams, who at times also went by the name of the Washingtons, pre-date the Knickerbockers.
However, dissatisfied with a lack of uniform rules and varying standards of play, Cartwright, Wheaton, Curry, Tucker, and others broke away from the Gothams to form the Knickerbockers. Through time they seem to have received all the notoriety for being the first officially organized baseball club.
Alexander Cartwright is credited with adjusting the Gotham's playing field design of 1842, into what essentially has become the modern baseball diamond we recognize today. Otherwise, the first standardized rules to govern match play were left to William Wheaton, William Tucker, and Duncan Curry. Only William Wheaton's and William Tucker's signatures appear on the Knickerbockers rules by-laws.
William Wheaton (1845-48)
Unmarked Grave of William H. Tucker (1845)
DUNCAN CURRY (1845-1854)
Father of Basbeall
First President
Knickerbocker Baseball Club
The First Ball Club Ever Organized
Wheaton is reported saying the rules he and William Tucker drafted for the Knickerbockers in 1845 were scarcely different from those he created for the Gotham club eight years earlier. Duncan Curry said (Henry Chadwick) had nothing to do with the original rules. "William Wheaton, William Tucker, and I drew up the first set of rules and that the game was developed by the people who played it and were connected to it."
KNICKERBOCKER RULES
Only William Wheaton's and William Tucker's
signatures appear on the rules by-laws.
Reading these rules is understanding they are a refined version of previous rules that differed from varying locations throughout the Northeast. Henry Chadwick maintained the game evolved from Rounders and cricket, whereas A.G. Spalding desired to establish an American genesis to the game of baseball. As such, the game was variously known as Town Ball; Base; Rounders; Old Cat; just to name a few. The introduction of the Knickerbockers rules effectively inaugurated a version of baseball that came to be widely known as the New York Game. The Knickerbocker rules would dominate match play until the 1857 convention of the National Association of Base Ball Players effectively tamed the Knickerbockers traditional sway. By the late 1860s, amateurism no longer seems appealing to players and fans alike as the professional game emerges.
I present to you six of the nine Knickerbockers whom participated in the June 19, 1846 game against the New Yorks:
- see William H. Tucker pictured above.
- Ebenezer R. Dupignac, Jr. FOUNDER/OFFICER (1845-1855) is buried at Trinity Church; Wall Street and Broadway, New York City.
DOC ADAMS (Founder)
JOHN PAULDING (1846)
WALTER TITUS AVERY
(1846, 1857-61)
DANIEL TRYON (1846-54)
Unmarked CHARLES BIRNEY
(1846-47)
Club Flag ~ Knickerbocker Base Ball Club ~ HOF
HOF DISPLAY
The image off right is believed to be the first picture depicting competing clubs on a baseball field.
Standing at center in top hat and black coat is Doc Adams.
To his right ~ New York Knickerbockers.
To his left ~ Excelsiors of Brooklyn.
(1859)
LOUIS FENN WADSWORTH
Started his career with the early Gothams; Switched to Knickerbockers
He is credited with making baseball a nine inning game;
credited for establishing nine players per side.
JAMES WHYTE DAVIS
Began Knickerbocker Career in 1845
Knickerbockers President 1858-1860
His grave was previously unmarked.
He was interred wrapped in the team banner.
Two years ago (2016) SABR and MLB, Peter Nash,
and two great granddaughters of his teammate, Doc Adams,
were among those responsible for dedicating this plaque in memory if him.
ELYSIAN FIELD PORTRAIT ~ HOF
The Knickerbockers conducted limited activities at the Red House Grounds at 2nd Avenue and 105 Street in Harlem. By 1842 the Knickerbockers were stationed along 27th Street off Madison Square in Manhattan. After which they moved to 3rd Avenue in Murray Hill. But they would again need to relocate and came to call the Elysian Fields home.
Just beyond the waterfront, and behind the old Colonnade Hotel, stood the old cricket grounds and Elysian Fields. Baseball had been played here on an informal basis since the 1830s by the aforementioned Gothams and others. However, the famous game taking place between the Knickerbockers and New Yorkers on June 19, 1846 is considered the first match game between two competing clubs. The Knickerbockers previously limited themselves to intramural games.
Central Park opened in 1857 replacing Hoboken as the park of choice, and the Elysian Fields vanished under new development (pictured below). The site is considered the birthplace of modern baseball.
The June 19, 1846 marker sits within the traffic divider opposite above view.
Members of the
New York Knickerbockers
ALONZO SLOTE (1862-63, 1868)
ARCHIBALD GOURLIE (1845)
WALTER TITUS AVERY (1846)
CHARLES SCHYLER DeBOST
(1845-47, 1850-59, 1875)
Played catcher and was considered an All-Star of his day.
His epitaph reads:
"The Strife Is Over, The Battle Done, The Victory of Life Is Won."
FRALEY NIEBUHR
Officer: 1848-49
Vice President: 1850
President: 1853-54
Director: 1860
Player: 1848-58
HENRY T. MORGAN (1848)
JAMES WENNMAN (1850s)
shortstop
SAMUEL YATES (1850s-1860s)
Started with Knickerbockers; moved to New York Eagles Club
CONNECTIONS:
Arthur and older brother Edward Ebbets both played briefly for the New York Knickerbockers. They are the first cousins once removed of Charles Ebbets (Brooklyn Dodgers). They were grandsons to Charles Ebbets' great grandparents. Like Alexander Cartwright, both brothers headed west in 1849 to partake in the California gold rush.
Resources:
The brilliant works and efforts of John Thorn; Thomas W. Gilbert author of Playing First: Early Baseball Lives at Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery; Peter J. Nash author of Baseball Legends of Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery; Base Ball Founders: The Clubs, Players, and Cities of the Northeast that Established the Game, edited by Peter Morris, William J. Ryczek, Jan Finkel, Leonard Levin, Richard Malatzky, whom collectively are revealing the true origins of baseball. I would also like to thank the staff at Green-Wood Cemetery for all their kind assistance.
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