Since the 1990s, Cal Ripken Jr. has been called baseball’s “Iron Man.” But, decades before Cal, another ballplayer earned that moniker for several feats of endurance that will never be equaled as long as the game is played. […]
Category: Cincinnati Reds
Paul Derringer: Highs and Lows
One of the only players that bridged the eras of the lousy and great Reds of the 1930s was starting pitcher Paul Derringer. This guy has to be one of the top players in any discussion of the “Hall of Very Good” category. […]
Jim Ernst: Bringing Base Ball Back
When the Red Stockings disbanded in 1871, Cincinnati found itself without a pro baseball team. It was up to a former Princeton ballplayer and a crowd-funded team across the river in Kentucky to bring pro baseball back. […]
1921 Orioles: Lefty Grove(s)
Before he was the ace of the legendary 1929-31 Philadelphia A’s and one of the most dominating southpaw in major league history, Lefty Grove was a 3-time 20 game winner for Jack Dunn’s Baltimore Orioles. […]
1921 Orioles: Jack Ogden
The 1921 edition of the Baltimore Orioles boasted no less than four major league-quality starters, three of which would each post 30-win seasons in Baltimore. All four would go on to pitch in the majors and one would wind up with a plaque in Cooperstown. The undisputed ace of the ’21 club was right-hander Jack Ogden who would re-write the International League record books that summer. […]
1921 Orioles: Bill Holden
The way a typical Orioles inning went in 1921 was the number one and two hitters, Maisel and Lawry, would get themselves on base, and use their speed to swipe an extra base and get into scoring position. The consummate contact hitter Merwin Jacobson would advance the runner. Then Big Bill would come to bat, ready to slug them all home… […]
Nick Cullop: Triumph & Tragedy in Atlanta
Anyone who’s done their share of baseball research by culling through old newspapers knows how easy it is to get sidetracked by an interesting article totally unrelated to the thing you’re looking for. That’s what happened when I was going through a 1925 Dallas sports page and stumbled on an Associated Press article that caused me to abandon what I was originally searching for and set my artistic sights on an obscure outfielder whose major league career totaled just 173 games spread over 5 mediocre seasons with 5 different teams. […]
José Méndez: Beating the Reds Black and Blue
When the Cincinnati Reds arrived in Havana in November 1908 for a 15-game exhibition tour, they last thing they expected was to be beaten black and blue by the Almendares Azules and their young pitching ace, José Méndez. […]
Tomás Romañach: Afraid of being what the Americanos call “the lemon”
In the spring of 1913, Cincinnati Reds fans, players and management were finally confident their club was turning a corner. Two years earlier, in what was thinking outside the box for the time, the Reds signed Cubans Armando Marsans and Rafael Almeida to fill holes in their roster. Now they were awaiting the arrival of another Cuban import to solve their shortstop problem… […]
Dick Sipek: The Deafening Roar of the Crowd
When Dick Sipek took the field for the Cincinnati Reds in 1945, he was living the dream of many American kids before and since – with one major exception. Instead of hearing the roar of the crowd, the PA announcer heralding his first at bat or the umpire calling balls and strikes, all Dick Sipek heard was silence. See, Dick Sipek was completely deaf… […]