Baseball Anecdotes

Browning watched as Hillerich selected a block of white ash and molded it on a lathe to Pete’s specifications. The next day Browning went three-for-three, and soon the Hillerich family was out of the butter churn business.

I can’t hit the ball until I hit the bottle.”

Among his routines, he would wind up like a pitcher and slam a fist into his other hand to demonstrate a “fastball to the devil.” And to illustrate a sinner coming home for salvation, Sunday would slide headfirst on the stage and grope with his hand for home plate.

Boys, I bid the old life good-by.”

nursery frolic in the House of Commons.”

sandwiched inconspicuously between editorials

Although the first night game in major league history wasn’t played until 1935, there was night baseball as early as 1880, just one year after Thomas Edison invented the incandescent lamp. It happened at Oceanside Park in Hull, Mass., as part of a demonstration by the Northern Electric Light Company, and the teams represented Boston’s two leading department stores, Jordan Marsh and R. H. White. Before 300 spectators, the teams tied 16-16.

color-coded uniforms. While all players wore white pants, ties, and belts, they were assigned different color jerseys according to position. Pitchers wore light blue, catchers scarlet, first basemen scarlet and white, second basemen orange and black

He could do the hook, the fadeaway, and the fallaway so expertly that his admirers said he could box

Slide, Kelly, Slide