1.
Babe Ruth
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George Herman Babe Ruth Jr. was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Ruth established many MLB batting records, including home runs, runs batted in, bases on balls, slugging percentage, and on-base plus slugging. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time, in 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its first five inaugural members. At age seven, Ruth was sent to St, in 1914, Ruth was signed to play minor-league baseball for the Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold to the Red Sox. By 1916, he had built a reputation as a pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs. With regular playing time, he broke the MLB single-season home run record in 1919, after that season, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees amid controversy. The trade fueled Bostons subsequent 86 year championship drought and popularized the Curse of the Bambino superstition, in his 15 years with New York, Ruth helped the Yankees win seven American League championships and four World Series championships. As part of the Yankees vaunted Murderers Row lineup of 1927, Ruth hit 60 home runs and he retired in 1935 after a short stint with the Boston Braves. During his career, Ruth led the AL in home runs during a season twelve times, Ruths legendary power and charismatic personality made him a larger-than-life figure in the Roaring Twenties. During his career, he was the target of press and public attention for his baseball exploits. His often reckless lifestyle was tempered by his willingness to do good by visiting children at hospitals, after his retirement as a player, he was denied a managerial job in baseball, most likely due to poor behavior during parts of his playing career. In his final years, Ruth made many appearances, especially in support of American efforts in World War II. In 1946, he became ill with cancer, and died two years later, George Herman Ruth Jr. was born in 1895 at 216 Emory Street in Pigtown, a working-class section of Baltimore, Maryland, named for its meat-packing plants. Its population included recent immigrants from Ireland, Germany and Italy, Ruths parents, George Herman Ruth, Sr. and Katherine Schamberger, were both of German American ancestry. According to the 1880 census, his parents were born in Maryland, the paternal grandparents of Ruth, Sr. were from Prussia and Hanover. Ruth, Sr. had a series of jobs, including lightning rod salesman and streetcar operator, before becoming a counterman in a combination grocery. George Ruth Jr. was born in the house of his grandfather, Pius Schamberger. Only one of young Georges seven siblings, his younger sister Mamie, many details of Ruths childhood are unknown, including the date of his parents marriage
2.
Mitt Romney
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Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, by his parents George and Lenore Romney, he spent 2½ years in France as a Mormon missionary, starting in 1966. He married Ann Davies in 1969, and they have five sons, by 1971, he had participated in the political campaigns of both parents. He earned a BA at Brigham Young University in 1971 and a joint JD–MBA at Harvard University in 1975, Romney entered the management consulting industry, and in 1977 secured a position at Bain & Company. Later serving as Bains chief executive officer, he helped lead the company out of a financial crisis, in 1984, he co-founded and led the spin-off company Bain Capital, a highly profitable private equity investment firm that became one of the largest of its kind in the nation. Active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served during his business career as the bishop of his ward and then stake president in his home area near Boston. After stepping down from Bain Capital and his leadership role in the LDS Church. Upon losing to longtime incumbent Ted Kennedy, he resumed his position at Bain Capital, years later, a successful stint as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics led to a relaunch of his political career. He also presided over the elimination of a projected $1. 2–1.5 billion deficit through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and the closure of corporate tax loopholes. He did not seek re-election in 2006, instead focusing on his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 2008 U. S. presidential election and he won several primaries and caucuses, however, he lost to the eventual nominee, Senator John McCain. His considerable net worth, estimated in 2012 at $190–250 million, following his term as Governor of Massachusetts in 2007, Romney was the Republican Partys nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election. He won the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, becoming the first Mormon to be a major party presidential nominee and he was defeated by incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 2012 general election, losing by 332–206 electoral college votes. The popular vote margin was 51–47 percent in Obamas favor, following the election, he initially kept a low profile, and later became more visible politically. Willard Mitt Romney was born on March 12,1947, at Harper University Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, one of four born to automobile executive George W. Romney. His mother was a native of Logan, Utah, and his father was born to American parents in a Mormon colony in Chihuahua, of primarily English descent, he also has Scottish and German ancestry. Another great-great-grandfather, Parley P. Pratt, helped lead the early Church, Romney has three elder siblings, Margo, Jane, and Scott. His parents named him after a friend, businessman J. Willard Marriott, and his fathers cousin, Milton Mitt Romney. Romney was referred to as Billy until kindergarten, when he indicated a preference for Mitt, in 1953, the family moved from Detroit to the affluent suburb of Bloomfield Hills. His father became the chairman and CEO of American Motors the following year, soon helping the company avoid bankruptcy, by 1959, his father had become a nationally known figure in print and on television, and the youngster idolized him
3.
Superstition
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The word superstition is generally used to refer to the religion not practiced by the majority of a given society regardless of whether the prevailing religion contains superstitions. In the classical era, the existence of gods was actively debated both among philosophers and theologians, and opposition to superstition arose consequently, the poem De rerum natura, written by the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius further developed the opposition to superstition. Cicero’s work De natura deorum also had a influence on the development of the modern concept of superstition as well as the word itself. Where Cicero distinguished superstitio and religio, Lucretius used only the term religio, Cicero, for whom superstitio meant “excessive fear of the gods” wrote that “superstitio, non religio, tollenda est ”, which means that only superstition, and not religion, should be abolished. The Roman Empire also made laws condemning those who excited excessive religious fear in others, during the Middle Ages, the idea of God’s influence on the world’s events went mostly undisputed. Trials by ordeal were quite frequent, even though Frederick II was the first king who explicitly outlawed trials by ordeal as they were considered “irrational”, the rediscovery of lost classical works and scientific advancement led to a steadily increasing disbelief in religions. This led to studies of biblical exegesis, pioneered by Spinoza, opposition to superstition was central to the Age of Enlightenment. The word superstition is first used in English in the 15th century, the earliest known use as an English noun occurs in Friar Daws Reply, where the foure general synnes are enumerated as Cediciouns, supersticions, þe glotouns, & þe proude. The French word, together with its Romance cognates continues Latin superstitio, while the formation of the Latin word is clear, from the verb super-stare, to stand over, stand upon, survive, its original intended sense is less clear. The earliest known use as a Latin noun occurs in Plautus, Ennius and later by Pliny, Cicero derived the term from superstitiosi, lit. Those who are left over, i. e. survivors, descendants, while Cicero distinguishes between religio and superstitio, Lucretius uses only the term religio. Throughout all of his work, he distinguished between ratio and religio. The use of the noun by Cicero and Horace thus predates the first attestation of the verb and it doesnt exclude that the verb might have been created and used after the name. The term superstitio, or superstitio vana vain superstition, was applied in the 1st century to those religious cults in the Roman Empire which were officially outlawed. This concerned the religion of the druids in particular, which was described as a superstitio vana by Tacitus, such fear of the gods was what the Romans meant by superstition. Diderots Encyclopédie defines superstition as any excess of religion in general, the Catechism is a defense against the accusation that Catholic doctrine is superstitious, Superstition is a deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, to attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand is to fall into superstition. Cf. Matthew 23, 16–22 As discussed above, there is distinction between superstition and religion
4.
Boston Red Sox
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The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League East division. The Red Sox have won eight World Series championships and have played in 13, founded in 1901 as one of the American Leagues eight charter franchises, the Red Sox home ballpark has been Fenway Park since 1912. The Red Sox name was chosen by the owner, John I. Taylor, around 1908, following the lead of previous teams that had known as the Boston Red Stockings. Boston was a dominant team in the new league, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903 and winning four more championships by 1918. Following their victory in the 2013 World Series, they became the first team to win three World Series trophies in the 21st century, including championships in 2004 and 2007. Red Sox history has also marked by the teams intense rivalry with the Yankees. The Boston Red Sox are owned by Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Liverpool F. C. of the Premier League in England. The Red Sox are consistently one of the top MLB teams in road attendance. From May 15,2003 to April 10,2013, the Red Sox sold out every home game—a total of 820 games for a professional sports record. Neil Diamonds Sweet Caroline has become an anthem for the Red Sox, the name Red Sox, chosen by owner John I. Taylor after the 1907 season, refers to the red hose in the team uniform beginning 1908. Sox had been adopted for the Chicago White Sox by newspapers needing a headline-friendly form of Stockings. The team name Red Sox had previously used as early as 1888 by a colored team from Norfolk. The Spanish language media sometimes refers to the team as Medias Rojas, the official Spanish site uses the variant Los Red Sox. The Red Stockings nickname was first used by a team by the Cincinnati Red Stockings. Managed by Harry Wright, Cincinnati adopted a uniform with white knickers and red stockings and earned the famous nickname, the Boston Red Stockings won four championships in the five seasons of the new National Association, the first professional league. Other names were used before Boston officially adopted the nickname Braves in 1912
5.
Baseball
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Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each, who take turns batting and fielding. A run is scored when a player advances around the bases, Players on the batting team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the fielding team, which tries to prevent runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the team who reaches a base safely can later attempt to advance to subsequent bases during teammates turns batting. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the team records three outs. One turn batting for both teams, beginning with the team, constitutes an inning. A game is composed of nine innings, and the team with the number of runs at the end of the game wins. Baseball has no clock, although almost all games end in the ninth inning. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century and this game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as the sport of the United States. Baseball is now popular in North America and parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, in the United States and Canada, professional Major League Baseball teams are divided into the National League and American League, each with three divisions, East, West, and Central. The major league champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series, the top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision, a French manuscript from 1344 contains an illustration of clerics playing a game, possibly la soule, with similarities to baseball. Other old French games such as thèque, la balle au bâton, consensus once held that todays baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular in Great Britain and Ireland. Baseball Before We Knew It, A Search for the Roots of the Game, by David Block, suggests that the game originated in England, recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of other. It has long believed that cricket also descended from such games. The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, David Block discovered that the first recorded game of Bass-Ball took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player. William Bray, an English lawyer, recorded a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford and this early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants
6.
World Series
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The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball in North America, contested since 1903 between the American League champion team and the National League champion team. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a playoff. As the series is played in October, during the season in North America. As of 2016, the World Series has been contested 112 times, with the AL winning 64, the 2016 World Series took place between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs. Seven games were played, with the Cubs victorious after game seven, the final score was 8–7, the game went into extra innings after a tied score of 6–6. This was the third World Series won by the Cubs, as well as their first title since 1908, in the National League, the St. As of 2016, no team has won consecutive World Series championships since the New York Yankees in 1998,1999, all championships were awarded to the team with the best record at the end of the season, without a postseason series being played. From 1884 to 1890, the National League and the American Association faced each other in a series of games at the end of the season to determine an overall champion. These series were disorganized in comparison to the modern World Series, the number of games played ranged from as few as three in 1884, to a high of fifteen in 1887. Both the 1885 and 1890 Series ended in ties, each team having won three games with one tie game, the series was promoted and referred to as The Championship of the United States, Worlds Championship Series, or Worlds Series for short. In his book Krakatoa, The Day the World Exploded, August 27,1883, Simon Winchester mentions in passing that the World Series was named for the New York World newspaper, but this view is disputed. Until about 1960, some sources treated the 19th-century Series on a basis with the post-19th-century series. After about 1930, however, many authorities list the start of the World Series in 1903, following the collapse of the American Association after the 1891 season, the National League was again the only major league. The league championship was awarded in 1892 by a playoff between half-season champions and this scheme was abandoned after one season. Beginning in 1893—and continuing until divisional play was introduced in 1969—the pennant was awarded to the club in the standings at the end of the season. For four seasons, 1894–1897, the league played the runners-up in the post season championship series called the Temple Cup. A second attempt at this format was the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup series, in 1901, the American League was formed as a second major league. No championship series were played in 1901 or 1902 as the National and these series were arranged by the participating clubs, as the 1880s Worlds Series matches had been
7.
New York Yankees
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The Essendon Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League, the sports premier competition. Formed in 1871 as a club and playing as a senior club since 1878. It is historically associated with Essendon, a suburb in the north-west of Melbourne, dyson Heppell is the current team captain. A founding member club of both the Victorian Football Association, in 1877, and the Victorian Football League, in 1896, the club claims to have over at least one million supporters Australia wide. Essendon has won 16 VFL/AFL premierships which, along with Carlton, is the most of any club in the competition, the club was founded by members of the Royal Agricultural Society, the Melbourne Hunt Club and the Victorian Woolbrokers. The Essendon Football Club is thought to have formed in 1872 at a meeting it the home of a well-known brewery family, the McCrackens, whose Ascot Vale property hosted a team of local junior players. Robert McCracken, the owner of several city hotels, was the founder and first president of the Essendon club and his son, Alex, Alex would later become president of the newly formed VFL. Alexs cousin, Collier, who had played with Melbourne, was the teams first captain. The club played its first recorded match against the Carlton second twenty on 7 June 1873, Essendon played 13 matches in its first season, winning seven, with four draws and losing two. The club was one of the junior members of the Victorian Football Association in 1877. During its early years in the Association, Essendon played its matches at Flemington Hill. In 1878, Essendon played in the first match on what would be considered by modern standards to be a field at Flemington Hill. In 1879 Essendon played Melbourne in one of the earliest night matches recorded when the ball was painted white, in 1883 the team played four matches in Adelaide. In 1891 Essendon won their first VFA premiership, which they repeated in 1892,1893 and 1894, one of the clubs greatest players, Albert Thurgood played for the club during this period. Essendon was undefeated in the 1893 season, at the end of the 1896 season Essendon along with seven other clubs formed the Victorian Football League. Essendons first VFL game was in 1897 was against Geelong at Corio Oval in Geelong, Essendon won its first VFL premiership by winning the 1897 VFL finals series. Essendon again won the premiership in 1901, defeating Collingwood in the Grand Final, the club won successive premierships in 1911 and 1912 over Collingwood and South Melbourne respectively. The nickname first appeared in print in the local North Melbourne Advertiser in 1889 and it was known firstly as Essendon Town and, after 1905, as Essendon
8.
1903 World Series
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The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. Pittsburg pitcher Sam Leever injured his shoulder while trap-shooting, so his teammate Deacon Phillippe pitched five complete games, Phillippe won three of his games, but it was not enough to overcome the club from the new American League. Boston pitchers Bill Dinneen and Cy Young led Boston to victory, in Game 1, Phillippe struck out ten Boston batters. The next day, Dinneen bettered that mark, striking out eleven Pittsburg batters in Game 2, honus Wagner, bothered by injuries, batted only 6 for 27 in the Series and committed six errors. The shortstop was deeply distraught by his performance, the following spring, Wagner refused to send his portrait to a Hall of Fame for batting champions. I was too bum last year, he wrote, I was a joke in that Boston-Pittsburg Series. What does it profit a man to hammer along and make a few hits when they are not needed only to fall down when it comes to a pinch, I would be ashamed to have my picture up now. Due to overflow crowds at the Exposition Park games in Allegheny City, if a ball rolled under a rope in the outfield that held spectators back. Seventeen ground-rule triples were hit in the four games played at the stadium, in the series, Boston came back from a three games to one deficit, winning the final four games to capture the title. Such a large comeback would not happen again until the Pirates came back to defeat the Washington Senators in the 1925 World Series, much was made of the influence of Bostons Royal Rooters, who traveled to Exposition Park and sang their theme song Tessie to distract the opposing players. Boston wound up winning three out of four games in Allegheny City, Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss added his share of the gate receipts to the players share, so the losing teams players actually finished with a larger individual share than the winning teams. The Series brought the new American League prestige and proved its best could beat the best of the National League, thus strengthening the demand for future World Series competitions. In 1901, Ban Johnson, president of the Western League, Johnson and fellow owners raided the National League and signed away many star players, including Cy Young and Jimmy Collins. Johnson had a list of 46 National Leaguers he targeted for the American League, by 1902, all, the constant raiding, however, scotched the idea of a championship between the two leagues. However, Johnson had spoken of putting a team in Pittsburg and even attempted to raid the Pirates roster in August 1902, which soured Dreyfuss. At the end of the season, however, the Pirates played a group of American League All-Stars in an exhibition series. The leagues finally called a truce in the winter of 1902–03, the following season, the Boston Americans and Pittsburg Pirates had secured their respective championship pennants by September. That August, Dreyfuss challenged the American League to a championship series
9.
2004 American League Championship Series
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The 2004 American League Championship Series was the Major League Baseball playoff series to decide the American League champion for the 2004 season. It was played between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, at Fenway Park and the original Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to come back from a 0–3 deficit to win a seven-game series. In Game 1, Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina pitched a game through six innings. A home run by John Olerud helped the Yankees win Game 2, the Yankees gathered 22 hits in Game 3 on their way to an easy win. The Yankees led Game 4 by one run in the inning, but a steal of second base by Red Sox base runner Dave Roberts. A home run by David Ortiz then won it for the Red Sox in extra innings, Ortiz also won Game 5 with a single in the fourteenth inning. Curt Schilling pitched seven innings in Game 6 for the Red Sox, David Ortiz was named the Most Valuable Player of the series. During the offseason, they traded Casey Fossum, Brandon Lyon, Jorge de la Rosa, Manager Grady Little was also fired and replaced with Terry Francona due to poor decisions that Little made during the previous seasons playoffs. The Red Sox also signed a closing pitcher, Keith Foulke, going into the all-star break, the Red Sox were seven games behind the Yankees for the division lead with a record of 48–38, but led the wild card. The team fell behind up to 10½ games in the division during the month of August, however, the Yankees held strong and won the division, finishing three games ahead of the Red Sox. The Red Sox won the AL Wild Card to obtain a spot in the playoffs, entering the postseason, first baseman Kevin Millar was asked to compare the team with the previous seasons team, to which he responded, Im pretty sure were five outs better than last year. The Red Sox would sweep the Anaheim Angels in three games, but at a cost, in the first game of the series, Schilling would be hurt by a line drive hit off his foot, leaving the rest of his postseason play in doubt. The 2004 Yankees began the season in Tokyo with a split against the Rays, playing a much anticipated game against the Red Sox, the team lost the game 6–2 and 6 out of the first 7 games to their rivals. After falling as many as 4½ games behind the Red Sox on April 25, by the end of June, they had a commanding 8½ game lead in the AL East lead over the Sox after sweeping them with a dramatic 5–4 walk-off 13-inning victory. After the All-star break, the Yankees traded José Contreras to the White Sox for Esteban Loaiza, Contreras was signed away from the Red Sox before the 2003 season, but he failed to live up to expectations. With a 10½ game lead in the week of August. The team held off the Red Sox to claim the division, the results were pretty much the same as the Yankees took the Division Series in 4 games, setting up the rematch. The Red Sox and Yankees had met 45 times in the two years, with Boston holding a 23–22 lead
10.
St. Louis Cardinals
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The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the National League Central division. Busch Stadium has been their home ballpark since 2006, with origins as one of the early professional baseball clubs in St. Upon the discontinuation of the AA, St. Louis joined the NL in 1892, at time, they were called the Browns. One of the most successful franchises in history, the Cardinals have won 11 World Series championships. Their 19 National League pennants rank third in NL history, in addition, St. Louis has won 13 division titles in the East and Central divisions. While still in the AA, St. Louis won four league championships, the Cardinals have won 105 or more games in four different seasons and won 100 or more a total of nine times. Cardinals players have won 20 league MVPs, four batting Triple Crowns, and three Cy Young Awards. Baseball Hall of Fame inductees include Lou Brock, Dizzy Dean, Bob Gibson, Whitey Herzog, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Medwick, Stan Musial, Branch Rickey, Red Schoendienst, Ozzie Smith, and Bruce Sutter. In 2016, Forbes valued the Cardinals at $1.6 billion, making them the 7th-most valuable franchise in MLB, their revenue the year was $300 million. Since their purchase in 1995, owner William DeWitt, Jr. s investment group has seen enormous growth from the $147 million purchase price, John Mozeliak is the general manager and Mike Matheny is the manager. Professional baseball began in St. Louis with the inception of the Brown Stockings in the National Association in 1875, the NA folded following that season, and the next season, St. Louis joined the National League as a charter member, finishing in third place at 45-19. George Bradley hurled the first no-hitter in Major League history, the NL expelled St. Louis from the league after 1877 due to a game-fixing scandal and the team went bankrupt. Without a league, they continued play as a barnstorming team through 1881. For the 1882 season, Chris von der Ahe purchased the team, reorganized it, and made it a member of the American Association. 1882 is generally considered to be the first year existence of the St. Louis Cardinals, the next season, St. Louis shortened their name to the Browns. Soon thereafter they became the dominant team in the AA, as manager Charlie Comiskey guided St. Louis to four pennants in a row from 1885 to 1888. Pitcher and outfielder Bob Caruthers led the league in ERA and wins in 1885 and he also led the AA in OBP and OPS in 1886 and finished fourth in batting average in 1886 and fifth in 1887
11.
2004 World Series
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The 2004 World Series was the 100th edition of Major League Baseballs championship series. It featured the American League champions Boston Red Sox against the National League champions St. Louis Cardinals, the Red Sox defeated the Cardinals by four games to none in the best-of-seven series, played at Fenway Park and Busch Memorial Stadium. The series was played from October 23–27,2004, broadcast on Fox, the Cardinals earned their berth into the playoffs by winning the National League Central, and had the best win–loss record in the National League. The Red Sox won the American League wild card to earn theirs, the Cardinals reached the World Series by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-five National League Division Series and the Houston Astros in the best-of-seven Championship Series. The Red Sox defeated the Anaheim Angels in the American League Division Series, after being down three games to none to the New York Yankees, they came back to win the 2004 American League Championship Series and advanced to their first World Series since 1986. The Cardinals made their first appearance in the World Series since 1987, the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1918. With the New England Patriots winning Super Bowl XXXVIII, the World Series made Boston the first city to have Super Bowl and World Series championship teams in the same year since Pittsburgh in 1979. Mark Bellhorn helped the Red Sox win Game 1 with a home run, the Red Sox won the first two games despite committing four errors in each. The Red Sox won Game three, aided by seven shutout innings by Pedro Martínez, a home run by Johnny Damon in the first inning helped to win Game four for the Red Sox to secure the series. The Cardinals did not lead in any of the games in the series, Manny Ramírez was named the series Most Valuable Player. When each team played in a World Series, both won their respective series—the Cardinals in 2006 and the Red Sox in 2007. When the Cardinals won, Tony La Russa joined Sparky Anderson as the men to have managed World Series championship teams in both leagues, a feat he failed to achieve in 2004. The Red Sox and Cardinals faced each other again in the 2013 World Series, the Red Sox had lost in the previous seasons American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. The loss was blamed on the decision by then-manager Grady Little to keep starting pitcher Pedro Martínez in the game in the 8th inning of Game 7. During the off-season, the Red Sox hired Terry Francona as their new manager and they also signed Keith Foulke as their closer and traded for Curt Schilling as a starting pitcher. The Red Sox played two notable games against the Yankees during the regular season. The Yankees won the game in the inning to take an 8-game lead in the American League East. In the 3rd inning of a game on July 24, Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo hit Yankees batter Alex Rodriguez with one of his pitches, as Rodriguez walked towards first base, he began shouting profanities at Arroyo
12.
Longfellow Bridge
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The Longfellow Bridge carries the Route 3 roadway, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Red Line trains, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. The structure spans the Charles River to connect Bostons Beacon Hill neighborhood with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, the bridge falls under the jurisdiction and oversight of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The bridge carries approximately 28,600 cars and 90,000 mass-transit passengers every weekday, a portion of the elevated Charles/Massachusetts General Hospital rapid transit station lies at the eastern end of the bridge, which connects to Charles Circle. Longfellow Bridge is a railway and highway bridge. It is 105 feet wide,1,767 feet 6 inches long between abutments, and nearly one-half mile in length, including abutments and approaches and it consists of eleven steel arch spans supported on ten masonry piers and two massive abutments. The arches vary in length from 101 feet 6 inches at the abutments to 188 feet 6 inches at the center, headroom under the central arch is 26 feet at mean high water. The two large piers,188 feet long and 53 feet 6 inches wide, feature four carved. Its sidewalks were originally both 10 feet wide, but as of 2013, for reasons, the upstream sidewalks were narrower than the downstream ones. The first river crossing at this site was a ferry, first run in the 1630s, the West Boston Bridge was constructed in 1793 by a group of private investors with a charter from the Commonwealth. At the time, there were only a handful of buildings in East Cambridge, the opening of the bridge caused a building boom along Main Street in Cambridge, which connected the bridge to Old Cambridge. In East Cambridge, new streets were laid out and land was reclaimed from the swamps along the Charles River, the Cambridge and Concord Turnpike was connected to the bridges western approach around 1812. The bridge became toll-free on January 30,1858, in 1898 the Cambridge Bridge Commission was created to construct a new bridge across Charles River, to be known as Cambridge Bridge, at, upon, or near the site of the so-called West Boston Bridge. Suitable for all the purposes of travel between said cities, and for the use of the elevated and surface cars of the Boston Elevated Railway Company. At its first meeting on June 16,1898, Willam Jackson was appointed Chief Engineer, both then traveled to Europe, where they made a thorough inspection of notable bridges in France, Germany, Austria and Russia. Upon their return, they prepared studies of various types of bridges, including bridges of stone and steel arch spans. Although both state and national regulations at the time required a bridge, it became evident that a bridge without a draw would be cheaper, better-looking. Construction began in July 1900, the bridge opened on August 3,1906, Wheelwright had been inspired by the 1893 Columbian Exposition and was attempting to emulate the great bridges of Europe. Four large piers of the bridge are ornamented with the prows of Viking ships and they refer to a purported voyage by Leif Eriksson up the Charles River circa 1000 AD, as promoted by Harvard professor Eben Horsford
13.
Storrow Drive
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Storrow Drive is a major crosstown parkway in Boston, Massachusetts, running east and north along the Charles River to Leverett Circle. It is restricted to cars, trucks and buses are not permitted on it, the road, legally known as James Jackson Storrow Memorial Drive, officially ends at its eastward junction with Route 28 and continues as David G. Mugar Way, concurrent with Route 28. Boston drivers use the route for access to downtown locations. Westbound Storrow Drive has a junction with the Harvard Bridge and it passes along the northern edge of Boston University until it reaches a partial junction with the Boston University Bridge, where it becomes Soldiers Field Road. Together with Memorial Drive and the Cambridge Parkway, Storrow Drive is also part of the Charles River Basin Historic District, prior to 1989, Storrow Drive also carried the US Route 1 designation, US Route 1 is now routed concurrently along Interstate 93. The parkway is named for James J. Storrow, an investment banker who led a campaign to create the Charles River Basin and he had never advocated a parkway beside the river, and his widow publicly opposed it. The road is notorious for speeding and aggressive driving because police enforcement along the road is difficult without a breakdown lane, radio traffic reports have warned motorists about ponding on Storrow Drive, which occurs when snow and frozen ground prevent water from draining properly into storm drains. The underpasses also commonly flood during heavy rains, sometimes stalling low-riding cars, additional problems include narrow lanes and very limited visibility on short entrance ramps. During some summer concerts at the Hatch Shell, many drivers park their cars in the outbound lanes of Storrow Drive. The free concerts and fireworks displays attract 200,000 people, there are an abundance of signs giving road clearance height. Despite the signs, a truck or other large vehicle will periodically get wedged under a bridge, in one incident a truck full of scissors became stuck and spilled its cargo, causing more than 30 cars to get flat tires. There is a 10-foot height limit for the entire parkway, local media has taken to referring to these kinds of accidents as a truck being Storrowed. Between 1958 and 1971, Storrow Drive was designated Massachusetts Routes C1, James Storrow had been instrumental in earlier projects along the Charles River, in particular the Charles River Dam. After Helen Storrow, the wife of the now deceased James Storrow, supported a group opposed to the highway, it was dropped, soon after Helen Storrows death in 1944, a new proposal for the construction of the highway was pushed through the Massachusetts Legislature. In spite of strong opposition, and through some dubious parliamentary procedures. Construction took place in the years 1950–1951, as part of the attempt to preserve park land, any land used by the highway had to be replaced by reclaiming new land along the shoreline. Storrow Drive was officially opened in a ribbon cutting ceremony by Governor Paul A. Dever on June 15,1951, an on-ramp leading from southbound Massachusetts Avenue to eastbound Storrow Drive was constructed but later removed, leaving an island of greenspace between the inbound and outbound carriageways. Overpasses to Fenway via Charlesgate and in the vicinity of Massachusetts General Hospital were completed a few years later, in 1960, high-pressure air from a sewage tunnel under construction caused a geyser-like eruption and damaged the roadway near the BU bridge
14.
Harry Frazee
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Harry Herbert Frazee was an American theatrical agent, producer and director, and owner of the Major League Baseball Boston Red Sox from 1916 to 1923. He is well known for selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, Harry Frazee was born June 29,1880, in Peoria, Illinois, son of William and Margaret Frazee. He attended Peoria High School, where he was a teammate of Harry Bay. At 16, Frazee became assistant manager of the Peoria Theater, within a year, he was player-coach of the Peoria Distillers semi-pro baseball club. As his theatrical endeavors continued, Frazee moved to Chicago, where he built the Cort Theater in 1907 and he also promoted a boxing match between Jess Willard and Jack Johnson on April 5,1915 in Havana, Cuba and was reported by then to be a millionaire. Frazee bought the Boston Red Sox baseball team from Joseph Lannin for a reported $500,000 after their victory in the 1916 World Series, the Sox won another World Series title in 1918. The team finished in sixth in 1919, and after the 1919 season Frazee started selling players to the New York Yankees, then he left the Red Sox in bankruptcy while continuing to make theatre productions. After the sale of Ruth, the team crashed into the American League cellar, the Red Sox would not win another pennant until 1946, and would not win another World Series until 2004, the third longest drought in MLB history. He was the subject of a portrait in Fred Liebs account of the Red Sox. This would become an element in the Curse of the Bambino. The truth is more nuanced and has as much to do with a long-running dispute between Frazee and American League founder and president Ban Johnson as it does with Frazees finances. Frazee was the first American League owner who hadnt been essentially hand-picked by Johnson, in response, Johnson began actively campaigning to yank the Red Sox from under Frazee. The dispute finally boiled over in the summer of 1919 when pitcher Carl Mays jumped the team, Johnson ordered him suspended, but Frazee instead sold him to the then-moribund Yankees. Johnson had promised Yankee owners Jacob Ruppert and Cap Huston to get better players. The Mays flap divided the American League into two factions—the Yankees, Red Sox and Chicago White Sox on one side and the five clubs, known as the Loyal Five. Under the circumstances, when Frazee finally lost patience with Ruth, under pressure from Johnson, the Loyal Five rejected Frazees overtures almost out of hand. In effect, Johnson limited Frazee to dealing with either the White Sox or the Yankees. With the note from Lannin that hed used in part to finance his purchase of the Red Sox having come due in November 1919, Frazee had little choice, Ruth became the property of the Yankees on January 5,1920
15.
Dan Shaughnessy
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Dan Shaughnessy is an American sports writer. He has covered the Boston Red Sox for the Boston Globe since 1981, in 2016, he was given the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame. Shaughnessy was born in Groton, Massachusetts, after graduating from the College of the Holy Cross in 1975, he began his career as a beat reporter covering the Baltimore Orioles for the Baltimore Evening Sun in 1977 and 1978. He then was the national baseball writer for The Washington Star from 1979 until the newspaper folded in 1981 and he has been a sports writer for The Boston Globe for approximately 30 years, starting in September 1981. During that time, he has served as the writer for the Boston Celtics. Shaughnessy has authored or contributed to several sports-related books, including on the fierce Yankees–Red Sox rivalry. His book, The Curse of the Bambino, details the travails of the Boston Red Sox and he subsequently wrote Reversing the Curse after the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series. He is a contributor to ESPN The Magazine, and a regular guest on a Sunday night sports show, Shaughnessy discusses sports and current events on radio shows airing on WTKK, on ESPNs Rome Is Burning, and on NESNs SportsPlus and Globe 10.0. On July 9,2008, he made his debut as a guest host on the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption and he has a weekend radio show on WBZ-FM alongside Adam Jones. Considered by some Red Sox fans as being negative and critical. In an October 2005 column Shaugnnessy revealed information detailing negotiations between then-Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, Shaughnessy and other Globe writers were accused by writers at the Boston Herald of routinely reporting information leaked from the Red Sox front office. In the weeks leading up to Epsteins decision, Red Sox owner John Henry said the leaks had to stop, in the final game of the 2011 season, the Red Sox had a playoff berth on the line in Baltimore. During a rain delay, Shaugnessy declared, I think the Rays are not going to win tonight, I think the one thing weve eliminated tonight is the Red Sox season is not going to end tonight. They live to play another day, at the time, the Tampa Bay Rays were trailing the New York Yankees 7–0 in the 8th inning, but won 8–7 in 12 innings. The Red Sox were leading the Baltimore Orioles 3–2 but lost 4–3 and were eliminated from the postseason, in 2013, Shaughnessy and Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona released Francona, a biography focusing on Franconas years as manager of the Red Sox. The book immediately became a best-seller and he was presented with the award during induction weekend at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2016. He is married and has two daughters and a son, Sarah, Kate and Sam and he is the uncle of tennis player Meghann Shaughnessy. Senior Year, A Father, A Son, and High School Baseball
16.
1918 World Series
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The 1918 World Series featured the Boston Red Sox, who defeated the Chicago Cubs four games to two. The Series victory for the Red Sox was their fifth in five tries, the Red Sox scored only nine runs in the entire Series, the fewest runs by the winning team in World Series history. Along with the 1906 and 1907 World Series, the 1918 World Series is one of only three Fall Classics where neither team hit a home run, the 1918 Series was played under several metaphorical dark clouds. The Series was marred by players threatening to strike due to low gate receipts, the Red Sox had played their home games in the 1915 and 1916 World Series in the more expansive Braves Field, but they returned to Fenway Park for the 1918 series. The 1918 World Series marked the first time The Star Spangled Banner was performed at a league game. During the seventh-inning stretch of Game 1, the band playing the song because the country was involved in World War I. The song would be named the national anthem of the United States in 1931, the winning pitcher of Game 1 was Babe Ruth, who pitched a shutout. The 1918 championship would be the last Red Sox win until 2004, the drought of 86 years was often attributed to the Curse of the Bambino. The alleged curse came to be when Red Sox owner Harry Frazee traded the superbly talented, the Cubs would not win their next World Series until 2016. The Red Sox, who had won the American League but lost the Series in 1946,1967,1975, of note, Ted Williams was born August 30,1918, and so was 12 days old when the Red Sox clinched the victory in this Series. He was part of Bostons next appearance in 1946, the only World Series he played in and he died in 2002, two years before the Red Sox next Series championship. After Game 6, it would be some 87 years until the Cubs, a three-game interleague matchup at Wrigley Field began June 10,2005, and was Bostons first ever visit to the park. The Cubs would not return to Fenway Park for nearly 94 years until a three-game interleague matchup beginning May 20,2011, † For the first time in the Series, all four umpires worked in the infield on a rotating basis. In previous Series from 1909 through 1917, two of the four umpires had been positioned in the outfield for each game, in addition to the plate umpire. AL Boston Red Sox vs. NL Chicago Cubs Game 1 went to the Red Sox, 1–0, stuffy McInnis knocked in the games only run, driving in Dave Shean with a fourth-inning single off Hippo Vaughn. The Cubs rebounded to knot the Series with a 3–1 victory in Game 2 the next day, tyler himself hit a two-run single in the second inning to make the score 3–0 and carried a shutout into the ninth inning, when the Red Sox scored their only run. The series remained in Chicago for Game 3 due to restrictions on travel. The Red Sox emerged victorious, 2–1, and took a 2–1 lead in the Series, wally Schang and Everett Scotts back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth inning were all Boston needed for the win
17.
Broadway theatre
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Along with Londons West End theatres, Broadway theatres are widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. The Theater District is a popular tourist attraction in New York City, the great majority of Broadway shows are musicals. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggars Opera, in 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice, the company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others. Blackface minstrel shows, a distinctly American form of entertainment, became popular in the 1830s, by the 1840s, P. T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblos Garden opened, the 3, 000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmos Opera House opened and presented opera for four seasons before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as a venue for plays under the name Burtons Theatre. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847, booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865, and would later revive the role at his own Booths Theatre. Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving, Tommaso Salvini, Fanny Davenport, lydia Thompson came to America in 1868 heading a small theatrical troupe, adapting popular English burlesques for middle-class New York audiences. Thompsons troupe called the British Blondes, was the most popular entertainment in New York during the 1868–1869 theatrical season, the six-month tour ran for almost six extremely profitable years. Theatre in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown beginning around 1850, in 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square, and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square. Broadways first long-run musical was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857, New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keenes musical burletta The Seven Sisters shattered previous New York records with a run of 253 performances. It was at a performance by Keenes troupe of Our American Cousin in Washington, the production was a staggering five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, The Black Domino/Between You, Me and the Post was the first show to call itself a musical comedy, Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham. They starred high quality singers, instead of the women of repute who had starred in earlier musical forms. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits, as in England, during the latter half of the century, the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women
18.
Musical theatre
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Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through the words, music, movement, since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals. These were followed by the numerous Edwardian musical comedies and the theatre works of American creators like George M. Cohan. Musicals are performed around the world and they may be presented in large venues, such as big-budget Broadway or West End productions in New York City or London. Alternatively, musicals may be staged in smaller fringe theatre, Off-Broadway or regional theatre productions, musicals are often presented by amateur and school groups in churches, schools and other performance spaces. In addition to the United States and Britain, there are vibrant musical theatre scenes in continental Europe, Asia, Australasia, Canada, the three main components of a book musical are its music, lyrics and book. The interpretation of a musical is the responsibility of its team, which includes a director. A musicals production is also characterized by technical aspects, such as set design, costumes, stage properties, lighting. The creative team, designs and interpretations generally change from the production to succeeding productions. Some production elements, however, may be retained from the production, for example. There is no fixed length for a musical, while it can range from a short one-act entertainment to several acts and several hours in length, most musicals range from one and a half to three hours. Musicals are usually presented in two acts, with one intermission, and the first act is frequently longer than the second. A book musical is usually built four to six main theme tunes that are reprised later in the show. Several shorter musicals on Broadway and in the West End have been presented in one act in recent decades, moments of greatest dramatic intensity in a book musical are often performed in song. Proverbially, when the emotion becomes too strong for speech, you sing, typically, many fewer words are sung in a five-minute song than are spoken in a five-minute block of dialogue. Therefore, there is time to develop drama in a musical than in a straight play of equivalent length. Within the compressed nature of a musical, the writers must develop the characters, the material presented in a musical may be original, or it may be adapted from novels, plays, classic legends, historical events or films. On the other hand, many musical theatre works have been adapted for musical films, such as West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Oliver
19.
No, No, Nanette
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Its songs include the well-known Tea for Two and I Want to Be Happy. During its 1924 pre-Broadway tour, No, No, Nanette became a hit in Chicago, in 1925, the show opened both on Broadway and in the West End, running 321 and 665 performances respectively. A popular 1971 Broadway revival, with a book adapted by Burt Shevelove, led to the becoming an favorite of school. A popular myth held that the show was financed by selling baseball superstar Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, however, it was My Lady Friends, rather than No, No, Nanette, that was directly financed by the Ruth sale. No, No, Nanette was not successful in its first pre-Broadway tour in 1924, when the production arrived in Chicago, producer Harry Frazee re-cast the show with new stars, had the book rewritten and asked Youmans and Caesar to write additional songs. These additional songs, Tea for Two and I Want to Be Happy, the Chicago production was a hit and ran for over a year. Frazee eagerly capitalized on this success, but Broadway was not his first priority, the London production featured two songs that were not included in U. S. productions, Ive Confessed to the Breeze and Take a Little One-Step. Three touring productions were circulating throughout the U. S. when the Broadway production finally opened on September 16,1925, starring Louise Groody and Charles Winninger. The musical was translated into languages and enjoyed regional productions, U. S. tours. It was made into films in both 1930 and 1940, with film adaptations featuring character actress ZaSu Pitts. In 1950, a film entitled Tea for Two, a loose adaptation of the show, was released. It starred Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Eve Arden, the musical was seen with decreasing frequency in the following decades. For the nostalgic 1971 Broadway revival conceived and produced by Harry Rigby, while the 1925 book was considered quite racy at the time of the original production, Shevelove wrote from a nostalgic perspective, depicting the 1920s as a time of innocent fun. He made extensive changes and cuts to the book, but most of the score was left intact, with only a few cuts. The cast featured veteran screen star Ruby Keeler and also included Helen Gallagher, Bobby Van, Jack Gilford, Patsy Kelly, a young Ed Dixon was in the ensemble. The production was supervised by aging Hollywood legend Busby Berkeley, although members of the cast, Rigby later accepted a $300,000 settlement from Rubin. The 1971 production was well-reviewed and ran for 861 performances and it sparked interest in the revival of similar musicals from the 1920s and 30s. This production transferred to London in 1973, with a cast starring Anna Neagle, Anne Rogers, Tony Britton, further tours and international productions followed
20.
Ed Barrow
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Edward Grant Barrow was an American manager and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He served as the manager of the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. He served as manager of the New York Yankees from 1921 to 1939 and as team president from 1939 to 1945. Barrow was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953, born in a covered wagon in Springfield, Illinois, Barrow worked as a journalist and soap salesman before entering the business of baseball by selling concessions at games. From there, Barrow purchased minor league teams, also serving as team manager. After managing the Tigers in 1903 and 1904 and returning to the leagues, Barrow became disenchanted with baseball. Barrow returned to baseball in 1910 as president of the Eastern League, after a seven-year tenure, Barrow managed the Red Sox from 1918 through 1920, leading the team to victory in the 1918 World Series. When Red Sox owner Harry Frazee began to sell his star players, during his quarter-century as their baseball operations chief, the Yankees won 14 AL pennants and 10 World Series titles. Barrow was born in Springfield, Illinois, the oldest of four children, all male, born to Effie Ann Vinson-Heller, Barrows father fought in the Ohio Volunteer Militia during the American Civil War. Following the war, Barrows parents, with Johns mother, brothers, the Barrows lived in Nebraska for six years before moving to Des Moines, Iowa. His middle name, Grant, was bestowed on him in honor of Ulysses S. Grant, Barrow worked as mailing clerk for the Des Moines News in 1887, receiving a promotion to circulation manager within a year. He became a reporter for the Des Moines Leader after graduating high school. He became city editor, earning $35 a week, in his last two years living in Des Moines, Barrow established a baseball team, which included future baseball stars Fred Clarke, Ducky Holmes, and Herm McFarland. Barrow moved to Pittsburgh in 1889, where he worked as a soap salesman, however, Barrow lost all of money in this business, and went to work as a desk clerk in a Pittsburgh hotel. Barrow partnered with Harry Stevens in 1894 to sell concessions at baseball games and he helped George Moreland form the Interstate League, a Class-C minor league, in 1894. Barrow, with Stevens and Al Buckenberger, purchased the Wheeling Nailers of the Interstate League in 1896, Barrow served as field manager until the collapse of the league that season. The team continued in the Iron and Oil League for the rest of the year, Barrow then bought the Paterson Silk Weavers of the Class-A Atlantic League, managing them for the rest of the 1896 season. Barrow discovered Honus Wagner throwing lumps of coal at a station in Pennsylvania
21.
Yankee Stadium (1923)
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Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees, one of the citys Major League Baseball franchises, from 1923 to 1973, the stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the home of the New York Giants football team from 1956 through the first part of the 1973–74 football season. It has also known as The Big Ballpark in The Bronx, The Stadium. The stadium was built from 1922 to 1923 for $2.4 million, Yankee Stadium opened for the 1923 MLB season and at the time, it was hailed as a one-of-a-kind facility in the country for its size. Over the course of its history, it one of the most famous venues in the United States, having hosted a variety of events. The stadium went through many alterations and playing surface configurations over the years, the condition of the facility worsened in the 1960s and 1970s, prompting its closing for renovation from 1974 to 1975. The renovation significantly altered the appearance of the venue and reduced the distance of the outfield fences, in 2006, the Yankees began building a new $2.3 billion stadium in public parkland adjacent to the stadium. The price included $1.2 billion in public subsidies, the design includes a replica of the frieze along the roof that was in Yankee Stadium. Monument Park, a Hall of Fame for prominent former Yankees, was relocated to the new stadium, Yankee Stadium closed following the 2008 baseball season and the new stadium opened in 2009, adopting the Yankee Stadium moniker. The original Yankee Stadium was demolished in 2010, two years after it closed, and the 8-acre site was converted into a park called Heritage Field, the new Yankee stadium opened in 2009 and is currently used by the NY Yankees. The Yankees had played at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan since 1913, however, relations between the two teams were rocky, with the Giants harboring resentment towards the Yankees. For the 1920 season, the Yankees acquired star slugger Babe Ruth and in his first year with his new team, by the middle of 1920, the Giants had issued an eviction notice to the Yankees, which was soon rescinded. In 1921, the Yankees won their first American League pennant and this exacerbated Giants owner Charles Stonehams resentment of the Yankees and reinforced his insistence that the Yankees find another place to play their home games. The Giants derisively suggested that the Yankees relocate to Queens or some other out-of-the-way place, tillinghast LHommedieu Huston and Jacob Ruppert, the Yankees owners since January 1915, decided to build their own stadium. They did so at considerable financial risk and speculation, Baseball teams typically played in 30, 000-seat facilities, but Huston and Ruppert invoked Ruths name when asked how the Yankees could justify a ballpark with 60,000 seats. The total bill for construction of the stadium was $2.5 million, Huston and Ruppert explored many areas for Yankee Stadium. Of the other sites being considered, the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, consideration was also given to building atop railroad tracks on the West Side of Manhattan and to Long Island City, in Queens
22.
1916 World Series
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In the 1916 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the Brooklyn Robins four games to one. Casey Stengel shone on offense for the Robins in the 1916 Series, the Soxs Babe Ruth pitched thirteen shutout innings in Game 2, starting a consecutive scoreless innings streak that would reach 29 in 1918. As with the 1915 Series, the Red Sox played their games at the larger Braves Field. Brooklyn fielded some strong teams under their manager and namesake Wilbert Robinson in the late 1910s, the Robins, also interchangeably called the Dodgers, would win the pennant again in 1920, but the American League teams were generally stronger during that interval. It would be 39 years before the Dodgers would win their first World Series title in 1955, the Series had the longest game in terms of innings in World Series history until Game 3 of the 2005 World Series. AL Boston Red Sox vs. NL Brooklyn Robins Until the ninth, holding a comfortable 6-1 lead, a walk, hit batter, error and bases-full walk to Fred Merkle finally forced the Red Sox to call on Carl Mays from the bullpen to preserve a 6-5 win. The Robins scored in the top of the first on a home run by Hy Myers. The game remained 1–1 until the bottom of the 14th, when the Red Sox won it on a single by Del Gainer. A seventh-inning home run by Larry Gardner chased Brooklyn starter Jack Coombs, jeff Pfeffer came through with 2.2 innings of hitless relief to save the victory for Coombs. Brooklyns first three batters reached safely off Dutch Leonard in a two-run first inning, but thats all the Dodgers would get off him. Larry Gardners second home run in two days was a one to left-center that scored two teammates ahead of him, giving Leonard all hed need. The final game was over in a snappy 1 hour,43 minutes, Boston scratched out a run on a walk, sacrifice bunt, groundout and passed ball. The Red Sox added more in the third, thanks to an error and a Chick Shorten RBI single, casey Stengel led off the Dodger ninth with a hit, but Shore allowed no more. 1916 World Series, Boston Red Sox over Brooklyn Robins Cohen, Richard M. Neft, the World Series, Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. Archived from the original on 2008
23.
1915 World Series
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In the 1915 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies four games to one. In their only World Series before 1950, the Phillies won Game 1 before being swept the rest of the way and it was 65 years before the Phillies won their next Series game. The Red Sox pitching was so strong in the 1915 series that the young Babe Ruth was not used on the mound and only made a single pinch-hitting appearance. Red Sox owner Joseph Lannin lost the toss for home field advantage. The league presidents selected the umpires, and it was announced that J. G. Taylor Spink would be one of the official scorers, one controversy surrounded the allocation of tickets to the Red Sox Royal Rooters fan club. Each visiting team was allocated 200 tickets, but the Red Sox requested an additional 400 on behalf of their supporters, the Phillies Baker Bowl sat only 20,000, and their above-cited owner, William Baker, refused to allocate additional tickets for visiting fans. The matter was resolved by National Commission chairman Garry Herrmann, who gave the Red Sox tickets from the Commissions own Series allocation. The Phillies won Game 1, 3–1, although New York Times reporter Hugh Fullerton wrote of the future 300+ game-winning Hall of Famer, Alexander pitched a bad game of ball. He had little or nothing in his review of the game, headed Nothing, the Times also reported that a crowd of 10,000 gathered in Manhattans Times Square to view a real-time mechanical recreation of the game on a giant scoreboard sponsored by the newspaper. The Phillies were not to win another game until 1977. The Red Sox swept Games 2–5, all by one run, in Game 2, Woodrow Wilson became the first U. S. President to attend a World Series game. This was the second year that a Boston team beat a Philadelphia team in the World Series after the Braves had swept the Athletics the year before. Unlike the 1913 Series, where the team won only one of the five games. In Fenway or Philadelphias Baker Bowl, it might have been a run or at least an extra-base hit which might have turned the Series around. The Phillies had packed some extra outfield seats into their already-small bandbox of a ballfield and this proved crucial in the decisive Game 5, in which Bostons Harry Hooper twice homered over the moved-in center field fence and Duffy Lewis followed suit. In Braves Field, those would have been extra-base hits at best, AL Boston Red Sox vs. NL Philadelphia Phillies The Red Sox won on three home runs by two of their outfielders, two cheapies by Harry Hooper and one by Duffy Lewis. Those were the only round-trippers in the entire Series, the first four games being pitchers duels,1915 World Series, Boston Red Sox over Philadelphia Phillies Cohen, Richard M. Neft, David S. The World Series, Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989, archived from the original on 2008
24.
1946 World Series
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The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox. This was the Red Soxs first appearance in a World Series since their championship of 1918, in the eighth inning of Game 7, with the score 3–3, the Cardinals Enos Slaughter opened the inning with a single but two batters failed to advance him. With two outs, Harry Walker walloped a hit over Johnny Peskys head into left-center field, as Leon Culberson chased it down, Slaughter started his mad dash. Pesky caught Culbersons throw, turned and—perhaps surprised to see Slaughter headed for the plate—supposedly hesitated just a second before throwing home. Roy Partee had to take a few steps up the base line to catch Peskys toss. The Cardinals won the game and the Series in seven games, Boston superstar Ted Williams played the Series injured and was largely ineffective but refused to use his injury as an excuse. As the first World Series to be played after wartime travel restrictions had been lifted, it returned from the 3-4 format to the 2–3–2 format for home teams and it also saw the return of many prominent players from military service. NL St. Louis Cardinals vs. AL Boston Red Sox The Red Sox won Game 1 when Rudy York hit a run into the left field bleachers. The Red Sox scored three runs in the first inning on Rudy Yorks blast then won by a score of 4–0 and this is the only game in World Series history that three players on the same team had four or more hits. Red Sox outfielder Wally Moses got four hits as well and second baseman Bobby Doerr hit a home run. Ted Williams hit a RBI single, his only RBI of the whole Series, Leon Culberson homered while Joe Dobson got the victory for Boston. St. Louis staved off elimination at home, chasing Boston starter Harris with a three-run third, marty Marion added an RBI double in the eighth to back Harry Brecheens second win of the Series. Enos Slaughter scored from first base on a called the Mad Dash. As the runner started, Walker lined the ball to left-center field, as he threw a relay to shortstop Johnny Pesky, Slaughter rounded third base, ignored third base coach Mike Gonzálezs stop sign, and continued for home plate. What exactly happened when Pesky turned around is still a matter of contention, whatever the reason, the delay and a weak and rushed throw home allowed Slaughter to score just as Red Sox catcher Roy Partee caught it up the line from home plate. The run put the Cardinals ahead 4–3 and proved to be the winning run. Harry The Cat Brecheen had come out of the bullpen during Bostons rally in the eighth when the Red Sox had two men on base, and he gave up the double by DiMaggio that tied the game. Brecheen allowed two singles to start the inning, but then retired the Red Sox without giving up a run
25.
Sportsman's Park
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Sportsmans Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in the central United States, in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street. The physical street address was 2911 North Grand Boulevard, in 1923, the stadium hosted St. Louiss first NFL team, the St. Louis All-Stars. Baseball was played on the Sportsmans Park site as early as 1867, the tract was acquired in 1866 by August Solari, who began staging games there the following year. It was the home of the St. Louis Brown Stockings in the National Association, originally called the Grand Avenue Ball Grounds. Some sources say the field was renamed Sportsmans Park in 1876, the local papers also still used the alternate name Grand Avenue Park until at least 1885. The first grandstand—one of three on the built in 1881. At that time, the diamond and the grandstands were on the southeast corner of the block, the park was leased by the then-major American Association entry, the St. Louis Brown Stockings, or Browns. The Browns were a strong team in the mid-1880s. When the National League absorbed the strongest of the old Association teams in 1892, soon they went looking for a new ballpark, finding a site just a few blocks northwest of the old one, and calling it New Sportsmans Park, which was later renamed Robison Field. They also changed colors from Brown to Cardinal Red, thus acquiring a new nickname. When the American League Browns moved from Milwaukee in 1902, they built a new version of Sportsmans Park and they initially placed the diamond and the main stand at the northwest corner of the block. This Sportsmans Park saw football history made and it became both the practice field and home field for Saint Louis University football teams, coached by the visionary Eddie Cochems, father of the forward pass. These included a 39–0 thrashing of Iowa before a crowd of 12,000, robinson launched an amazingly long pass in the game against the Jayhawks, which was variously reported to have traveled 67 or 87 yards in the air. College Football Hall of Fame coach David M. Nelson called the extraordinary, considering the size, shape and weight of the fat. Sports historian John Sayle Watterson agreed, in his book, College Football, History, Spectacle, Controversy, Watterson described Robinsons long pass as truly a breathtaking achievement. St. Louis finished with an 11–0 record in 1906, outscoring its opponents 407–11, the previous wooden grandstand was retained as left-field bleachers for a while, but was soon replaced with permanent bleachers. The Cardinals came back to their home in mid-1920, as tenants of the Browns, after abandoning the outdated
26.
St. Louis
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St. Louis is an independent city and major U. S. port in the state of Missouri, built along the western bank of the Mississippi River, on the border with Illinois. Prior to European settlement, the area was a regional center of Native American Mississippian culture. The city of St. Louis was founded in 1764 by French fur traders Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, in 1764, following Frances defeat in the Seven Years War, the area was ceded to Spain and retroceded back to France in 1800. In 1803, the United States acquired the territory as part of the Louisiana Purchase, during the 19th century, St. Louis developed as a major port on the Mississippi River. In the 1870 Census, St. Louis was ranked as the 4th-largest city in the United States and it separated from St. Louis County in 1877, becoming an independent city and limiting its own political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the Summer Olympics, the economy of metro St. Louis relies on service, manufacturing, trade, transportation of goods, and tourism. This city has become known for its growing medical, pharmaceutical. St. Louis has 2 professional sports teams, the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, the city is commonly identified with the 630-foot tall Gateway Arch in Downtown St. Louis. The area that would become St. Louis was a center of the Native American Mississippian culture and their major regional center was at Cahokia Mounds, active from 900 AD to 1500 AD. Due to numerous major earthworks within St. Louis boundaries, the city was nicknamed as the Mound City and these mounds were mostly demolished during the citys development. Historic Native American tribes in the area included the Siouan-speaking Osage people, whose territory extended west, European exploration of the area was first recorded in 1673, when French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled through the Mississippi River valley. Five years later, La Salle claimed the region for France as part of La Louisiane. The earliest European settlements in the area were built in Illinois Country on the east side of the Mississippi River during the 1690s and early 1700s at Cahokia, Kaskaskia, migrants from the French villages on the opposite side of the Mississippi River founded Ste. In early 1764, after France lost the 7 Years War, Pierre Laclède, the early French families built the citys economy on the fur trade with the Osage, as well as with more distant tribes along the Missouri River. The Chouteau brothers gained a monopoly from Spain on the fur trade with Santa Fe, French colonists used African slaves as domestic servants and workers in the city. In 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, St. Louis was attacked by British forces, mostly Native American allies, the founding of St. Louis began in 1763. Pierre Laclede led an expedition to set up a fur-trading post farther up the Mississippi River, before then, Laclede had been a very successful merchant. For this reason, he and his trading partner Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent were offered monopolies for six years of the fur trading in that area
27.
Enos Slaughter
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Enos Bradsher Slaughter, nicknamed Country, was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. He played for 19-seasons on four major teams from 1938–1942. He is noted primarily for his playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and is best known for scoring the winning run in Game Seven of the 1946 World Series. A ten time All-Star, he has elected to both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. Slaughter was born in Roxboro, North Carolina, where he earned the nickname Country, and joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1938 before being traded to the New York Yankees in 1954. When Slaughter was a minor leaguer in Columbus, Georgia, he went running towards the dugout from his position in the outfield, slowed down near the infield, manager Eddie Dyer told him, Son, if youre tired, well try to get you some help. During the remainder of his career, Slaughter ran everywhere he went on a baseball field. In 1937, he had 245 hits and 147 runs scored for Columbus, Slaughter batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was renowned for his swing that made him a reliable contact hitter. Slaughter had 2,383 hits in his career, including 169 home runs. Slaughter played 19 seasons with the Cardinals, Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, during that period, he was a 10-time All-Star and played in five World Series. His 1,820 games played ranks fourth in Cardinals history behind Ozzie Smith, Lou Brock and he presently ranks second in RBIs with 1,148, fifth in ABs with 6,775, and sixth in doubles with 366. Immediately upon return from his service in 1946, he led the National League with 130 RBI. The hit was ruled a double, though most observers felt it should have ruled a single. This play was named #10 on the Sporting News list of Baseballs 25 Greatest Moments in 1999, Slaughter was known for his hustle, especially for running hard to first base on walks, a habit later imitated by Pete Rose and David Eckstein. Slaughter retired from major league baseball in 1959 and he was a player-manager in 1960 for a minor league team in Houston and for Raleigh in 1961. Slaughter coached baseball for Duke University from 1971 to 1977, enos Slaughter is a cousin of Henry Slaughter, southern gospel musician. Slaughter died at age 86, on August 12,2002 and he was scheduled for an autograph appearance in St. Louis, Missouri before he died
28.
Harry Walker
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Harry William Walker, known to baseball fans of the middle 20th century as Harry the Hat, was an American baseball player, manager and coach. Born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Harry was a member of a baseball family. He was the son of former Washington Senators pitcher Ewart Dixie Walker and the brother of Fred Dixie Walker, like Harry an outfielder, left-handed hitter and he was also the nephew of fellow Major League outfielder Ernie Walker. Harry the Hat got his nickname from his habit during at-bats of continually adjusting his cap between pitches—there were no batting helmets in his day. His batting title came in 1947, when he hit.363 in a season during which he was traded from his original team, the previous year he was one of the stars of the Cardinals’1946 World Series championship team. He knocked in six runs during that Series, and batted.412, Harry and Dixie are the only brothers in MLB history to win batting titles, Dixie won the National League batting title with a.363 average. However, the change backfired, the Cards plummeted two places in the standings under Walker, losing 67 of 118 games, Harry was replaced by Fred Hutchinson at the end of the 1955 season, and it would be another decade before he would again manage in the majors. During that exile, he returned to the Cardinal farm system to manage, after piloting the Jacksonville Suns to the 1964 International League pennant, Walker was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates as manager, replacing Danny Murtaugh, who stepped down for health reasons. Although the Pirates did not win a pennant during Walkers first two seasons, he made an immediate impact and his skill as a batting coach was an important factor in the transformation of the Pirates into the National Leagues top offensive team. The Pirates battled for the pennant until the days of the 1965 and 1966 seasons—each year finishing third behind the champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Less than a later, Walker was hired to be the organizational batting coach for the Houston Astros. Featuring players like Joe Morgan, Jimmy Wynn, and Don Wilson, the Astros finished last in 1968, in 1969, they contended for the National League West Division title before fading to finish 12 games behind the Atlanta Braves. Over his managing career, he won 630 games, losing 604, after his firing, Walker returned to the Cardinals as a hitting instructor. Walker served as the baseball coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham from 1979 to 1986. He was the programs first coach, in ten seasons he compiled a record of 211-171, good for a.552 winning percentage. In 1981 the Blazers were the champions of the Sun Belt Conferences North Division in just the year of the programs existence. The Blazers repeated as North Division champions in 1982, Walker was profiled quite flatteringly in Jim Boutons memoir of the 1969 season, Ball Four. In the book, Walker is seen as a manager who has good advice for his charges
29.
Johnny Pesky
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John Michael Johnny Pesky, nicknamed The Needle and Mr. Red Sox, was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He was a shortstop and third baseman during a major league playing career, appearing in 1,270 games played in 1942. He missed the 1943–45 seasons while serving in World War II, Pesky was associated with the Boston Red Sox for 61 of his 73 years in baseball—from 1940 through June 3,1952,1961 through 1964, and from 1969 until his death. Pesky also managed the Red Sox from 1963 to 1964, a left-handed hitter who threw right-handed, Pesky was a tough man for pitchers to strike out. He was the first American League player to score 6 runs in a 9 inning game.307 in 4,745 at bats as a major leaguer and he was also an excellent bunter who led the league in sacrifice hits in 1942. He was a teammate and close friend of Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Dom DiMaggio, Pesky was born in Portland, Oregon, the son of Croat immigrants Jakov and Marija Paveskovich. Pesky played for Lincoln High School, and spent several years playing for amateur teams, such as the Portland Babes, Bend Elks. The third of these teams was associated with the Silver Falls Timber Company, which was owned by Tom Yawkey, a skilled ice hockey player, he once worked out with the Boston Bruins. Early in his career, Portland sportswriters would abbreviate his name to Pesky because it fit better in a box score. He would legally change his name to Pesky in 1947, Pesky was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox before the 1940 season and spent the next two seasons in the minor leagues. In 1940, he played for the Rocky Mount Red Sox of the Piedmont League, where he was a teammate of future Hall of Famer Heinie Manush, who was the teams player-manager. After hitting.325 with Rocky Mount, he moved up to the double-A Louisville Colonels, the next year, he was in the major leagues. During his rookie year in 1942, Pesky led the AL in hits with 205—at the time a record for a well as sacrifice hits with 22. He was second only to teammate Ted Williams in average at.331 and his 53 hits in August set a team record for hits in a month, a record later tied by Dom DiMaggio. In 1947, Pesky batted.324 while leading the league in hits for the third year with 207. In the 1947–48 offseason, the Red Sox traded six players and $310,000 in cash to the St. Louis Browns for Vern Stephens, Stephens, a three-time All-Star, was also a shortstop, and Pesky was asked to move to third base. The switch took a toll on Pesky, who had his worst season to date as a hitter, as his average dropped to.281. He bounced back to hit over.300 each year from 1949 to 1951, Pesky began the 1952 season very slowly, and by mid-June he had played in just 25 games, batting.149
30.
Ted Williams
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Theodore Samuel Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball career as a fielder for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1942 and 1946 to 1960, excepting service time during World War II. Nicknamed The Kid, The Splendid Splinter, Teddy Ballgame, The Thumper and The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, Williams was also an outstanding fielder, especially in the difficult left field of Fenway Park in Boston, where he played his entire Major League career at that position. Williams was a seventeen-time All-Star, a recipient of the American League Most Valuable Player Award, a six-time AL batting champion. He finished his career with a.344 batting average,521 home runs, and a 0.482 on-base percentage. His batting average is the highest of any MLB player with 302 or more home runs, born and raised in San Diego, Williams played baseball throughout his youth. Joining the Red Sox in 1939, he emerged as one of the sports best hitters. In 1941, Williams posted a.406 batting average, making him the last MLB player to bat over.400 in a season and he followed this up by winning his first Triple Crown in 1942. Williams interrupted his career in 1943 to serve three years in the US Navy and US Marine Corps during World War II. Upon returning to MLB in 1946, Williams won his first AL MVP Award, in 1947, he won his second Triple Crown. Williams was returned to military duty for portions of the 1952 and 1953 seasons to serve as a Marine combat aviator in the Korean War. In 1957 and 1958 at the ages of 39 and 40, respectively, Williams retired from playing in 1960. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, Williams managed the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers franchise from 1969 to 1972. An avid sport fisherman, he hosted a program about fishing. Williams involvement in the Jimmy Fund helped raise millions in dollars for cancer care, in 1991 President George H. W. Bush presented Williams with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award bestowed by the United States government. He was selected for the Major League Baseball All-Time Team in 1997, Ted Williams was born Theodore Samuel Williams in San Diego, California. At some later date he amended his birth certificate, removing his name, which he claimed originated from a maternal uncle. His father was a soldier, sheriff, and photographer from New York, while his mother, May Venzor, Williams resented his mothers long hours working in the Salvation Army, and Williams and his brother cringed when she took them to the Armys street-corner revivals
31.
Cleveland Indians
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The Cleveland Indians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League Central division. Since 1994, they have played at Progressive Field, the teams spring training facility is at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The Indians current World Series championship drought is the longest active drought, the name Indians originated from a request by club owner Charles Somers to baseball writers to choose a new name to replace Cleveland Naps following the departure of Nap Lajoie after the 1914 season. The name referenced the nickname Indians that was applied to the Cleveland Spiders baseball club during the time when Louis Sockalexis, common nicknames for the Indians include the Tribe and the Wahoos, the latter being a reference to their logo, Chief Wahoo, a controversial Native American caricature. The teams mascot is named Slider, the franchise originated in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1894 as the Grand Rapids Rustlers, a minor league team in the Western League. The team moved to Cleveland in 1900 and changed its name to the Cleveland Lake Shores, one of the American Leagues eight charter franchises, the major league incarnation of the club was founded in Cleveland in 1901. Originally called the Cleveland Bluebirds, the played in League Park until moving permanently to Cleveland Stadium in 1946. At the end of the 2016 season, they had a regular season record of 9. In 1857 baseball games were a spectacle in Clevelands Public Squares. City authorities tried to find an ordinance forbidding it, to the joy of the crowd, – Harold Seymour 1865–1868 Forest Citys of Cleveland 1869–1872 Forest Citys of Cleveland From 1865 to 1868 Forest Citys was an amateur ball club. During the 1869 season, Cleveland was among several cities which established professional baseball teams following the success of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional team. In the newspapers before and after 1870, the team was called the Forest Citys. In 1871 the Forest Citys joined the new National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, ultimately, two of the leagues western clubs went out of business during the first season and the Chicago Fire left that citys White Stockings impoverished, unable to field a team again until 1874. Cleveland was thus the NAs westernmost outpost in 1872, the year the club folded, Cleveland played their full schedule to July 19 followed by two games versus Boston in mid-August and disbanded at the end of the season. 1879–1881 Cleveland Forest Citys 1882–1884 Cleveland Blues In 1876, the National League supplanted the NA as the professional league. Cleveland were not among its members, but by 1879 the league was looking for new entries. The Cleveland Forest Citys baseball team was then re-created, the National League required distinct colors for the 1882 season, so the Cleveland Forest Citys became the Cleveland Blues
32.
1949 World Series
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This victory would start a record run of five consecutive World Series championships by the Yankees, and was also the first of 14 AL pennants in 16 years for the Yankees. Both teams finished the season with exactly the same records. AL New York Yankees vs. NL Brooklyn Dodgers Don Newcombe of the Dodgers threw a complete game and he struck out eleven Yankees during that game to tie the record for most strikeouts during a World Series game by a losing pitcher. Tommy Henrich led the bottom of the ninth tagging Newcombe for the first walk-off home run in World Series history, preacher Roe pitched a six-hit shutout, getting the only run he needed early when Jackie Robinson doubled and Gil Hodges singled. Yankee Stadium came alive in the ninth with Joe DiMaggios leadoff hit, a wild ninth inning ended with Joe Page the winning pitcher, even though he gave up two homers in the inning. The game had stood 1-1 until the ninth, when Johnny Mize delivered a two-run pinch single, Brooklyn starter Ralph Branca was then replaced by Jack Banta, who gave up an RBI hit to Jerry Coleman that made it 4-1. It seemed safe until Luis Olmo and Roy Campanella both homered in the bottom of the ninth, but Page hung on for the win after 5.2 innings of relief, cliff Mapes broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a two-run double. Yankee pitcher Eddie Lopat aided his own cause with an RBI double, a seven-single inning chased Lopat and cheered Ebbets Fields fans in the sixth, bringing the Dodgers back to within 6-4. After that, though, Allie Reynolds held the team scoreless and hitless. A shaky start by Rex Barney, including two walks and an error on a play, proved costly for Brooklyn. He was lifted in the third after a Jerry Coleman two-run single, and the Yankees padded their lead with a Joe DiMaggio homer in the fourth and it was 10-2 by then, so Gil Hodgess three-run homer for the Dodgers in the seventh was too little, too late. History was made in the inning when the Ebbets Field lights were turned on. The first scheduled Series night game would not be held until 1971,1949 World Series, New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers Cohen, Richard M. Neft, David S. The World Series, Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989, archived from the original on 2008. Audio, Game 3 radio broadcast, part 1 Audio, Game 3 radio broadcast, part 2 Audio, Game 3 radio broadcast, part 3 Audio, Game 3 radio broadcast, part 4
33.
1953 World Series
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The Yankees won in 6 games for their 5th consecutive title—a mark which has not been equalled—and their 16th overall. Billy Martin recorded his 12th hit of the Series scoring Hank Bauer in Game 6, AL New York Yankees vs. NL Brooklyn Dodgers Before a full house of New Yorkers, a four-run first inning put Yankee fans in a good mood right off the bat. Brooklyn starter Carl Erskine didnt last past the first, a pair of triples by Hank Bauer and Billy Martin were the big blows, and the Dodgers pinch-hit for Erskine in the top of the second. They didnt score off Allie Reynolds until the fifth, though, Yogi Berra matched it in the bottom of the fifth with a homer of his own, and the Yankee lead looked safe until homers by Gil Hodges and pinch-hitter George Shuba chased Reynolds in the sixth. Brooklyn tied it an inning later against Johnny Sain with singles by Roy Campanella, Hodges, a homer by unsung first baseman Joe Collins proved the game-winner, with winning pitcher Sain providing two more runs himself in the eighth off Ben Wade with a surprise two-base hit. He looked shaky in the first, walking three and hitting a batter, but Brooklyns Preacher Roe settled down after that and engaged Eddie Lopat in a pitching duel. Billy Coxs two-run double in the fourth put the Dodgers up 2-1, Billy Martins leadoff homer off Roe in the seventh tied the score. The game-winning blast came from Mickey Mantle, a shot to left field in the bottom of the eighth. Brooklyn got two runners aboard in the ninth, but Lopat was able to retire Duke Snider on a grounder to second base. Although the Yankees won the Series, Brooklyn had at least one shining moment and that broke Howard Ehmkes 1929 record by one. Ersks record would stand until Sandy Koufax got 15 in 1963, in that same game, Yogi Berra was hit twice by Erskine, making him the first American League player in World Series history to be a hit-batsman twice during the same game. The home team won for the consecutive time. Whitey Ford lasted just one inning as the Yankees starter, giving up a Duke Snider two-run homer in the first, Brooklyns lead was cut in half in the fifth when Billy Loes gave up a two-run homer to Gil McDougald. But the Dodgers pulled away with Snider driving home runs in the two innings. Mickey Mantles bases-loaded single ended the game, Billy Martin being thrown out trying to score from second base, Yankees manager Casey Stengel gave the ball to unheralded pitcher Jim McDonald for Game 5 and, while he gave up a dozen hits, he got them a win. Brooklyn starter Johnny Podres was jolted by a Gene Woodling home run to begin the game, Podres was chased in a five-run third, and the first man his replacement Russ Meyer would face, Mickey Mantle, greeted the reliever with a grand slam home run. The Yankees were coasting 10-2 until the eighth, when McDonald tired and he was relieved by Bob Kuzava, and in the ninth, Allie Reynolds was brought in to retire Jackie Robinson for the final out. Down 3–1 in the ninth, Brooklyn rallied back on a Duke Snider walk, however, Yankee second baseman Billy Martin—who made a game-saving catch in Game 7 of the 1952 World Series—again ruined the Dodgers dreams of a championship
34.
1967 World Series
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The Series was played from October 4 to 12 in Fenway Park and Busch Memorial Stadium. The Impossible Dream Red Sox were led by triple crown winner Carl Yastrzemski and ace pitcher Jim Lonborg, the Red Sox reached the World Series by emerging victorious from a dramatic four-team pennant race that revitalized interest in the team after eight straight losing seasons. Going into the last week of the season, the Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, the White Sox lost their last five games to fall out of the race. Meanwhile, the Red Sox and Twins met in Boston for the two games of the season, with Minnesota -- who won the AL Pennant two years earlier -- holding a one-game lead. Boston swept the Twins, but needed to out the result of the Tigers doubleheader with the California Angels in Detroit. A Detroit sweep would have enabled them to tie the Red Sox for first place, the Tigers won the first game but the Angels won the nightcap, enabling the Red Sox to claim their first A. L. pennant since 1946. Twenty-two-year-old Steve Carlton won 14 games in his first full league season, beginning what was to be a lengthy. The Cardinals overcame the absence of Bob Gibson, who missed almost one-third of the season with a leg on July 15 suffered when he was struck by a ball hit by Pittsburghs Roberto Clemente. Pitching dominated this World Series, with Bob Gibson leading the Cardinals, Cy Young winner Jim Lonborg pitched the decisive final game of the regular season, so he was unable to start Game 1. Facing Bostons José Santiago, Gibson and St. Louis won, Roger Maris, knocked in both of St. Louis runs with third and seventh-inning grounders. Santiago pitched brilliantly and homered in the inning off Gibson for the Red Sox only run. Gibson cemented his reputation as an unhittable postseason pitcher in this series and his efforts allowed the Cardinals to triumph despite the batting of Yastrzemski, and pitching of Lonborg, who allowed only one run in each of his complete-game wins in Games 2 and 5. In Game 2, Yastrzemski belted two homers but the story was Lonborg, the Boston ace retired the first 19 Cardinals he faced until he walked Curt Flood with one out in the seventh inning. He had a no-hitter until Julián Javier doubled down the field line with two out in the eighth inning, Lonborg settled for a one-hit shutout in which he faced only 29 batters. In St. Louis, the El Birdos took Games 3 and 4, with Briles pitching the team to a 5–2 victory. Now leading three-games-to-one, Lonborg kept the Bosox in the series with a 3–1 victory, the 25-year-old righty tossed two-hit, shutout ball over 8 2⁄3 innings, then finally gave up a run when Maris knocked a home run to right. Going for the clincher at Fenway Park in Game 6, the team took a 2–1 lead going into the fourth inning when Dick Hughes gave up a record three homers in a single inning. Yastrzemski led off the fourth with a drive over the wall in left-center and
35.
Bob Gibson
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Robert Bob Gibson is a retired American baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. Nicknamed Gibby and Hoot, Gibson tallied 251 wins,3,117 strikeouts, a nine-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won two Cy Young Awards and the 1968 National League Most Valuable Player Award. In 1981, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, the Cardinals retired his uniform number 45 in September 1975 and inducted him into the team Hall of Fame in 2014. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Gibson overcame childhood illness to excel in youth sports, after briefly playing under contract to both the basketball Harlem Globetrotters team and the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Gibson decided to continue playing only baseball professionally. Once becoming a starting pitcher in July 1961, Gibson began experiencing an increasing level of success. Gibson won two of three games he pitched in the 1964 World Series, then won 20 games in a season for the first time in 1965, Gibson also pitched three complete game victories in the 1967 World Series. The pinnacle of Gibsons career was 1968, when he posted a 1.12 ERA for the season, over the course of his career, Gibson became known for his fierce competitive nature and the intimidation factor he used against opposing batters. Gibson threw a no-hitter during the 1971 season, but began experiencing swelling in his knee in subsequent seasons, after retiring as a player in 1975, Gibson later served as pitching coach for his former teammate Joe Torre. At one time a special instructor coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, Gibson is the author of the memoir Pitch by Pitch, with Lonnie Wheeler. Gibson was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the last of Pack, Gibsons father died of tuberculosis three months prior to Gibsons birth, and Gibson himself was named Pack Robert Gibson in his fathers honor. While he revered his fathers legacy, Gibson disliked the name Pack, Gibsons brother Josh, who was 15 years his senior, had a profound impact on his early life, serving as a mentor to him. Gibson played on a number of basketball and baseball teams his brother coached. Gibson attended Omaha Technical High School, where during his tenure he participated on the track, basketball, and baseball teams. Health issues resurfaced for Gibson, though, and he needed a permission to compete in high school sports because of a heart murmur that occurred in tandem with a rapid growth spurt. While at Creighton, Gibson majored in sociology, and continued to experience success playing basketball, at the end of Gibsons junior basketball season he averaged 22 points per game, and made third team Jesuit All-American. As his graduation from Creighton approached, the spring of 1957 proved to be a time for Gibson. Aside from getting married, Gibson had garnered the interest of Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, in 1957, Gibson received a $3,000 bonus to sign with the Cardinals. He delayed his start with the organization for a year, playing basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters, earning the nickname Bullet and becoming famous for backhanded dunks
36.
Jim Lonborg
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Dr. James Reynold Lonborg is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played with the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies. Though nicknamed Gentleman Jim, he was known for his fearlessly pitching on the inside of the plate over his fifteen-year career, born in Santa Maria, California, Lonborg graduated from Stanford University. He enjoyed his best year in the Carl Yastrzemski-led 1967 Red Sox Impossible Dream season, when he led American League pitchers in wins, games started, and strikeouts. Called upon to pitch the seventh and deciding game with only 2 days rest, Lonborg lasted 6 innings, in addition, he received the Cy Young Award, played in the All-Star game, and finished prominently in voting for the MVP award. In December 1967, Lonborg tore the ligaments in his knee while skiing. He won only 27 games from 1968 to 1971 and was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers after the 1971 season, while he performed well for Milwaukee in 1972, the team traded him in October to the Philadelphia Phillies. He spent the six and a half seasons with Philadelphia before his release midway through the 1979 season. In his 15-year career, Lonborg compiled a 157-137 record with 1475 strikeouts, a 3.86 ERA,90 complete games,15 shutouts, after retiring, Lonborg attended the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and graduated in 1983. Since then, he has worked as a general dentist in Hanover and he is active in many nonprofit organizations including Catholic Charities, Little League Baseball, and The Jimmy Fund. He currently lives in Scituate, Massachusetts, Jim Lonborg was selected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002. On the Boston-based sitcom Cheers, the photo of Sam Malone pitching is actually that of Lonborg, Sam also wore Lonborgs number 16
Picture of the graffitied "reverse curve" road sign
