Category: April

A STORY FROM APRIL 14 IN BASEBALL HISTORY-FISK IMPRESSES NEW FANS

TODAY IN BASEBALL GOES BACK TO APRIL 14, 1981 IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. Carlton Fisk had little trouble getting acclimated to his new “Sox”. He hit a grand slam home run in the home opener for his new team, the White Sox, after eleven years with the Red Sox. The blast helped the White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-3.

Fisk ended up signing with the White Sox for which he played the next thirteen years – a longer stint than he had in Boston.

Fisk’s move from Boston to Chicago was the result of a strange turn of events. He became a free agent after the 1980 season when the Red Sox failed to mail his contract to him by the deadline.

Fisk ended up signing with the White Sox for which he played the next thirteen years – a longer stint than he had in Boston. And neither Fisk nor his new Chicago fans will soon forget how much he impressed his new fans in that first game wearing a White Sox uniform.

Contributing Sources:
April 14, 1981 box score/play-by-play
Carlton Fisk Stats

A STORY FROM APRIL 13 IN BASEBALL HISTORY-FEDERAL LEAGUE DIDN’T LAST BUT WRIGLEY DID

FOR TODAY IN BASEBALL WE GO BACK TO APRIL 13, 1914. THE LOCATION: BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. An insurgent third major league, the Federal League (FL), began play on this date in 1914.  The Baltimore Terrapins defeated the Buffalo Blues 3 to 2 before 27,140 fans.

The Federal League put teams in eight cities, including four where the National or American leagues already had teams. It lured a handful of players from the established leagues, including marquee names Joe Tinker and Three Finger Brown, by waving wads of cash at them. Shoeless Joe Jackson was reportedly offered four times his salary to jump to the new League. The National and American Leagues reacted by throwing more money at the likes of Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and Walter Johnson to keep them where they were.

The Federal League didn’t appear to be a fly-by-night operation. All eight teams had new stadiums. Attendance was comparable to the NL and AL.

The FL was also trying to beat the established major leagues in court on several fronts. It sued the American and National Leagues in Federal Court for being unfair monopolies. The judge who presided over that lawsuit was Kenesaw Landis. He later became MLB’s first commissioner.

The parties eventually settled that case out of court. As part of the agreement, a number of Federal League players and teams were absorbed into the National or American League, but not all. The owners of the Baltimore franchise weren’t happy with the settlement and sued. This case went all the way to the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Major League Baseball saying it was exempt from antitrust laws, a ruling which for the most part remains in effect today.

As part of the agreement in the original lawsuit, the owner of the Federal League’s Chicago Whales, Charles Weeghman, was allowed to buy the National League’s Chicago Cubs. The ballpark he built for the Whales became the Cubs’ home. That same ballpark is known today as Wrigley Field. So, the Federal League did not survive, Wrigley Field did.

Contributing Sources:
Chicago Tribune, Baltimore, Maryland, April 14, 1914
More on the Federal League

A STORY FROM APRIL 12 IN BASEBALL HISTORY–GREAT SPOT FOR A BALLPARK…NOT!

TODAY IN BASEBALL takes us back to APRIL 12, 1958 in SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. The first major league baseball game to take place in San Francisco was played on this date in 1958. The Giants new home, Candlestick Park, was beautiful, but the location was simply not a suitable place to build a ballpark. Unfortunately, New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham didn’t know that when he toured the site on a beautiful day in 1957. It turned out it was a great spot to build a ballpark — NOT!

San Francisco Mayor George Christopher promised that the city would build a ballpark at Candlestick Point if Stoneham would make his New York Giants the first tenants. What Stoneham didn’t know, and presumably Mayor Christopher didn’t volunteer, was that the sun isn’t the only thing that drops at sundown.

The temperature plummets too, and the fog rolls in. This made for some interesting events at Candlestick. For example, during the 1961 All Star game, Giants pitcher Stu Miller was blown off the mound. In 1963, New York Mets Manager Casey Stengel took his squad out for batting practice, only to watch a gust of wind pick up the entire batting cage and drop it on the pitcher’s mound, 60 feet away.

The most memorable phenomenon was an earthquake during the 1989 World Series, but the stadium weathered that event quite well.

The Giants moved to a much better location for baseball in 2000, Pac Bell Park, which is now called AT&T Park. Attendance has been phenomenal.

The NFL’s San Francisco 49ers continued to play home games at Candlestick until 2014. Candlestick worked for them because parts of the Bay Area are milder in the winter than in the summer. In 2014 the football 49ers moved into brand new Levi Stadium in Santa Clara. As long as nobody tried to play baseball at Candlestick, everyone was happy.

 

A STORY FROM APRIL 11 IN BASEBALL HISTORY-ANGELS LOOK LIKE THEY BELONG

TODAY IN BASEBALL TAKES US TO BALTIMORE, MARYLAND ON APRIL 11, 1961. The Los Angeles Angels looked anything but like an expansion team in their first game on this date in 1961. The Angels looked like they belong. Slugging first baseman Ted Kluszewski hit two home runs and Eli Grba threw a complete game as the Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 7 to 2 in Baltimore.

It wasn’t a fluke. The Angels were the most successful first year expansion team in baseball history. They won 70 games and did not come in last place — no small task. The Angels finished ahead of the expansion Washington Senators (big deal!). More impressive is the Angels finished ahead of the established Kansas City A’s (bigger deal!).

Remarkably, the Angels contended for the American League pennant in their second season – 1962. They were in first place on July 4th and finished in 3rd (this is before the American and National Leagues were divided into divisions), ten games behind the New York Yankees.

The Angels played their home games that inaugural season at Los Angeles’ Wrigley Field. Yes, P.K. Wrigley built a replica of the Cubs ballpark in Los Angeles years earlier for a minor league team. The Angels became a tenant of Dodger Stadium in 1962, which they referred to as Chavez Ravine. They built their own stadium in Anaheim in 1966 and became the California Angels. Today, they are the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. And on this date in 1961,  the Angels looked like they belong.

Answers to April 10’s stadiums question
1. Huntington Avenue Grounds (1901-1911) Boston Red Sox
2. West Side Park (1893-1915) Chicago Cubs
3. Jarry Park (1969-1976) Montreal Expos
4. Shibe Park (1909-1970) Philadelphia A’s & Phillies
5. Forbes Field (1909-1970) Pittsburgh Pirates
6. Polo Grounds (1911-1964) New York Giants, Yankees, Mets
7. Griffith Stadium (1903-1960) Washington Senators

APRIL 10: This Bud’s not for you

APRIL 10, 1953 | ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI – Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick was not amused that the St. Louis Cardinals wanted to name their ballpark after a beer. On this date in 1953 the Cardinals got the hint and backed off. The ballpark they bought from the St. Louis Browns the day before was not going to be called Budweiser Stadium. In other words, this Bud’s not for you. Instead it was called Busch Stadium.

The head of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, an anti-alcohol group, wasn’t impressed by Anheuser-Busch‘s decision. “Busch” wasn’t the name of a beer back in ’53, but it was the name of the family that owned the brewery and the team. So, Temperance Union President Leigh Colvin said, “You could toss up the three B’s. Call it Beer Park, Budweiser Park or Busch Park and they all mean the same thing.”

The Cardinals’ ballpark is still known as Busch Stadium, though it’s on its third incarnation since 1953.

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How about a little history quiz. Guess which teams played in these old stadiums?
1. Huntington Avenue Grounds
2. West Side Park
3. Jarry Park
4. Shibe Park
5. Forbes Field
6. Polo Grounds
7. Griffith Stadium

(For answers, see [April 11th story]