During World War II, when many athletes went into military service, the military post at the Fort Ontario State Historic Site became a regional baseball powerhouse, due in part to the posting there of former professional and minor league ballplayers, even including a former starting pitcher for the New York Yankees. [Read more…] about When Fort Ontario Was A Baseball Powerhouse
Major League Baseball
Fulton County Baseball History (Podcast)
This week on The Historians Podcast, Mike Hauser, author and Leader Herald columnist, has stories about major league manager Jack McKeon, Parkhurst Field and Moonlight “Doc” Graham from Fulton County baseball history. [Read more…] about Fulton County Baseball History (Podcast)
Baseball’s Satchel Paige on Long Island
By 1950, Satchel Paige was a star of the Negro Leagues and a World Series winner with the Cleveland Indians. He spent most of that year barnstorming across the United States which is what brought him to Riverhead Stadium on Long Island.
In this episode of the Long Island History Project, librarian and historian Fabio Montella relates his research into Satchel, Riverhead, and the deeper connections between Long Island and Negro League baseball. [Read more…] about Baseball’s Satchel Paige on Long Island
Mohawk Valley Baseball History Virtual Talk
The Oneida County History Center will host a virtual talk by Lou Parrotta, the City of Utica Historian, on the history of baseball in the Mohawk Valley, and the local players who made it to the Major Leagues, set for Wednesday, August 12th. [Read more…] about Mohawk Valley Baseball History Virtual Talk
Life After Baseball (Podcast)
This week on The Historians Podcast, Brad Balukjian tracks down ballplayers from a single pack of baseball cards from 1986 for his book The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife (Univ. of Nebraska Press, 2020). [Read more…] about Life After Baseball (Podcast)
‘Prince Hal’ Schumacher: A North Country Baseball Legend
A celebrity sports delegation attended the Saint Lawrence University commencement on June 12, 1933.
“It was the first occasion that a major league ball team had ever came here to see one of their number receive his degree,” the Ogdensburg Journal reported. “In fact, it was the first time that such a ball team ever came to the village.”
Twenty-two members of the New York Giants were at the university campus at Canton to see standout pitcher Harold Henry “Prince Hal” Schumacher graduate. [Read more…] about ‘Prince Hal’ Schumacher: A North Country Baseball Legend
Baseball Legend Cy Seymour’s Final Resting Place
In 1905, Professional baseball player James Bentley “Cy” Seymour (1878-1919), led the National League, and all of professional baseball, in batting with a .377 average, hits with 219 and runs-batted-in with 121 with the Cincinnati Reds. He played for the Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, and the New York Giants throughout his career.
After his professional career he worked in wartime jobs in the Speedway shipyards and Bush terminal in New York City. While working in the shipyards, he contracted tuberculosis, and died at his home on September 20, 1919. He was buried in Albany Rural Cemetery, Lot 46, Section 15. [Read more…] about Baseball Legend Cy Seymour’s Final Resting Place
Golfer Babe Ruth Played at Plattsburgh’s Hotel Champlain
Babe Didrikson’s visit to the North Country in 1934 was historic, especially for Plattsburgh, where it was acknowledged as one of the greatest moments in the city’s history. She was an American hero (thanks to a startling performance in the 1932 Olympics), undeniably one of the world’s top athletes, and a phenomenon because of her high levels of talent in various sports. Plattsburgh’s remote location in New York’s northeast corner makes it difficult to get noticed, so Didrikson’s visit was regarded as a major coup.
Coincidentally, she wasn’t the only Babe from the stratosphere of sports fame to visit Plattsburgh in the 1930s. Even more unlikely is that both Babes were among the most famous athletes in America, and both were able competitors in sports other than the one that brought them the greatest fame. Didrikson, a track-and-field gold medalist, brought her basketball team to Plattsburgh, while Babe Ruth, a baseball giant, came north to play in an international golf tournament. [Read more…] about Golfer Babe Ruth Played at Plattsburgh’s Hotel Champlain
Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripkin Jr. and Baseball’s Most Historic Record
This week on The Historians Podcast, Baltimore sports writer John Eisenberg discusses his book The Streak: Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken Jr., and Baseball’s Most Historic Record Eisenberg tells the story of baseball’s legendary Cal Ripken Jr. and Lou Gehrig, who each achieved the record of most consecutive games played.
Listen to the podcast here. [Read more…] about Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripkin Jr. and Baseball’s Most Historic Record
Fulton County Sports History Recalled
This week on “The Historians” podcast, sports historian Mike Hauser explores Fulton County connections to major league baseball. For example, Jack McKeon, who played for the Gloversville Glovers in 1950, managed the Florida Marlins to a World Series victory in 2003. Hauser writes a column on local sports history for the Gloversville Leader Herald. Listen to the podcast here. [Read more…] about Fulton County Sports History Recalled