February 18 1998 — Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray dies four days after collapsing at a Valentine’s Day supper. Caray, age 84, after suffering a heart attack four days earlier while having Valentine’s Day dinner with his wife, Dutchie. – 1957 All Star Game called by Harry Caray. From a compilation aired in 2016 from ESPN Classic, appearances from Harry Caray on Up Close with Roy Firestone. Show Notes & Featured Audio Harry Caray Game Broadcasts Join the Daily Rewind - Join. Classic Base...
Feb 18, 2025•26 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Originally aired February 17, 1970, this clip features coverage of Denny McLain, pitcher of the Detroit Tigers. This story covers the news of an impending article in Sports Illustrated regarding alleged activities of McLain consorting with gamblers. Join the Daily Rewind - Join. Classic Baseball Broadcasts - reconnect with baseball history. Audio Links & Credits Denny McLain Games & Interviews News Report 30th Win Mentioned in this episode: Classic Baseball Broadcasts Classic Baseball Br...
Feb 17, 2025•8 min•Season 2Ep. 17
February 16 2012 – Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter dies of brain cancer in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. After becoming a perennial All-Star with the Montreal Expos, Carter led the New York Mets to a World Series title in 1986. Join the Daily Rewind - Join. Classic Baseball Broadcasts - reconnect with baseball history. Show Notes & Featured Audio Gary Carter Montreal Expos Mentioned in this episode: Classic Baseball Broadcasts Classic Baseball Broadcasts...
Feb 16, 2025•8 min•Season 2Ep. 16
February 15, 2005 Lawrence Ritter passed away. He was the author of Glory of Their times. The Glory of Their Times: A Timeless Baseball Classic Few books in the vast library of baseball literature hold the revered status of The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence Ritter. Published in 1966, this groundbreaking work captures the essence of early 20th-century baseball through the voices of the men who played the game. Hailed as one of the greatest books ever written about baseball, it remains a cheris...
Feb 15, 2025•6 min•Season 2Ep. 15
On February 14, 1948, Hall of Fame pitcher Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown dies at the age of 71. Here is his unlikely journey to Cooperstown. The Ballard of Three Fingers Brown on Youtube - https://www.amazon.com/Ballad-Three-Finger-Brown/dp/B01INYFH52 Mentioned in this episode: Classic Baseball Broadcasts Classic Baseball Broadcasts...
Feb 14, 2025•11 min•Season 2Ep. 14
February 13, 1974 Cool Papa Bell goes to Cooperstown joining Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard as just the third man to play exclusively in Negro Leagues to be inducted. Listen to him talk about Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Education and how he was able to turn a light off and get into bed before the light went out. Sources - Baseball Hall of fame - https://collection.baseballhall.org/PASTIME/cool-papa-bell-oral-history-interview-1981-september-26-0 MS History now - http://www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms...
Feb 13, 2025•12 min•Season 2Ep. 13
On February 12, 1924 — The National League announces it will join the AL in awarding a thousand dollars to the player selected by writers as the league’s Most Valuable Player. Dazzy Vance, who posts a 28-6 record along with an ERA of 2.16 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, easily outpoints Rogers Hornsby to become the National Leagues first MVP. Mentioned in this episode: Classic Baseball Broadcasts Classic Baseball Broadcasts Classic Baseball Broadcasts...
Feb 12, 2025•10 min•Season 2Ep. 12
On February 11, 1982 — Ozzie Smith agrees to go to the St. Louis Cardinals to complete the December deal that finally sends Gary Templeton to the San Diego Padres. An outside arbitrator, Tom Roberts, will determine ‘the Wizard of Oz’s’ Cardinal salary before the season starts, awarding the light-hitting Gold Glove shortstop $450,000, rather than the $750,000 he requested. Smith batted only .222 for the Padres in 1981, but will blossom into stardom in St. Louis. Mentioned in this episode: Classic...
Feb 11, 2025•6 min•Season 2Ep. 11
February 10 - Happy Birthday to Allie Reynolds. Allie Reynolds, born in 1917 in Bethany, Oklahoma, faced religious restrictions on playing organized baseball due to his parents' Nazarene beliefs. Overcoming this, he excelled in various sports during high school and later earned a track scholarship at Oklahoma A&M. After an impressive college career, he joined professional baseball, pitching for the Cleveland Indians and eventually the New York Yankees. Renowned for his achievements, includin...
Feb 10, 2025•10 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Edd Roush, the fiery baseball player known for his Hall of Fame career, wielded a heavy bat and mastered the art of place hitting. Born in 1893 in Indiana, Roush's strong hands and arms, developed on his family's farm, propelled him into baseball. Beginning with the Cincinnati Reds in 1916, he quickly became a defensive standout, often compared to Tris Speaker. Roush secured two batting titles in 1917 and 1919 and led the Reds to a World's Championship in 1919. Despite salary disputes and his av...
Feb 09, 2025•12 min•Season 2Ep. 9
On February 8, 1956, one of baseball’s most prominent figures, Connie Mack, dies at the age of 93 from old age and hip surgery. He was known as “The Tall Tactician” and was baseball’s grand old gentleman for more than a generation. Statuesque, stately, and slim, he clutched a rolled-up scorecard as he sat or stood ramrod straight in the dugout, attired in a business suit rather than a uniform, a derby or bowler in place of a baseball cap. He carried himself with quiet dignity, and commanded the ...
Feb 08, 2025•13 min•Season 2Ep. 8
On February 7 2019 — Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, a member of the 500 Home Run Club, a Triple Crown winner, the first player to win the MVP Award in both leagues, and the first African-American manager in major league history, passes away in hospice care in Los Angeles, CA at the age of 83. He was also a senior executive for Major League Baseball and was still serving as the honorary President of the American League. Robinson was one of the greatest players in MLB history, he was an All-Star in...
Feb 07, 2025•16 min•Season 2Ep. 7
When he posed for his 1959 Topps baseball card, Lew Burdette grabbed teammate Warren Spahn’s glove and pretended to be a lefty. Topps missed the joke and printed the card with the error. Burdette would sign his name “Lewis” on his contracts, and would alternate between “Lou” and “Lew” for autograph-seekers. He said he really didn’t care how his first name (which was actually his middle name) was spelled. Years before Mark Fidrych became famous for talking to the baseball, Lew Burdette used the s...
Feb 06, 2025•22 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Born: Sunday, February 05, 1928 in Roulette, PA USA He was the kind of player who’s worth doesn’t always show up in the box score, but yet his determination and aggressiveness to win made him one of the most valuable players on the world championship of 1960. Don Hoak, nicknamed Tiger by Dodger pitcher Clem Labine because he was always starting fights, was a solid fielder who twice led the circuit in fielding percentage at third base who also would contribute at the plate, hitting over .280 in t...
Feb 05, 2025•12 min•Season 2Ep. 5
February 4, 1957, manager Joe McCarthy and outfielder Sam Crawford are elected to the Hall of Fame. McCarthy, the winningest manager in history, won nine pennants and four consecutive World Championships with the New York Yankees. Crawford, one of the greatest hitters of the dead-ball era, finished his career with 309 triples, first on the all-time list. Some have challenged Sam Crawford's status as a Hall of Famer, but the truth is that Crawford was one of the best sluggers of his era, hands do...
Feb 04, 2025•10 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Fredric Michael Lynn was born on February 3, 1952 He arrived on the big league scene like a bolt of lightning through the evening sky. Fred Lynn played in his first game on September 5, 1974 and proceeded to smash major league pitching to the tune of a .419 batting average and a .698 slugging average over his first 15 games. He followed that up with one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, leading the Red Sox to the World Series and earning the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, an...
Feb 03, 2025•17 min•Season 2Ep. 3
February 2, 1969 – Pitchers Stan Coveleski and Waite Hoyt are voted into the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. Stan Coveleski learned control as a youngster by throwing rocks at tin cans that swung from a tree. Though he pitched a shutout in his first big league start with the Athletics in 1912, it was the spitball he later learned in the Minor Leagues. in 1913-1915, earning a permanent spot in the big leagues in 1916 when the Indians bought his contract. Using a fluttering spitbal...
Feb 02, 2025•12 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Feb 1 1875 Billy Sullivan born is born, he will debut in 1898. Despite being a notoriously poor hitter, Billy Sullivan is generally regarded as one of the best defensive catchers of the Deadball Era. In 1901, Sullivan jumped to the Chicago White Sox of the new American League and was the catcher in the circuit's first game, collecting a pair of hits in an 8-2 Chicago victory over the Cleveland Blues on April 24. He batted only .245 that season, but would never again top .229, hitting as low as ....
Feb 01, 2025•14 min•Season 2Ep. 1
On January 31 1927 – National League President John Heydler rules that Rogers Hornsby cannot continue to both hold stock in the St. Louis Cardinals and play for the New York Giants. Seemingly oblivious, the Cards’ board of directors, meeting in St. Louis, votes stockholders a 10% dividend, earning Hornsby $2916 for his 1167 shares. Hornsby had a fabulous stretch from 1921-1925. For that five-year period, his average season included a .402 batting average, 120 RBI, 123 runs scored, 216 hits, 41 d...
Jan 31, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 31
January 30, 1930 Sandy Amoros is born in Matanzas, Cuba At 20 he made the 1950 Central American and Caribbean Games, Amorós led Cuba to a Gold Medal with 6 home runs in 7 games. He then turned to America to turn pro, first playing for the New York Cubans in the Negro Leagues in 1950 and in the Dominican Republic during the summer of 1951, he will finally debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers August 22, 1952. He was a good hitter with a keen eye, not quite a regular he did play in over 100 games in both...
Jan 30, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 30
On January 29 1971 — In accepting the Tris Speaker Award from Houston sportswriters, Roberto Clemente gives a speech which, apart from being called by many of those in attendance “the best talk any baseball player ever made,” is the source of Clemente’s most famous – if oft misquoted – assertion: “If you have an opportunity to accomplish something that will make things better for someone coming behind you, and you don’t do that, you are wasting your time on this earth.” A member of the 3,000-hit...
Jan 29, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 29
On January 28, 1968 — Goose Goslin, a former Washington Senator and Detroit Tigers Tiger outfielder who retired with a career .316 batting average after playing in five World Series, and Kiki Cuyler, a .321 career hitter who won four stolen base crowns while running the bases for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs, are elected into the Hall of Fame by a unanimous vote of the Veterans Committee. Goslin believed his enshrinement in Cooperstown was helped by his interview that was shared in La...
Jan 28, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 28
On January 27 1927 -- Citing accuser Dutch Leonard's refusal to appear at the hearings of January 5th, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis issues a lengthy decision clearing Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker of any game-fixing charges. Landis orders the Philadelphia Athletics to reinstate Cobb and the Washington Senators to restore Speaker. Both are then made free agents. Philadelphia owner Connie Mack will sign Cobb on February 8th, and Speaker will sign with Washington on January 31st for a reported $...
Jan 27, 2025•8 min•Season 1Ep. 27
On January 26, 1963, Alarmed by such increased home run numbers across the Majors, Ford Frick convinced the owners to agree to having the strike zone widened before the 1963 season. The zone will stretch from the top of the batter’s shoulders to the bottom of the knees. The committee hopes the return to the 1950s strike zone will result in a decrease in runs scored. The results will exceed the committee’s expectations, in 1962 teams average 4.46 runs per game, in 1963 that number dropped to 3.95...
Jan 26, 2025•10 min•Season 1Ep. 26
On January 25, 1943, the Yankees sell future Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez to the rival Boston Braves. Gomez will never pitch in a game for the Braves, who decided to release the veteran southpaw. Gomez will eventually sign with the Washington Senators. Gomez will make 1 start for the Senators, and never pitch again allowing 3 runs over 4.2 innings. Years before Joe DiMaggio came out of SF, the Bay Area produced Vernon Louis Gomez, a talented and colorful left-handed hurler. "Lefty" starred for the ...
Jan 25, 2025•11 min•Season 1Ep. 25
On January 24, 1939, the baseball writers select EddieCollins , Willie Keeler and George Sisler to the Hall of Fame. George Sisler never played on a pennant winner and he wasn't a slugger, but in spite of that he earned a reputation as the best first baseman in the first 30 years of the 20th century. The greatest player in St. Louis Browns' history, he twice batted over .400, and his 257 hits in 1920, hitting 420 for the season, his hit record remained a modern major league record. later broken ...
Jan 24, 2025•8 min•Season 1Ep. 24
On January 23 1962 -- Pitcher Bob Feller and infielder Jackie Robinson are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America in their first year of eligibility. Jackie Robinson burst onto the scene in 1947, breaking baseball's color barrier and bringing the Negro leagues' electrifying style of play to the Majors. He quickly became baseball's top drawing card and a symbol of hope to millions of Americans. With Robinson as the catalyst, the Dodgers won six pennants in his ...
Jan 23, 2025•10 min•Season 1Ep. 23
On January 22 1976 — Pitchers Robin Roberts and Bob Lemon are voted into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Roberts led the National League in starts and innings pitched for five straight seasons and was tops in victories for four consecutive years on his way to 286 career wins. Lemon earned 20 victories six times and won 207 career games. Robin Roberts was the ace of the Phillies staff for most of his 14 years in a brilliant 19-season Major League career. The durab...
Jan 22, 2025•13 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Start Listening today to 2500+ games and interviews FREE to start! www.classicbaseballbroadcasts.com Full Dizzy Dean playlist - Dizzy Dean Show, Dean interviews, Dean game broadcasts, games he played in (1934 WS and 37 AS Game) over 25 Dizzy Dean specials. Join the email list: Join Here On January 21 , 1953, pitcher Dizzy Dean and outfielder Al Simmons are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America surprisingly bypasses former New York Yankees great Joe Di...
Jan 21, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Start Listening today to 2500+ games and interviews FREE to start! www.classicbaseballbroadcasts.com Join the email list: Join Here On January 20 1966 — The Baseball Writers Association of America elects former Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams to the Hall of Fame. Williams, the last major league batter to hit .400, receives 282 of a possible 302 votes. He won the Triple Crown twice, the American League MVP Award twice, and produced the highest career on-base percentage of all time (.483), ...
Jan 20, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 20
