Tag: baseball

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 734

By Erik Loomis

In General

On November 26, 2020

This is the grave of Hughie Jennings. Born in 1869 in Pittston, Pennsylvania, Jennings grew up in an Irish family. His parents had immigrated to the U.S. and his father was working in coal. Jennings was headed for a lifetime in the mines too. As a child, he was working separating coal from slate–a breaker […]

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 714

By Erik Loomis

On November 4, 2020

This is the grave of Burleigh Grimes. Born in 1893 in Emerald, Wisconsin, Grimes grew up in an athletic family. His father, a farmer and laborer, was a former baseball player at the local level and ta

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 710

By Erik Loomis

On October 31, 2020

This is the grave of Lou Gorman. Born in 1929 in Providence, Rhode Island, Gorman was a huge baseball fan. He played high school ball at La Salle Academy, the city’s most prominent Catholic scho

Sometimes My Mind Wanders and I Think About Turpitude

By Elizabeth Nelson

In General

On October 26, 2020

MLB is seemingly intent on doing the easy thing by selling the Mets to gazillionaire financier and hedge fund manager Steve Cohen. And Mets fans are understandably excited at the prospect of procuring new ownership following the long-running comedy of the Wilpon family, which in the manner of the former R-skins and now Washington Football […]

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 688

By Erik Loomis

On October 7, 2020

This is the grave of Lou Gehrig. Born in 1903 in Manhattan, Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig was the son of German immigrants. His father was a drunk sheet-metal worker who sometimes worked. His mother was a ma

General

The 4-Game MLB Season

By Erik Loomis

On July 27, 2020

Welp, that was fun while it lasted for…a weekend. Two MLB games Monday night are being postponed because of an outbreak of the coronavirus among the Miami Marlins. The Marlins’ home opener

Other Necessary Name Changes

By Erik Loomis

In General

On June 23, 2020

It’s certainly true that the Washington *spit* Redskins and Cleveland Indians badly need to change their names. But let’s not sleep on one of the most offensive names in all of sports, the Texas Rangers. The Rangers have always been widely revered in my native state. We learned they were fearless guardians of civilization whose […]

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 639

By Erik Loomis

On March 1, 2020

This is the grave of Dom DiMaggio. Born in San Francisco in 1917, DiMaggio of course grew up in the one of the nation’s great baseball families. His brother Joe was simply one of the greatest hi

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 629

By Erik Loomis

On February 3, 2020

This is the grave of Eddie Waitkus. Born in 1919 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Waitkus was the son of Lithuanian immigrants. A very skilled baseball player, he started playing professionally in 1938, w

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 624

By Erik Loomis

In General

On January 29, 2020

This is the grave of Ernie Banks. Born in Dallas in 1931, Banks was a star athlete, the son of a semi-pro baseball player who worked construction and in warehouses to make ends meet. He started playing for the Dallas Black Giants while still in high school. He might have become a minister (in fact, […]

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 604

By Erik Loomis

On December 26, 2019

This is the grave of Bobby Doerr. Born in 1918 in Los Angeles, Doerr was given his middle name of Pershing after John J. Pershing, World War I general. Doerr generally did a better job of chasing down

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 598

By Erik Loomis

On December 19, 2019

This is the grave of John McSherry. Born in 1944 in New York City, McSherry became a Major League umpire in 1971, working the National League. He was very successful at the job. His first National Lea

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