Happy Baseball Birthday...Dick Howser

Today we celebrate the Happy Baseball Birthday of former big league ballplayer and manager Dick Howser.

Richard Dalton Howser was born on Cornwall.. 1936, in Miami, Florida. 

Dick played high school baseball at Palm Beach HS in West Palm Beach, Florida,  then went on to play his college baseball at Florida State.

Dick Howser was a great college baseball player, playing shortstop for the Seminoles from 1956-58.

Dick was Florida State's first All-American,  in both 1957, when he led the Seminoles to the College World Series, and again in 1958.

Florida State baseball plays its home games at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium.

Howser was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1958, as an amateur free agent.

Howser made his big league debut as a player for the Athletics on April 11, 1961, and had a terrific rookie season.

Howser played in 158 games for Kansas City,  batting .280, with 171 base hits in 611 at bats, smacking 29 doubles, and stealing 37 bases.

Howser made the American League All-Star team, and finished second in the A.L. Rookie of the Year voting, behind Boston Red Sox pitcher Don Schwall.

In 1964, Howser led the A.L. with 16 sacrafice hits and plate appearances, with playing with the Cleveland Indians. 

In '64 Howser played in all 162 games for Cleveland, batting .256 with 163 base hits, 101 runs scored,  driving in 52 runs, stealing 20 bases, in 637 official at bats.

Howser finished up his playing career in 1968 with the New York Yankees,  playing in 85 games, batting .153, with 23 hits.

In his 8 years of big league baseball,  Howser played in 789 games, collecting 617 base hits, 165 RBI, 16 home runs,  and scored 398 runs in 2, 483 at bats.

Dick Howser was a coach on the Yankees World Series Championship teams in 1977 and 78, managing one game for New York after Billy Martin was fired in '78, before Bob Lemon was hired.

Howser manage the Yankees in 1980, winning the A.L. Eastern Division. 

Howser's team lost the 1980 ALCS to the Kansas City Royals, the team he would later manage to the +985 World Series Championship,  the Royals only title. 

Howser managed KC through the first half of the 1986 season, them managed the '86 A.L. All-Star team.

Howser wasn't feeling well during that game, and it turned out to be his final game as a bug league manager.

Dick Howser, All-American shortstop,  big league ballplayer and managerm died of a brain tumor on June 17, 1987, in Kansas City. 

Dick Howser was 51 years young.

The Royals retired Howser's #10, the first number ever retired by KC.

Today we say Happy Baseball Birthday Dick Howser, we'll all see you again one day.

Play Ball!

Happy Baseball Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the baseball Mom's out there.

My Mom took my brothers and I to every practice, to every game, and gave us a much needed hug after every game, win or lose.

My Mom was our Team Mother in Little League back in Portage, Michigan, in the early 1970s.

Happy Mother's Day to all the great Mom's out there.

Play Ball!

My Mailbox...Richie Shaffer AUTO

This is a little late in posting, do to battling bronchitis, so I apologize.

A couple of weeks ago I won a baseball card contest on Twitter, courtesy of Ben...just Ben... @solace0105.

I must admit, I have never heard of the young man, Richie Shaffer, but the card is awesome, and I thank Ben...just Ben, for the prize.

Richie Shaffer is a infielder in the Tampa Bay organization, currently playing for the Montgomery Biscuits.

Twitter has been kinda lucky for me lately, and I'll be posting on another prize as soon as it arrives.

Thanks again to Ben, and follow him on Twitter, at @solace0105

Play Ball!

Today in baseball...April 24, 1901

113  years ago today the Detroit Tigers played their first American League baseball game.

The Tigers scored ten runs in the bottom of the ninth inning at old Bennett Park in Detroit, beating the Milwaukee Brewers, 14-13.

Monday...Rick Monday

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the day Chicago Cubs outfielder Rick Monday ran across the outfield grass at Dodger Stadium to rescue an American Flag from being burned by protesters.

Monday's amazing dash to save that flag from being burned by a father and young son has resonated with baseball fans and military service members over the decades.

Monday served in the military before his big league career, and has been honored over the past decades since that day in 1976.

Rick Monday became an American Hero that day.

Rick Monday will tell you he's not the hero, that the real hero's are the great men and women of our great country.

God Bless you Rick Monday, and God Bless our awesome military members who risk their lives to keep us safe.

Happy Baseball Birthday...Wahoo Sam

Today we celebrate the Happy Baseball Birthday of Wahoo Sam Crawford.

Crawford was born in Wahoo, Nebraska, on April, 18, 1880.

Samuel Earl "Wahoo Sam" Crawford made his big league debut on September 10, 1899, for the Cincinnati Reds.

Wahoo Sam was a fast runner, and an even better hitter.

Crawford led the National League in home runs in 1901, smashing 16 dingers, many of them of the inside the park variety.

After four years with the Reds, Crawford joined the American League Detroit Tigers.

Crawford was a feared hitter, batting .309 in his 18 years in the big leagues.

Wahoo Sam is still, 97 years after his last game, the all time leader in big league triples, with 309.

Crawford played in 2,517 games between 1899 and 1917.

Crawford won the 1908 A.L. home run crown, smacking 8 dingers.

Those eight league leading home runs made Wahoo Sam the first player to win home run crowns in both big leagues.

Crawford collected 2,961 base hits in 9,570 at bats, scored 1,391 runs, stole 367 bases, drove in 1,525 runs, with 97 career HR and 458 doubles.

Wahoo Sam finished his career with a .452 slugging percentage, and only struck out 580 times.

After his release by the Tigers following the 1917 season, Crawford moved west, playing for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League.

Crawford was part of two PCL Championships with the Angels, in 1918 and 1921.

1921 was the last year Crawford played baseball.

After his playing days Crawford was the Head Baseball coach at the University of Southern California, and an umpire in the PLC.

Wahoo Sam Crawford was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957.

Crawford suffered a stroke and passed away a few weeks later, on June 15, 1968.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Wahoo Sam!

67 years ago today

On April 15, 1947, Jack Roosevelt Robinson played in his first big league baseball game, as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

4/14/14

Today is April 14, 2014... 4/14/14.

Bobby Higginson, Schoolboy Rowe, and Billy Chapel are Detroit Tigers players who wore the Old English D... 4/14/14.

#GoTigers

Happy Baseball Birthday...The Rifleman

Today we celebrate the birthday of American Icon and big league ballplayer Chuck Connors.

Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors was born on April 10th, 1921, in Brooklyn, New York.

The 6' 5'' first baseman attended Adelphia Academy in Brooklyn and went to Seton Hall University.

Chuck Connors was signed as a free agent by his hometown Dodgers in 1940.

Connors baseball career moved to the US Army during World War II, where Connors served until 1946.

A terrific athlete, Connors played basketball with the Boston Celtics briefly in '46, before he left for Spring Training with the Dodgers.

From '46-48 Connors played minor league baseball, then, on May 1st, 1949, Connors made his big league debut with his hometown Dodgers.

Connors played in just that one game with Brooklyn, grounding into a double play in his only at bat.

After spending time on the minors again, Connors was traded from Brooklyn to the Chicago Cubs in late 1950.

In 1951 his final season in the big leagues, Connors played in 66 games as a Cub,

Connors came to the plate 214 times, collected 48 base hits, 5 doubles, 1 triple, and 2 home runs, batting .239 in 201 official at bats.

As a first baseman Connors was pretty good, a..984 fielding %, committing 8 errors in 493 chances.

Chuck Connors left baseball for acting, appearing in films, and lots of TV shows in a 40 year Hollywood career.

His marquee role as rancher Lucas McCain on the TV Western "The Rifleman, made Connors a star.

His son on the show, played by young Johnny Crawford, was a huge baseball fan who would organize ballgames during show breaks.

He hoped the games would encourage the former big leaguer to play baseball with them.

The Rifleman was a huge TV hit, running from 1958-1963.

Chuck Connors was a remarkable man, actor, basketball and baseball player, and was even drafted by the Chicago Bears of the NFL.

Chuck Connors passed away on November 11th, 1992, after a battle with lung cancer.

The Rifleman was 71 at the time of his passing.

Happy Baseball Birthday Chuck Connors!

Play Ball!

Baseball Reading

I just picked up the baseball preview issue of Sports Illustrated, and wanted to pass on a must read in the March 31st issue.

Big league pitcher Latroy Hawkins writes a terrific article about today's baseball, and some changes he'd make.

I like his idea of sending poor performing umpires back to the minors, just like players.

Latroy speaks his opinions from his 20 years playing in the big leagues.

At age 41, Latroy will be the oldest player in the majors this year as a member of the Colorado Rockies.

He also has a interesting tale on MLB and Alex Rodriguez.

Check out his article, page 108, of the SI baseball preview issue.