The world changed for Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Rip Sewell on Dec. 7, 1941, but not for the obvious reason the date suggests. Sewell went hunting with a group in Florida’s Ocala National Forest on that day, the last of deer season. “I was walking down the fire lane,” Sewell recalled to the Tampa Tribune. “It was a path as wide as your living room, but one of those fellows … [Read more...] about Over the rainbow: How Rip Sewell found his pot of gold
Cardinals rookie Larry Miggins had special day in Brooklyn
When Larry Miggins was a student at Fordham Prep in the Bronx in the early 1940s, he told a classmate he wanted to be a big-league baseball player. The classmate, Vin Scully, told Miggins he wanted to be a big-league baseball broadcaster. The boys ruminated about the possibility of Scully broadcasting a game Miggins played in. A decade later, in 1952, Miggins was in the big … [Read more...] about Cardinals rookie Larry Miggins had special day in Brooklyn
How Jeff Torborg ended his playing days at Cardinals camp
A catcher who earned the trust of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Nolan Ryan, Jeff Torborg came to the Cardinals to work with a pitching staff led by Bob Gibson. Fifty years ago, on Dec. 6, 1973, the Cardinals acquired Torborg from the Angels for pitcher John Andrews. With 10 years of big-league experience and a reputation as a defensive specialist who worked well … [Read more...] about How Jeff Torborg ended his playing days at Cardinals camp
Ken MacKenzie played it smart on diamond and ice
During his National League pitching career, Ken MacKenzie produced one hit. It resulted in his only RBI _ a game-winning single against the Cardinals. Doing the unexpected came naturally to MacKenzie. A hockey player from a small town on a Canadian island, he went to Yale, graduated and became a big-league pitcher. A left-handed reliever, MacKenzie was the only … [Read more...] about Ken MacKenzie played it smart on diamond and ice
To Have or Have Not: Hugh Casey vs. Ernest Hemingway
A pretty good pitcher, Hugh Casey often got cuffed by the Cardinals. Off the field, as Ernest Hemingway learned, he was no punching bag. In the 1940s, the Cardinals (four) and Dodgers (three) won seven of the 10 National League pennants that decade. Casey was a prominent pitcher on the Dodgers championship clubs in 1941 (14 wins, seven saves) and 1947 (10 wins, 18 … [Read more...] about To Have or Have Not: Hugh Casey vs. Ernest Hemingway