CHARLIE BYRNE: VISIONARY FOUNDER OF THE DODGERS FRANCHISE
SABR BASEBALL BIOGRAPHY PROJECT Print Charles Byrne This article was written by Ronald G. Shafer. “Why that’s Charley Byrne, a man who has done more than anyone else to give Brooklyn the position it occupies as the centre of professional baseball.” i Charles H. Byrne, the co-founder and first president of the Brooklyn Base Ball Club, was one of the most influential baseball...
Read MoreGUNNER MCGUNNIGLE: BROOKLYN’S FIRST PENNANT-WINNING MANAGER
SABR BASEBALL BIOGRAPHY PROJECT Print Bill McGunnigle This article was written by Ronald G. Shafer. William “Gunner” McGunnigle had a flair for fashion on a baseball field that likely will never be matched. McGunnigle managed and coached the bases wearing black patent-leather shoes, a cutaway suit coat, lavender trousers, a silk tie and a derby hat. “It’s only a good looking...
Read MorePRESIDENTIAL CONVENTIONS ONCE WERE EXCITING. REALLY!
From the Virginia Gazette, Aug. 18, 2012 PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTIONS By Ronald G. Shafer James City With the 1920 Republican convention in Chicago deadlocked after nine ballots, party bosses in the proverbial smoke-filled room lined up behind handsome Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding. But first they asked if...
Read MoreON THIS DAY IN EARLY DODGERS HISTORY: JUNE 18 TO JULY 5
June 18, 1889: After a disappointing loss to St. Louis on a last-inning error, Brooklyn Eagle sportswriter Henry Chadwick turns to poetry to describe the defeat: Only a fly ball hit the air, directly to the hands of the left field player Eagerly watched by thousands of eyes, for on that catch depended the prize Hands were ready to give applause, for Darby had offtimes given them cause But for...
Read MoreON THIS DAY IN EARLY DODGERS HISTORY: JUNE 17
June 17, 1885: Brooklyn players protest the use of minor league pitcher John “Phenomenal” Smith by purposely making 11 errors in a 18 to 5 loss to the St. Louis Browns. Brooklyn club owner Charles Byrne issues fines totaling $500
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