Internet Christmas for baseball nerds, part XXXI
This is kind of a special ICFBN. Sure, the free e-books and old-timey baseball annuals are nice, but did you know that video existed of Walter Johnson pitching? I didn't. Probably should have...
This is kind of a special ICFBN. Sure, the free e-books and old-timey baseball annuals are nice, but did you know that video existed of Walter Johnson pitching? I didn't. Probably should have...
Not only is it Black History Month, but we're getting close to the premiere of 42, which looks outstanding: If it's a dud, it will be the most disappointing trailer-to-quality-movie ratio...
Free stuff? Free stuff! FREE STUFF. Here's a free Bill Veeck e-book! Bill Veeck’s Crosstown Classic is in our new e-book series, Chicago Shorts—distinguished selections, including...
Stuck at work? Bored? No baseball to listen to? Yeah, I'm with you. It's a drag. Unless you head on over to archive.org and listen to some old radio broadcasts of major-league games. The...
Back before the first World War, folks couldn't turn on the radio to follow the World Series. There wasn't TV. There wasn't an Internet. So if you weren't able to attend the game, how did you...
The Twins used to be the Senators, who used to go by the "Nationals." It's really not that confusing. It's like when the Athletics go by "A's", the Yankees go by "the Bombers", or the Red Sox go by...
Want to know what snark was like 100 years ago? Check out this satirical writeup of the new uniforms for the 1915 Nationals. It's like the original Deadspin!
Every so often, I forget this exists. Don't make the same mistake. Behold: The Baseball Reliquary. My favorite exhibit? Too tough to say, but I think I'll go with the Walter O'Malley tortilla.
The history of the Pacific Coast League fascinates me -- before the Giants and Dodgers moved, it was all the West Coast had, and it was a huge deal. Teams in the PCL used to swap really good...
This one comes from the Boston Public Library, which has hundreds of awesome, old-timey pictures uploaded to a Flickr account. Why? Dunno. But it's clearly awesome.
You might think of the Pacific Coast League as a lesser form of baseball. A "minor" league, if you will. But it used to be the center of the California baseball world, and here's a parade through...
The embedding was disabled on this video, but that's okay because it's worth watching the full-size version. It's a fantastic, full-length promotional video for the Pacific Coast League in 1946. It...
Because you didn't know you needed this until now, here is Bob Feller's fastball racing a motorcycle:
From September 20, 1934, here's Ty Tyson calling this Yankees and Tigers game, which might be the earliest baseball broadcast to survive intact:
Did you know that Vin Scully called the radio for Hank Aaron's 715th home run? I didn't either until I saw this on Reddit. Listen to the master: The best part is the decision Scully makes...
Now you too can pitch like Bob Feller!
Here's a breakdown of Babe Ruth's swing: Here's a breakdown of No No Nanette's plot.
Hope you're enjoying your copy of Baseball Prospectus 2012. In 1890, people had to make do with books like this: Stories of the Base Ball Field: The National Game's Great Exponents and Their...
This is a short film of Babe Ruth and some youngsters titled Just Pals. This one was much more popular than the sequels, Goin' Steady and With Benefits
This is a dull video. But it's an important one because it was shot by Thomas Edison in 1898. You can see the combination of bemusement and distrust that the players have for the camera as they...
The Oakland A's had an announced attendance of 1,476,791 in 2011. Announced attendance. Wink. Rumor has it that the actual, physical attendance was under a million. That means that this picture...
Via the Library of Congress, we have a digitized copy of Branch Rickey's 1954 scouting report of Don Drysdale. The most stunning quote: He is good. That's why Rickey's in the Hall of Fame. That,...
For decades, Life Magazine was the official unofficial photographer of all things relating to American life. Baseball has been America's pastime for over a century. Say, did these two ever get...
While watching 162+ games every season, don't you ever get the urge to hop down onto the field and join in? That will get you featured in a Jon Bois article, so it's probably a good idea! An even...
From Archive.org, a full online copy of 1888's Base-ball: How to Become a Player, which includes some quality tips for all you youngsters out there: Only a good constitution, a vigorous digestion,...
Did you know that NBC hosts all sorts of vintage TV clips online? Yep, and when you put "baseball" into the search field, it pulls up 15,809 results. See y'all on Tuesday. Of course, all it takes...