A year’s worth of baseball history: the best of RIP Baseball’s Grave Stories

December 31, 2020December 31, 2020 ~ Sam Gazdziak ~ Leave a comment

Given the death count of 2020, writing stories about the gravesites that I've visited has had to take a back seat to keeping up with current obituaries. That's unfortunate, because it's a lot of fun to dig through newspaper archives to glean information about a forgotten outfielder or someone who pitched in a single game. … Continue reading A year’s worth of baseball history: the best of RIP Baseball’s Grave Stories

Grave Story: Ed McKean (1864-1919)

February 3, 2020August 16, 2021 ~ Sam Gazdziak ~ 3 Comments

Here lies Ed McKean, a hard-hitting shortstop from the 19th Century who played on some tough Cleveland teams. He played for the Cleveland Blues of the American Association (1887-88), Cleveland Spiders (1889-98) and St. Louis Perfectos (1899). Edwin John McKean was born in Grafton, Ohio, on June 6, 1864. He started playing pro ball with … Continue reading Grave Story: Ed McKean (1864-1919)

Patsy Tebeau assaults an umbrella and other stories

January 12, 2020February 4, 2020 ~ Sam Gazdziak ~ 2 Comments

While writing the grave story of Patsy Tebeau, I came across a huge treasury of stories about him. Many featured him getting into altercations with umpires, as you'd expect given his infamous temper. I briefly tried keeping track of his many fines and suspensions but gave up in frustration. But there are some good stories … Continue reading Patsy Tebeau assaults an umbrella and other stories

Grave Story: Patsy Tebeau (1864-1918)

January 9, 2020February 26, 2020 ~ Sam Gazdziak ~ 7 Comments

Here lies Patsy Tebeau, one of the most vicious men to ever play the game of baseball. He was also a brilliant tactician, but if there was ever a notion that 19th-Century baseball was a game of gentlemen, Tebeau spiked that notion, spat on it and sent it running home. He played for the Chicago … Continue reading Grave Story: Patsy Tebeau (1864-1918)