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

When you’ve got Christy Mathewson right where he wants you

February 14, 2020March 22, 2020 ~ Sam Gazdziak ~ 1 Comment

While looking into the life of Steve Evans, there were a lot of things I just couldn't fit into his story and keep it at a manageable size. The anecdotes, the pranks, the back-and-forth with fans. It just reinforced the fact that we tend to think of the early years of baseball as somewhat dull … Continue reading When you’ve got Christy Mathewson right where he wants you

Grave Story: Steve Evans (1883- 1943)

February 11, 2020February 26, 2020 ~ Sam Gazdziak ~ 5 Comments

Here lies Steve Evans, a solid player in the National and Federal leagues, and one of the early 20th Century’s unrivaled flakes. Evans was an outfielder and first baseman for the New York Giants (1908) and St. Louis Cardinals (1909-1913), and then the Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914-15) and Baltimore Terrapins (1915) of the Federal League. All … Continue reading Grave Story: Steve Evans (1883- 1943)