Nov. 6, 2017: On April 17, 1953, Mickey Mantle hit a home run off Washington lefty Chuck Stobbs that cleared the left-field stands at Griffith Stadium. The blast gave rise to the term "tape-measure homer," largely because Mantle and Yankees publicist Red Patterson later posed for a photo with a prop designed to look like … Continue reading Mickey Mantle and D.C.
Category: The expansion team, 1961-1971
The Washington Senators after the A.L. expanded to 10 teams and the original team moved to Minnesota
George Selkirk molded the expansion Nats
October 29, 2017 (updated May 2020): George Selkirk became the expansion Senators second general manager on Nov. 21, 1962. He succeeded Ed Doherty, who had been fired at the end of the 1962 season by then Senators majority owner Elwood R. “Pete” Quesada. As a player, Selkirk, nicknamed “Twinkletoes” because of his running style, had … Continue reading George Selkirk molded the expansion Nats
Books About Washington Baseball
October 25, 2017 (last updated December 2024): These are books I'd recommend about the history of baseball in Washington: The Washington Senators by Morris A. Bealle (1947, Columbia Publishing Company), long out of print, subtitled “An 87-year History of the World’s Oldest Baseball Club and Most Incurable Fandom.’’ The Washington Senators by Shirley Povich (1954, … Continue reading Books About Washington Baseball
Ninth and Tenth Place
October 25, 2017: In the 1960s, teams had a dubious opportunity that hadn’t been afforded since the 19th century: a chance to finish 9th or 10th. From 1961 to ’68 in A.L. and ’62 to ’68 in the N.L., the leagues had 10 teams each with no divisions, which produced 30 chances to finish where … Continue reading Ninth and Tenth Place
Bennie Daniels’ places in baseball history
January 10, 2017: The 1961 Washington Senators were assembled in a hurry after Calvin Griffith took his established team to the Twin Cities. Two days after the expansion draft in December 1960, the new Senators acquired a pitcher named Bennie Daniels along with two other players from Pittsburgh in exchange for the aging Bobby Shantz. … Continue reading Bennie Daniels’ places in baseball history
Jim King, the last original expansion Nat
April 19, 2017: Jim King started in left field for the San Francisco Giants in the first Major League game ever played in California. His best seasons, however, came after he was selected by the expansion Washington Senators, with whom he remained for six and half years, longer than any of the other 27 players … Continue reading Jim King, the last original expansion Nat
Dick Phillips kept at it and finally got there
April 8, 2017: Between games of a double-header in Chicago on May 5, 1963, on a day the White Sox honored Minnie Minoso for his outstanding seasons there, a 31-year-old rookie with the Washington Senators was feted by a marching band and presented with a new car and other gifts. The player was Richard Eugene … Continue reading Dick Phillips kept at it and finally got there
Washington baseball history 