Tag Archives: Ebbets Field
Whit Wyatt
Whit Wyatt (Baseball. Born, Kensington, GA, Sept. 27, 1907; died, Buchanan, GA, July 16, 1999.) In a nine-year A.L. career during which he was 26-43 (1929-37), John Whitlow Wyatt was at best a journeyman righthander. But after a 23-7 season at Triple-A (Milwaukee of the American Association) in 1938, Wyatt was sold to Brooklyn and […]
Zack Wheat
Zack Wheat (Baseball. Born, Hamilton, MO, May 23, 1886; died, Sedalia, MO, Mar. 11, 1972.) For 18 seasons, Zachary Davis (Buck) Wheat was the pride of Brooklyn. Wheat was a lifetime .317 hitter, a steady leftfielder, and the cleanup hitter for Dodgers teams that contended often and twice won N.L. pennants (1916 and 1920). He […]
Dixie Walker
Dixie Walker (Baseball. Born, Villa Rica, GA, Sept. 24, 1910; died, Birmingham, AL, May 17, 1982.) Another Yankees reject who made his name in Brooklyn, Fred Walker was doubtless one of the best $10,000 investments in baseball history. After parts of five seasons with the Yankees, Walker was sent to the White Sox via waivers […]
George Tidden
George Tidden (Sportswriting. Born, Brooklyn, NY, 1856; died, Brooklyn, NY, June 30, 1913.) Born Gerhard Otto Tidden to immigrant German parents in South Brooklyn, George Tidden became a leading baseball authority. Tidden began his sportswriting career in the late 1870s with the short-lived Daily America and worked as a general sports reporter for several New […]
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson (Baseball. Born, Cairo, GA, Jan. 31, 1919; died, Stamford, CT, Oct. 24, 1972.) Jack Roosevelt Robinson is more than a baseball figure. He is a goliath among Americans. Introduced by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 as the first black man to play in the modern history of the major leagues, Robinson accomplished astounding […]
Bill Stewart
Bill Stewart (Baseball. Born, Fitchburg, MA, Sept. 26, 1894; died, Jamaica Plain, MA, Feb. 18, 1964.) A man who coached a team to the Stanley Cup championship in the off-season, William J. Stewart was an N.L. umpire for nearly 22 seasons (1933-54). Stewart coached the Chicago Blackhawks to the Cup in 1938 in his first year as […]
Harry M. Stevens
Harry M. Stevens (Executive. Born, London, England, June 14, 1855; died, New York, NY, May 3, 1934.) Harry Mosley Stevens may be one of the few sports figures to have invented a business. Stevens’ efforts created the modern sports concessioning business, although he always referred to himself as a “publisher and caterer.” Stevens came with his […]
Jane Jarvis
Jane Jarvis (Organist. Born, Vincennes, IN, Oct. 31, 1915; died, Englewood, NJ, Jan. 25, 2010.) On Apr. 17, 1964, Shea Stadium opened and Mets fans were treated to a new experience. Jane Jarvis entertained the crowd at the organ. A noted jazz artist and respected teacher, Jarvis was only the second organist to play regularly at […]
Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy (Sportswriter. Born, Brooklyn, NY, June 19, 1896; died, Brooklyn, NY, Jan. 4, 1965.) During his 53-year career with The Sun, Edward T. Murphy became the first writer to cover the Brooklyn Dodgers for a Manhattan-based paper. Murphy joined The Sun as a copy boy in 1911, working for the morning edition of what […]
Ed Head
Ed Head (Baseball. Born, Selma, LA, Jan. 25, 1918; died, Bastrop, LA, Jan. 31, 1980.) In 1935, lefthander Edward Marvin Head was on his way to a road game with his Quachita Parish High School baseball team when the school bus in which he was riding was sideswiped by another vehicle, in the process shattering […]