I love these old crowd shots. You can pick out some fascinating faces and some ghostly ones. This photograph is from October 10th, 1924 and the team just won the World Series, beating the New York Giants by one run in the 12th inning of game 7. Check out this guy’s face. How about these two African-American men in a ... Read More »
Here is a very different photo of the “Big Train” in April 1939. He is looking at a box of baseballs, autographed by six presidents. These are baseballs that were thrown out as the first pitch by presidents when Johnson was pitching in Washington. A pretty impressive collection, which was donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Read More »
Here is a great old photograph of the 1908 Washington Senators. They were 67-85 that year 22.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the pennant. Read More »
First pitch for 2013 is only a few hours from now … Seriously, I am so pumped for baseball. The sting of our last game has now subsided, and I’m ready to watch our team put on a great show at Nats Park. I’m feeling good about it and it’s time to share a few old Nationals/Senators stories. Here’s one ... Read More »
In 1958, Roy Sievers of the Washington Nationals (i.e., Washington Senators) was one of the best sluggers in the game. The previous year, he knocked out a league-leading 42 dingers and he would follow it up in ’58 with another 38 homers. Just before opening day in 1958, Mr. Sievers graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, the first Washington baseball ... Read More »
It was perhaps the biggest baseball ‘scoop’ in Washington, DC history: Ted Williams to return to baseball in 1969 as manager of the Washington Senators. The story behind the story is even more delicious. Russ White, a young baseball beat reporter for the third paper in town, the now-defunct Washington Daily News, landed the story exclusively, trouncing both the Post ... Read More »
We’re a little late on this, but … this day in history (minus 12 days), 56 years ago, the Baltimore Sun reported a rumor that the Washington Senators were moving to the West Coast for the 1957 season. Washington, Sept 12 (AP)–Calvin R. Griffith, president of the Washington Senators, said today it isn’t so that the American League baseball club is all ... Read More »
Congratulations Gio Gonzalez! You are the first 20-game winner for Washington baseball in 59 years, when Bob Porterfield accomplished the feat. Not only that, but you are only the second left-handed pitcher ever to do this in our history. The last guy to do it was Earl Whitehill, back during FDR‘s first term, 1933. On to the playoffs! If you ... Read More »
We are guaranteed to play postseason baseball after last night’s win over the Dodgers. Our magic number to win the National League East is down to eight games. Let’s see some #NATITUDE from GoDCers and pride in our baseball team! Along those lines, here are two great films from the last time out team was in the World Series. These ... Read More »
I’m not sure how to explain this one … it’s just bizarre. Thanks to Vanished Americana for this gem. That’s our good buddy and Columbia Heights resident, Nick Altrock, with his clown teammate Al Schacht. Read More »
This is a tremendously obscure YouTube video, but for any baseball nuts in the GoDC community, you’ll dig this. The video features Buddy Lewis, former Washington Senator and World War II veteran. He played his entire war-interrupted career here in D.C. Buddy was originally from Gastonia, North Carolina, playing a total of 11 years here. Not only that, but he ... Read More »
This is a guest post by GoDCer Marty from Chevy Chase, MD. Much like the rest of us, he is nervously excited and cautiously optimistic about our team. When you read this post, you’ll know why. By any measure, this has been a dream season for the Washington Nationals. They appear almost certain to bring post-season baseball to the nation’s ... Read More »
Prohibition lasted at Griffith Stadium well past the official repeal. You may not know this, but unfortunately for Senators fans, owner Clark Griffith was a teetotaling prohibitionist. He was adamantly opposed to permitting the sale of beer in his stadium. Ugh, that sucks. Maybe that’s why the old Senators were so terrible? Well, the one good thing that came with ... Read More »
Nats fans, you are not going to believe this. This just might be the best obscure trivia we have uncovered about D.C. baseball. We used to have a team, the first one here called the Senators, between 1891 and 1899. They were horrible, and as a result, were contracted. The second Washington Senators arrived here in D.C. back in 1901 ... Read More »
Babe Ruth and the Yankees came to town in September of 1934 for one last hurrah. They were to play the Senators in a doubleheader on Saturday, September 29th, followed by a Sunday afternoon game. Already having lost the American League pennant to the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees would close out the 1934 season at Griffith Stadium. George Herman Ruth ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington