TR Robertson — Baseball trivia is unending for a sport that is well over one hundred years old. Fascinating, surprising and funny stories surround the game. Here are some additional fun facts about America’s game.
- The commissioner who negotiated the agreement that banned Pete Rose from baseball was A. Bartlett Giamatti, who is the father of actor Paul Giamatti.
- “Sunny Jim” Bottomley, a player from 1922-37 for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds and managed St. Louis Browns, requested a cow when his fans wanted to give him a retirement present. They obliged and he named the cow Fielder’s Choice and took it to his farm.
- Pitcher Doc Ellis says he threw his June 12, 1970, no hitter while under the influence of LSD.
- At a 1978 Texas Rangers-Baltimore Orioles game, George “Doc” Medich saved the life of a fan in the stands who was suffering a heart attack. Medich had been a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh before becoming a baseball player.
- Rollie Fingers grew his iconic handlebar mustache because A’s owner Charlie Finley offered his players cash for growing a mustache by Father’s Day. Fingers got a $300 bonus for growing his mustache.
- Former President George H.W. Bush was a baseball star at Yale and his son President George W. Bush played Little League in the 1950’s.
- Actor Tom Selleck was an all-star pitcher in the Pioneer Little League in Sherman Oaks, California in the 1950’s.
- Actor Brad Pitt played Little League in the 1970’s in Springfield, Mo.
- Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk played for the Tierrasanta Reds in the 1970’s.
- The life span of a major league baseball is 5-7 pitches and during a typical game 70 baseballs are used.
- The L.A. Dodgers are originally from Brooklyn and named for the fans who dodged the oncoming trolleys in Brooklyn. The original name was “trolley dodgers”.
- The Boston Americans won baseballs first World Series in 1903.
- The team with the most World Series wins is the New York Yankees with 27.
- The first known reference to the word “baseball” was in a 1744 publication by children’s publisher John Newberry in a book called A Little Pretty Pocket- Book.
- Baseball gloves have evolved more than any other piece of baseball equipment.
- The oldest baseball park still in use is Fenway Park, the home field of the Boston Red Sox, debuted in 1912.
- The New York Yankees were the first baseball team to wear numbers on their backs, beginning in the 1920’s. They initially wore numbers based on the batting order.
- A “can of corn” is an easy fly ball. The term comes from a time when grocers used to use their aprons to catch cans knocked from a high shelf.
- Rock n’ Roller Bruce Springsteen wrote his 1984 song “Glory Days” about a speedball pitcher from his New Jersey Babe Ruth Little League in the early 1960’s.
- Basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played baseball for St. Jude Elementary School in the 1960’s.
- Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady was a stand-out baseball player at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif.
- Actors Ben and Casey Affleck played on the same Boston-area Little League Red Sox team.
- Actress Elizabeth Banks broke her leg sliding into third base playing Little League in Pittsfield, Mass, in the 1980’s.
- 2020 Presidential candidate Joe Biden played short-stop and center field in Scranton, Pa. Green Ridge Little League in the 1950’s and is a member of the Little League Hall of Excellence.
- Before Alex Rodriguez was A-Rod, he played for the Little League Yankees in South Miami in the 1980’s.
- The Yankee’s Babe Ruth holds the record for longest verifiable home run, a 575 ft. blast at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium.
- Joey Meyer, of the Denver Zephyrs minor league team, hit a home run 582 ft., in 1987, at Denver’s Mile High Stadium.
- Chicago Cubs outfielder Rick Monday stopped two men from setting fire to an American flag in the outfield, during a game at Dodger Stadium on April 25, 1976.
- The first President to throw out the ceremonial first ball was William Howard Taft on April 14, 1910.
- “The Star-Spangled Banner” was first performed at a sporting event at the baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 5, 1918. At this game it was performed in the middle of the 7th inning.
- Ken Griffey Sr. and son Ken Griffey Jr. became the first father-son to play in the major leagues as teammates on the Seattle Mariners in 1990. They hit back-to-back homers on September 14, 1990.
Still more baseball trivia out there not to mention basketball and football trivia. A little more baseball trivia and some basketball trivia to follow later. If football season gets underway, that sport will be fair game for unusual facts and stories. In the meantime – Go Padres!
Stay safe and wear your mask.
