Ranking the Catchers With a commanding presence behind the plate and a rocket arm, Johnny Bench was the best defensive catcher in history. But that wasn’t all. The powerful right-handed slugger won a pair of Most Valuable Player awards and led the Reds to six division titles, four pennants, and two championships. He hit…
On July 10, 1945, ten new members are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The inductees are catcher Roger Bresnahan, first baseman Dan Brouthers, outfielder Fred Clarke, third baseman Jimmy Collins, outfielders Ed Delahanty and Hugh Duffy, shortstop Hughie Jennings, outfielder King Kelly, first baseman Jim O’Rourke, and catcher Wilbert Robinson….
On December 4, 1944, catcher Roger Bresnahan, who will be elected to the Hall of Fame eight weeks later, dies in Toledo, OH. Bresnahan, the first player to regularly wear shin guards, was one of John McGraw’s most versatile players, filling in at nearly every position and providing a valuable bat for the…
“The 76-year-old gray-haired man puffed contently on an ancient, battered pipe,” wrote Burton Hawkins of The Washington Star, referring to Cy Young, whom he interviewed in May 1943. The sprightly septuagenarian—MLB’s career leader in wins (511), losses (315), complete games (749), innings (7,356), and batters faced (29,565)—discussed a variety of topics with Hawkins, including pitching,…
1916 – The National League, happy to be rid of fractious Chicago Cubs owner Charles W. Murphy, allows Charles H. Weeghman, owner of a restaurant chain and president of the Federal League’s Chicago Whales, to buy the Cubs for $500,000. By putting up $50,000, William Wrigley, Jr. becomes a minority stock holder. Whales manager Joe Tinker succeeds Roger Bresnahan, and the Cubs will play in the Federal League’s newly built ballpark on the North Side, soon to become known as Wrigley Field.
The Cubs hire future Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan to manage the team. The former Cardinal skipper will stay for just a year as Chicago finishes the season in fourth place with a 73-80 record.
At Brooklyn‚ the Cubs lose‚ 3 – 2. Chicago teammates Roger Bresnahan and Heinie Zimmerman are ejected for fighting with each other.
The league-leading Phils are dealt a blow when catcher-manager Red Dooin suffers a broken leg in a collision at home plate with Cards runner Rebel Oakes.
In a Reds win in Cincinnati, Cards player-manager Roger Bresnahan is called out on strikes by Bill Klem to end the game. When Roger argues too long over the call, Klem belts him. An embarrassed National League president Tom Lynch will fine the arbiter $50 for the punch.
1908 – The Cardinals are busy. First they get C Admiral Schlei from the Reds for pitchers Ed Karger and Art Fromme. Then they pack off Schlei, along with P Bugs Raymond and OF Red Murray, to the Giants for veteran catcher Roger Bresnahan. Bresnahan, a future Hall of Famer, will be the player-manager of the Cardinals for the next four years. Raymond lost 25 games in 1908, but a record 11 of them were by shutout.