Baseball History Podcast

Charles Roscoe Barnes was born May 8, 1850 in Mount Morris, New York. The clever second baseman was the National League’s first batting leader, having already won two National Association titles. He specialized in “fair-foul” hits, squibbed bunts that landed fair, rolled foul, but remained in play under the rules of the time. However, when the rules were changed before the 1877 season his Batting Average plummeted.

Wesley Cheek Ferrell was born February 2, 1908 in Greensboro, North Carolina. He was part of a baseball family. His older brother Rick was a Hall of Fame catcher and his youngest brother George was a 20-year minor league veteran. Ferrell had a decent fastball and a good curveball, and was also a changeup specialist. He won 20 games six times in his ten full seasons before arm trouble ended his career at age 33. He led American League pitchers four times in complete games, and three times in innings.

William Hambly Stoneman III was born April 7, 1944, in Oak Park, Illinois. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho in 1966, and a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. He was selected by the Expos in the expansion draft and quickly established himself as their ace starter.

John Picus, known in Major League Baseball as “Jack Quinn” was born Johannes (Jan) Pajkos. He was born on July 1, 1883 in Štefurov, Slovakia which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Spitballer Quinn pitched for eight teams in three major leagues during four different decades and made his final Major League appearance at age 50.

Victor Felipe Pellot Pove, was born November 1, 1927 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. In the Major Leagues he went by the name Vic Power. He was one of the most colorful players of the 1950s, as well as one of the most popular and controversial. Although he never quite lived up to early expectations, he was a fine batsman, a .300 hitter with above average power most of his career.