Baseball History Podcast

Harold Patrick Reiser was born on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1919, in St. Louis, Missouri. His family called him “Pete” after the character “Two Gun Pete” from the Western movies he loved as a kid. He loved playing sandlot baseball with his father and his brothers, and quickly showed his natural talent. Tragedy and illness touched him even as a young teenager, though, when his beloved big brother Michael contracted scarlet fever and died right after signing a contract with the Yankees.

Hazen Shirley Cuyler, nicknamed “Kiki”, was born August 30, 1898 in Harrisville, Michigan. He played with competitive zeal, yet was admired amidst rough and tumble teammates for his gentlemanly qualities.  He hit .300 ten times in his major league career and regularly batted .350 or higher.  He finished with a .321 lifetime batting average. Welcome [...]

Kenneth Smith Harrelson, nicknamed “The Hawk,” was born September 4, 1941 in Woodruff, South Carolina. The big and powerful Harrelson was baseball’s 1960s flower child. He wore his blond hair long and sported Nehru jackets, beads, bell bottoms, and no socks. He was an excellent baseball player who hit three home runs in the first Little League game ever played in Savannah, but was by nature a competitor who also played football, basketball and golf. Ironically, he regarded baseball as his worst sport.

Cecil Randolph Hundley Jr. was born June 1, 1942 in Martinsville, Virginia. Despite being a lifetime .236 hitter, Hundley was one of the best fielding catchers of his era. He was a leader in the clubhouse for the strong Cubs teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was considered the best Cubs catcher since Gabby Hartnett.

Edward Raymond Stanky, nicknamed “The Brat”, was born September 3, 1916 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His original nickname, “The Brat from Kensington,” is a reference to the neighborhood where he grew up. Stanky’s manager Leo Durocher once summed up Stanky’s talents: “He can’t hit, can’t run, can’t field. He’s no nice guy… all the little SOB can do is win.”