Mark Hornbaker

Author's posts

Wounded Veteran gets a Try Out

March 15, 1945 College Park, MD – Bert Shepard, a one legged veteran of World War II, tries out as a pitcher for the Washington Senators. The Senators owner Clark Griffith was so impressed with Shepard that he hired him as the team’s pitching coach. During the 1945 spring training Shepard with his artificial leg …

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The Our Babe Marker Mystery is Solved

First posted December of 2012. Last fall I went to the Rockville Union Cemetery to take some pictures of Walter Johnson’s grave site for a future story. This was the first time in forty years I visited the site where Walter Perry Johnson and his wife Hazel Lee Johnson are buried. During my visit at …

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Better Late Than Never

March 8, 1915 Charlottesville, VA Walter Johnson arrived a day later than expected to the Washington Senators training camp. Instead of being upset with Johnson the Senators’ owners were delighted to see him. With Johnson’s arrival to camp it left no doubt that he was going to pitch for the Senators this season. That wasn’t …

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No raise for Hondo

Originally written on Jan. 9, 2012 After belting 36 home runs for the Senators in 1967, Frank Howard found himself spending most of the off-season negotiating a new contract with Senators’ General Manager George Selkirk. The Washington Post reported on January 9, 1968 that Senators’ GM Selkirk told Howard that he will not be receiving …

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Big Train’s Throw Across the Rappahannock River

February 22, 1936 Originally posted on Feb,22, 2008 Fredericksburg, Virginia To celebrate George Washington’s 204th birthday the town of Fredericksburg planned a daylong celebration. To cap off the day the city invited baseball legend Walter Johnson to duplicate George Washington’s legendary throw of a silver dollar across the Rappahannock River. As the story goes U.S. …

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Ted Williams agrees to manage ’69 Senators

On February 14, 1969 the AP reported that Hall of Famer, Ted Williams has agreed to manage the Washington Senators. From what I could gather Williams agreed to a 5-year contract that would pay him a sizable salary plus shares of the team stock. The exact compensation package could not be verified but it is …

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Willingham’s Two Grand Slams

July 27, 2009 Josh “The Hammer” Willingham accomplished a very rare feat when he became only the 13th player in major league baseball history to hit two grand slams in one game. Willingham’s first grand slam came off of the Brewers’ starting pitcher Jeff Suppan in the fifth inning. The second grand slam occurred only …

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Veterans Day Special – Remembering Cecil Travis

Cecil Travis was a star baseball player for the Washington Senators in the 1930’s and early 1940′s. On May 16, 1933 the 19 year-old Travis made his debut for the Senators. The young man from Riverdale, GA wasted no time in showing off his batting skills as he goes 5 for 7 against the Cleveland …

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Veterans Day Special – Wounded Veteran gets a Try Out

March 15, 1945 College Park, MD – Bert Shepard, a one legged veteran of World War II, tries out as a pitcher for the Washington Senators. The Senators owner Clark Griffith was so impressed with Shepard that he hired him as the team’s pitching coach. During the 1945 spring training Shepard with his artificial leg …

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Veterans Day Special – Negro League Baseball in D.C. during WWII

From 1939 to 1945 the Homestead Grays played a lot of their home game at Griffith Stadium when the Washington Senators were out of town. The Grays drew some very large crowds when the team played at Griffith Stadium. The local fans wanted to see the Grays’ exciting brand of baseball. With stars like Josh …

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