Tag: Ted Williams

1969 in Washington, D.C. – A Special, Memorable Opening Day

Fifty-Three years ago today, the baseball season began anew in Washington, as the Senators hosted the New York Yankees. A sports backwater since the 1940’s, when Slingin’ Sammy Baugh led the Redskins to championships and the 1945 Senators came up a hair short in a tight pennant race, the nation’s capital claimed the spotlight on …

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This Date in Washington Senators History – Senators name Ted Williams as their new manager.

January 18 1969 The last-place Washington Senators name former Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams as their new manager. Williams signs a five-year contract worth a reported salary of $75,000 per season. In Williams’ inaugural season as a manager, the Senators will finish with a record of 86-76, the best mark (and their only over …

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Jim Ryan’s Baseball Pictures

Jim Ryan was a bat boy for the Washington Senators in 1957and 1958. He was kind enough to share some of his picture collection.              

Zimmerman’s big weekend, and memories of Frank Howard

If there was a silver lining in last weekend’s series loss to the Colorado Rockies, it’s that Ryan Zimmerman appears to have fully recovered from the plantar fasciitis that has sidelined him for much of this season. The Nationals first baseman has hit safely in four straight games and seven of his last nine, and …

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Fister helps D.C. get revenge for a terrible deal

If Washington baseball fans know the value of anything, it’s patience. Fans who were abandoned by two big league franchises, endured 34 years without a team of their own, then witnessed and seven seasons of futility, must feel thrilled to have the Nationals making a run for their second division title in three years. If …

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When the Stars (and so Much Else) Came to Washington

So many years have passed since the nation’s capital last hosted baseball’s All-Star game that most people have forgotten the unique, unforgettable events that took place before and during the 1969 midsummer classic as well as one of the many fiascos one Robert E. Short committed during his sad, incompetent tenure as the Washington Senators’ …

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Gunshots from inside Fenway Park

Here is a true story about Ted Williams that might be of interest to DC baseball fans. One year, possibly 1941 although I don’t know that for certain, the Washington Senators would arrive early at Fenway Park in Boston for batting practice and were surprised to hear gunshots from inside Fenway Park!  As it turned …

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American League players drawn by Vic Johnson – Ted Williams

From the Mickey Vernon Museum, American League Baseball players drawn by Vic Johnson. This caricature of Ted Williams is just one of a series of 19 caricatures of American League baseball players drawn by ViC. Johnson during 1957. This caricature of Ted Williams and the the other 18, is taken from a composite collection of those illustrations …

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Washington Senators Spring Training 1969: Ted (Finally) Gets His First Win

Part 2 of a Series After the owners and players reached a deal that ended the spring strike of 1969, Senators’ players arrived in Pompano Beach to meet their new celebrity manager, Ted Williams. Outside of Washington, where the common reaction was joy that Teddy Ballgame had joined Vince Lombardi in Washington, giving fans hope …

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This Date in Washington Senators History

February 21 1969 Ted Williams returns to baseball full-time, signing a five-year contract to manage the Washington Senators. Senators Birthdays Joseph Anthony Foy B Feb. 21, 1943 D Oct. 12, 1989 Originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins before the start of the 1962 season, Joe Foy would be drafted by the Boston Red Sox in …

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