Mar 15
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 …
Mar 09
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 …
Mar 08
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 …
Mar 05
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 …
Feb 22
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. …
Feb 14
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 …
Jan 07
January 7, 1959 The AP reported that Little Albie Pearson of the Washington Senators was named American League 1958 rookie of the year by an overwhelming margin. The Senators’ 23 year-old center fielder ended the ’58 season with a .275 batting average he also hit 25 doubles and 5 triples in 530 at bats. For …
Dec 27
December 27, 1949 It is reported that John James Jachym of Jamestown, New York; became 40% stakeholder of the Washington Senators. With a major investment of $400,000 from Pennsylvania oil man Hugh A. Grant, was able to purchase the 40% stake in the ball-club from the William Richardson estate for $550,000. The transaction upsets majority owner …
Dec 16
On this day in 2006 Cecil Travis died in Riverdale, GA at the age of 93. 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 …
Dec 14
December 14, 1928 The Washington Senators purchased George Sisler’s contract for $25,000 from the St. Louis Browns. The veteran 35 year-old first baseman will play in 20 games for the Senators before the team sold his contract to the Boston Braves for only $7,500 on May 27, 1928. For Sisler the move to Boston was …
