Clear the Field Podcast

In 1907, bad weather and a bored crowd mixed to create an on-field mess and a forfeited game.

Highlights

- Opening Day traditions at the turn of the century

- What people did to amuse themselves before cell phones

- A surprising lack of police protection leads to a forfeited game

- The reformer/crusader who decided to make an example out of baseball

Further Reading

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Ted: Substack

They are rare today, but forfeits used to be a regular feature of baseball. We’re looking at some of the times teams have managed to beat themselves.

Highlights

- What’s a forfeit and why didn’t Ron Artest cause one?

- An introduction to the Godfather of forfeit scholarship

- Ted makes a morbid but very apt comparison

- Examples of games that have failed: Missing teams, collective tantrums, and daylight fights

In 1959, the Chicago White Sox won the pennant. Bells rang, horns blew, and some people huddled in their basements, awaiting the end of the world.

Highlights

-Khrushchev’s first hot dog

-The 1959 “Go Go” White Sox and the team’s historic pennant drought

-Victory in “Baseball Thunderdome”

-Sirens interrupt celebrations

-Atomic terror in the 1950s

-Chicago flunks its civil defense pop quiz

-Robert Quinn, the man who thought this was a good idea

Further Reading/Viewing

The Duck and Cover Pennant - Project 3.18

Civil Defense Instructional Video

On the Beach (featuring Fred Astaire!)

A Day Called X

In 1981, the Seattle Mariners’ uniforms were stolen from the visitors clubhouse at Arlington Stadium. The game had to go on, so the team needed to find something to wear.

Highlights

-The scene of the crime: Arlington Stadium in Texas, the hottest park in America

-The robbery and aftermath

-Raiding the souvenir stand for replacements

-The details of a similar crime from 1977…and a possible suspect

Further Reading

The Seattle Mariners Go Thrifting - Project 3.18

In 1938, a “color engineer” had an idea to cut down on major league beanings: make baseballs yellow. The National League president said, “Sure, why not?”

Highlights

-The devastating 1937 beaning of Mickey Cochrane

-Frederick H. Rahr, inventor and possible flim-flam man

-The inside man: Larry MacPhail, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers

-The yellow ball’s debut at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn

-The results of the test and Rahr’s surprising baseball legacy

Further Reading

Of Apples and Lemons - Project 3.18

Hall of Fame Feature

In 1931, Cubs catcher Gabby Hartnett took heat for fraternizing with Al Capone. Gangsters were an occupational hazard for Prohibition-era baseball players.

Highlights

-The comings and goings of gangsters at Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field

-Al Capone’s favorite player (and how we know)

-The day Hartnett ended up in a controversial picture (that helped bring down Capone)

-The baseball commissioner’s effort to crack down on players fraternizing with “unsavory characters” (like their wives)

Further Reading

Snapped - Project 3.18

To Kiki from Al