Gomer Hodge and other forgotten baseball heroes of Opening Day

Opening Day in baseball always brings up memories for me, most of them taking me back to the finger-stinging cold that usually accompanied an Indians opener on the shore of Lake Erie. And somehow this week popped into mind Gomer Hodge, a utility infielder who was the toast of Cleveland in April 1971. Keep in […]

On Presidents’ Day, a tip of the cap to William Howard Taft for starting the ‘first pitch’ tradition

For most Americans, William Howard Taft is not the first chief executive to leap to mind as we celebrate Presidents’ Day. But we baseball fans owe him homage for starting one of our country’s most enduring traditions: the president throwing out the ceremonial first pitch of the season. From a specially built box at National […]

Memorable opening days in Major League Baseball

The two most memorable opening days in my memory are marking significant anniversaries this year. Forty years ago, on April 8, 1971, an unheralded rookie named Gomer Hodge drove in the winning run in the Cleveland Indians’ home opener. Somewhere in a scrapbook I have clippings from that game, the exciting finish of which I […]