Honus Wagner, the star player for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the Deadball Era, said hitting a baseball in those days was like hitting "a chunk of mud." The game back then was played a different way than it is today. Bunts were more common than home runs, and pitching dominated hitting. It was the age of the legal spitball, shine ball, emery ball, and grease ball. It was also a time of change, when much of what we see as the modern game came to be. Many of the practices and traditions we see in the game today--from team nicknames on uniforms to the seventh-inning stretch--have their origin...
Honus Wagner, the star player for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the Deadball Era, said hitting a baseball in those days was like hitting "a chunk of m...
As the American Civil War neared its end, Judah Benjamin of Louisiana stood accused of treason and high crimes against the Federal Government. A leader in the Confederate Cabinet, Benjamin was often called the "brain of the Confederacy." He was a loyal friend of President Jefferson Davis and an enemy of the Union. To evade certain imprisonment and possible execution, Benjamin embarked on a great escape from the fallen Confederate capital at Richmond. Benjamin's goal was to go as far away from the United States as he could-if need be, to "the middle of China," he told friends. Along the way,...
As the American Civil War neared its end, Judah Benjamin of Louisiana stood accused of treason and high crimes against the Federal Government. A leade...
