Carl Riechers – författare

Over the years, millions have dreamed of playing major-league baseball, but only around 20,000 players have put on a big-league uniform. Some had lengthy careers, some much briefer-including a surprising number who had just one base hit: close to 1,400 of them. Some of these "one-hit wonders" were pitchers, and not expected to hit-though right-hander Fred Gladding had 68 plate appearances with just one hit. Others simply had short careers, like Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, a real-life figure depicted in Field of Dreams whose only major-league appearance consisted of a half-inning.

More than 50 SABR researchers, authors, and editors contributed to this book and present brief biographies of 70 players, telling the stories of some who might otherwise be overlooked-but who made the grade and got exactly one hit in the majors. Center fielder Skeeter Skelton had 43 plate appearances but just one hit. Gene Woodburn had just one hit, but four career RBIs (and the hit was not a grand slam). Thirteen others have three RBIS apiece. There were 22 players whose one and only hit was a home run. There were 22 whose hit was a triple, and quite a number-179-whose only hit was a double.

For some, their only hit came on their first at-bat. Others had to wait a lot longer (Gladding''s hit came in his 50th plate appearance). Pitcher Arthur Rhodes played in exactly 900 big-league games (and 29 postseason games), with one base hit to his credit. Some stuck around the game, like Rod Dedeaux, who became one of the most celebrated amateur baseball coaches in history, coaching at USC for 45 years. Others, like a USC alum whom Dedeaux coached, Dan Ardell, would end up in other industries. When asked if he''d had two hits in the major leagues, instead of just one, if he thought his story wouldn''t have been as interesting, Ardell replied, "I think that''s exactly true."

One-Hit Wonders presents a variety of life stories, and adds a few dozen more biographies to SABR''s BioProject, has published biographies of over 5,000 figures involved with baseball.

On December 16, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that seven Negro Leagues, from various seasons spanning the years 1920 to 1948, were being recognized as major leagues and that all statistics from those leagues and seasons would henceforth be considered part of the major-league record books. The earliest league to be included is the first iteration of the Negro National League (NNL), founded by Rube Foster, which extended from 1920 through the end of 1931.

The First Negro League Champion: The 1920 Chicago American Giants chronicles the team which won the title of champion in the NNL1''s inaugural season. Foster, a Hall of Famer, and his White business partner John Schorling are featured here. Biographies of every player on the team include Cristóbal Torriente, a member of both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as early Blackball stalwarts Dave "Lefty" Brown, Bingo DeMoss, Judy Gans, Dave Malarcher, Frank Warfield, and Frank Wickware. The history of the American Giants'' home field, Schorling Park, is also examined.

Rounding out the tale of this landmark franchise are a comprehensive timeline of the 1920 season, a history of the founding of the Negro National League in 1920, and the complete story of the American Giants, both under Foster''s ownership and beyond. A generous number of historical photographs and graphics add to the commemoration of this landmark team.

This collaborative work of 21 members of the Society for American Baseball Research, with assists from many other individuals, constitutes the fifth volume of an ongoing SABR series on great teams from Negro Leagues history.