Billy Rogell- Springfield Born- Knocked Dizzy Dean Unconscious

Continuing my series on Illinois Born Players- “Boys of Summer” Series      William George “Billy” Rogell was born in Springfield, Illinois on November 24, 1904.  He played in the Southwestern League for 2 years and ws discovered and signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1925. They liked his bat and convinced him to…

Emil Verban – Lincoln Illinois Born – Has His Own Cubs Fan Club

   Emil Matthew Verban was born in Lincoln, Illinois on August 27, 1915 and became a second baseman who played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1944–1946), Philadelphia Phillies (1946–1948), Chicago Cubs (1948–1950) and Boston Braves (1950). Verban batted and threw right-handed. Verban was a second baseman noted primarily for his fielding with four National League…

Ed Barrow- Major League Manager Born in Springfield, Il

A bit of a deviation from players but this manager from Springfield has some really cool things in his background. Legacy Barrow was the first executive to put numbers on player uniforms. He also announced the retirement of Lou Gehrig’s uniform number, the first number to be retired. Barrow was also the first executive to…

Elkhart – Illinois Born “Boys of Summer” Series- Jake Stahl and Tommy Thompson

Elkhart – Illinois Born “Boys of Summer” Series- Jake Stahl and Tommy Thompson

Continuing on with the Illinois born major league players takes me to a Logan County small town of Elkhart. I found an interesting tidbit that I didn’t know in the story of Jake Stahl. Here are two players born in Elkhart. Here is a link to previous Illinois Born players.          …

Divernon, Taylorville, Auburn- Illinois Born “Boys of Summer” Series

TABLE OF CONTENTS for Previous Articles          Al Papai born May 7, 1917 in Divernon, Illinois. He made his first appearance in the major leagues on April 24, 1948 with the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher. In that game he came in to pitch the 9th inning with the Cardinals trailing…

Bushnell- Illinois Born “Boys of Summer” Series- Earl Sheely 6th in MVP voting

  Continuing our series on Illinois Born “Boys of Summer”.       Earl Homer Sheely was born on February 12, 1893 in Bushnell, Illinois.     He went into baseball as a first basman and made his debut for the Chicago White Sox on April 14, 1921. He was a major leaguer for 10…

Peoria Born “Boys of Summer” – George Whiteman – Peoria Born

Hope you enjoy Illinois Born “Boys of Summer” Series   George Whiteman Started Over Babe Ruth George (Lucky) Whiteman was born in Peoria, Illinois on December 23, 1882 the child of a German immigrant mother and father formerly from  New York . Early in his life as a teenager he felt the urge to move…