Month: November 2023
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Big Boy Kraft – The Wonder from the Y
Second in a series honoring players who went from the hardwood to the diamond, joining Frank Schwitz. A largely unknown story of baseball in 1910 featured an Evansville River Rat who went to bat just one time. It was what this player achieved after that brief and unsuccessful plate appearance that makes it newsworthy. The…
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Frank Schwitz – Coach
To kick off high school and college basketball season I’ll begin a series on minor leaguers who went from the hardwood to the diamond at Bosse Field. I’ll begin with a hometown boy, Frank Schwitz. The 18-year-old was signed right out of Central High School by Evansville Braves manager Bob Coleman as a pitcher in…
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Chuck Tanner – Evansville’s Ultimate One and Done Player
Local fans got literally the briefest glimpse possible of a future major league managerial star in late July 1946 when 17-year-old outfielder Charles “Chuck” Tanner took his place in the batter’s box at Bosse Field as an Evansville Brave. The teenaged fly-chaser replaced a Braves batter who was given the heave ho by the plate…
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Charlie Dexter – Hero
In 1895, an Evansville boy, Charlie Dexter, returned to his hometown after studying two years at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Charlie was drawn to theatrics and the stage at an early age and was frequently seen in local minstrel shows around the Evansville, both before and after his return. When he…