O r i o l e s 5 CONTENTS CHAPTERS Baseball in Baltimore 6 A Pair of Robinsons 15 Taking Flight 21 A New Nest 26 Earning Their Wings 36 AROUND THE HORN Little Eddie at the Bat 12 The Trade 20 Birds on the Hill 24 An All-Star Welcome 31 The Home Run That Wasn’t 38 A Family Affair 45 ALL-TIME ORIOLES P Jim Palmer 8 C Chris Hoiles 13 1B Eddie Murray 14 2B Davey Johnson 18 3B Brooks Robinson 27 SS Cal Ripken Jr 28 LF John Lowenstein 30 CF Brady Anderson 35 RF Paul Blair 39 M Earl Weaver 40 Index 48
6 O r i o l e s BASEBALL IN BALTIMORE he city of Baltimore Maryland has played an important role in the history of the United States It was the site of the Second Continental Congress where George Washington was christened as the country’s leader in 1775 The first U S naval ship was launched from its port in 1797 Francis Scott Key wrote the words to The Star Spangled Banner there in 1814 and the first Roman Catholic cathedral in the country was built there in 1821 Baltimore was the birthplace of renowned author Edgar Allan Poe longtime Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall and U S congresswoman Nancy Pelosi Baltimore is also important to the history of baseball as the birthplace of Babe Ruth one of the most celebrated players of all time The slugger had had several opportunities to play against the St Louis Browns the team that arrived in his hometown in 1954 under the new Orioles name by the time his career with the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees was complete He is even reported to have applied to manage the Browns who joined the American League AL in 1902 in 1938 T
A notable seaport the city of Baltimore has a rich history of shipbuilding and remains a major destination in commercial shipping today
