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
ALL-TIME ORIOLES O r i o l e s 8 Baltimore Orioles (cid:39)(cid:32)(cid:43)(cid:26)(cid:31)(cid:28)(cid:41)(cid:1)(cid:76)(cid:1)JIM PALMER Known for his high-kick delivery Jim Palmer played his entire big-league career in an Orioles uniform and holds club records for strikeouts wins shutouts and complete games Over his 19-year career he also assembled a remarkable 2 86 earned run average ERA In 1966 his first season as a regular in the Orioles rotation he becsame the youngest pitcher ever just under 21 years of age to hurl a complete-game shutout in the World Series After missing the 1968 season with an injury he went on to become a 20-game winner in 8 seasons and to capture the Cy Young Award 3 times 1973 1975 and 1976 STATS Orioles seasons 1965 67 1969 84 Height 6-foot-3 Weight 190 (cid:115)(cid:0)(cid:18)(cid:22)(cid:24)(cid:110)(cid:17)(cid:21)(cid:18)(cid:0)(cid:67)(cid:65)(cid:82)(cid:69)(cid:69)(cid:82)(cid:0)(cid:82)(cid:69)(cid:67)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:68) (cid:115)(cid:0)(cid:18)(cid:12)(cid:18)(cid:17)(cid:18)(cid:0)(cid:67)(cid:65)(cid:82)(cid:69)(cid:69)(cid:82)(cid:0)(cid:83)(cid:84)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:75)(cid:69)(cid:79)(cid:85)(cid:84)(cid:83) (cid:115)(cid:0)(cid:22)(cid:13)(cid:84)(cid:73)(cid:77)(cid:69)(cid:0)(cid:33)(cid:76)(cid:76)(cid:13)(cid:51)(cid:84)(cid:65)(cid:82) (cid:115)(cid:0)(cid:34)(cid:65)(cid:83)(cid:69)(cid:66)(cid:65)(cid:76)(cid:76)(cid:0)(cid:40)(cid:65)(cid:76)(cid:76)(cid:0)(cid:79)(cid:70)(cid:0)(cid:38)(cid:65)(cid:77)(cid:69)(cid:0)(cid:73)(cid:78)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:67)(cid:84)(cid:69)(cid:69)(cid:0) 1990 Jim Palmer Pitcher
Although the Browns finished dead last in the league 14 times during their 52 years in St Louis Missouri they enjoyed a sensational season in 1922 But it wasn’t just their 93 61 record that was impressive with 39 home runs left fielder Ken Williams bested Ruth’s total of 35 for the home run crown But Ruth and his Yankees won the bigger prize taking the AL pennant over the Browns by a single game S t Louis finally broke into the postseason in 1944 when All-Star shortstop Vern Stephens helped lead the 89 65 Browns to the pennant In the World Series the Browns faced their crosstown rivals the St Louis Cardinals in what became known as the Trolley Series or Streetcar Series The Browns were underdogs but the bulk of the fans were on their side It kind of surprised me because we drew more fans than the Browns during the season Cardinals legend Stan Musial said afterwards Despite widespread support the Browns fell to the Cardinals four games to two losing their first and only chance at a World Series title The team returned to its losing ways for the rest of the decade Then baseball magnate Bill Veeck took ownership of the Browns in 1951 and decided that it would be in their best interests to push the Cardinals O r i o l e s 9
