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With the movie "42" out in theaters now, Jackie Robinson is getting much deserved attention. His exploits in the field have been well documented and those who were lucky enough to see him play, can attest to the electricity he brought to the game. He played in 6 World Series in his 10 year career, winning the 1955 championship over the New York Yankees.

However, what most people do not know is that Larry Doby, for the Cleveland Indians, broke the color barrier the same year (1947) that Robinson did. He did it a few months later than Robinson - on July 5 (Robinson began the season on April 15th with the Dodgers). Doby, in fact, was the first player to go directly from the Negro League (Robinson played a year in the…

Bob Turley died yesterday. He played 12 years in the majors, 8 of which were for the Yankees. He won 101 games in the 12 years, striking out 1265 batters. In 1958, his best year, he compiled a 21 and 7 season, and winning the Cy Young Award. "Bullet Bob", as he was known, had his most glorious moments during the 1958 World Series, in which he almost single-handedly brought the Yanks back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Milwaukee Braves in 7 games. He threw a shutout in Game 5, came in on the 10th inning to save Game 6, and won Game 7 in 6 2/3 innings of shutout relief. In his 16 total innings during the series, he struck out 13 batters.

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Gus Triandos died yesterday. He was a great defensive catcher who could also hit for power. Signed by the Yankees, he played most of his 13 year career (1953 to 1965) with the Baltimore Orioles. He was named to 2 All-Star teams. He was the first, and one of only four players, to catch a no-hitter in both leagues. He did it on September 20, 1958, when the Orioles' Hoyt Wilhelm threw his no-hitter (Triandos also hit a home run, accounting for the only run of the game). He also caught Jim Bunning's perfect game for the Phillies on June 21, 1964. In 1957, he threw out 66.7% of baserunners attempting steals, which is the 3rd highest on record. He threw out 46.62% over his career (6th on the all-time list.)

See 1958 Wilhelm no-hitter

See 1964 Jim Bunning perfect game

Virgil Trucks died yesterday at 95 years old. He is one of only 5 pitchers who tossed 2 no-hitters in one season. The others were Johnny Vander Meer (1938), Allie Reynolds (1951), Nolan Ryan (1973), and Roy Halladay (2010). Trucks' no-hitters occurred in the 1952 season, a year in which his team, the Detroit Tigers, lost 104 games. Amazingly, despite the 2 no-hitters, Trucks only went 5-19 that year.

Stan Musial died yesterday. One of the all-time greats, Stan the Man won seven batting championships, hit 475 home runs, along with 3,630 hits. He played on three World Series championship teams and won three MVP's. Being a Red Sox fan growing up in Boston, one of my regrets was that, other than on television, I never saw Musial play. He played on the 1946 championship Cardinal team in 1946, when they played the Red Sox, but at 4 years old, I was too young to see him at Fenway.

People think of Musial as one of the greatest all-around hitters. He is rarely mentioned as one of the great power hitters. However, 475 homers is nothing to sneeze at, and in perhaps his greatest day as a hitter he hit 5 home runs in a doubleheader, setting a major league record.