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McHistory goes back in time to explore big moments and small stories from McLean County history. McHistory episodes can be heard periodically on WGLT's Sound Ideas.
The Major League Baseball playoffs are once again making October a special time. But baseball was not always here to root for and entertain us.
Bloomington has a rich history of baseball.
Charles ‘Old Hoss’ Radbourn was a 19th century pitcher, who won a still-record 60 games in a season for the Providence Grays. He pitched all three games in the 1884 World Series to win the championship. Radbourn also is the first known professional athlete to be photographed flipping the bird at someone, in a team photo. He played 12 years in the early major leagues. In later life, he ran a saloon in Bloomington.
Clark "The Old Fox" Griffith grew up in Bloomington, and later played for the St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Stockings, and Boston Reds. Griffith later owned the Washington Senators and helped organize the American League.
A lesser light from Bloomington was pitcher Jack Powell, a woulda-coulda-shoulda-been a Hall of Famer.
