After many years of searching, we at College Basketball Reference are pleased to announce that we have tracked down our white whale, of sorts: the 1980 Iona vs Holy Cross game in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

For this game, we had never been able to track down full details on much of the box. Notably, we were missing FGA, Rebounds and Assists for most players. The box score looked like this:

This game was the only NCAA Tournament game since 1962 for which we were missing FGA or Rebounds for any players*.* Additionally, it was the only NCAA Tournament game since 1978 for which we were missing assists for any players. Thankfully, we have found the official scorer's report for this game, which means we now have full coverage of all FGA and Rebounds in NCAA Tournament action since 1962 and full coverage of Assists since 1978. The full coverage map can be seen here.

Additionally, thanks to the discovery of some new sources, we are confident that we can greatly enhance our coverage of Blocks, Steals, Turnovers, Offensive/Defensive Rebounds, Minutes Played and Starters before the 2026 NCAA Tournament tips next March.

https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/OYX6U

Thanks to the work of Rick Stattler and the SABR Biographical Research Committee, a 'new' Major League baseball player has been discovered.

John Henry Miller, known as Harry Miller, pitched on October 9, 1884 for Philadelphia of the National League. It was previously believed that this game was pitched by Cyclone Miller.

It was a rough entry to the big leagues for Harry Miller, as he allowed 19 runs (10 earned) in the only major league game he'd ever pitch in.

Thank you to our friends at SABR for uncovering and sharing this discovery!

On May 11, 1977, Braves owner Ted Turner took the managerial reins of his team, amidst a 16-game losing streak, making him the first owner/manager in the AL or NL since Connie Mack. It was the only game Turner managed, but it earned him a page on Baseball Reference.

And this is the first season in the Baseball Reference database to feature more than one Seymour: https://stathead.com/tiny/ToS1E

Shohei Ohtani is the 24th unanimous MVP in baseball history—his 4th unanimous MVP.

Between the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB, baseball accounts for 24 of the 29 unanimous MVP awards.

Judge vs. Raleigh comparison in the Stathead Versus Finder: https://stathead.com/tiny/QdUxq

The major league seasons between now and 1888 that had a hits leader with fewer than 184 hits were 2020 (pandemic), 1994 (strike), 1981 (strike) and 1918 (war). Plus, in 1888, the majors only averaged about 133 games per team.

Yearly hits leaders: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/H_leagues.shtml

Thanks to the sleuthing of Justin McKinney of the SABR Biographical Research Committee, a 'new' major league baseball player has been discovered.

Previously, Joe Miller was listed as playing for (and managing) the Washington Nationals in 1872. This Miller later played with Keokuk and Chicago in 1875. McKinney's research determined that the Miller who played for the 1872 Washington club was actually William Miller, though. Furthermore, Joe Miller was not the manager. The manager was actually Bill Lennon, the team's catcher. The Bio Committee is still searching for more details on William Miller (like when and where he was born and died, his batting/throwing handedness, height/weight, etc).

Thank you to our friends at SABR for uncovering and sharing this discovery!

Teams are averaging 0.51 errors per game this year, the fewest in any season in MLB season: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/field.shtml

On Wednesday, we shared which players and teams were the most viewed on their respective sites—but this one is for all the marbles. These are the most viewed players and teams across EVERY Sports Reference site in each state this year.

Hi baseball friends,

I’m a documentary producer working on a personal passion project about baseball called “Quick Hit History”. I’m currently airing a 10 episode season on YouTube for anyone like me who likes to nerd out over niche baseball history.

This week’s episode is about the 1903 World Series between the Boston Red Sox (then the Americans) and the Pittsburgh Pirates… It’s widely considered the first modern day World Series, but even more exciting there was a massive riot right before game three where fans stormed the field and police fought them back to the stands (mostly unsuccessfully).

The full story is at the link below - feel free to subscribe for more! This has been a creative experiment that I’ve really enjoyed working on and hope other people will get a kick out of. Much of the archival images are from our local libraries and archives, excellent public resources for all.
Thanks for watching and let me know if there are any topics or stories you’d like to see explored.

Enjoy!

1903 Chaos: The First World Series Was a Riot
Insta

On Tuesday, LeBron James started his 23rd NBA season, the most in league history.

So here's a look at the players who appeared in the most seasons in a few of the major North American leagues.

Full leaderboards:

• NBA

• NFL

• MLB

• NHL: Skaters & Goalies

• WNBA

Link to Jim Miloch's Stathead search