Retired MMR publisher Sid Davis was a contributor to a recent book published by SABR (Society of American Baseball Research), Who’s on First: Replacement Players in World War II, covering major league players who made their entrance into the league during the four seasons in which the U.S. was in the second World War. Davis authored a biography of Butch Nieman, a hard-hitting outfielder for the Boston Braves during that period.
This is the third biography he has written, the first two having covered pitchers Red Barrett and Nelson Potter. Both Barrett and Potter played 12 years in the major leagues during the 1940s and ‘50s and both were members of the 1948 Boston Braves National League championship team. Barrett pitched and won the league’s fastest game, throwing 58 pitches in a game that lasted 75 minutes. Nelson Potter was the first pitcher to be ejected for throwing what was then termed a “spitball.”
