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Happy birthday to Milt Pappas, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1955, Ernie Banks hits a grand slam — the first of five on the year — to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 10-8 victory that snaps the Brooklyn Dodgers‘ 11-game winning streak and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
- 1904 – Cy Young‘s 23-inning no-hit string ends. The streak included two innings on April 25th, six on April 30th, a perfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics on May 5th, and six innings today.
- 1919 – Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators pitches 12 scoreless innings in a duel with Jack Quinn of the New York Yankees at the Polo Grounds. Johnson allows only two hits and retires 28 batters in a row.
- 1946 – The New York Giants defeat the Boston Braves, 5-1, in the first night game played at Braves Field. The 37,407 fans are surprised as their hometown heroes enter the field wearing shiny satin uniforms designed to reflect the light generated by the electricity used for the evening contest.
- 1957 – Even though the game is practically over before the Pirates come to bat, having given up six runs to the Phillies in the top of the 1st inning, the first Pirate at-bat provides the most memorable moment of the game, Roberto Clemente‘s 440-plus-foot inside-the-park home run. The Phils win the game, 7-2.
- 1963 – Sandy Koufax pitches the second of four career no-hitters to help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat San Francisco, 8 – 0.
- 1972 – Tom Seaver wins his 100th game in a 2-1 New York Mets victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets also acquire veteran outfielder Willie Mays from the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Charlie Williams and $50,000.
- 1980 – 39-year-old Pete Rose steals second base, third, and home in one inning for the Phillies. The last National League player to pull off this feat had been Jackie Robinson in 1954.
- 1990 – Dave Winfield rejects a trade that would have sent him from the New York Yankees to the California Angels in exchange for pitcher Mike Witt. A no-trade clause in Winfield’s contract gives him the right to turn down the deal. Five days later, Winfield will reach an agreement with the Yankees and give his permission for the trade to take place.
- 1998 – Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs sets the major league record for strikeouts in consecutive games (33) by fanning 13 Arizona Diamondbacks in a 4-2 victory. The record for strikeouts in two starts had been 32, set by Luis Tiant in 1968 and matched by Nolan Ryan (1974), Dwight Gooden (1984) and Randy Johnson (1997).
- 2000 – The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs, 14-8, in the longest nine-inning game in National League history: 4 hours, 22 minutes. The game features one of the longest home runs in the history of Wrigley Field. A picture circulated by the Associated Press puts it this way: “Rick Frohock celebrates on the rooftop of a three-story building on Waveland Ave. behind the left-field bleachers of Wrigley Field after catching a home run hit by Chicago’s Glenallen Hill against the Brewers. It was believed to be the first time a ball landed on top of the apartment building.” Hill’s shot is estimated at 490 feet by the next day’s press accounts and eventually measured at 500 feet.
- 2009 – Ryan Zimmerman goes 4 for 5 with two home runs to extend his hitting streak to 29 games, but San Francisco beats Washington, 11 – 7. Randy Johnson strikes out nine for career win number 298. The game features the tallest pitching match-up in history, with the 6′ 10″ Johnson facing Daniel Cabrera, who stands 6′ 9″.
- 2012 – Brandon Inge drives in four runs as the A’s romp past the Tigers, 11-4. Detroit released Inge earlier this season, but he is now on a tear, becoming the first major leaguer since Lou Gehrig in 1931 to drive in four or more runs four times in a five-game span.
- 2016 – Max Scherzer ties the major league record by striking out 20 batters in a nine-inning game against his former team as the Nationals defeat the Tigers, 3-2. He now shares the mark with Roger Clemens (who did it twice), Kerry Wood and Randy Johnson. Scherzer does not issue a single walk in the game.
Cubs Birthdays: Trenidad Hubbard, Jerry Martin, Milt Pappas,* Mel Wright, Gene Hermanski, Dewey Adkins, Jim Connor. Also notable: Charlie Gehringer HOF.
Today in history:
- 330 – Newly built city of Constantinople (Byzantium) dedicated to Emperor Constantine the Great, becomes the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
- 868 – “The Diamond Sutra”, the world’s oldest surviving and dated printed book is printed in Chinese and made into a scroll.
- 1812 – The Waltz is introduced into English ballrooms; some observers consider it disgusting and immoral.
- 1864 – Battle of Yellow Tavern in Henrico County, Virginia; Union Army prevails and Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart is mortally wounded.
- 1900 – James J. Jeffries KOs James J Corbett in 23 for heavyweight boxing title.
- 1931 – “M” Fritz Lang’s first sound film starring Peter Lorre premieres in Berlin.
- 1947 – BF Goodrich announced the development of tubeless tire.
- 1959 – “Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb” by Edd Byrnes & Connie Stevens hits #4.
- 1965 – Ellis Island added to Statue of Liberty National monument.
- 1969 – British comedy troupe Monty Python forms, made up of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.
Special Music Segment! Since you probably didn’t know all the words to “Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb,” here are several that you should know:
- 1963 – “Puff (The Magic Dragon)” single by Peter, Paul & Mary hits #2; Peter Yarrow adapted a poem that college classmate Lenny Lipton had left behind after borrowing Yarrow’s typewriter.
- 1968 – Irish actor Richard Harris releases single “MacArthur Park”; it becomes a million-seller topping the charts in Canada and Australia, and peaking at #2 in US and #4 in UK.
- 1970 – “The Long and Winding Road” becomes Beatles’ last American single release.
- 1974 – ABC Records releases Steely Dan single “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” from the “Pretzel Logic “album; it peaks at #4 in the US, making it their biggest hit.
- 1975 – Capitol Records releases Natalie Cole‘s debut album “Inseparable”; it features two hits “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” and the title track.
- 1981 – Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s musical “Cats” (based on poetry by T. S. Eliot) directed by Trevor Nunn, opens at the New London Theatre in the West End, London; runs for 8,949 performances.
- 1985 – Madonna‘s “Crazy For You” single goes #1.
*pictured.
