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Happy birthday to Rey Sanchez*, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1945 – Claude Passeau of the Chicago Cubs pitches a one-hitter, beating the Detroit Tigers, 3 – 0, in Game 3 of the World Series, and 1947 – Left fielder Al Gionfriddo makes a spectacular catch and robs Joe DiMaggio
of a game-tying home run in Game 6 of the World Series. The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Yankees, 8-6, and other stories as well.Today in baseball history:
- 1915 – In a 5-0 loss to the Indians, Detroit Tigers speedster Ty Cobb steals his 96th base of the season. That total will stand as a major league record until 1962, when Maury Wills steals 104 bases for the Dodgers.
- 1921 – New York is host to the first one-city World Series since 1906 and the Polo Grounds is the site for all nine games. Carl Mays of the Yankees needs 86 pitches to set the Giants down on five hits, four of them by Frankie Frisch, as Babe Ruth drives in the first run of the Series in the opening inning of the 3-0 Yankees win.
- 1926 – In Game 3 of the World Series, Jesse Haines pitches a five-hit shutout as the Cardinals beat the Yankees, 4 – 0, to take a 2-1 lead in the Series.
- 1928 – In the World Series, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees unloads a three-run home run in the first inning of Game 2. Grover Cleveland Alexander, the hero of the 1926 Series between the Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals, is driven from the game in the 3rd inning as New York cruises, 9-3, to take a 2-1 Series lead.
- 1929 – New York Giants Mel Ott and Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies go into a head-to-head doubleheader tied at 42 home runs apiece. In the opener, Klein homers for the Phillies off Carl Hubbell in his first at-bat to take the home run lead. In the nightcap, Phillies pitchers intentionally walk Ott five times rather than give him a chance to tie Klein. The last walk comes with the bases loaded. Lefty O’Doul of the Phillies has six hits on the day for a National League season-record of 254 hits.
- 1949 – In Game 1 of the World Series, Allie Reynolds and Don Newcombe are locked in a scoreless duel in the bottom of the ninth inning, until Tommy Henrich leads off with a walk-off home run, the first in World Series history, and the Yankees beat the Dodgers, 1-0.
- 1954 – Oscar Charleston, one of the greatest players in the history of the Negro Leagues, dies in Philadelphia, days after he had fallen down a flight of stairs. He was 57 years old.
- 1960 – In a portent of things to come, Bill Mazeroski‘s two-run 5th-inning home run off Jim Coates is the difference as Pittsburgh beats the Yankees, 6-4, in its first World Series win since 1925.
- 1966 – With 1st-inning home runs by Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson, and 11 strikeouts from relief pitcher Moe Drabowsky, the Baltimore Orioles win their first World Series game, 5-2, over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- 1967 – Jim Lonborg of the Boston Red Sox pitches a one-hit, 5-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals to tie the World Series, 1-1. Carl Yastrzemski hits two home runs.
- 1968 – Tim McCarver and Orlando Cepeda each hit three-run home runs to lead the Cardinals to a 7-3 win over Detroit. The Cardinals take a 2-1 World Series lead.
- 1971 – The Baltimore Orioles overcome two home runs by Reggie Jackson and one by Sal Bando to complete a sweep of the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series with a 5-3 victory.
- 1979 – The Pittsburgh Pirates complete a sweep of their National League Championship Series, beating the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1. Willie Stargell, who hit a home run, is named the Series MVP.
- 1997 – Mike Mussina beats the Mariners and Randy Johnson for the second time and gives Baltimore their second straight trip to the American League Championship Series. Mussina pitches a two-hitter for seven innings to win the game, and the Series, by a 3-1 margin.
- 2003 – Chicago Cubs win their first MLB postseason series since the 1908 World Series with a 5-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the NLDS at Turner Field
- 2013 – The Red Sox take a 2-0 lead in the ALDS with a 7-4 win over the Rays at Fenway Park, sparked by a pair of homers from David Ortiz.
Cubs
Birthdays: Tyler Ferguson, Rey Sánchez*, Al Heist, Charlie Pechous, Norm McMillan, Roger Denzer.
Today in history:
- 1274 – Around 1,000 soldiers of the Mongol army land on the Japanese island of Tsushima in the first attack of Kublai Khan‘s Mongol invasion of Japan.
- 1892 – The Dalton Gang ends in a shootout in Coffeyville, Kansas, during a bank holdup; four members are killed, and a fifth is captured.
- 1947 – Harry Truman delivers the first presidential address televised from the White House.
- 1969 – TV sketch comedy series “Monty Python‘s Flying Circus” premieres on BBC1.
- 1973 – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, the 7th studio album by Elton John, is released.
- 1975 – Austrian Niki Lauda wins the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen to claim his first Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, winning by 19.5 points over Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil.
*pictured.
