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TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY-1937

CINCINNATI – Unexpectedly entering a fray which in the beginning was not at all of his choosing, Carl Hubbell today came up with his twenty-fourth consecutive National League victory in a two-year string as the Giants, riding handsomely on the crest of Melvin Ott’s seventh homer of the year, brought down the Reds, 3 to 2.

The famous Hub came into the game in the last half of the eighth with the score deadlocked at 2-all, and with no more effort than one would employ in dusting off a shelf, he retired three Reds on infield grounders. In the upper half of the ninth he sat placidly in the Giant dugout as his no less distinguished roommate, Master Melvin, swung desperately at the slanting shots served up by the left-handed Lee Grissom. Earlier in the day Mel had cracked a triple off the screening in front of the right-field bleachers, and so the odds were slightly against him on this occasion.

But there is a strange bond of comradeship among these older Giants who date back to the days of John J. McGraw, and Mel swung with tremendous fervor. The result was a towering smash that cleared the screening and dropped into the bleachers more than 400 feet from the plate. Presently the Giants’ inning ended with no further scoring and Hubbell sedately marched out to the mound. He retired three more Reds, this time on pop flies, and it was over. It was as easy as that.

For the screwball maestro it marked his eighth successive pitching victory of 1937 against not a single setback, and this, added to the sixteen straight with which he concluded the 1936 campaign, gives him the amazing all-time mark. It was also only the second time in this unprecedented string that saw Hubbell receive credit for a game in which he did not start.

Sharing the spotlight with the spectacular team of Hubbell and Ott was Dashing Dick Bartell, whose bat exploded a pair of doubles which drove in the other two Giant tallies, the second one tying the score in the eighth. Dick Coffman held the Reds in check until he vacated for a pinch hitter in the eighth. After that it was just a case of the oldest master stepping up, chalking his cue and continuing his unbroken run.

Carl Hubbell’s streak was broken on May 31 when the Brooklyn Dodgers beat him, 10-3, before a Memorial Day crowd of 61,756 at the Polo Grounds. The pitcher who has come closest to Hubbell’s record is the sinkerballer Roy Face of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won 22 consecutive games in 1958-59.

ALSO:

1972: Mark Donohue, the Trans-America and United States road-racing king, scored his greatest victory in the Indianapolis 500, taking the lead 13 laps from the end in Roger Penske’s McLaren turbo Offy and finishing at an average speed of 163.465 miles an hour. Donohue was killed in a crash at the Ostreichring in Austria in 1975 (see Aug. 19).

1968: The National League voted to expand to 12 teams in 1969, adding the Montreal Expos and the San Diego Padres. Because the American League had already created two new teams for ’69, each league formed two divisions that led to a post-season tier of playoff games. To some, these League Championship Series stole some of the World Series’ glamour.

TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1904       In the team’s 3-1 victory over the Superbas at the Polo Grounds, Giants first baseman Dan McGann steals five bases to establish a major league record. The 32 year-old Kentucky native’s mark will be surpassed in 1912 by A’s second baseman Eddie Collins who will swipe six bags in a game twice during the season.

1928       After he clears waivers in the American League, the Braves purchase 35 year-old first baseman George Sisler from the Senators for $7,500. The future Hall of Famer will finish his 15-year career in Boston, hitting .326 during the three seasons he spends with the team.

1937       Carl Hubbell, working two innings in relief, wins his 24th consecutive game when the Giants beat Cincinnati, 3-2. Mel Ott’s ninth-inning home run proves to be the difference in the Crosley Field contest.

1941       Play is halted in the seventh inning of the Braves-Giants game at the Polo Grounds so the crowd of 17,009 and players can listen to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s radio address over the stadium’s P.A. system. After FDR announces the Proclamation of an Unlimited National Emergency, the tied 1-1 contest is resumed after a 45-minute delay.

1951       A large ad appears in the Minnesota Sunday Times asking the local fans for their continued support of the Millers despite the promotion of the team’s phenom to the major leagues. Giants owner Horace Stoneham explains Willie Mays’ performance, compiling a .477 batting average while hitting safely in 33 of 35 games, has warranted the young outfielder’s move to the Polo Grounds in New York.

1955       In the first five innings of a 16-0 Red Sox rout of the Senators, Norm Zauchin drives in ten runs. Boston’s 26 year-old first baseman accomplishes the feat with home runs in the first, second, and fifth frames along with a fourth-inning double.

1959       National League president Warren Giles rules the final score of Haddix’s ‘perfect game’ is 1-0. Hank Aaron (for leaving base path) and Joe Adcock (for passing Aaron) are declared out, with Adcock’s round-tripper scored as a double instead of a home run.

1960       Orioles catcher Clint Courtney becomes the first backstop to use the big knuckleball glove, an innovation of manager Paul Richards. The larger mitt, which has a 45-inch circumference, helps as knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm goes the distance in Baltimore’s 3-2 victory at Yankee Stadium in a game that doesn’t feature a wild pitch or a passed ball.

1968       Major league baseball expands outside the confines of the United States when the National League announces the addition of Montreal to the circuit. San Diego is also awarded an expansion team.

1974       In a game that takes only one hour and thirty-eight minutes to complete, Pirates starter Ken Brett blanks the Padres 6-0, allowing just two hits in the Three Rivers Stadium contest. In the second game of a twin bill, the Bucs’ southpaw pinch-hits a seventh-inning two-run triple which contributes to the Pirates’ 8-7 victory over the Friars.

1981       After Lenny Randle drops to his hands and knees in an attempt to ‘encourage’ Amos Otis’ slow roller to go foul, umpire Larry McCoy accuses the Mariner third baseman of blowing the ball foul. Randle’s explanation that he was merely yelling at the ball not to stay fair is initially convincing until Royals’ manager Jim Frey complains.

1984       Mario Soto, Cincinnati’s starting pitcher, is ejected from the game when he shoves Steve Rippley, the third base umpire who called Ron Cey’s foul ball down the left-field line a home run. Although the decision will be reversed, the Reds’ right-hander will also attack Cubs coach Don Zimmer, prompting National League president Chub Feeney to suspended the fiery fireballer for five games, the first of the two suspensions he will be given this season.

1984       “How do you fine a bat boy?” – WILLIAM CUTLER, president of the Pacific League. Portland Beavers bat boy Sam Morris is thrown out of a game by umpire Pam Postema for refusing to retrieve a folding chair that his ejected manager Lee Elia had hurled into right field during an animated tirade. The 14 year-old junior high school student, who declined to follow the arbitrator’s directive out of loyalty to his skipper, will not have to pay the $25 fine, which is usually automatic for being tossed from a PCL game.

1986       ” What do you expect when they build a ballpark on the ocean?” – Oil Can Boyd, after a game at Cleveland Stadium, located on the shore of Lake Erie, is postponed due to fog. The Red Sox are credited with a 2-0 victory when the game cannot be continued due to the dense fog that rolls into Cleveland Stadium. The postponed contest, which ends with the Tribe having baserunners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, prompts Boston’s right-hander Oil Can Boyd to infamously blame the lack of visibility on the ballpark’s proximity to the ocean, not nearby Lake Erie.

1987       Davey Johnson surpasses Gil Hodges as the winningest manager in Mets history with his 340th win, a 4-3 triumph over the Giants at Candlestick Park. The New York skipper, who has averaged 98 victories during his first three seasons, will compile a 595-417 record (.588) during his six-plus years with the team.

1990       Along with Frank Tanana, Giants’ hurler Rick Reuschel becomes only one of two pitchers to give up a homer to Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds, the two future all-time major league home run kings, when the 25 year-old Buc slugger takes him deep in the team’s 5-2 loss to the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium. In 1973, while pitching for the Cubs in his sophomore season, the right-hander served up the 691st of 755 career round-trippers blasted by Bad Henry.

1992       The last-place Braves beat the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, 9-3. The victory is the start of a 78-37 run which will propel Atlanta to its second straight West Division title, finishing eight games in front of the Reds.

1993       After hitting just .143 in 26 games for the Rockies, former Brave superstar Dale Murphy retires from baseball. The two-time National League MVP leaves the game with a career average of .265, 398 home runs, and 1,266 RBIs.

1995       In a complete-game effort, Steve Ontiveros limits the Yankees to one hit in the A’s 3-0 victory at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The 34 year-old right-hander’s bid for a no-hitter is spoiled by a two-out sixth inning single by Luis Polonia.

1997       At the Metrodome, Ken Griffey Jr. breaks his own major league mark for home runs hit through May when he goes deep for his 23rd round-tripper of the season in an 11-10 loss to Minnesota. The Mariners outfielder had established the record in 1994.

2000       The Cardinals pay tribute to Hall of Fame hurler Dizzy Dean by dedicating a statue, created by sculptor Harry Weber, outside of Busch Stadium. The colorful character joins Enos Slaughter, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Stan Musial, and Red Schoendienst to be honored in such a manner by the Redbirds.

2000       The Reds retire the No. 24 jersey worn by Hall of Famer Tony Perez, marking just the sixth time the oldest professional baseball organization has bestowed the honor. The former first baseman and manager joins Fred Hutchinson (1), Johnny Bench (5), Joe Morgan (8), Ted Kluszewski (18), and Frank Robinson (20) to be honored in such a manner. Ken Griffey Jr., after being acquired by the Reds in the offseason, agrees to switch his uniform number from 24 to 30, the number worn by his father as a member of the Big Red Machine.

2003       In Atlanta, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a decision that prevents the Florida attorney general from investigating the 2001 attempt by MLB to eliminate two teams. The 11th circuit decision of Judges Gerald B. Tjoflat, Susan H. Black, and Richard W. Goldberg, considered to be a major victory by the commissioner’s office, is based on the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and state law rather than the sport’s antitrust exemption.

2004       At Kauffman Stadium, the visiting Tigers tie a club record by collecting 27 hits, including Carlos Pena’s 6-for-6 performance, in a 17-7 rout of the Royals. The first time Detroit banged out that many hits in a game was against the Yankees at the end of the 1928 season at Navin Field.

2004       After beating the Oakland A’s, Curt Schilling, on his way home from Fenway, calls the cops on his cell phone to report an erratic driver. The Westwood Police Department apprehended the driver and pulled him over.

2006       Curt Schilling and the Red Sox beat the Devil Rays, 6-4, making the right-handed hurler the 104th player to amass 200 victories. Pitching a perfect ninth inning, Jonathan Papelbon establishes a rookie record by recording his 18th save in 18 tries.

2008       When Jamie Carroll is caught off first base by White Sox pitcher Ehren Wasserman’s fake throw to third and gets into a rundown, David Dellucci, the runner on third, breaks for home and scores on first baseman Paul Konerko’s throw in the dirt, which also allows Carroll to reach second and Grady Sizemore, the runner on second, to move to third base. Chuck Murr, official scorer of the Indians’ 8-2 victory over the White Sox, credits all three runners with stolen bases, making it the first triple steal to be accomplished, since 1987 when Atlanta pulled it off against Houston.

2008       With a 44-0 record and needing just one more win to become the first undefeated team in N.C.A.A. baseball history, Connecticut’s Trinity College loses to Johns Hopkins 4-3. The loss sets up a winner-take-all in the Division III World Series in which the Hartford-based school scores a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game, 5-4, and the national championship.

2009       Gerry Rodriguez completes his cycle with a tenth inning walk-off home run. The minor leaguer’s four hits help pace the Rome Braves to a 4-3 victory over the Greenville Drive in South Atlantic League action.

2009       Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka and two relievers combine to throw six wild pitches, making it only the fifth time since 1900 that the dubious feat has been accomplished. Dice K ties an 80-year club franchise with four errant throws to catcher George Kottaras, with relievers Manny Delcarmen and Justin Masterson each uncorking one.

2012       A sign bearing the likeness of Mike Piazza connecting for his decisive eighth-inning home run in the Mets’ 3-2 victory against Atlanta in the first professional sports event in New York City following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 proves to be the winning entry in the Mets’ revival of Banner Day, a team tradition started in 1963 that lasted until 1996. The artwork, created by cousins Olivia Nuzzo and Stephanie Giangrande, included a section of the NYC’s former skyline, with the WTC towers silhouetted above Piazza’s heroic homer in mid-swing above the words, “The home run that helped heal N.Y. God Bless America. Let’s Go Mets.”

2017       “We are honored to pay tribute to the 25th anniversary of Homer at the Bat. The Simpsons has left an impressive imprint on our culture as the longest-running American sitcom, and ‘Homer at the Bat’ remains as popular today as when the episode aired in 1992. ” – Hall of Fame President JEFF IDELSON, commenting about the Cooperstown celebration of the animated series.

The Baseball Hall of Fame inducts fictional cartoon character Homer Simpson as part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Simpsons episode ‘Homer at the Bat.’ As part of the ceremony, a roundtable discussion of the much-beloved episode includes comments by real Hall of-Famers Wade Boggs and Ozzie Smith, who played themselves on the animated show, as well as executive producers Al Jean and Mike Reiss, director Jim Reardon, executive story editor Jeff Martin and casting director Bonnie Pietila.