Goose Eggs

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - If you prefer a lot of offense, the Detroit Tigers-Washington Senators game played on this date in 1909 would not have been for you. If you like pitchers' duels, you would have been in ecstasy. The game went 18 innings and not a single run crossed home plate for either team. The game was called after 18 innings, presumably because of darkness. Here's the line score:

----------------1 2 3  4 5 6  7 8 9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18  - R H
Washington    0 0 0  0 0 0   0 0 0    0   0   0    0   0   0   0   0    0   -  0 7
Detroit           0 0 0  0 0 0   0 0 0    0   0   0    0   0   0   0   0    0   -  0 6

Detroit's Ed Summers pitched the entire game. Could you imagine pitching 18 scoreless innings and not even getting a decision, let alone a shutout win?

Summers' career was not long, but it was productive. Besides this Harvey Haddix-like performance** (before Harvey Haddix was even born), Summers pitched both ends of a doubleheader during the 1908 pennant drive. He won them both, both complete games. Summers was 24-12 his rookie year, and 19-9 the second year. His career was cut short by Rheumatoid Arthritis after just five seasons.

**Harvey Haddix was the hardluck pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates who pitched a perfect game for 12 innings in 1959 but then lost the perfect game, the no-hitter and the game in the 13th.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
July 16, 1909 Retrosheet
More on Ed Summers