Category: May

MAY 14-Stands collapse causing stampede

cropped-cropped-ball-2.jpg1927 | PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – A section of the stands at Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl collapsed on this date in 1927 causing a stampede which killed a fan and injured more than 50. The 50-foot section of the lower deck seats down the first base line gave way during a Philadelphia Phillies – St. Louis Cardinals game throwing some 300 fans out of their seats.

According to newspaper reports at the time, “The collapse threw the crowd into a panic and it swarmed on the field…” (The Charleston Gazette, West Virginia). The game was suspended with the Phillies ahead 12-3.

The ball park was officially named National League Park, but gained its moniker Baker Bowl or Baker Field as a reference to one-time owner William F. Baker.

“The collapse threw the crowd into a panic and it swarmed on the field…”

Since the ball park had to be squeezed into Philadelphia’s street grid there were some interesting dimensions. For example, the right field foul pole was just 275 feet from home plate. Right center was only 300 feet away. These softball-like distances required the erection of a wall 60 feet high in right field. By comparison, the “Green Monster” in Boston is 37 feet high.

Contributing sources:
The Pinstripe Press
The Baker Bowl
Philadelphia Phillies

 

MAY 12TH-NIGHT TRAIN REACHES 400

1926 | WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Walter Johnson won his 400th game on this date in 1926. Only one other pitcher has reached that plateau,  Cy Young, winner of an astonishing 511 games. You know Cy. They named an award after him.

Walter Johnson came from Humboldt, Kansas. He broke into the majors with the Washington Senators (today’s Minnesota Twins) in 1907 at age 19.

They called him “Night Train,” and he pitched for the next 21 years, finishing with records like 36-7, 33-12, 23-7, 25-13, 20-7, for a team that lost more than it won (The Senators finished under .500 eleven of the twenty-one seasons Johnson pitched for them).

Walter Johnson was said to have the fastest fastball in major league history, of course there were no radar guns in the teens and twenties, so we can’t really be sure.

Here are some figures from the “I didn’t know that” category that we are sure about;

• Johnson pitched 110 shutouts
• He won 38 games 1-0
• Remarkably, 26 of his losses were 1-0

Walter Johnson could hit too. Johnson finished the 1925 season with a .433 batting average, still a major league record for pitchers. His lifetime batting average was .235, not bad for a pitcher.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCE:
300 win club
Walter Johnson, Hall of Fame  

MAY 11-No more owner managers

1977 | PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA  –  Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner became Atlanta Braves manager Ted Turner on this date in 1977. He was fed up with a 16-game losing strike, so he put on the uniform and headed to the dugout himself.

It didn’t help.

The Braves lost their 17th straight. Owner-as-manager also didn’t last long. Turner’s actions were the impetus for a rule change.

National League Commissioner Chub Feeney put the kibosh on the idea of an owner ever taking over managerial authority right away. He also initiated a rule change stating that a team manager cannot own a financial interest in the team (wonder how George Steinbrenner voted).

The Braves won the next game. Molino Leon beat Pittsburgh’s Bruce Kison 2 to 1. It was a long season though. The Braves ended up in last place in the Western Division. Their record was 61 and 101; second worst in baseball to the expansion Toronto Blue Jays.

Read on:
www.retrosheet.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/
www.todayinbaseballhistory.com/

 

 

 

MAY 10-AARON’S ONLY “RUN” HOME

1967 | PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – On this date in 1967, Henry Aaron hit a home run inside-the-park. It would be the only one of his 755 career home runs that he had to sprint around the bases.

It was the eighth inning when Aaron took Phillies’ ace Jim Bunning (later a United States Senator from Kentucky) deep to center field. Aaron sprinted around the bases, driving in pinch runner Miguel de la Hoz who had been on first, and scored ahead of the relay.

Aaron didn’t have only one inside-the-parker because he was slow; he stole 240 bases in his career. Another irony about Henry Aaron’s accomplishments is that he hit 3 home runs in one game only once. But Aaron’s list of records and accomplishments is set apart from mere mortal ballplayers:

  • All-time career home run leader from 1974 to 2001 (755)
  • All-time RBI leader: 2,297
  • All-time extra-base hits leader: 1,477
  • 21 All-Star appearances
  • The Sporting News NL Player of the Year: 1956, 1963
  • NL batting champion: 1956 (.328), 1959 (.355)
  • NL MVP: 1957
  • Gold Glove award: 1958, 1959, 1960
  • Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: 1982

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Career home run leaders
The Associated Press (AP), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 11, 1967

MAY 6 – Up on the roof

MAY 6, 1964 | CHICAGO , ILLINOIS – Chicago White Sox slugger Dave Nicholson hit a home run over the roof of old Comiskey Park in Chicago on this day in 1964. Some believe the ball cleared the roof, which would have meant it traveled over 570 feet, but that cannot be confirmed.

Nicholson, a relative unknown, joined a select group that day. Before May 6, 1964, only 10 other players reached Comiskey Park’s roof. They were:

Babe Ruth
Lou Gehrig
Jimmy Foxx
Hank Greenberg
Ted Williams
Mickey Mantle
Bill Skowron
Elston Howard
Eddie Robinson
Minnie Minoso

Dave Nicholson had potential written all over him when he broke in with the Baltimore Orioles in 1960 at the age of 20, but the potential never blossomed. His best year was 1963 with the White Sox. He played in 126 games, hit 22 home runs and had 70 RBI. The problem was, he hit only .229 (the highest batting average in his 7 years in major league baseball) and struck out a club record 175 times.

At 6 – 2, 215 pounds, Nicholson is probably more known for something he did off the field as anything he did on it. He became so frustrated after a particularly tough day that he shut off the showers so hard in the Sox locker room none of his teammates could turn them back on. The story is confirmed by former teammate Jim Landis.

Contributing sources:
Total White Sox: The Definitive Encyclopedia of the World Champion Franchise, by Richard L Lindberg, copyright, 2006
Chicago White Sox records