MAY 23, 1901 | CLEVELAND, OHIO – The Washington Senators were one of eight charter members of the American League when it began play in 1901. The Senators were also the essence of futility during most of their 60 years in the nation’s capital (the franchise moved to Minneapolis in 1961 and became the Minnesota Twins). They spent 60 years in the Washington, D.C., winning one World Series**.
A game on this date in 1901 gave their fans a glimpse of how difficult it would be to love the Senators. Washington had a 13-5 lead over the Cleveland Blues (today’s Cleveland Indians) in the bottom of the 9th with two outs.
The Senators needed one more out. They couldn’t get it. With two outs and no one on base, Cleveland scored 9 runs to beat the Senators 14 to 13. One more example of the Washington Senators’ essence of futility.
Contributing Sources:
Baseball-Reference May 23, 1901
retrosheet for May 23, 1901
Chicago Daily Tribune, May 22, 2017,