Tag: Ty Cobb

Sep 11: Move over Cobb

SEPTEMBER 11, 1985 | CINCINNATI, OHIO • Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds became the all-time hits leader on this date in baseball history (1985). Charley Hustle, as he was known, got hit number 4,192 in the first inning to break Ty Cobb‘s record. Rose was 44 years old and in his 23rd major league season when he set the new record.

Rose, long admired for his fierce competitiveness, has since become persona non grata around baseball. He was banned from the game by Commissioner Bart Giamatti for gambling on baseball while he was a manager. Evidence surfaced that he even bet on his own team. His banishment has also made him ineligible for the Hall of Fame.

But you can’t argue with Rose’s lifetime numbers:

Hits: 4,256
Batting average: .303
Runs scored: 2,165
All-Star games: 17
MVP: 1973

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
September 11, 1985 box score
Pete Rose stats 

JUNE 13-Yankees, Tigers instigate riot

*1924 | DETROIT, MICHIGAN – You think fans get out of control today? Few events of this generation would match what occurred in Detroit today in baseball history – June 13, 1924. The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers got into a melee that became a full-blown riot involving fans at Detroit’s Navin Field. The situation got so out of control Detroit had to forfeit the game.

Tensions between the two teams had been building for days, led by Tiger star Ty Cobb, and Yankee star Babe Ruth. The animosity came to a head in the 9th inning of this, the 3rd game of the series. The Yankees’ Bob Meusel was batting. He got hit by a pitch from Detroit’s Bert Cole and proceeded to charge the mound. Several fights broke out.

The Associated Press went on to describe it this way in the next morning’s newspapers: “By this time the disorder was general and all Yankee and Tiger players were fighting among themselves. This was the signal for the irate fans to swarm upon the field. Policemen rushed from all corners of the park, but they were unable to cope with the situation.”

Seeing that peace could not be restored, the umpires declared the game forfeited to New York.

After the dust settled, the American League suspended Bert Cole and Bob Meusel, and fined Babe Ruth.

Contributing Sources:
Detroit, June 13, 1924, The Baltimore Sun
Greater Astoria Historical Society