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This Day in Baseball History
July 17th

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38 Fact(s) Found
1890 For the first time in baseball history, two 300-game winners are opponents as Tim Keefe of the Giants faces Pittsburgh's Jim 'Pud' Galvin in a Players League match-up. New York beats the Burghers, 8-2, in the first of four historic confrontations between the two future members of the Hall of Fame.
1903 In a Tri-State League contest, 25-year-old Dan McClellan throws a perfect game, beating the Penn Park Athletic Club of York. The Cuban X-Giants southpaw is the first black pitcher to accomplish the feat in professional baseball.
1904 At New Jersey's Wiedenmeyer's Park, which will become better known as Ruppert Stadium, the Highlanders host an American League game, beating Detroit in the Newark ballpark, 3-1. The team plays the home contest away from Hilltop Park, the team's usual home, to avoid New York City's blue laws.
1912 🇸🇪 At the Ostermalm Athletics Grounds, Sweden's Vasteras Baseball Club plays an exhibition game at the Summer Olympics against an American team. The squad from the United States, who unsurprisingly wins the contest 13-3, consists of athletes in Stockholm competing for gold medals in other sports.
1914 Against the Giants, control artist Babe Adams of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches an entire 21-inning game without issuing a single walk. The longest contest in big-league history without a base-on-balls is decided by Larry Doyle's home run in the top of the frame, giving Rube Marquard, who also goes the distance, the 3-1 victory.
1918 The Phillies play the longest game in franchise history, a 2-1 loss in 21 innings to Chicago at Weeghman Park. The starting pitchers, Philadelphia right-hander Milt Watson and Chicago southpaw Lefty Tyler go the distance, hurling a complete game in the marathon.
1923 Yankee starter Carl Mays goes the distance, losing to the Indians at Cleveland's Dunn Field, 13-0. The 31-year-old right-handed submariner gives up 20 hits, including four singles and a double, to the Tribes' leadoff batter Charlie Jamieson, who enjoys a 5-for-5 day at the plate.
1924 Cardinals' knuckleballer and future Hall of Famer Jesse Haines throws a no-hitter, beating the Braves at Sportsman's Park, 5-0, to become the first post-1900 Redbird hurler to accomplish the feat. Another 54 years will pass until the next no-hit game happens in St. Louis, a span ending in 1978 when Bob Forsch holds the Phillies hitless at Busch Stadium.
1934 Cubs right-hander Lon Warneke, with his team ahead of New York, 3-1, loads the bases in the seventh inning with an intentional pass to face opposing pitcher Roy Parmalee. The strategy backfires when the hurler hits a grand slam, a drive that barely clears the right-field wall, proving to be the difference in the Giants' 5-3 victory in the opener of a twin bill at the Polo Grounds.
1936 Carl Hubbell's 24-game winning streak, spanning over twenty-seven games and 207.2 innings over two seasons, begins with a 6-0 victory over the Pirates. King Karl will keep winning until Memorial Day next season when the southpaw lasts only 3.1 innings in the team's 10-3 loss to the Dodgers at the Polo Grounds.
1941 Thanks to the outstanding defensive work of Indians' third baseman Ken Keltner, Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak ends in Cleveland's Municipal Stadium in front of 67,000 fans. The 'Yankee Clipper,' who batted .408 during the stretch, will begin another hitting spree lasting 17 games, extending the remarkable span of hitting safely to 73 of 74 games.
1947 Less than two weeks after Larry Doby's debut with the Indians, Hank Thompson becomes the second black player to debut in the American League and the first for the Browns. The former Kansas City Monarchs standout, who will play in only 27 games for St. Louis because his presence does not significantly raise attendance, goes 0-for-4 in the team's 16-2 loss to Philadelphia at Sportsman's Park.
1947 At Cleveland Stadium, the Yankees sweep a doubleheader against the Indians, 3-1 and 7-2. The victories extend the club's winning streak to 19 games, equaling the American League mark established by the White Sox in 1906.
1954 With Jim Gilliam (2b), Jackie Robinson (3b), Sandy Amoros (lf), Roy Campanella (c), and Don Newcombe (p) in the starting lineup against the Braves, the Dodgers field the first team which consists of a majority of black players. The historic five helps Brooklyn to beat Milwaukee at County Stadium, 2-1.
1957 In front of a House Judiciary subcommittee, team owner Arnold Johnson, contrary to the truth, denies he has favored the Yankees when trading players from the A's to the Bronx. Due to many recent suspicious deals between the New York and Kansas City clubs, Congress is skeptical.
1959 Mel Allen asks his director to replay Jim McAnay's ninth-inning single, the first hit allowed by Ralph Terry in the team's eventual 2-0 loss to Cleveland at the Bronx ballpark. The Yankee broadcaster's request marks the first use of instant replay in a baseball broadcast.
1961

"I think if I had my life to live over again, I'd do things a little different. I was aggressive, perhaps too aggressive. Maybe I went too far. I always had to be right in any argument I was in, I always had to be first in everything. I do indeed think I would have done some things different. And if I had I believe I would have had more friends"- TY COBB, quoted in Voices from Cooperstown: Baseball's Hall of Famers Tell It Like It Was by Anthony J. Connor.

After checking in a month earlier at an Atlanta hospital, where he placed beside his bed a brown bag filled with $1 million in negotiable securities and a Luger, Ty Cobb dies at seventy-four after a long battle with cancer. Only three former players, Ray Schalk, Mickey Cochrane, Nap Rucker, and Baseball Hall of Fame director Sid Keener, attend the Georgia Peach's funeral services.

1961 Rain in the top of the fifth inning in the nightcap of a twin bill against the Orioles washes out homers by Yankee sluggers Roger Maris (35) and Mickey Mantle (32), both ahead of the Bambino's record 1927 pace. The Memorial Stadium rainout occurs on the same day Commissioner Ford Frick decrees that Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs stands unless a player hits 61 or more within the first 154 games of the newly expanded 162-game schedule.

(Ed. Note: The Commissioner expands the explanation stating any mark accomplished in the additional games would be regarded as a separate record in the books. - LP)

1964 In Los Angeles, the Chavez Ravine contest becomes the first Pay-TV baseball game as Subscription Television offers subscribers the opportunity to watch the cablecast for a fee. The Dodgers beat Chicago, 3-2, with Don Drysdale collecting ten strikeouts.
1969 At Metropolitan Stadium, Gold Glove pitcher Jim Kaat commits three errors. The 30-year-old right-hander still gets the victory when the Twins beat the White Sox, 8-5.
1974 Cardinals right-hander Bob Gibson becomes the second pitcher in major league history to record 3000 career strikeouts when he fans Cesar Geronimo of the Reds. In 1923, Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators became the first major leaguer to reach the milestone.
1976 Walter Alston becomes the sixth skipper to win 2,000 games when the Dodgers overcome a four-run first-inning deficit and beat Chicago at Chavez Ravine, 5-4. 'Smokey' will leave at the end of the season, finishing his 23-year tenure in his only managerial position in the majors with a 2,040-1,613 record (.558).
1978 Just before starting the Oriole game at Memorial Stadium, Doc Medich enters the stands and saves a 61-year-old fan suffering from a heart attack. The Ranger right-hander, a medical student in the off-season, administers a heart massage to the ailing man until medical help arrives.
1978 Reggie Jackson is suspended for five days without pay by the Yankees. During a Bronx Bomber loss, the future Hall of Fame slugger incurs skipper Billy Martin's wrath by striking out attempting to bunt after being explicitly told to hit away.
1979 At Seattle's Kingdome, Pirates outfielder Dave Parker, who cuts down Brian Downing at home with an amazing throw, is named the All-Star Game's MVP when the National League wins its eighth straight Midsummer Classic. In the 7-6 victory over the Junior Circuit, Mets outfielder Lee Mazzilli homers to tie the game in the eighth and then walks in the ninth, plating the eventual winning run.

1987 Don Mattingly becomes the first American League player to hit a home run in seven consecutive games. The Yankees' first baseman will equal Dale Long's 1956 major-league mark tomorrow, hitting a round-tripper in eight straight contests.
1987 In his major league debut, Ken Caminiti hits a triple and a homer and scores the winning run in the ninth inning when the Astros edge the visiting Phillies, 2-1. The Houston rookie is just the fourth big leaguer to have hit a home run and triple in his first game.
1990 Minnesota becomes the first team in baseball history to turn two triple plays in the same game. The Twins' multiple around-the-horn triple killings, accomplished after being started by the third baseman (5-5-4-3), aren't enough when the team loses to the Red Sox at Fenway Park, 1-0.

1990 Bo Jackson homers three times off Andy Hawkins, going deep in the first, third, and fifth frames in the Royals' 10-7 victory at Yankee Stadium, leaving the game after dislocating his shoulder attempting to catch a fly ball in the sixth inning. The Kansas City center fielder will blast another round-tripper in his first plate appearance on August 26th, giving him home runs in four consecutive at-bats, albeit 40 days apart.

(Ed.note - Our thanks to J. Quagliata for suggesting this entry. -LP)
1991 In a fifteen-inning loss to Kansas City at Royals Stadium, Orioles DH Sam Horn becomes the fifth and first non-pitcher in major league history to strike out six consecutive times in a single game. In 1913, Carl Weilman, a hurler for the Browns, became the first big leaguer to whiff a half-dozen times in a contest.

(Ed. Note: The Dickinson Baseball Dictionary defines the dubious feat with a new term, thanks to Mike Flanagan, the DH’s teammate, who shared with the postgame media, “From now on, six [strikeouts] will be known as a ‘Horn’ - LP)

1993 In a Northwest League contest, Jason Thompson's error with two outs in the ninth inning spoils Glenn Dishman's bid for a perfect game against the Yakima Bears. On a routine ground ball, the Spokane first baseman, anxious to begin celebrating his teammate's accomplishment, pulls his foot off the bag before recording the final out.
1993 Mets southpaw Frank Tanana becomes the second of only two pitchers, along with Rick Reuschel, to give up a home run to both Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds when the Giants' left fielder goes deep for the Giants' only run in the team's 3-1 loss at Candlestick Park. In 1976, Hank Aaron, finishing his career with the Brewers, hit a three-run homer, the 748th of his then-record 755 round-trippers, off the left-hander pitching for the Angels.
2000 On the first pitch he sees in the major leagues, Chris Richard homers off Mike Lincoln, leading off the second inning of the Cardinals' 8-3 victory over the Twins at the Metrodome. The 26-year-old rookie outfielder, who will play only six games for St. Louis, becomes only the fourth Redbird in franchise history to accomplish the feat.

2008 The Phillies trade minor league prospects Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman, and Matthew Spencer to Oakland for right-hander Joe Blanton. The A's Opening Day starter, currently 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA, is expected to deepen Philadelphia's rotation.
2017 Ryan Zimmerman becomes the franchise home run leader with his 235th home run for the Nationals when he goes deep in the first inning off Reds Scott Feldman in the team’s 6-1 victory at Great American Ball Park. The 32-year-old Washington first baseman surpasses Vladimir Guerrero's total from playing eight seasons with the Montreal Expos.
2019 Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, standing in front of the Cal Ripken statue at Camden Yards, tweets a thank you to 'Mr. Cal' for allowing him to borrow the Orioles Hall of Fame infielder's number, promising to work and strive to be the next great 8 in Baltimore. The 23-year-old QB is true to his word, winning the NFL's MVP in his second season and at the same age as his idol.

2021 The unveiling of Marc Melon's sculpture A Handshake for a Century immortalizes the handshake between Jackie Robinson and George Shuba after Robinson hits his first professional home run. 'Shotgun' Shuba extends his hand, marking the first welcoming gesture between a black and white player, while other teammates on the 1946 International League's Montreal Royals fail to greet the rookie at home plate.

2021

"A shooting has been reported outside of the Third Base Gate at Nationals Park. Fans are encouraged to exit the ballpark via the CF and RF gates at this time." -A TWEET, sent by the Nationals officials ten minutes after posting a message on the scoreboard informing fans to remain inside the stadium.

After several loud gunshots echo from the left-field side of the ballpark, officials suspend Washington's game against the Padres. The exchange of gunfire on a nearby street, causing some fans to seek cover in nearby dugouts, injures three people, including a woman who attended the game, suffering a non-life-threatening injury when hit by a bullet outside Nationals Park.

38 Fact(s) Found