Tag: sports history

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MLB General

Sep 15 in Sports History: Screw the Mannings



Alou brothers

In 1938, Lloyd and Paul Waner of the Pittsburgh Pirates became the first brothers to hit back-to-back home runs in a major league game. It was Lloyd’s last career homer.

In 1963, All three Alou brothers – Felipe, Matty and Jesus started in the same outfield for the San Francisco Giants in a 13-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Matty was pulled before his first at-bat and Felipe and Jesus went a combined 1 for 7 with an RBI and three runs scored.

In 1985, pitcher Joe Niekro is traded to the Yankees, reuniting him with brother Phil in the rotation for for the first time since 1974, when they both pitched for the Braves.

In 1990, Brothers Cal and Billy Ripken both hit solo home runs off David Wells in the 5th inning of a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

In another strange theme today, several baseball games were cancelled or forfeited for a variety of off-the-wall reasons.

In 1946, A game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field was called in the fifth inning because a swarm of gnats was attacking players, umpires and the fans.

In 1977, despite being in a heated division battle with the Red Sox and Yankees, manager Earl Weaver of the Baltimore Orioles pulled his team off the field because of what he felt was a hazardous condition in the visitors bullpen in Toronto. There was a small tarp being held down on the mound by bricks. When Weaver refused to return his players to the field, the game was forfeited to the Blue Jays. The O’s finished tied for second with Boston at 97-64.

and in 1907, a game was called in St. Louis between the Browns and Detroit Tigers when a fan threw a soda bottle and knocked out home plate umpire Billy Evans. The crowd began beating up the fan, and police had to restore order. Evans was hospitalized with minor injuries.

(courtesy of baseball-almanac.com and baseballlibrary.com)

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Baltimore Ravens

Sep 14 in Sports History: Jamal Lewis predicts record


In 2003: Jamal Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens broke the single-game NFL rushing record with 295 yards in a 33-13 win against the Cleveland Browns. Lewis carried 30 times for a ridiculous average of 9.8 yards per carry and scored on touchdown runs of 82 (on the second play from scrimmage) and 63 yards. Another 60-yard TD run was nullified by a holding penalty. Lewis went on to rush for 2,066 yards in the 2003 season, second most all-time behind Eric Dickerson. Lewis’s performance in Baltimore surpassed Corey Dillon’s 278 yard effort in 2000. Most impressive though was that Jamal Lewis predicted his record setting day during the week leading up to the game.

In 1994: Although it was a foregone conclusion to many, baseball owners voted 26-2 in favor of officially cancelling the remainder of the season as a result of the then month-old players strike. It was the first time since 1903 that there would be no World Series. The strike did not end until the following April. (baseballlibrary.com)

In 1930: The Detroit Lions franchise played their first NFL game (as the Portsmouth Spartans). They defeated the Newark Tornados 13-6. Although they started 3-0-1, they would finish their first season 5-6-3. They officially became the Lions in 1934, when they also began the tradition of playing on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. The Lions have an all-time record of 485-542-32 (with a 21-60 record under the Matt Millen regime). (Courtesy of the ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia)

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St. Louis Cardinals

Sep 8 in Sports History: Mark McGwire breaks Roger Maris’ record


In 1998: Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris single season homerun record with his 62nd of the year in St. Louis. McGwire’s low line drive off a Steve Trachsel pitch barely cleared the left field fence. Sammy Sosa of the Cubs, who was locked in a then-riveting battle with McGwire to catch Maris, came in from right field to embrace McGwire. “Big Mac” finished with 70 on the season and Sosa ended up with 66. Although many laugh about it now while others are angry at the fraud that was perpetrated that summer (re: Congressional hearings of 2005), the Home Run Chase of ‘98 was believed to help lift baseball out of its post-strike doldrums. On a side note, does anyone remember the kid who tore up his winning lottery ticket by just handing the homerun ball back to McGwire? We can’t help but wonder how much those signed bats he received in return are worth right now.

In 2002: In an exciting and historic opening weekend of NFL action, Dwayne Rudd of the Cleveland Browns would end up costing his team a home playoff game by forgetting the Emmitt Smith Rule. After stopping the Chiefs on the last play of the game, Rudd removed his helmet on the playing field and tossed it 15 feet into the air in celebration. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called and Kansas City was able to use their final free play to kick a game-winning field goal for a 40-39 victory. The Browns finished a game behind the Steelers and ended up losing to them at Heinz Field in a Wild Card game…… The Houston Texans made their debut with a 19-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at brand new Reliant Stadium. Although, they finished 4-12 in 2002, the future looked bright for the Texans upon returning to Houston that evening. They selected what they believed to be a franchise quarterback in David Carr at no. 1 overall; and Reggie Bush and Mario Williams were only seniors in high school.

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Baltimore Orioles

Sep 6 in Sports History: Cal Ripken breaks Lou Gehrig’s record


In 1995: Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles broke Lou Gerhig’s record by playing in his 2,131 consecutive game. Ripken’s streak began on May 30, 1982 and didn’t end until 1998, after 2,632 games. The game against the California Angels was stopped in the fifth inning for 22 minutes as soon as the game was official. The crowd celebrated as the huge banner counting the games dropped from the warehouse across from Camden Yards. Ripken then took a lap around the field, shaking hands with the crowd. He even homered off Shawn Boskie in the 4th inning. The Orioles won the game 4-2.

In 2002 The Minnesota Twins defeated the Oakland A’s 6-0 at the Metrodome, ending the A’s record-setting 20-game winning streak. The A’s defeated the Royals 12-11 the night before in Oakland to win their 20th straight on a dramatic game-winning homer by Scott Hatteberg. The two teams would meet in the postseason, with the Twins winning a five game series.

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Olympics

Sep 5 in Sports History: Cassius Clay wins Gold


In 1960: A young boxer from Louisville named Cassius Clay (His mamma named him Cassius, we gonna call him Cassius) won the Gold Medal in the light heavyweight division at the Rome Olympics. The 18-year-old future heavyweight champ defeated Zbiginew Pietrzykowski of Poland by a unanimous decision. He turned pro later that year and changed his name to Muhammed Ali in 1964.

In 1972 At the Munich Olympics, 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage by a group of Palestinian militants and were later killed in a shootout. The Games were put on hold for 24 hours and 80,000 people attended a memorial service in the Olympic Stadium. The next day, after serious debate, IOC president Avery Brundage made the famous declaration, “the Games must go on.”

In 1994: In front of a national audience on Monday Night Football and a Candlestick Park record crowd, Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers caught his third TD pass of the game to break Jim Brown’s NFL record with his 127th career touchdown. Rice’s three scores paced the Niners to an easy 44-14 victory over the Los Angeles Raiders. Rice went on to score an untouchable 208 career touchdowns (Marvin Harrison of the Colts is the current active leader with 110).

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Pittsburgh Pirates

Sept 1 in Sports History: MLB’s first all-black lineup



Willie Stargell was black

In 1971: Manager Danny Murtaugh of the Pittsburgh Pirates starting lineup against the Phillies was Rennie Stennett, Gene Clines, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Manny Sanguillen, Dave Cash, Al Oliver, and Jackie Hernandez, with Doc Ellis pitching. It was believed to be the first all-black (with several Latinos, of course) lineup in Major League history. The Pirates won 10-7, and would go on to win the World Series that year.

In 1906: The Philadelphia A’s and Boston Americans played the longest game to date with the A’s winning in 24 innings. Amazingly, A’s starter Jack Coombs and the American’s Joe Harris pitched all 24 innings. Coombs faced 89 batters and struck out 18 for the win, while Harris was the hard-luck loser with 14 K’s while giving up 16 hits. His luck was so horrible that he had a 3-30 career record despite a respectable 3.35 ERA. (Courtesy of the ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia)

In 1996: 10 months after owner Art Modell announced his controversial move to Baltimore from Cleveland, the Ravens (the NFL ruled that the Browns name and colors would remain in Cleveland) played the first game in the city in 12 years and defeated the Oakland Raiders 17-14. The game was played at War Memorial Stadium, the old home of the Colts, who took off for Indianapolis in 1984. Vinny Testaverde of the Ravens ran for the winning score in the fourth quarter. Cleveland would be granted an expansion franchise for the 1999 season. (footballsearchengine.com)

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Boxing

August 31 in Sports History: Rocky Marciano killed in plane crash



Oh there they go. There they go, every
time I start talkin ’bout boxing, a
white man got to pull Rocky Marciano
out their ass. That’s their one, that’s
their one. Rocky Marciano. Rocky
Marciano.

In 1969: Former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano was killed in a plane crash near Newton, Iowa. The only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated at 49-0, Marciano died just one day shy of his 46th birthday. He had 43 career knockouts, including the great Joe Louis and Jersey Joe Walcott.

In 1881: As a precursor to the modern day U.S. Open, the first national tennis championship took place in Newport, RI. Richard Sears won the men’s singles (there were no doubles or ladies matches) for the first of seven straight titles.

In 1990: Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. became the first father-son tandem to start as teammates in a Major League game. With dad in left field and son in center, the Seattle Mariners defeated the Royals 5-2. Both singled and went 1-4.

In 1959: Sandy Koufax of the L.A. Dodgers tied Bob Feller’s ML record with 18 strikeouts in a 5-2 win against the Giants in front of 82,000 fans at the Coliseum. Koufax set another mark with 31 K’s over two games. The single-game record would be topped by Steve Carlton (19) in 1969 and again by Roger Clemens in 1986 and Kerry Wood in 1998 (20).

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MLB General

August 30 in Sports History: Ty Cobb makes his MLB debut


In 1905: In his MLB debut, Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers hit a double off Jack Chesboro of the New York Highlanders for the first of his record 4,191 career hits. Cobb played for the Tigers until 1926, and finished his career with a .366 batting average. Although later findings would reduce his hit total to 4,189, the record stood until 1985, when Pete Rose broke it.

In 1967 What is it with the Yankees and Red Sox playing two ridiculously long games within 24 hours? While most fans are familiar with the recent never-ending doubleheader and the 2004 ALCS marathons in Games 4 and 5 at Fenway Park, a 1967 twin bill in Yankee Stadium tied a Major League record for most innings played in a doubleheader (played by guess who? New York and Boston in 1905). After a 2-1 Red Sox win in game one, the teams played 20 innings in the nightcap, won by the Yankees 4-3. The two-game total was 8 hours, 15 minutes.

In 1998: Many people forget just how dominant Roger Clemens was during the 1997 and 1998 seasons while pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays. Clemens dominated the Twins, 6-0 for his third straight shutout and ran his scoreless innings streak to 29. He was a combined 41-13 with a 2.35 ERA and 549 strikeouts in his brief stint with the Blue Jays and won two Cy Young Awards.

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Boxing

August 29 in Sports History: First boxing match


In 1885: The first prize fight under the Marquess of Queensberry rules was held in Cincinnati Ohio. John L. Sullivan defeated Dominick McCaffry in the sixth round. The Marquess of Queensberry rules are the code of popularly accepted rules in the sport of boxing. They were written by John Graham Chambers and endorsed by the Marquess of Queensberry, hence the name. The rules were instrumental in making boxing more than just a bare knuckle brawl.

In 1973: Nolan Ryan, who holds the record for pitching seven no-hitters, was denied what would’ve been his eighth in a victory over the Yankees on a questionable ruling. In the first inning, Yankees catcher Thurman Munson hit a weak pop fly that dropped between two Angels infielders who were both calling for the ball. Munson was given a hit, though, and Ryan did not give up another in the 5-0 victory.

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New York Mets

August 25 in Sports History: Doc Gooden enters the record books


In 1985: Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets became the youngest pitcher ever to record 20 wins in a season with a 9-3 victory over the Padres. “Doctor K” was 20 years and nine months, one month older than Bob Feller, who previously held the record. Gooden won the pitching Triple Crown that year with a 24-4 record, 1.53 ERA and 268 strikeouts. He helped the Mets win the World Series in 1986, but substance abuse and off-the-field problems ruined what probably would have been a Hall of Fame career. He became a journeyman instead, drifting to the Yankees (where he threw a no-hitter in 1996), Indians, Astros and Devil Rays. He retired as a Yankee in 2000. (baseballlibrary.com)

In 1939: The first nationally televised Major League Baseball game took place in Cincinnati, with a doubleheader between the Dodgers and the Reds. The game was broadcast by Red Barber over W2XBS, and the teams split the doubleheader. In 1995, Windows 95 debuted, and in 1853, potato chips were invented by chef George Crum (seriously). (Magic City Morning Star)