From: steele@athena.cs.uga.edu (Frank Steele)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball
Subject: Today in Baseball History
Date: 16 Apr 92 19:46:02 GMT
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens

Just something I've thought about doing, these are from "The Baseball 
Chronology" by James Charlton, and may occasionally come from other sources
I'll note as I use them....

If you'd either a) like to see this continue, but edited down somewhat, or 
b) like to see it continue as completely as this, please let me know.

Also, some of the things referred to as records here no longer are. 
Follow-ups welcome.
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APRIL 16

100 YEARS AGO -- Ohio governor William McKinley participates in the WL (Western
1892             League, I guessed) opening game in Columbus, which defeats
                 Toledo 8-5. Ironically, McKinley would never attend a major-
                 league game as president.
		 
20 YEARS AGO -- In Chicago, 22-year-old Burt (Happy) Hooton of the Cubs no-hits
1972            the Phillies 4-0. It is Hooton's fourth major-league game over
                two seasons and he has allowed just 8 hits in 30 innings. 
                Throwing his knuckle curve, Hooton walks 7 and fans 7.
		
15 YEARS AGO -- Regulations force Oakland pitcher Vida Blue to discard his old,
1977            discolored, "lucky" cap because it is no longer "identical in
                color, trim and style" to those of his teammates.
		
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

1990 --  The Brewers have 20 hits, but no homers, in pounding Boston 18-0. It is
         Milwaukee's largest shutout margin ever.
	
1989 -- I almost hesitate to inflame the Jays fans, but Kelly Gruber becomes the
        first Blue Jay to hit for the cycle as Toronto beats KC 15-8.
	
1984 -- Dave Kingman hits 3 home runs -- including his 12th career grand slam --
        and drives in 8 runs in the A's 9-6 win over the Mariners. It is 
        Kingman's fifth career 3-homer game, one shy of the major league record
        held by Johnny Mize.
        The night before, Pete Rose had doubled off Jerry Koosman to reach 
        4,000 career hits.
	
1983 -- Montreal's Charlie Lea pitches the second one-hitter in as many days,
        shutting out the Astros 2-0. The only Houston hit is Terry Puhl's pinch
        single with two out in the eighth.
        Padres 1B Steve Garvey plays in his 1,118th consecutive game, breaking
        Billy Williams's NL record. Garvey goes 2-fo-4 in an 8-5 Padres loss
        to (appropriately) LA.
	
1980 -- Oakland's Matt Keough matches last season's victory total with his
        second win in two starts 6-1 over Seattle. Keough was 2-17 in 1979.
	
1978 -- Cardinal Bob Forsch hurls a no-hitter in beating the Phillies 5-0. It
        is the first no-hitter in St. Louis by a Cardinal since Jesse Haines in
        1924.
	
1973 -- Boston's Reggie Smith homers from both sides of the plate during a 
        9-7 loss to Detroit.
	
1970 -- Reds ace Jim Maloney suffers a severed Achilles tendon in his left
        leg while running the bases. He is replaced by 19-year-old rookie
        Don Gullet (I have his autograph -- FS :-) ), who earns his first
        major league victory. Maloney will never win another game in the 
        majors.

1969 -- The Orioles take first place in the AL East with an 11-8 win at 
        Fenway, and Baltimore will remain there the rest of the season.
	
1963 -- In a 13-inning, 11-10 loss at Minnesota, the Angels use 9 pitchers,
        tying the major league record for an extra-inning contest.
	
1960 -- Sam Jones's no-hit bid is spoiled with 2 out in the eighth by Walt
        Moryn's pinch home run. The Giants beat the Cubs 6-1.
	
1959 -- Phillie Dave Philley (no, I'm not making that up), who ended 1958 with
        8 consecutive pinch hits, starts 1959 with a pinch-hit single in his
        first at-bat. Lew Burdette and the Braves win 7-3.
	
1957 -- The Phils set an Opening Day record at Connie Mack Stadium as 37,667
        phans pay to see the Dodgers' Gino Cimoli hit a 12th-inning homer
        to win the game 7-6.
	
1956 -- Athletics purchase OF Johnny Groth from the Senators.

1955 -- En route to losing their first 5, the Redlegs hit 5 homers and lose to
        the Braves 9-5. The Braves' Johnny Logan goes 5-for-5.
	
1953 -- Connie Ryan has 6 consecutive hits, but the Phils lose 14-12 to 
        Pittsburgh. The Phillies score 9 runs in the top of the 5th, and the
        Pirates come back with 6 in the bottom to tie the NL record for
        runs in an inning.
        Lefty Billy Pierce of the White Sox throws a one-hitter against the
        Browns. Bobby Young's double in the 7th is the only St. Louis hit in
        the 1-0 shutout. Harry Brecheen allows the White Sox just 2 hits in 
        losing.
	
1952 -- Duke Snider goes 5-for-6 in a 14-8 Dodgers win over the Boston Braves.

1948 -- The White Sox beat the Cubs 4-1 at Wrigley Field (exhibition) with
        Jack Brickhouse at the WGN-TV mike. This is the first telecast in
        Chicago history.
	
1947 -- Cubs buy Lonnie Frey from Reds, keep him 9 weeks before selling him to
        the Yankees.
	
1945 -- The Red Sox allow 3 blacks -- Marvin Williams, Sam Jethroe, and Jackie
        Robinson -- to work out at Fenway Park. None is signed.
	
1944 -- Jack Hand of AP names the Yankees, White Sox, and Senators as favorites
        to win the AL pennant. Like most observers, he picks the Browns last.
	
1940 -- Working in 47-degree weather, Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians
        throws an Opening Day no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox, winning
        1-0 at Comiskey Park (sob). Rollie Hemsley has the only RBI. Edgar Smith
        is the losing pitcher in the first Opening Day no-hitter since 1909.
	
1938 -- Dizzy Dean is sold by the Cardinals to the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs pay
        $200,000 and send pitchers Curt Davis and Clyde Shoun to St. Louis. The
        Cardinals also buy Tuck Stainback from the Cubs for $15,000.
	
1936 -- Red Sox player-manager Joe Cronin breaks his thumb on a force play. He 
        will miss almost half the season.
	
1935 -- Babe Ruth's National League debut draws the largest Opening Day crowd,
        25,000, in Braves history. The Babe's 2-hit debut includes a 430-foot
        homer off Carl Hubbell, as Boston beats New York 4-2.
	
1934 -- Rain in Washington prevents FDR from throwing out the season's first 
        ball.

1929 -- Cubs open at Wrigley Field before an estimated 50,000, the biggest
        Opening Day turnout they've ever had, and beat the Pirates 3-1.
        Cleveland OF Earl Averill becomes the first AL player to hit a homer in
        his first major league time at bat when he blasts an 0-2 pitch off
        Detroit's Earl Whitehall in the Indians 5-4 11-inning victory.
	
1928 -- For the first time, a pitcher is deprived of his glove when the 
        Brooklyn captain complains and the ump removes Boston's Charlie 
        Robertson's glove. The New York Times reports "The Robins detected
        Robertson doing odd stunts with the ball with the aid of his glove.
        They reported it to umpire Moran who made Robertson change his glove."
        Robertson still wins 3-2.
	
1918 -- In their season openers, the Reds' Pete Schneider and the Red Sox' Carl
        Mays each pitch one-hitters. The Giants play before a record crowd of 
        30,000 in the Polo Grounds, beating Brooklyn 6-4.
	
1916 -- Now with Cleveland, Tris Speaker doubles against the Tigers' Hooks 
        Dauss, the first of 41 that will tie him with teammate Jack Graney for 
        the AL lead, and one of an all-time career high of 792. Indians top
        Detroit 4-3.
	
1898 -- The league urges official scorers to award hits, rather than automatic
        errors, on hard-hit balls that handcuff infielders; to be scrupulous in
        awarding assists to all players handling balls in rundowns; and to cease
        awarding hits to batters on fielder's-choice plays.
        The Sportsman's Park grandstand is destroyed by fire in the 2nd inning
        with the Browns at bat against Chicago. Forty persons are injured as
        a crowd of 6,000 stampedes to escape. Browns manager Tim Hurst and 
        players help workmen remove debris so that the April 17th day game can
        be played.
	
1896 -- The 12-team National League season opens, with the larges Opening Day
        crowd of the 19th Century, 24,500, seeing the opener in Philadelphia.
        Veteran Cincinnati Reds 2B Bid McPhee opens the season wearing a glove
        for the first time, and survives several weeks of good-natured ribbing
        by opponents. He is the last to convert.
	
1887 -- Opening Day in the American Association. Two rookies, Mike Griffin of
        the Baltimore Orioles and George "White Wings" Tebeau of Cincinnati,
        hit HRs in their first major league at-bats. They are the first of many
        to accomplish this.
	
1874 -- The first championship match of the 1874 season is played in 
        Philadelphia, with the Athletics defeating the Philadelphias (now 
        referred to as the Pearls) 14-5.

Once again, these are from "The Baseball Chronology," by James Charlton.

A rich history indeed, eh?

Frank
steele@athena.cs.uga.edu