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This Day in Baseball History
May 1st

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54 Fact(s) Found
1879 At Cleveland's Kennard Street Park, the newly transplanted Blues, who played in Indianapolis last season, drop their season opener to the Providence Grays, 15-4. The game marks the managerial debut of 23-year-old right-hander Jim McCormick, the youngest skipper in major league history.
1883 National League baseball returns to the City of Brotherly Love when Philadelphia hosts its first Senior Circuit game since 1876. The Quakers drop a 4-3 decision to the Providence Grays at Recreation Park, the same ballpark which hosted the team's spring training.
1883 The Gothams play their first game in franchise history, defeating Boston, 7 to 5, at the Southeast Diamond at the Polo Grounds in a contest featuring four future Hall of Famers: catcher Buck Ewing, first baseman Roger Connor, center fielder John Montgomery Ward, and pitcher Mickey Welch. The newcomers, known later as the Giants, will finish the season in sixth place in the eight-team National League with a 46-50 record, sixteen games behind today's opponent, the league-leading Beaneaters.

(Ed. Note: The game is played in front of the largest crowd to watch a baseball game in New York, including former President Ulysses Grant among the 15,000 spectators. -LP)

1884 Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes the first black player in the major leagues when the Blue Stockings drop a 5-1 decision to Louisville at Eclipse Park. The 27-year-old Toledo catcher, who will hit above the league average, batting .263 in the 42 games he plays with the American Association team, goes 0-for-3 and commits four errors in his much-anticipated debut.

1891 In front of 10,000 fans, Spider right-hander Cy Young beats the visiting Reds, 12-3, in the first game ever played in Cleveland's League Park. The National League club calls the Hough neighborhood ballpark home until 1899, when the club goes out of business, losing its best players due to the actions of their unscrupulous owner, which resulted in a disastrous 20-134 season.
1901 Herm McFarland hits the first grand slam in American League history, contributing to the White Sox' 19-9 rout of the Tigers. Detroit commits an AL-record 12 errors, ten in the infield, in the South Side Park contest.
1906 At Brooklyn's Washington Park, Philadelphia southpaw John Lush strikes out 11 batters en route to throwing a 6-0 no-hitter against the Superbas, a team known as the Dodgers beginning in 1911. There will not be another no-hitter by a Phillies pitcher until Jim Bunning's perfect game against the Mets in 1964.
1920 Babe Ruth hits his 50th career home run, the first of the 659 round-trippers he will collect with the Yankees. The New York right fielder also contributes a double in the team's 6-0 victory over the Red Sox at the Polo Grounds, the ballpark they share with the National League's Giants.
1920 The longest game ever played ends after 26 innings in a 1-1 tie, with Brooklyn Robin right-hander Leon Cadore and the Braves hurler Joe Oeschger, also right-handed, both going the stretch for their respective clubs. Boston third baseman Charlie Pick establishes the major league record for hitless at-bats in one game, going 0-for-11 in the marathon.

1925 Seventeen-year-old Jimmie Foxx pinch-hits a single in his first major league at-bat in the A's 9-4 loss to Washington at Griffith Stadium. The future Hall of Famer will finish his 20-year career with a .325 lifetime batting average.
1926 Chattanooga right-hander Satchel Paige makes his professional pitching debut, blanking the New Orleans Algiers, 1-0. The Black Lookouts rookie gives up only two hits in the Negro Southern League contest.
1939 At Comiskey Park, the White Sox defeat the Cubs and Dizzy Dean, 4-1, in an exhibition game to benefit Monty Stratton. The former pitcher, who lost his leg in an off-season hunting accident, tries to pitch in the game and receives a new car and nearly $30,000 from the contest receipts.
1949 The second major league player born in Czechoslovakia, Philadelphia outfielder Elmer Valo, becomes the first American Leaguer to hit a pair of bases-loaded triples in the same game. In the A's 15-9 victory over the Senators at Shibe Park, the 28-year-old hustling line-drive hitter will deliver a third bases-loaded triple later in the season, equalling the AL mark Shano Collins established in 1918.
1951 In an 8-3 loss to the Yankees at Comiskey Park, White Sox hurler Randy Gumpert gives up the first of Mickey Mantle's 536 major league home runs. The ball blasted on Mother's Day, which will be worth $165,000 at Sotheby's auction in 2004, is inscribed by the future Hall of Fame slugger, including the following detail on the ball, "My first H.R. in the Majors, May 1st, 1951, 4:50 p.m. Chicago," as well as "6th inning off Randy Gumpert."
1951 At Comiskey Park, Minnie Minoso, becoming the first black to play for the White Sox, makes his debut, hitting a 415-foot home run off the Yankees' Vic Raschi on the first pitch in his first plate appearance with the team. The speedy outfielder, who previously played with the Cleveland Indians, bats .326 and leads the league in stolen bases and triples but loses to Yankee infielder Gil McDougald for Rookie of the Year honors.
1955 At Cleveland Stadium, the Indian starters put on a 'pitching clinic' during a doubleheader sweep of the Red Sox. Veteran Bob Feller holds Boston hitless for 6+ innings and hurls his major league record 12th one-hitter in a 2-0 victory, and in the nightcap, rookie left-hander Herb Score strikes out the first nine batters (he will whiff a total of 16) en route to a 2-1 four-hitter win.
1957 The Cubs trade Gene Baker and Dee Fondy to the Pirates for Dale Long and Lee Walls, who will combine to hit 45 home runs for their new team. Fondy will hit .313 for the Bucs, but in December, Pittsburgh trades the first baseman to the Reds for Ted Kluszewski.
1959 White Sox hurler Early Wynn one-hits the Red Sox while striking out 14 Boston batters. The 39-year-old pitcher's leadoff home run off Tom Brewer in the eighth inning proves to be the difference in the Comiskey Park contest when Chicago beats the Red Sox, 1-0.
1965 Yogi Berra, appearing in his first game since 1963, grounds out to first base unassisted when he pinch-hits in the eighth inning of the Mets' 9-2 loss to the Reds at Crosley Field. The former Yankees icon, who became a player-coach for the crosstown rivals after being fired as the Bronx Bombers' manager last fall, will play in four National League contests, collecting two hits in nine at-bats before retiring as a player.
1965 Tommy Davis, trying to break up a double play, dislocates and breaks his ankle sliding into second base in the fourth inning of the team's 4-2 victory over the Giants at Dodger Stadium. The two-time National League batting champ plays in only one other game this year, appearing as a pinch-hitter in the season finale. 
1965 After a 6-4 victory in the first game of the Astrodome twin bill, Dave Giusti and the Astros beat the Cubs again in the nightcap of a day-night doubleheader, 6-1, to extend the first-place team's winning streak to double digits. The ten consecutive victories remain a club record until 1999.
1966 Indian right-hander Sam McDowell, yielding only a third-inning double to Don Buford, hurls his second consecutive one-hitter when he blanks Chicago, 1-0, at Cleveland Stadium. In his previous start, 'Sudden Sam' also limited his opponents to one hit, a sixth-inning single by Kansas City outfielder Jose Tartabull.
1969 After being crushed for six runs in Cincinnati's 14-0 rout of the Astros a week ago, Don Wilson no-hits the Reds at Crosley Field, 4-0. The performance by the 24-year-old right-hander, who also authored a hitless game as a rookie, comes on the heels of Jim Maloney's no-no against Houston yesterday.
1972 Philadelphia starter Dick Selma goes the distance, three-hitting the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine, 2-1. The victory is the fifth consecutive complete game thrown by a Phillies starter, with Steve Carlton, Woody Fryman, Barry Lersch, and Bill Champion finishing their game without help from the bullpen.
1973 The Giants, one out from defeat, score seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to stun the Pirates at Candlestick Park, 8-7. Chris Arnold pinch-hits a two-out grand slam, and three batters later, Bobby Bonds delivers a walk-off three-run double to left field to complete San Francisco's incredible come-from-behind victory.
1974 Pirates starter Dock Ellis, upset with his opponent's swagger, hits the first three Reds batters he faces with the first five pitches he throws. After plunking Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Dan Driessen, the pitcher deliberately throws two pitches behind Tony Perez's head before walking the clean-up hitter and then goes 0-2 on Johnny Bench before Pittsburgh pilot Danny Murtaugh removes him.
1974 The commissioner's office suspends 16 Dodger players and three coaches for entering the stands on May 16 during the Wrigley Field scuffle with fans. The suspensions, totaling 60 games for players and 24 games for coaches, are the harshest penalty ever handed down by major league baseball.
1979 In the bottom of the 11th inning, pinch-hitter Roger Freed blasts a two-out walk-off ultimate grand slam, giving the Cardinals an incredible 7-6 comeback victory over Houston. In the top of the frame, the Astros had scored three runs to take a 6-3 lead before the 34-year-old reserve player dramatically ended the game.
1980 Commissioner Bowie Kuhn fines the Mets due to disparaging remarks made against the Yankees by Jerry Della Femina, the president of the team's advertising agency. The high-powered ad man's campaign, in which the club paid $400,000 to bolster the sagging attendance at Shea Stadium, included sarcastic comments concerning Reggie Jackson and Bucky Dent and was quoted as saying their Bronx ballpark was in an unsafe neighborhood.
1980 Mets starter Pete Falcone sets a franchise record when he strikes out the first six batters he faces, including Pete Rose and Mike Schmidt among the half dozen batters, in the team's 2-1 loss to the Phillies at Shea Stadium. The southpaw's mark remains intact for 34 years until Jacob DeGrom, who will become the National League's Rookie of the Year, fans eight Miami batters from the start of a 2014 game to tie Jim Deshaies' major league record.
1984 Dwight Gooden becomes the first teenager to strike out at least ten players since Bert Blyleven accomplished the feat in 1970. The Mets' 19-year-old phenom, who will break Herb Score's rookie record with 276 Ks this season, will have 15 double-digit strikeout games this year.
1985 Jimmy Key becomes the first left-handed starter in over four years to win a game for the Blue Jays when the team beats California, 6-3. Paul Mirabella, who beat Boston on the season's final day in 1980, was the last southpaw starter during the past 614 games to get a victory for Toronto.
1991 Rangers right-hander Nolan Ryan pitches the seventh no-hitter of his career when he defeats the Blue Jays at Arlington Stadium, 3-0. The 44-year-old Texan fireballer, who strikes out 16 batters, becomes the oldest major leaguer ever to throw a no-hit game.

1991 Rickey Henderson passes Lou Brock to become baseball's all-time stolen base leader with his 939th career steal. The A's outfielder, who will finish his 25-year career with 1,406, establishes the new major league mark when he swipes third base in the team's 7-4 victory over New York at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

1992 In the A's 7-6 victory against Detroit, Rickey Henderson doubles after leading off the game and promptly steals third base, recording his 1,000th stolen base in 1,232 attempts. Much to the delight of the Tiger Stadium fans, the 'Man of Steal' celebrates the milestone by digging the bag out of the infield dirt to keep as a souvenir, albeit one he'll have to pay for.

(Ed. Note: Exactly one year ago, the A's outfielder broke Lou Brock's all-time record when swiped third against the Yankees for his 939th stolen base, en route to 1,406. - LP)

1996 With his 6-for-8 performance in an 11-6 extra-inning victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards, Gerald Williams becomes the second Yankee in franchise history to collect six hits in a game. Myril Hoag had accomplished the feat for the Bronx Bombers in 1934 in a contest played at Fenway Park.
1997 Randy Myers gets the last two outs of the ninth inning in the Orioles' 3-2 win over the Twins in the Metrodome. Baltimore's southpaw closer has recorded eleven consecutive saves to start the season.
2000 San Francisco's left fielder Barry Bonds becomes the first player to hit a ball into San Francisco Bay, aka McCovey's Cove. The first 'splashdown' home run at Pacific Bell Park helps the Giants to beat the Mets, 10-3.

2000 Thanks to Quilvio Veras' third-inning homer, the Braves establish a modern franchise record with the team's 14th straight victory, beating the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine, 2-1. In 1891, the Boston Beaneaters won 18 consecutive contests, setting the all-time club mark.
2001 The ulna bone in Mike Fyhrie's left arm breaks when struck by the flying barrel of a broken bat. The Cubs' righty reliever used his arm to protect himself when the Padres' Santiago Perez's broken bat exploded in the direction of the mound.
2002 Trevor Hoffman, recording his 321st save for San Diego, establishes a new big-league record for the most saves for one team, surpassing Dennis Eckersley's mark of 320 with Oakland. The long-time Padres closer, now eighth on the all-time list, was traded as a rookie pitcher by the Marlins as part of the Gary Sheffield deal in 1993.
2004 In the Giants' 6-3 victory over Florida at Pac Bell Park, Barry Bonds sets a major league record by being walked four times intentionally in a nine-inning game. In 1990, Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson was given five intentional passes in a 16-inning contest against the Reds.
2004 In the nightcap of a twin bill at US Cellular Field, Frank Catalanotto becomes the first Blue Jay in franchise history to collect six hits in one game. The left fielder's double and five singles contribute to Toronto's 10-6 victory over the White Sox.

2005 The Angels snap Johan Santana's 17-game winning streak, beating the Twins at Metrodome, 2-1. The American League's reigning Cy Young Award winner allows just two hits over eight innings, but they are solo home runs by Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Molina.
2006 With a police escort from the airport, Doug Mirabelli, changing into his uniform in the car, arrives at Fenway Park 13 minutes before the game starts. The Red Sox reacquired the fan-favorite backstop from the Padres earlier in the day to continue his familiar role as a personal catcher to knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, tonight's starting pitcher against the Yankees.
2009 Joe Mauer makes his delayed season debut memorable by hitting a home run in his first at-bat during the Twins' 7-5 victory over the Royals at the Metrodome. The two-time batting champion, who missed spring training and the first 22 games while recovering from an inflammation in his lower back, gets his fourth standing ovation of the night when Sidney Ponson's first-inning fastball sails into the left-field stands.
2009 With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Duaner Sanchez walks Russell Martin, who checks his swing on a full count with the bases loaded, bringing home the winning run in L.A.'s 1-0 triumph over the Padres. The win keeps the Dodgers undefeated at home, extending their streak at Chavez Ravine to 8-0 thanks to their 'walk-off' victory. 
2011 The Phillies fans attending the ESPN Sunday Night Game against the Mets start chanting "USA, USA" when word spreads of the death of Osama Bin Laden. The sellout crowd's reaction surprises the players on the field, unaware of the historic event.

2012 With the final payment received on the record $2.15-billion purchase price, Frank McCourt's turbulent era of the Dodger ownership ends. The team's new ownership group, fronted by Magic Johnson and incoming club president Stan Kasten, includes Mark Walter, the CEO of Guggenheim Financial, who arranged the financing and holds a controlling interest in the franchise.

(Ed. Note: The sale of the team makes NBA superstar Magic Johnson the first black owner in MLB history. - LP)

2012 Twenty years after getting his first win managing New York at the old Yankee Stadium, Buck Showalter records his 1,000th career managerial victory when Baltimore beats his former team at the new Bronx ballpark. The 55-year-old detail-driven skipper has compiled a 1,000-958 record during his stints with the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers, and Orioles.
2015

"Congratulations to Alex Rodriguez on his 660th home run. Milestones in baseball are meant to be broken and I wish him continued success throughout his career” - WILLIE MAYS, congratulating A-Rod on tying him on the all-time home run list in fourth place. 

Amidst very audible boos at Fenway Park, Alex Rodriguez blasts a 3-0 fastball over the Green Monster for his 660th career home run, tying Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time home run list. The eighth-inning round-tripper, the first pinch-hit homer of A-Rod's career, proves to be the difference in the Yankees' 3-2 victory over the Red Sox.

2020 Major League Baseball suspends Emmanuel Clase, the Indians' biggest offseason acquisition, for 80 games after he tested positive for Boldenone, a banned anabolic steroid developed for veterinary use, primarily for the treatment of horses. Cleveland traded two-time Cy Young Award recipient Corey Kluber to obtain the 24-year-old hard-throwing right-handed reliever from the Rangers.
2021 The Mets credit Donnie Stevenson, the team's hitting/approach coach, for their 5-4 victory against the Phillies thanks to Michael Conforto's go-ahead ninth-inning home run. In a pregame meeting, New York's mysterious new guru, actually slugging first baseman Pete Alonso in disguise, encouraged the slumping club to stop overthinking things and let it rip.

2021 Before pitching three innings and taking the loss against the Orioles, A's southpaw Jesus Luzardo broke the pinkie finger on his pitching hand while playing a video game. The 23-year-old Parkland (FL) native will be put on the 10-day injured list tomorrow when an x-ray reveals he sustained a hairline fracture thumping on a table while gaming four hours before starting at RingCentral Coliseum.
54 Fact(s) Found