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This Day in Baseball History
August 5th

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46 Fact(s) Found
1901 In the second inning of the nightcap against the Americans in Baltimore, Jimmy Hart punches umpire John Haskell in the face. The Orioles' rookie first baseman, who hits .311 playing in only 58 games in his major league career, serves a ten-day suspension but quits after going 4-for-4 upon his return because the team refused to pay his $25 fine.
1921 Pittsburgh's radio station KDKA provides listeners with the first-ever broadcast of a major league game. Staff announcer Harold Arlin, detailing the action of the Pirates' 8-5 victory over the Phillies from a seat on the ground level at Forbes Field, becomes baseball's first play-by-play announcer.
1932 Tommy Bridges loses his bid for a perfect game when Senator pinch-hitter Dave Harris, the 27th batter he faces, bloops a single in the Tigers' 13-0 rout over Washington. The 24-year-old right-handed Tennessean from Gordonsville will toss two more one-hitters for Detroit next season.
1935 On a stormy Monday afternoon at Fenway Park, the Yankees and Red Sox engage in stalling and hurry-up tactics, trying to take advantage of the inclement weather. American League president John Heydler will fine both managers, Joe Cronin (Boston) and Joe McCarthy (New York), $100 for their antics during the Bronx Bombers' eventual 10-2 victory.
1937 The Newport Canners vs. Johnson City Soldiers' Appalachian League contest in Tennessee ends in the sixth inning when the teams run out of baseballs. Some angry fans show their displeasure by destroying the set of bleachers that had been their seats before the game's abrupt ending.
1940 In a rain-shortened 4-0 nightcap victory over the first-place Tigers, Silent John Whitehead of the St. Louis Browns pitches a six-inning no-hitter. The Sportsman's Park no-no will be the quiet Texan right-hander's only win this season in four decisions.
1942 In front of fewer than three thousand patrons at Chicago's Comiskey Park, the White Sox beat the Tigers, 1-0. The game's only run scores when Don Kolloway steals home with two outs in the fifth inning.
1953 In his 5-0 complete-game loss to Boston at Fenway Park, Don Larsen goes 3-for-3 to establish the mark for consecutive hits by a pitcher with seven. The Browns' rookie right-hander will hit .284 in 81 at-bats this season.
1954 Stan Musial, in a 13-4 rout of the Dodgers in Brooklyn, paces the Cardinals attack, hitting two homers and driving in seven runs. The defeat is Preacher Roe's first loss to St. Louis at Ebbets Field in four years.
1955 White Sox second baseman Nellie Fox's consecutive game streak ends at 274. The future Hall of Fame infielder will play in 798 straight contests starting tomorrow.
1960 In a deal engineered by Tigers president Bill Devitt and Indians GM Frank Lane, their struggling teams become the first to swap skippers. The Tribe's new manager, Jimmy Dykes, will compile a 103-115 record for Cleveland, while Joe Gordon posts a 26-31 mark in his two-month stay in Detroit.
1969 With a titanic blast that clears the right-field pavilion, Willie Stargell becomes the first player to hit a home run completely out of Dodger Stadium. The 506-foot round-tripper helps the Pirates defeat LA, 11-3.
1972 Ed Brinkman commits an error, ending his major league record of 72 games and 331 total chances at shortstop without making a misplay. The 30-year-old Tiger infielder wins his only Gold Glove this season.
1973 Phil Niekro goes the distance, holding the Padres hitless in a 9-0 rout at home. The knuckleballer's no-hitter is the first thrown by a Braves hurler since the team shifted to Atlanta in 1966.
1975 In the Phillies' 13-5 victory, Cubs starter Bill Bonham gives up a major league record of seven hits to the first seven batters he faces in the Veterans Stadium contest. The former UCLA hurler, who doesn't record an out, is replaced by Ken Crosby, who promptly gives up a single to Johnny Oates.
1979 Don Sutton passes Don Drysdale on the Dodgers' all-time strikeout list, recording his 2487th when he fans Greg Johnston swinging in the team's 8-5 win against the Giants. The right-hander's total of 2,696 in Dodger Blue will remain the franchise strikeout record over 42 years, easily surpassing Dazzy Vance's tenure on top, which lasted a little more than 37 years until Sandy Koufax moved ahead of him in 1965.
1979 At Chavez Ravine, Don Sutton fans six batters in LA's 8-1 victory over San Francisco, surpassing Don Drysdale to become the Dodgers' all-time strikeout leader with 2,487. After establishing the mark and receiving a two-minute standing ovation that he acknowledges by tipping his cap, the umpire charges the right-hander with an automatic ball due to running his fingers across his lips while thanking the crowd.
1979 The Hall of Fame enshrines outfielders Willie Mays (Giants, Mets) and Hack Wilson (Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, and Phillies). Baseball administrator Warren Giles, who served as the president of the National League from 1951 to 1969, is also inducted during the Cooperstown ceremony.
1983 The American League bans New York skipper Billy Martin for two games for calling umpire Dale Ford "a stone liar" after the Yankees' July 31st extra-inning 12-6 victory against the White Sox in Chicago. The suspension marks the second time this season the Junior Circuit has disciplined the Bronx Bomber manager for his continued abuse of umpires.
1984 Cliff Johnson hits his 19th career pinch-hit home run, breaking a major league record shared with Jerry Lynch, who established the mark in 1966 while playing with the Pirates. The eight-inning round-tripper off Tippy Martinez proves to be the difference in Toronto's 4-3 victory over the Orioles at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.
1985 Baseball names Keith Hernandez the player of the month, making him the first Met honored since Dave Kingman received the nod ten years ago. The New York first baseman, obtained in a trade with the Cardinals two seasons ago, collected 40 hits in his 102 at-bats last month, compiling a .392 batting average while driving in 29 runs for the team that has won 21 of 28 of its previous decisions.
1985 In the Mets' 7-2 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Darryl Strawberry belts three home runs, propelling the team into first place with a half-game lead over the Cardinals in the National League East. Eleven years and one day later, the 'Straw' will enjoy his second three-homer game, going deep for the Yankees three times against the White Sox in a 9-2 win in the Bronx.
1986 At Candlestick Park, Giants' southpaw Steve Carlton gets his 4000th strikeout, fanning Reds' center fielder Eric Davis. The historic whiff occurs in the third inning with two runners on base and no outs in the eventual Reds' 11-6 victory.
1992 The A's take over first place in the AL West when Dennis Eckersley extends his major league record to 39 straight saves, far surpassing the mark of 25 established by Blue Jay closer Tom Henke last season. Oakland outfielder Jose Canseco walks in his first two plate appearances in the team's 4-3 victory in Texas, tying a major league record with seven consecutive base-on-balls in over two games.
1993 In the Padres' 11-10 victory over the Giants, Tony Gwynn goes 6-for-7 in the 12-inning contest at Qualcomm Stadium. The San Diego right fielder's performance marks the fourth time he has collected five or more hits this season, tying the major league record shared by Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Stan Musial.
1994 Jeff Bagwell establishes a new Astros single-season home run record when he hits number 38, a fifth-inning two-out, two-run homer, off reliever Pat Gomez in the team's 12-4 victory over the Giants at the Astrodome. The Houston first baseman, who also breaks the record of 110 RBIs set by Bob Watson in 1977 with the round-tripper, surpasses the mark established 27 years ago by Jimmy Wynn.
1999 Mark McGwire hits his 500th career home run off Padres' hurler Andy Ashby, becoming the 16th major leaguer and the fastest to reach this milestone. The St. Louis slugger is the first to accomplish the feat a year after reaching the 400-home-run plateau.
2000 Sammy Sosa becomes the first Cubs player to reach 100 RBIs six consecutive times. Hack Wilson did it for five straight seasons from 1926-30.
2001 Kirby Puckett and Dave Winfield, elected by the BBWAA in their first year of eligibility, are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. World Series hero Bill Mazeroski and the late Negro Leagues pitcher Hilton Smith, players selected by the Veterans Committee, join the former Twin teammates.

2001 At Jacobs Field, the Indians, who trailed in the game 14-2 after six innings, tally twelve runs to tie the score and beat the Mariners, 15-14, thanks to Jolbert Cabrera's 11th inning broken-bat single scoring Kenny Lofton to complete the unbelievable comeback. The Tribe joins the 1911 Tigers and 1925 A's to become the third team in major league history to have won after being down by a dozen runs.

2002 In a make-up game against the Angels, the Tigers host 'Silent Night.' The fans hear no electronic, video, or commercial enhancements during Detroit's 6-3 loss to Anaheim at Comerica Park.
2005 Albert Pujols becomes the first player to connect for 30 home runs in his first five big-league seasons. The Cardinals first baseman has hit 190 homers from the start of his career in 2001, equaling Eddie Mathews' total (1952-56) and 25 fewer than Ralph Kiner (1946-1950).
2006 With four bases on balls, three of which are intentional, the Rangers finally prevent Vladimir Guerrero from getting a hit. The Angel All-Star outfielder, who started playing in the American League after leaving Montreal as a free agent in 2003, had safely hit in all of his previous 44 games against Texas.
2006 Trevor Hoffman throws a scoreless ninth inning in San Diego's 6-3 victory over the Nationals at Petco Park to become the first major league reliever to record 30 saves for eleven seasons. The Padres closer's milestone establishes a major league record, surpassing the mark set by Lee Smith, the sport's previous all-time saves leader.
2007 With his 246th career victory, an 8-5 win over Kansas City, Yankees right-hander Mike Mussina becomes the winningest pitcher in baseball history without a 20-win season. 'Moose' will reach the elusive milestone with a 20-9 record next season, his last in the majors.
2007 At Wrigley Field, Tom Glavine, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, becomes the 23rd player in major league history to win his 300th victory. The crafty southpaw, the fifth lefty to reach the milestone, limits the Cubs to six hits and a walk in 6.1 innings as the Mets bang out 16 hits and beat Chicago in a nationally televised ESPN Sunday night game, 8-3.

2010 The bankrupt Rangers are sold at an auction for $385 million to a group led by Hall of Famer and club president Nolan Ryan. The new ownership group outbid the recently formed partnership of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Houston investor Jim Crane, who tried to buy the team in 2008.
2010 In the top of the ninth, the Twins recover from blowing a 6-0 lead when Jason Kubel's two-out pop-up lands behind the pitcher's mound untouched by the Rays' middle infielders for the go-ahead single in the team's eventual 8-6 victory. The odd play, resulting from the ball ricocheting off a catwalk and changing direction 190 feet above Tropicana Field, will prompt changing ground rules for postseason games played in Tampa Bay.
2011 The Twins celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 1991 controversial play when Kent Hrbek and Ron Gant became entangled at first base in Game 2 of the World Series with a bobblehead doll depicting one of the worst of all-time decisions by an umpire. Drew Coble called Gant out when it appeared first baseman Kent Hrbek had lifted him off the bag.

2011 Darla Harlow, a big fan of the Mississippi Braves, is honored to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Trustmark Park in Pearl. After tossing the ball to home plate, the military wife is surprised when the catcher takes off his mask, revealing the 'player' is her husband, Michael, an Army major who has been away from home, serving in Afghanistan for the past nine months.

2012 Darwin Barney, who hasn't made an error since April 17, becomes the Cubs' all-time leader for second basemen when he plays in his 91st consecutive game in a single season without a miscue at the position. En route to setting the National League mark with a 127-straight errorless-game streak, the 26-year-old Chicago infielder surpasses Ryne Sandberg's team record that the Hall of Famer established in 1989.
2013 Major League Baseball releases the names of 13 players suspended for their involvement with performance-enhancing substances supplied by the Biogenesis anti-aging clinic. Thirty-eight-year-old Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez receives the harshest punishment, sidelined without pay for 211 regular-season games, much more than the 50-game suspensions given to most players implicated in the announcement.
2013 Minnie Forbes, the 81-year-old former owner of the Negro League Detroit Stars from 1956 to 1958, and about a dozen former baseball players meet with President Barack Obama at the White House. The country's first black president honors the group for their contributions to athletics and civil rights.
2017 The Indians unveil a bronze statue honoring Lou Boudreau, who managed the team to their last World Series title in 1948 while also being the Tribe's starting shortstop. The team places the sculpture of the seven-time All-Star outside the main entrance of Progressive Field near two fellow Hall of Famers and former teammates, Bob Feller and Larry Doby.
2024 The White Sox tie the 1988 Orioles for the longest losing streak in American League history, recording their 21st consecutive loss when they lose a 5-1 decision to the A's. The National League's Louisville Colonels suffered 26 straight defeats during the 1889 season, with the Phillies losing 23 straight in 1961 to establish the modern era (since 1900) mark.
2024 League 42 officials unveil a new Jackie Robinson statue, replacing the original stolen six months ago from McAdams Park in Wichita (KS), where the organization's youth plays its games. A crowd of approximately 300 people, including former major leaguers CC Sabathia, Dellin Betances, Jeremy Guthrie, and Mike Pelfrey, are on hand for the dedication of the sculpture created by the late John Parsons, whose original mold Art Castings of Colorado used to cast the new tribute to the Dodger Hall of Fame infielder and civil rights pioneer.

(Ed. Note: Major League Baseball paid for the statue's replacement. - LP)

46 Fact(s) Found