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This Day in Baseball History
September 6th

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40 Fact(s) Found
1883 At Chicago's Lakefront Park, the National League's White Stockings send 23 batters to the plate, scoring 13 runs before the team makes an out. Tommy Burns and Ned Williamson score three times in the 18-run, 18-hit seventh inning, establishing a major league record today.
1905 In the biggest no-hit rout in major league history, Frank Smith no-hits the Tigers at Detroit's Bennett Park, 15-0. The 26-year-old White Sox right-hander will toss another no-hitter in 1908, beating the A's, 1-0, thanks to Freddy Parent's ninth-inning shallow sac fly hit while being walked intentionally by Eddie Plank.
1912 Jeff Tesreau, joining Christy Mathewson (Giants, 1901) and Nick Maddox (Pirates, 1907), becomes the third post-1900 rookie to throw a no-hitter. The 24-year-old right-hander holds the Phillies hitless in the Giants' 3-0 victory in the first game of the Baker Bowl's twin bill.
1912 In a game that purposely matches the superstars, Boston hurler Smokey Joe Wood bests Senators' legend, Walter Johnson, 1-0, for his 30th (14th consecutive) victory in a season he wins 34. The Red Sox's only run results from back-to-back doubles by Tris Speaker and Duffy Lewis; the first two-bagger should have been an easy flyout, but the ball lands into an area cordoned off by a rope to section off the overflow Fenway Park crowd.
1924 In a game with only six hits, the Brooklyn Robins beat Boston, 1-0, behind the strong two-hit performance of right-hander Bill Doak. The Braves Field victory is the team's 15th consecutive win, establishing the longest winning streak in franchise history.
1924 Browns' right-hander Urban Shocker throws two complete games, beating the White Sox 6-2 in both Comiskey Park contests. The 1922 major league strikeout leader faces 77 batters in the twin bill but fans only one opponent, getting Chicago's first baseman Earl Sheely in the opener.
1943 Woody Williams ties a National League record, collecting ten consecutive hits when he singles in his first at-bat of the nightcap during the Reds' sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Yesterday, the 31-year-old second baseman enjoyed a 4-for-4 day before collecting five straight hits in the first game of today's twin bill.
1943 At 16 years, eight months, and five days, Carl Scheib becomes the youngest player to appear in an American League game when he tosses two-thirds of an inning in the A's 11-4 loss to New York, giving up two hits and an earned run in the ninth inning in the Shibe Park contest. The good-hitting right-handed teenager will post a 45-65 win-loss record and a .250 batting average during his 11 seasons in the major leagues.
1948 After 2,592 plate appearances, Emil Verban hits his first and only major league home run, establishing the mark for the longest homerless streak to start a career. The Cubs' second baseman hits the historic home run off Johnny Vander Meer in the seventh inning of the team's 3-1 loss to Chicago at Crosley Field.


1948 Emil Verban
Bowman Baseball Card

1952 The National League's longest game of the season ends when Del Ennis hits a walk-off home run in the 17th inning, giving the Phillies a 7-6 victory over the Braves in the first game of the Shibe Park twin bill. Philadelphia starter Robin Roberts goes the distance, giving up 18 hits in the three-hour and fifty-minute contest.
1953 With Giants manager Leo Durocher yelling, "stick it in his ear," Ruben Gomez hits Carl Furillo, the National League's leading hitter, on the wrist by a pitch. After taking first base, the Dodgers' right fielder bolts into the opposing dugout to choke 'Leo the Lip,' but in the melee, he fractures the knuckle on his little finger, ending his season.
1954 Cuban-born Carlos Paula integrates the Senators when he collects a single and a double, playing left field in the team's 8-1 victory over Philadelphia at Griffith Stadium. Next year, the 27-year-old Havana native, in his only full season in the majors, leads all freshmen when he compiles a .299 batting average, playing 115 games for Washington.
1967 In Detroit, Tiger right-hander Earl Wilson throws a complete game to earn his 20th victory of the season, beating the A's in the nightcap of a twin bill, 6-3. The 32-year-old Louisianian will compile a 22-11 record, along with an ERA of 3.27, helping to keep the second-place club in the pennant race until the season's finale.
1972 Paying respect to the eleven Israeli Olympic athletes killed yesterday by terrorists in Munich, A's southpaw Ken Holtzman and first baseman Mike Epstein don black armbands on their uniforms' sleeves. The action taken by the Jewish players, affirming the importance of their faith, is well received by the club, with Reggie Jackson wearing an armband in solidarity, along with skipper Dick Williams fully supporting the symbolic gesture made by the Oakland teammates.
1973 The formerly first-place Pirates make a rash decision to replace their skipper, Bill Virdon, after the team drops three of four to St. Louis to fall three games back in the standings. The bespectacled manager, who led the club to a division title last year, will be replaced by Danny Murtaugh, the man he had replaced before the 1972 season.
1973 The Yankees release two Alou brothers when Felipe is selected off waivers by the Expos, and the Cardinals purchase Matty. Felipe and Matty will finish the season with their new teams, retiring the following season after brief stints with the Brewers and the Padres.
1974 Behind the complete-game pitching performances by Dave McNally and Mike Cuellar, the Orioles sweep a twin bill, blanking Cleveland twice, 2-0 and 1-0. The victories are the fourth and fifth consecutive shutouts the Birds threw, establishing an American League mark by hurling 54 straight scoreless frames.
1976 While waiting in the on-deck circle, Steve Yeager is seriously injured when jagged pieces of Bill Russell's broken bat strike him in the throat. The 27-year-old backstop's near-fatal accident, which he amazingly recovers from to rejoin the team in three weeks, leads to the development of a protective device for catchers and umpires, sometimes referred to as a billy goat strap, which is a flap attached to the bottom of the protective face mask to prevent a similar type of injury.

(Ed. Note: The use of the throat guard is now mandatory in numerous youth and amateur baseball leagues, including Little League, and for NCAA baseball and softball teams. - LP)

1981 Fernando Valenzuela ties the National League's rookie record for shutouts, blanking St. Louis, 5-0, for his seventh whitewash of the season. The Dodger lefty shares the mark with Irv Young (1905 Beaneaters), Grover Alexander (1911 Phillies), and Jerry Koosman (1968 Mets).
1981

"I told him to quit threatening me. If he wants me to go, make the move - don't wait. I can't take it any longer," - GENE MICHAEL, speaking to the press about his relationship with George Steinbrenner.

Calling the decision the "most agonizing'' he has made running the club, Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner fires Gene Michael and replaces him with Bob Lemon. The dismissal results from the former skipper's comments to the press regarding his inability to tolerate the constant threats of dismissal and his refusal to apologize for the remarks made on August 28.

1982 The Pirates retire the number 8 worn by Willie Stargell, the team's all-time leader in home runs, RBIs, and extra-base hits, after spending his entire 21-year career with the Bucs. In 1988, the Hall of Fame will induct "Pops," a seven-time NL All-Star who won NLCS and World Series MVP honors in 1979, in his first year of eligibility.
1985 In a matchup of aces that lives up to its advanced billing, Dwight Gooden and Fernando Valenzuela hook up in one of the best pitchers' duels in recent memory. New York beats Los Angeles at Chavez Ravine, 2-0, thanks to Darryl Strawberry's two-run double on a day that the 20-year-old Mets right-hander strikes out ten batters, throwing nine shutout innings, while the Dodger southpaw pitches 11 innings without allowing a run.
1995 Cal Ripken breaks Lou Gehrig's consecutive game record, playing in his 2,131st straight game. When the game becomes official in the middle of the fifth inning, the new 'Iron Man' takes a victory lap around Camden Yards during the 22-minute standing ovation from the sellout crowd, including President Bill Clinton.

1996 Paul Molitor reaches the 200-hit plateau for the fourth time in his career when he singles off Chuck Finley in the Twins' 6-2 victory over California at the Metrodome. The Minnesota DH becomes the second major leaguer to reach the milestone as a 40-year-old, joining Sam Rice, who accomplished the feat while playing with the Senators in 1930.
1996 Thirty-nine-year-old center fielder Brett Butler returns to the Dodger lineup after having surgery in May to remove a tumor and receiving intensive treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsils. The premier leadoff hitter, who will retire at the end of next season, steals a base and scores the decisive run in the eighth inning of the team's 2-1 victory over the Pirates at Chavez Ravine.
1996 Eddie Murray of the Orioles becomes the 15th player in major league history to hit 500 home runs when his seventh-inning solo shot goes deep, knotting the score at 3-3 off Tiger pitcher Felipe Lira at Camden Yards. The Los Angeles native joins Hank Aaron and Willie Mays as the only players to reach this milestone and have three thousand hits.

1996 The Reds announce the renaming of Riverfront Stadium to Cinergy Field after reaching a sponsorship deal with a local energy company. The ballpark, a multi-purpose, circular cookie-cutter stadium that opened in 1970, will be imploded in 2002 after serving the team for 32 seasons to help make room for Cincinnati's new home, the Great American Ball Park.
2000 After agreeing with Mogan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Major League Baseball can now use the URL www.mlb.com. The law firm registered MLB.com in 1994 and refused to release the domain name, making it necessary for the sport to use www.majorleaguebaseball.com as an alternative.
2000 Scott Sheldon joins Bert Campaneris (A's, 1965) and Cesar Tovar (Twins, 1968) to become the third player in baseball history to play all nine positions in a single game. With the White Sox ahead 10-0, the Ranger infielder comes into the game defensively in the bottom of the fourth inning, replacing backstop Bill Haselman, and will proceed to play in every spot on the field, including a third of an inning on the mound, where he strikes out the only batter he faces.

2001 Joining Babe Ruth (1927 Yankees), Roger Maris (1961 Yankees), Mark McGwire (1998 Cardinals), and Sammy Sosa (1998 Cubs), Barry Bonds becomes the fifth major leaguer to hit 60 home runs in a season. The 37-year-old Giant left fielder is the oldest to join this elite group, but the quickest to reach the historic plateau, needing only 141 games to reach the milestone.
2002 Hoping to end Oakland's 20-game winning streak, the Homer Hanky returns to the Metrodome for the first time in 11 years. With the fans waving their trademark towels, the magic continues when Minnesota snaps the A's record-setting run, 6-0.

(Ed. Note: In their 1987 and 1991 World Series at the Metrodome, the Twins posted a perfect 8-0 record while fans frenzily waved Homer Hankies in support of the home team. - LP)

2002 The Twins and Brad Radke, who throws a six-hitter, stop Oakland's 20-game winning streak, blanking the visitors at the Metrodome, 6-0. Oakland falls one game short of equalling the second-longest modern winning streak in baseball history, established by the Cubs, who won 21 straight contests in 1935.
2005 Pirates General Manager Dave Littlefield announces the dismissal of manager Lloyd McClendon at an afternoon press conference at PNC Park. The former skipper, who compiled a 336-446 record during his 3+ year tenure in the Bucs dugout, will be replaced by bench coach Pete Mackanin on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.
2005 As part of the National Roberto Clemente Day celebration, teams will collect donations from fans to support the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Additionally, in remembrance of those affected by the disaster, major league players will wear helmets bearing the Red Cross logo on the right side, and the bases will display numbers to call for help.
2005 Mark Teixeira, with his 36th round-tripper this year, becomes the fifth player in major league history to collect 100 homers during his first three seasons, hitting a ninth-inning two-out three-run homer to give the Rangers a come-from-behind 10-7 victory over Minnesota at the Metrodome. The 25-year-old slugger, who will finish with 43 dingers, went yard 26 and 38 times, respectively, in his first two seasons with Texas. 
2006 With the help of three defensive gems at Miami's Dolphin Stadium, Anibal Sanchez no-hits the Diamondbacks, 2-0, when Eric Byrnes makes the last out of the game on a questionable, bang-bang play at first base. The 22-year-old Venezuelan hurler is the 18th rookie to throw a no-hitter, and he joins Al Leiter, Kevin Brown, and A.J. Burnett as the fourth Marlin to throw a no-hitter.

2009 With a leadoff first-inning double in the Mariners' 5-2 loss in Oakland, 36-year-old Ichiro Suzuki becomes the 259th player and the second-quickest to collect 2000 major league hits. In 1933, Al Simmons, playing with the White Sox, reached the milestone in his 1,390th game, a dozen contests less than Seattle's superstar.

(Ed. Note: Four hundred and forty of Ichiro's 2,000 hits have come in the first frame, with 215 to lead off a game. -LP)
2012 Commemorating the anniversary of his record-breaking streak for consecutive games played, Cal Ripken becomes the fifth Oriole of the six O's inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame to have a statue dedicated in Camden Yards' Legends Park. The Iron Man likeness, designed by Maryland artist Antonio Tobias Mendez, joins the sculptures of Frank Robinson, Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, and Brooks Robinson.

(Ed. Note: Roberto Alomar was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011, wearing a Blue Jays cap, played two seasons for the Orioles (1996–1998), and was added to the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2013, but does not have a statue at Camden Yards.

Cal Ripken, Jr., Statue
Cal Ripken, Jr., Statue
by Mike Fitzpatrick on Flickr
2013 Facing his former team, Yusmeiro Petit retires the first 26 Diamondbacks to bat in the Giants' 3-0 victory at AT&T Park. Eric Chavez, who strokes a pinch-hit line-drive single to right field with two outs in the ninth inning, spoils the 28-year-old right-hander's bid for perfection.

2017 The Diamondbacks win their 13th straight game when they defeat the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine, 3-1. The victory establishes a franchise mark for consecutive wins, surpassing the team's 12-game winning streak in 2003.
40 Fact(s) Found