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21 Fact(s) Found
| 1862 | In a game against the Unions of Morrisania, Jim Creighton of the Excelsiors hits a sixth-inning home run after doubling each of his first four times to the plate. When he crosses home, the 21-year-old superstar complains of having broken his belt, more likely a suspected fatal ruptured inguinal hernia caused by the torque created by his all-upper-body hard swing with the bat. |
| 1903 | In Game 8 of the series, the Boston Pilgrims (Red Sox) defeat the Pirates, 3-0, to take baseball's first-ever world championship, five games to 3. In the 95-minute contest, Bill Dinneen beats Pittsburgh's Deacon Phillippe in front of a Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds crowd of 7,455 fans. |
| 1914 | Boston becomes the first team to complete a four-game World Series sweep as the Miracle Braves beat the American League's heavily favored A's behind the solid pitching of Dick Rudolph, who bests Philadelphia, 3-1. In mid-July, the Braves were in last place but won the National League pennant by 10½ games. |
| 1921 |
In the first all-New York World Series, the Giants beat the Yankees at the Polo Grounds (home for both NY teams), 1-0, to win the Fall Classic in eight games. Art Nehf, the loser in Games 2 and 5, throws a complete-game four-hitter to get the victory, with the lone run of the game tallied in the top of the first inning thanks to an error.
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| 1960 |
At Forbes Field, Bill Mazeroski's dramatic walk-off home run off Yankee hurler Ralph Terry breaks up a 9-9 tie, ending one of the most exciting seven-game World Series ever played. Maz's round-tripper remains the only walk-off home run to win a World Series Game 7.
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| 1968 |
Recent World Series foes Bob Gibson and Denny McLain meet again on the CBS variety program The Ed Sullivan Show. After Tiger ace McLain plays The Girl From Ipanema on the organ with his quartet, he is joined by future Cardinal Hall of Famer Gibson on the guitar, performing a brief improvised piece together.
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| 1970 |
In Game 3 of the Fall Classic played at Memorial Stadium, Dave McNally goes deep with the bases loaded off Reds' right-hander Wayne Granger in the bottom of the sixth inning, becoming the first pitcher in World Series history to hit a grand slam. The Orioles' hurler's offensive output contributes to the Birds' 9-3 victory over Cincinnati and gives Baltimore a commanding 3-0 game advantage in the seven-game series.
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| 1971 | In the first World Series played at night, the Pirates defeat the Orioles at Three Rivers Stadium, 4-3, overcoming the Birds' three-run first inning thanks to the Bucs' bullpen holding Baltimore scoreless for 8â…” innings. All Fall Classic contests will be evening tilts, beginning with Game 6 of the 1987 Series. |
| 1972 | The day after Oakland wins the ALCS, Bowie Kuhn announces that A's shortstop Burt Campaneris, suspended for the rest of the division playoff for throwing his bat at Tiger hurler Lerrin LaGrow in Game 2, will be allowed to participate in the World Series. The Commissioner cites the precedent of Yankee shortstop Frank Crosetti, suspended for 30 days due to an incident with an ump, but was permitted to play in the Fall Classic by AL president Will Harridge, who delayed the penalty rather than diminish his circuit's chance of winning a World Championship. |
| 1973 |
"No, I don't think my presence will cause an increase in black attendance at Cleveland. People come out to see the players. When do you see a manager anyway? When he's out on the field arguing with the umpires, making a fool of himself and you know you can't win, and when he brings out the line-up card." - FRANK ROBINSON, commenting on his historical hiring. Frank Robinson, newly-hired Indians manager, appears on CBS's long-running Sunday news program Face the Nation. The first African-American manager in baseball history tells host George Herman that no baseball executive considered blacks for skipper jobs before hiring him in Cleveland.  |
| 1974 |
Herb Washington, representing the tying run in the top of the ninth, is picked off first base by Dodger closer Mike Marshall for the second out of Game 2, the only contest the A's will lose in the Fall Classic. Oakland owner Charlie Finley selected the world-class sprinter, who will never have a plate appearance in his brief 105-game career, to become the team's "designated runner," a position that doesn't exist with any other major league club.
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| 1983 |
"I would like to thank Frank Cashen for being smart enough to hire me." - DAVEY JOHNSON, speaking to the press about the Mets GM's decision to name him the team’s manager. The Mets' Triple-A Tidewater pilot, Davey Johnson, signs a two-year deal to become the 11th manager in franchise history, replacing Frank Howard, promptly hired as the team's first-base coach. The 40-year-old Floridian will compile a 595-417 (.588) record during his six-plus seasons in the dugout, including a World Championship in 1986. |
| 1985 |
Vince Coleman becomes entangled in Busch Stadium's automatic tarpaulin while stretching before the Cardinals' 12-2 rout of LA in Game 4 of the NLCS. The freak accident, which traps his left leg for about thirty seconds, will end the season for the 23-year-old outfielder, who established the rookie record for stolen bases with 110.
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| 1989 | In a nationwide poll of sportswriters and broadcasters, Orioles' skipper Frank Robinson is named the Associated Press Manager of the Year, easily outdistancing the runner-up, Don Zimmer of the Cubs. The Hall of Famer guided a young group of players in one of the greatest comeback seasons in the game's history, finishing the campaign 32½ games better than the club's last-place finish the previous year. |
| 1993 |
At Veterans Stadium, the Phillies win the National League pennant by beating the Braves in Game 6 of the NLCS, 6-3. With Tommy Greene out-dueling Greg Maddux and the timely hitting of Darren Daulton, Dave Hollins, and Mickey Morandini, Philadelphia wins its third consecutive game to dethrone the defending champs.
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| 2000 | Mariano Rivera, extending his streak to 33.1 innings, breaks the 38-year-old record of Whitey Ford for consecutive scoreless frames in postseason play when the Yankees defeat the Mariners, 8-2, in Game 3 of the ALCS. The Yankees' Hall of Fame lefty had established the record from 1960 to 1962 with 33 innings as a World Series starter. |
| 2001 |
The Yankees, being down 2-0 in the best-of-five series, stave off elimination, beating the A's and Barry Zito, 1-0, thanks to the shutout pitching by Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada's fifth-inning home run. Shortstop Derek Jeter catches an errant relay throw down the first baseline and flips the ball home to cut down Jeremy Giambi as the potential tying run becomes one of the most memorable defensive plays in postseason history.
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| 2002 |
Joining George Brett (Royals: 1978 ALCS Game 3), Reggie Jackson (Yankees: 1977 World Series Game 6), Bob Robertson (Pirates: 1971 NLCS Game 2), and Babe Ruth (Yankees: 1928 World Series Game 4 and 1926 World Series Game 4), light-hitting second baseman Adam Kennedy becomes the fifth player to hit three homers in a postseason game, helping the Angels to secure their first World Series berth in the team's 42-year-old history. Anaheim uses a ten-run seventh inning to beat the Twins 13-5, capturing the ALCS in five games.
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| 2003 | A tearful 72-year-old Don Zimmer apologizes for his part in yesterday's brawl during Game 3 of the ALCS between the Yankees and Red Sox. During the fourth-inning matinee melee at Fenway, the Yankees' assistant to the manager is thrown to the ground by Pedro Martinez after charging the right-hander. |
| 2006 | Mark Kiger becomes the first player in history to make his big league debut during the postseason. The second baseman enters Game 3 as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the eighth inning for D'Angelo Jimenez, who has been filling in for the injured starter Mark Ellis. |
| 2007 | Four days after manager Charlie Manuel gets his contract extended, the Phillies re-signed their entire coaching staff for next season. After ending a 14-year postseason drought, the reigning National League East Champs ask Jimy Williams (bench coach), Rich Dubee (pitching coach), Milt Thompson (hitting coach), Davey Lopes (first-base coach), Steve Smith (third-base coach), Ramon Henderson (bullpen coach), and Mick Billmeyer (catching instructor) to return to Philadelphia in 2008. |
21 Fact(s) Found