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This Day in Baseball History
April 19th

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44 Fact(s) Found
1890 The Brooklyn Bridegrooms, later known as the Dodgers, play their first National League game. The former American Association team loses to the Beaneaters, who will become known as the Braves in 1912, at Boston's South End Grounds, 15-9.
1900 The Beaneaters score nine runs in the ninth to send the game into extra innings, but the Phillies recover to beat Boston in 10 innings, 19-17. The 36 runs crossing the plate in the South End Grounds set a major league record for most runs scored by two clubs on Opening Day.
1912 Due to a rainout on Opening Day, the Red Sox schedule a two-admission twin bill with games starting at 10:30 am and 3:15 pm to give morning fans a chance to see the end of the Boston Marathon and race watchers the opportunity to attend the afternoon contest. Although a Patriots' Day game will not become an annual event until 1959, the pairing of the holiday and the big crowd gathered for the 26.2-mile run almost occurred half a century sooner if inclement weather hadn't also washed away today's Fenway Park doubleheader.
1912 At Griffith Stadium, before the Senators' 6-0 victory over the A's, James S. Sherman becomes the first U.S. Vice President to throw the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day. William Howard Taft does not attend the game due to the death of Archibald Butt, a friend lost in the sinking of the Titanic.

1927 Calling the play-by-play in the Tigers' 8-5 victory over the Indians, Edwin Tyson becomes the first person in club history to broadcast a game. The radio personality will begin the game by saying, "Good afternoon, boys and girls, this is Ty Tyson speaking to you from Navin Field," which will become his familiar refrain on WWJ.
1938 During the first inning, both Dodgers' Ernie Koy and Phillies' Heinie Mueller homer in their first major league at-bats. The rookies will collectively hit 53 home runs during their nine seasons in the major leagues.
1939 At an informal press conference arranged by Universal Pictures, actress Dorothy Arnold tells wire service reporters that she and Joe DiMaggio are engaged and plan to marry sometime this summer. Upon hearing the news, the somewhat surprised Yankee center fielder clarifies that no ceremony will occur during the baseball season, but the couple will exchange vows in November.
1944 Mel Ott hits the first National League round-tripper of the season, the 464th of his career, helping the Giants defeat the Braves, 2-1. Next season, Master Melvin will become the first National Leaguer to amass 500 career home runs.
1948 Believing the Senators are trying to trick him, Yankee starter Allie Reynolds refuses to leave second base after hitting his first and only career home run, which is unbeknownst to him because he did not see the ball clear the left-field fence. In front of an amused President Truman, New York skipper Bucky Harris convinces the skeptical baserunner to round the bases to continue the Opening Day contest at Griffith Stadium.
1948 The Pirates, wearing their black and gold color scheme for the first time, lose baseball's traditional opener in Cincinnati, 4-1, in a game that features scuffles between opposing players, an ump, a photographer, a fan who jumps on the field, and the police. Becoming the first team to change their original colors permanently, the Bucs abandoned the familiar patriotic red, white, and blue look, using hues that match the Flag of Pittsburgh.

1948 At Fenway Park, the Red Sox become the first team to hit three consecutive homers on Opening Day when Stan Spence, Vern Stephens, and Bobby Doerr go deep in the second frame. Boston's round-trippers off Phil Marchildon, who goes the distance, aren't enough to win when the A's beat the team in 11 innings, 5-4.
1949 On Opening Day, Johnny Groth hits home runs in two of his first three at-bats at Tiger Stadium in front of 53,000 fans. The 22-year-old rookie's performance enables Hal Newhowser and Detroit to beat Chicago, 5-1.
1949 On Opening Day, the Yankees unveil a monument in centerfield in memory of Babe Ruth eight months after his death. The legendary "Bambino" joins Lou Gehrig and Miller Huggins, also honored posthumously with cenotaphs, the team's highest honor.

1949 Pirates right-hander Rip Sewell establishes a National League record when he throws his third Opening Day shutout, blanking the Cubs, 1-0, at Wrigley Field. Rick Mahler (Braves, 1982, 1985,1987) and Chris Short (Phillies, 1965, 1968, 1970) will match the record of the 42-year-old veteran hurler, who also threw zeros to start the 1943 and 1947 seasons.
1956 In the first major league game ever played in New Jersey, the Dodgers begin their Jersey City home game experiment with a 10-inning 5-4 victory over the Phillies at Roosevelt Stadium. A sparse crowd of 12,214, limited by inclement weather, sees Brooklyn backstop Roy Campanella tie the score in the tenth inning with his 1000th career hit, a double down the left-field line.
1960 A record Opening Day crowd at Chicago's Comiskey Park enthusiastically greets their American League champs and welcomes Minnie Minoso to the team after his three-year exile to Cleveland. The 34-year-old outfielder doesn't disappoint the South Side fans when, besides hitting a grand slam in the fourth, he blasts a ninth-inning walk-off home run, giving the White Sox a 10-9 victory over Kansas City.
1960 Roger Maris, obtained from the A's in the offseason, goes 4-for-5 batting leadoff in his first game as a Yankee. The 25-year-old right fielder's 11 total bases, including two home runs and a double, contribute to the Bronx Bombers' Opening Day 8-4 victory over Boston at Fenway Park.
1961 At Comiskey Park, Bill Veeck employs eight Little People to work in the stands during the White Sox home opener against Washington. The Chicago owner's hiring decision responds to complaints that fans sitting in the box seats couldn't see over the vendors.
1963 Willie Mays becomes the all-time National League right-handed home run leader when he connects for his 371st career round-tripper, a fourth-inning solo shot off Chicago's Larry Jackson in the Giants' 5-1 victory at Candlestick Park. The San Francisco center fielder surpasses Gil Hodges, who established the mark last season.
1968 Nolan Ryan makes quick work of the Dodgers when he strikes out the side on nine pitches in the top of the third inning of the Mets' 3-2 loss at Shea Stadium. The 21-year-old New York fireballer, who will also accomplish the feat with the Angels in 1972, strikes out 11 batters in 7.1 frames, including Claude Osteen, Wes Parker, and Zoilo Versalles, the victims of his immaculate inning.
1969 Along with Dick Ellsworth and Juan Pizarro, Ken Harrelson is traded by the Red Sox to the Indians for Joe Azcue, Vicente Romo, and Sonny Siebert. The 27-year-old 'Hawk' decides to retire but reluctantly returns to the game after a conversation with commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who will later say, "the loss of Ken Harrelson would be a tragedy for baseball."
1972 The demolition of Crosley Field begins when two-year-old Pete Rose, Jr. pulls a lever that sends a wrecking ball into the side of the former home of the Reds. The left-field terrace area will become a parking lot, but it is still distinguishable due to its slope and proximity to York Street.
1972 Sparky Lyle becomes the first reliever to come into a game with a signature entrance song when the Yankee Stadium PA system plays Pomp and Circumstance as the closer approaches the mound. Although the southpaw secures the last out of the team's 3-2 victory over Milwaukee, the reliever believes the Edward Elgar's march, selected by PR man Marty Appel, adds more pressure to his closer role, asking the public relations department to put the tradition on hold.
1979 The Mets trade Tim Foli and minor league prospect Greg Field to the Pirates for second baseman Frank Taveras. Foli, appearing in 133 games, will play a significant role in the club's world championship this season, batting .291 and providing solid defense at shortstop for the Bucs.
1979 Goose Gossage sustained a sprained ligament in his left thumb after a 6-3 loss to the Orioles in New York due to a clubhouse brawl with Yankee teammate Cliff Johnson. Due to the altercation, the reliever will be out of action until mid-July, and Johnson will be traded to the Indians in June for southpaw Don Hood.
1987 In the 4000th game in franchise history, the Mets drop a 4-2 decision to St. Louis at Busch Stadium. The reigning World Champs, who started as an expansion team in 1962, have won exactly half of their last 1000 games, posting a 500-498-2 record during the span that began on July 19, 1980.
1987 Thanks to Rob Deer's three-run homer to tie the score and Dale Sveum's two-run winning shot, the Brewers rallied for five runs in the ninth inning, beating the Rangers, 6-4. The Milwaukee victory sets an American League record as they win their 12th straight game to start the season.
1996 In the eighth, the Rangers fall one run short of setting a modern major-league mark, scoring 16 runs in one inning in their 26-7 rout of the Orioles. In 1952, the Red Sox tallied 17 times in the seventh frame in a 23-3 rout of Detroit at Fenway Park.

1997 The Cubs lose their 13th consecutive game to match the longest losing streak in their 122-year history. Reliever Turk Wendell, wearing #13, is tagged with the loss when Chicago drops a 6-3 decision to the Mets at Shea Stadium.
1997 In the first major league game ever played in Hawaii, the Cardinals edge the Padres, 1-0, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The three-game set, dubbed the Padres Paradise Series, finds the hosts dropping two of three contests to the Redbirds.
1998 Equaling their largest margin of victory when keeping an opponent scoreless, the Mets rout Cincinnati at Cinergy Field, 14-0. Outfielder Bernard Gilkey crosses the plate in the first, third, fifth, seventh, and eighth inning, becoming only one of four players in franchise history to score five runs in one game.
1998 En route to finishing last in the AL East, the Devil Rays improve their record to 10-6, beating the Angels at Anaheim 6-0, becoming the first expansion team to be four games over .500 at any point in their inaugural season. In contrast, the 1962 Mets posted a 3-13 mark in their first 16 games.
1999 A sore back puts Oriole third baseman Cal Ripken, Jr. on the disabled list for 22 games. The injury marks the first time the Iron Man, who 1995 broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive game record by playing in 2,131 straight games, has been placed on the DL during his 19-year career.
2000 Veteran hurler Orel Hershiser ties a major league mark, equaled by 19 others, hitting four batters in one game. Astro outfielder Richard Hidalgo also ties a modern major league record when he is hit three times, twice by the 41-year-old Dodger starter and a third time by reliever Matt Herges.
2002 Mariners' third baseman Jeff Cirillo ties the major league record for consecutive errorless games at the hot corner by playing his 99th contest without a miscue. John Wehner, a journeyman infielder with the Dodgers, Pirates, and Marlins, established the mark during eight-plus seasons.
2004 Umps Paul Emmel and Mike DiMuro call for a balk after A's right-hander Justin Duchscherer, faking a throw to third base before throwing to first, steps toward home plate before beginning his pick-off move. The Oakland hurler's mound miscue ends the 14-inning contest, giving the Mariners a 2-1 balk-off victory at Safeco Field.
2005 David Wright's seventh-inning grand slam at Citizens Bank Park establishes a club record for home runs hit in a game. The Mets go deep seven times (Reyes-2, Diaz-2, Piazza, Wright, and Mientkiewicz) when they rout the Phillies, 16-4.
2009 Daniel Cabrera puts the ball in play when he grounds out to first and then reaches base safely for the first time in his six-year career when he walks on four straight balls thrown by Marlins' Hayden Penn. The Diamondbacks' right-hander had previously struck out in all his 18 major league at-bats, including one in today's game, setting a major league mark for consecutive strikeouts.
2009 For the third successive day, the Marlins rally in the top of the ninth, completing a three-game sweep against the Nationals. The last team to win three consecutive times after trailing in the ninth inning was the 1998 Tigers, coming back dramatically in a trio of mid-September contests to beat Toronto and Minnesota.
2012 Jose Altuve, Brian Bogusevic, and Matt Downs hit three-baggers in Houston's five-run first frame, marking the first time the Astros collected three triples in one inning. The triple-triple helps Houston coast to an easy 11-4 victory over the Nationals in Washington.

(Ed. Note: Matt Downs's three-base hit is the only triple in the 254 games of his major league career.- LP)

2013 After stealing second, Jean Segura changes his mind about swiping third and returns to the bag, but thinking he's out because Ryan Braun occupies the base, he starts to head for the dugout, scrambling back to first when realizing he is safe. Two pitches later, the bewildered Brewer baserunner tries to steal second base again, becoming the first player to have taken second base once and then out stealing the same bag in the same inning.

2013 According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Matt Harvey becomes the first pitcher in modern major league history to win his first four games while giving up less than ten hits. The 24-year-old Mets right-hander easily outduels his mound opponent, Washington's former phenom, Stephen Strasburg, prompting the Citi Field crowd to start chanting, "Har-vee's be-tter, "Har-vee's be-tter."

2019 When right-hander Adam Ottavino faces the Royals' Terrance Gore in the seventh inning of New York's 6-2 victory at Yankee Stadium, the matchup becomes the first zero vs. zero confrontation in a big-league game. The 33-year-old reliever, the first Bronx Bomber to wear the uniform #0, strikes out the Kansas City outfielder, the second Royals player ever to don a cipher, and the first since George Scott wore it in 1979.

2020 Once considered one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the history of the game, Steve Dalkowski, a nine-year minor league veteran, playing mostly in the Orioles organization in the 1950s and '60s, dies from COVID-19 at 80. After beaning a mascot, the New Britain (CT) native inspired the character of Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh, a hurler with a blazing but uncontrollable fastball played by Tim Robbins in the 1988 classic baseball movie Bull Durham.

44 Fact(s) Found