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This Day in Baseball History
June 26th

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44 Fact(s) Found
1906 Herbert Whitney, a catcher for the Burlington Pathfinders, becomes the first professional baseball player to die when a pitch thrown by Fred Evans fractures his skull. The beaning occurred two days ago in an Iowa State League contest against the Waterloo Microbes.
1913 Citing the lack of fan support, Covington Blue Sox relocate to Kansas City, eventually causing organized baseball to 'declare war' on the Federal League for moving the Packers, the club's new name, into American Association territory. In addition, Cincinnati blocked Covington from acquiring a baseball franchise in the Class D Blue Grass League, leading the leaders of the sparsely-populated Kentucky city to accept a franchise in the newly-formed upstart circuit, known as the outlaw league due to the organization's decision not to abide by the National Agreement.
1913 In the nightcap against the A's at Washington's Griffith Stadium, Eddie Ainsmith steals three bases in one inning. But, after safely reaching base on a single in the bottom of the ninth frame, the 23-year-old catcher's thievery of second, third, and home proves to be of little consequence when Philadelphia routs the Nats, 10-3.
1916 The Indians became the first major league club to field a team with numbered uniforms when playing the White Sox at Cleveland's League Park. However, the use of large numerals on the players' left sleeve, corresponding to scorecards, lasts just a few weeks, and after a brief trial next season, the club abandons the concept.

1920 Lou Gehrig hits his first home run in a major league ballpark, going deep at Wrigley Field, known as Cubs Park then, in a high school championship game between the NYC School of Commerce and Chicago's Lane Tech. The 17-year-old first baseman, who will return to the 'Friendly Confines' in 1932 to hit two homers for the Yankees in Game 3 of the World Series, blasts a ninth-inning grand slam over the right-field wall, sealing a 12-6 victory for the visitors.
1921 Throwing a scoreless inning against the Yankees, 23-year-old Senator southpaw Nemo Gaines makes his major league debut, becoming the first Naval Academy graduate and only one for the next 94 seasons to appear in a big-league contest. In 2015, right-hander Mitch Harris, another Annapolis alumnus, will appear in 26 games (2-1, 3.67) for the Cardinals during his brief one-year career.
1924 In a matchup at the Polo Grounds, Giants' right-hander Virgil Barnes faces his older sibling, Jesse, marking the first time brothers have started against one another in major league history. Unfortunately, neither Luther nor Sade's sons get the victory, but Jesse will be tagged with the loss when New York beats his Braves, 8-1.
1935 Pirate center fielder Lloyd Waner sets the major league mark, recording 18 putouts during a doubleheader played at Braves Field. The future Hall of Famer's defense helps the Bucs sweep last-place Boston, 4-2 and 5-1.
1938 Carl Hubbell goes the distance, beating Chicago, 5-1, at the Polo Grounds to notch his 200th victory. The future Hall of Fame southpaw will play his 16-year career entirely with the Giants, compiling a 253-154 (.622) record and an ERA of 2.98.
1938 Reds second baseman Lonny Frey collects eight hits during a twin bill against the Phillies at Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl. The 27-year-old Cincinnati infielder goes 3-for-5 in the team’s 10-3 loss in the first game, adding five more hits, including two triples, in an 8-5 victory in the nightcap.
1939 The Yankees play their first night game in franchise history, losing to Connie Mack's A's, 3-2, at Philadelphia's Shibe Park, where the first-ever American League evening tilt occurred last month. The Bronx Bombers will not play their first home game under the lights for another seven years.
1944 At the Polo Grounds, with over 50,000 fans looking on, the three New York major major league teams face each other in a six-inning game (each club plays consecutive innings against the other two and then sits out an inning) to raise money for war bonds. The charity contest, billed as the Tri-Cornered Baseball Game, ends with the Dodgers scoring five times and the Yankees and Giants tallying one and no runs, respectively.

Tri-Cornered Baseball Game
1946 Giants player-manager Mel Ott decides to stop playing and do only his dugout duties for the team. Southpaw-swinging 'Master Mel's' decision is prompted by a .048 batting average, with the future Hall of Fame right fielder collecting just two hits in 48 at-bats this season.
1948 Lou Boudreau, the Tribe's player-manager, who will finish the season with 199 hits, has a two-run single taken away when his pitcher Bob Muncrief misses third base in the Indians' 5-0 victory over Washington. However, the right-hander makes up for his base-running gaffe by hurling a three-hit shutout in the Cleveland Stadium contest.
1957 Twenty-six-year-old center fielder Willie Mays collects four hits and scores three runs while driving in four runs in the Giants' 17-7 victory over the Reds at Cincinnati's Crosley Field. The close game becomes a blowout when New York scores seven runs in the sixth and five more in the seventh.
1960 With the help of Ron Santo, making his major league debut, the Cubs sweep a doubleheader from first-place Pittsburgh, 7-5 and 7-6. The rookie third baseman, who will be elected into the Hall of Fame posthumously by the Veterans Committee in 2012, goes 3-for-7, driving in five runs during the twin bill at Forbes Field.
1961 In the Yankees' 8-6 victory over the Angels, Yogi Berra collects his 2000th career hit, a fifth-inning two-run single off Ken McBride. A huge cake is rolled out in LA's Wrigley Field to celebrate the Bronx Bombers backstop's milestone, all accomplished while wearing pinstripes.
1962 At Fenway Park, Earl Wilson, the Red Sox's first black hurler, strikes out five batters and walks four en route to no-hitting the Angels, 2-0. The 27-year-old right-hander from Ponchatoula (LA) also drives in the game's first run when he goes deep in the third inning off loser Bo Belinsky, who pitched a no-hitter against the Orioles last month.
1963 In a clear message of support for the German people, President John F. Kennedy delivers his iconic "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner) speech from the steps of the Rathaus Schoneberg in front of an audience estimated at 450,000. Large crowds greet JFK with banners during his visit, including one that reads, "Let's Go Mets."
1963 The Colt .45s snap their streak of 30 consecutive innings without scoring a run when Al Spangler goes deep in the sixth frame of a 7-2 victory over Milwaukee. The Houston outfielder's round-tripper is only the second run the team has scored in the last 70 innings.
1964 University of Wisconsin standout Rick Reichardt receives the highest bonus ever when he signs with the Angels for $200,000. The bidding war for the talented Badger outfielder ultimately led the owners to institute a draft, which started in 1965 when Arizona State University's Rick Monday became the first-ever #1 overall selection.
1966 In a game that features hit batters, brushback pitches, and umpire warnings, Ron Santo is struck in the face by a pitch thrown by Mets' starter Jack Fisher. The Cubs' third baseman's fractured cheek ends his record consecutive games at the hot corner at 390, but he did extend his hitting streak to 26 games, one shy of Hack Wilson's 1929 franchise mark, with a first-inning single.

(Ed. Note: After being operated on the following day, the Chicago infielder returns to the lineup on July 4 and hits safely in each end of a doubleheader, establishing the franchise mark of 28 that will last until 1989, when Jerome Walton surpasses the record. - LP)

1968 Cardinals right-hander Bob Gibson tosses his fifth consecutive shutout as he blanks the Pirates, 3-0, in the first game of a doubleheader played at Busch Stadium. The future Hall of Famer's accomplishment is one shy of the major league mark, set earlier in the month by Don Drysdale of the Dodgers.
1970 Frank Robinson hits two grand slams in the same game, helping Baltimore beat the Senators, 12-2. Accomplishing the feat in consecutive at-bats, the Oriole outfielder becomes the seventh major league player to hit two bases-full homers in one game.
1976 After tossing a one-hit 1-0 ten-inning gem for the Rangers five days ago, Bert Blyleven blanks his opponents for ten innings again in the team's 1-0 victory against the White Sox. Pinch-hitter Jim Fregosi ends the Arlington Stadium pitching duel when he singles off Ken Brett, plating Toby Harrah with the game's lone run.
1977 Pete Vukovich pitches the first shutout in Blue Jay history, blanking Baltimore at Memorial Stadium, 2-0. The victory also marks the 24-year-old's first scoreless complete contest, a feat he will accomplish eight times during his 11-year career.
1977 On Rod Carew Night, the Twins' first baseman goes 4-for-5, scoring five runs and collecting six RBIs in Minnesota's 19-12 victory over the White Sox at Metropolitan Stadium. The 31-year-old Panamanian's offensive output, including a double and home run, raises his season's batting average to .403.
1983 Rusty Staub ties the single-season record with his eighth consecutive pinch-hit. 'Le Grand Orange' equals the 1958 mark established by Dave Philley of the Phillies when he singles in the ninth inning off reliever Ron Reed in the Mets' 8-4 loss to Philadelphia at Shea Stadium.

1985 At Jack Russell Stadium, umpire Keith O'Connor ejects the organist from a Class A Florida League game for playing Three Blind Mice following a close call against the Clearwater Phillies. After NBC's Today Show's weatherman Willard Scott and syndicated radio host Paul Harvey report the incident, the self-taught musician becomes famous, signing autographs, "Wilbur Snapp, Three Blind Mice organist."

1987 Although the Red Sox has a 9-0 second-inning advantage, Roger Clemens cannot hold the lead, with the Yankees coming back to win in ten innings, 12-11. Boston's third baseman Wade Boggs, who is walked intentionally twice during the Bronx ballpark contest, sees his 25-game hitting streak end in the team's devastating loss.
1993 Hall of Fame (1969) catcher Roy Campanella dies at 71 after a heart attack in Woodland Hills (CA). The wheel-chair-bound former Brooklyn Dodgers backstop, permanently disabled in a 1958 traffic accident, had a ten-year career that included three NL MVP seasons, 242 home runs, 856 RBIs, and five World Series appearances.
1995 Before rejoining the Yankees to start in Chicago, Columbus Clipper starter Mariano Rivera pitches a five-inning no-hitter against the IL's Rochester Red Wings in Ohio's Cooper Stadium. During his tenure in the minor leagues, Mo, the future major league leader in career saves, is used primarily as a starter, starting 68 games, including seven complete contests, en route to compiling a 27-18 record and a 2.35 ERA.
1999 At Candlestick Park, Todd Hundley's second homer of the day, a ninth-inning three-run shot to deep right field off Giants' closer Robb Nen, sparks the Dodgers' 7-6 comeback win. Ellis Burks had put San Francisco ahead in the bottom of the eighth, 6-4, with a three-run homer off Alan Mills.
2000 Alex Cabrera homers in his first major league at-bat, hitting a two-run pinch-hit round-tripper off Yorkis Perez in Arizona's 6-1 victory over the Astros at Bank One Ballpark. The 28-year-old minor league veteran of nine seasons becomes the first player in the franchise's three-year history to accomplish the feat.
2001 Not known for being a base thief during his playing days, Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon, ejected for arguing a close play in the team's eventual 7-6, 12-inning come-from-behind victory over the Brewers at PNC Park, literally steals first base. "I told him (first base ump Rick Reed) he wasn't using it, so I thought I'd take it," explains the Bucs' skipper after pulling the bag out of the ground and carrying it into the Pirates' dugout.

2003 Edgar Martinez, the Mariners leader in games played, at-bats, hits, doubles, total bases, extra-base hits, walks, and runs, passes Ken Griffey Jr.'s franchise mark for RBIs. His two-run homer in the team's 10-6 victory over the Angels gives the All-Star designated hitter 1,153 RBIs, one more than Junior.
2005 At Oklahoma City's SBC Bricktown Ballpark, the public address announcer informs the Red Hawks fans of a lineup change, "now batting for Nashville, pinch-hitting for Corey Hart, Corey Hart." The Sounds, who already had an outfielder named Corey Hart on a Triple-A injury rehab assignment on their roster, recently acquired an infielder also called Corey Hart from the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League.
2006 At Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, Oregon State wins its first College World Series, beating North Carolina, 3-2. After dropping the opener in the three-game series, the Beavers, coached by Pat Casey, take the next two contests from the Tar Heels, with junior southpaw Jonah Nickerson named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
2011 Three days after Jim Riggleman's sudden resignation, the Nationals name senior advisor Davey Johnson as the team's manager for the remainder of the season. The 68-year-old former skipper compiled an 1148-888 (.564) record during his 14 years in the dugout with the Mets, Dodgers, Reds, and Orioles, finishing lower than third place only on three occasions.
2012 In the Bronx, third-base umpire Mike DiMuro rules Yankees' outfielder Dewayne Wise made a clean catch of Indians' Jack Hannahan's pop fly, reaching in the stands to end the seventh inning. Replays, however, clearly show the empty-handed left fielder never made the catch, and Vinnie Pellegrino, a fan from West Islip (NY), has the ball.

2015

"I felt it was better now than later, for myself, my family and the organization"- RYNE SANDBERG, explaining his decision to step down from his position as the Phillies manager.

The Phillies, the worst team in baseball with a 26-48 record, accept the resignation of their manager Ryne Sandberg. The Hall of Fame infielder, who guided the team to a 119-159 over three seasons, will be replaced on an interim basis by Pete Mackanin, the team's third-base coach.

2015 Prince Fielder hits his 300th career home run when he goes deep to right field off Mark Buehrle in the first inning of the Rangers' 12-2 loss to Toronto at the Rogers Centre. The Texas Ranger first baseman's milestone round-tripper makes him and his dad, Cecil (319), the second son-father combo to hit 300-plus homers, joining Barry and Bobby Bonds.

2018 The A's extend the record for home runs to 27 consecutive road games when Chad Pinder hits a two-run round-tripper off Blaine Hardy in the top of the fifth inning in the team's 9-7 victory over the Tigers at Comerica Park. The 1994 Orioles established the previous mark with homers in 24 straight away games.
2019 Vanderbilt wins their second College World Series, rallying to post victories in the last of the two games of the best-of-three-game series to defeat the Michigan Wolverines. The Commodores also captured the national title in 2014 under their current coach, Tim Corbin, when the team beat the Virginia Cavaliers. 
44 Fact(s) Found