The Retro Sheet
Official Publication of Retrosheet, Inc.
***************************************************** * It might be ... it could be ... it is he's gone. * * * * The baseball world has lost a person who truly * * loved the game and let it show every day. He * * will be missed. * * * * Harry Caray (???? -- 1998) * *****************************************************
There are always lots of pieces of good news for me to write about, but this time I will concentrate on two areas in which the loyal Retrosheet volunteers have responded to requests for help. These areas are photocopying from microfilmed newspapers and the proofing of our computerized game accounts.
Since last time we have had significant photocopying contributions from Brad Sullivan, Joe Dittmar, Bob Kistler, Ted Turocy, Bill McMahon and Bob Yahr (details in the "Game Account Acquisition" section). A few other people have started to help in this area as well, so the result is not only that many more games have been obtained, but that this activity is becoming wonderfully decentralized. Although I continue to do a lot of this copying as well, it is of great relief to me, both in terms of workload and mental health, for this wider distribution of labor in microfilm processing.
Getting the data files ready for release on the web page is, of course, our ultimate goal. Checking and editing the files is very time-consuming, and must be done with exquisite care. I am happy to report that more help has been found here as well. Pete Palmer, John Jarvis, Tom Ruane, Greg Beston, Ron Rakowski, David Vincent, Ron Fisher and Luke Kraemer have done huge amounts of work here (more details in "Completed Seasons") and they have recently been joined by Dave Lamoureaux and Tim Cashion. One consequence is that inputting has slowed down a bit, but I think this is a worthwhile tradeoff for the gains we have made in getting data ready for release.
Many thanks from the organization and from me personally to all of you who have responded to the calls for help. Is this a great group or what?!
The fifth annual meeting of Retrosheet, Inc., open to all interested parties, will be held on Saturday, June 27, 1998 at the San Francisco Airport Marriott, Burlingame, CA. As usual the meeting will be part of the SABR National Convention. The exact time and room will be announced later.
Anyone wishing to suggest an item for the meeting agenda should contact Dave Smith.
In July of 1905 the New York Highlanders were besieged by injuries and faced the possibility of playing with only one catcher during a long road trip. As Clarke Griffith's club set out for Cleveland, the Philadelphia Athletics were just finishing an Ohio series. Griffith talked with his old pal Connie Mack and worked out a deal whereby the Athletics would leave behind veteran spare catcher Doc Powers to pull on a New York uniform. Powers remained in Cleveland, joined the Highlanders, and played with them during their western road trip. Several weeks later he returned to the Mack fold where he played the balance of his career.
Was Powers movement really a 'sale', as listed in the encyclopedias? Newspaper accounts vary on the nature of the transaction. Officially it was announced as a sale, but Mack naively remarked to a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter that he "would take Powers back if Griffith didn't need him later." Other newspapers used the words 'loaned,' 'borrowed,' and 'donated.' Most confusing was a quotation from The Evening Telegraph, "The New York Americans like the work of Dr. Powers behind the bat so much that Griffith will try to land him for good from Connie Mack." This is a very strange statement. Why would Griffith "try to land him for good" if he had already purchased Powers? Adding to the intrigue is the fact that both clubs were still very much in the pennant race.
This mysterious transaction between the Highlanders and Athletics was not a singular event. Several weeks earlier a Cincinnati rookie backstop, Gabby Street, underwent a similar change of employers for three games when loaned to Boston (NL) before returning to the Queen City. And, a few weeks after the Powers incident, Cleveland rookie backstop, Nig Clarke, was similarly shuttled off to Detroit for a three-game stint.
The quandary was assuaged by columnist Horace Fogel in the August 1 issue of The Evening Telegraph:
"The constitution of each major league forbids the loan of players in this language: 'And no club shall lend or exchange players to or with each other for any game played during the championship season.' No penalty is specified by the American League, but the concluding sentence of Section 44 of the National League Constitution reads as follows: 'And any violation of this section (forbidding loan of players) shall subject each offender to a fine of $100.' When the Boston National League club was without a catcher, President Herrman permitted Street, of Cincinnati, to play with Tenney's team. When Kleinow was disabled and McGuire was in bad shape, catcher Powers, of the Athletics, was loaned to the New York American team. Cincinnati and Philadelphia will not be disciplined. These temporary transfers of players, it is claimed, were made without protest from associate clubs and merely to help unfortunate co-partners out when they were short handed. If, however, a National or American League club should violate the spirit as well as the letter of the constitution forbidding juggling with players, prompt punishment, it is asserted by those in authority, would be meted out. The club that carries more players than it has use for, and thereby deprives a second division associate of a chance to strengthen, fails in its duty to its partners. The fact further remains that clubs in the same league loaning players to one another is not only a clear violation of the rules, but worse still, it is syndicate ball. And Mr. Syndicate Ball is a first cousin to Mr. Hippodrome. Cut it out!"
["Hippodroming" meant "fixing" or "dumping" games.]
In this remarkable era of major league baseball, teams were expected "to help unfortunate co-partners," and individual players were expected to put forth honest effort for a temporary employer that was battling their mother club for the pennant. Simply amazing!
Certainly there is more to be learned regarding this practice. Did the players understand their temporary arrangements or did they believe their 'sales' were permanent? Which other clubs violated the 'spirit' of the constitution? Should Retrosheet sleuths find additional information, they are encouraged to share it with the community.
I recently came across an extremely strange batting order, perhaps never before matched in baseball history. On September 30, 1976, the Chicago White Sox tried a strange approach in a late-season game at California.
Besides DH'ing 53 year-old Minnie Minoso, the club's batting order was in numerical order by position. The batting order that day was:
Downing 2 L. Johnson 3 Stein 4 Bell 5 Dent 6 Bannister 7 Lemon 8 Hairston 9 Minoso DH
I have entered quite a few of Chicago's games from that season, and never saw anything that resembled this batting order. Therefore, I am assuming that it was another one of Bill Veeck's tricks.
Does anyone know about this, and has it been done before? I am assuming that it would be quite improbable in the pre-DH years, as the pitcher would have to lead off. It didn't seem to work, as the Angels won the game, 7-3.
SABR member Bill Deane has many research interests and the results of his work show up in many places. One of the topics that Bill is currently pursuing is the hidden ball trick. With the help of Jim Charlton, John Gecik, Tom Ruane, Dave Smith and David Vincent he has compiled a very incomplete list of these wonderful game events. If you know of any not listed here or can fill in holes in this chart, please contact Bill at DizDeane@aol.com.
Meanwhile, enjoy this list of tricksters and dupes.
Date LG Perpetrator Team Victim Team Notes
5/30/1893 NL Jake Beckley 1B PIT Joe Kelley BAL
6/25/1902 NL Rudy Hulswitt SS PHI Steve Brodie NY1 8th inn.
5/18/1906 NL Honus Wagner PIT Bill Dahlen NY1 9th inn.
8/29/1915 AL Del Pratt 2B SLA Clyde Milan WAS 8th inn.
7/3/1918 NL Bob Fisher 2B SLN Dode Paskert CHN 9th inn.
7/4/1918 (2) AL Ty Cobb 1B DET Joe Benz CHA 6th inn.
8/8/1920 AL Ralph Young 2B DET Ping Bodie NYA 1-0 loss 5th
6/24/1922 (2) AL George Burns 1B BOS Chick Fewster NYA 1st inn.
8/20/1922 (2) NL Ike Caveney SS CIN Ray Schmandt BKN 4th inn.
6/30/1926 AL Marty McManus 3B SLA Harry Heilmann DET Cobb coach
4/30/1929 AL Willie Kamm 3B CHA Charlie Jamieson CLE triple play
9/6/1931 NL Leo Durocher SS CIN Chick Hafey SLN triple play
4/17/1945 AL Tony Cuccinello 3B CHA Lou Boudreau CLE opener
8/4/1953 AL Billy Hunter SS SLA Jimmy Piersall BOS 7th inn.
/ /1958 AL Nellie Fox 2B CHA Billy Gardner BAL
9/20/1963 (1) AL Pedro Gonzalez 2B NYA Ken Harrelson KCA 11th inn
4/10/1981 AL Brian Doyle 2B OAK Glenn Adams MIN 6th inn
7/7/1985 AL Marty Barrett 2B BOS Bobby Grich CAL 2nd inn
7/21/1985 AL Marty Barrett to 2B BOS Doug DeCinces CAL 6th inn
Glenn Hoffman SS
9/26/1985 AL Kent Hrbek 1B MIN Bill Stein TEX 7th inn
6/30/1986 AL S. Lombardozzi 2B MIN Mike Stanley TEX 8th inn
8/31/1987 NL Tom Foley SS MON Robby Thompson SFN 5th inn
4/8/1988 NL Steve Jeltz SS PHI Gary Carter NYN End game
5/8/1988 AL Brad Wellman 2B KCA Dale Sveum MIL 8th inn
9/5/1988 AL Marty Barrett to 2B BOS Jim Traber BAL 2nd inn
Jody Reed SS
10/2/1988 AL George Brett 1B KCA Mike Diaz CHA 6th inn
8/11/1989 NL Jeff Treadway 2B ATL Marvell Wynne SDN 9th inn
5/18/1990 NL Delino DeShields 2B MON Terry Kennedy SFN 2nd inn
5/13/1991 AL Steve Lyons 2B BOS Ozzie Guillen CHA 4th inn
4/27/1991 NL Jeff Treadway 2B ATL Eric Yelding HOU 6th inn
7/ 8/1992 NL Delino DeShields 2B MON Jose Offerman LAN 3rd inn
6/28/1995 NL Vinny Castilla 3B COL Darren Lewis SFN 1st inn
5/30/1996 NL Eric Karros 1B LAN Glenn Murray PHI 4th inn
9/19/1997 AL Matt Williams 3B CLE Jed Hansen KCA 1st inn
Let us return now to those thrilling days of yesteryear...
Retrosheet volunteers Greg Beston, Doug Burks, Michael Dehler, Mark Dobrow, Clem Comly, Rick Elliott, Dave Smith, Ted Turocy and Wayne Townsend contributed to this list.
7-1-01 CHN @ NY1 -- in the early innings, Jack Doyle of the Cubs (but a former Giant) had been subjected to a lot of verbal abuse. One of the spectators, described as a large man in the rf bleachers, became personal and Doyle ordered him to be silent. Two or three more remarks aroused Doyle and the fan "invited" Doyle to come out to him. The man stood waiting for the first baseman. When Doyle arrived he hit the fan once with his left hand (he was a righty) when the police and other players interfered. Doyle resumed play and the crowd stopped yelling at him. After the seventh inning Doyle removed himself from the game because he had re-injured the hand which he had broken some weeks ago.
7-31-11 CHA @ NYA -- According to the game account, Roy Corhan pinch hit for Harry Lord in the eighth and played 3b in the ninth. According to Total Baseball, Corhan never played third in his ML career, only ss. The NY Times box score the next day listed Corhan at 3b.
8-4-11 (G1) CHA @ WS1 -- In the bottom of the ninth with a tie score, Germany Schaefer, who had previously stolen 2b, ran back toward 1b to try to draw a throw to allow the runner on 3b to score. However, the steal of home failed.
8-4-11 (G2) CHA @ WS1 -- Carl Cashion makes ML debut for the Nats, and defeats Big Ed Walsh. In the seventh, Walsh stole second --but TB credits him with 0 steals that year.
4-15-14 BRF @ PTF -- The Pittsburgh Press described a play in the first Federal League game as follows: "Lennox lifted a high fly to Delahanty [2b]. Oakes 'Merkleized' by leaving 1b and was easily doubled."
4-12-22 DET @ CLE -- In the bottom of the eighth with Les Nunamaker on 1b, pitcher Guy Morton hit a short liner to cf. It landed just out of the reach of Ira Flagstead. The Tigers' fielder picked up the ball and fired it to ss Topper Rigney for an easy force out. However, Rigney dropped the ball resulting in the following very odd play string: FC8/L8S.1X2(8E6)
4-16-22 SLA @ CLE -- In the game account from the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, a Walter Mails strikeout was described thus: "Mails breezed." The inputter's first reaction was to walk Mails, but since that left us 1 out short, it then was turned into a K!
4-21-22 CLE @ DET -- In the bottom of the first with runners on 1b and 2b, Bob Fothergill hit a short fly to cf. Tris Speaker trapped the ball and threw to Bill Wambsganss. Wamby was intent on getting Bobby Veach running to 3b and forgot to step on 2b. Larry Gardner threw back to Wamby for a force on Lu Blue, who had not run right away. The play is: 8454(1)/FO/F8S.2-3
5-30-22 (1) NY1 @ PHI -- In the bottom of the tenth, Butch Henline batted with the score tied and runners on 1b and 3b. He hit the ball into the lf bleachers for a game-ending homer. However, after Tilly Walker scored from 3b, Henline stopped at 2b. Thus he gave up a homer for a double. Considering he only hit 40 home runs in his career it should have been a bigger deal. Maybe winning the game was enough (what a concept!)
5-30-22 (1) PHA @ NYA -- In the top of the eighth, Doc Johnston singled of the rf wall. After Bob Meusel had thrown the ball into Aaron Ward, the latter showed umpire Nallin where the ball was cut and threw it into the Yankee dugout. After Johnston ran to 3b the Yankees kicked but Nallin insisted he did not give Ward permission to throw out the ball. One very strange error. Johnston later scored on a sacrifice fly.
6-9-22 NYA @ CHA -- [Courtesy runner] In the top of the sixth, Wally Schang singled to shortstop and was hurt sliding into 1b. He was carried off the field and replaced with Al DeVormer. The next batter ended the inning. As the bottom of the inning started, Schang returned to his catching duties. In the top of the eighth, DeVormer again ran for Schang, but this time he stayed in the game behind the plate.
6-14-22 NYA @ DET -- In the bottom of the third, plate umpire Chill accused Yankee hurler Sam Jones of nicking the ball. The arbiter kept placing new balls in play and warned Jones to stop.
6-15-22 NYA @ DET -- We've seen a lot of "zipcode" plays in past issues where a team throws the ball around too many times to nab a runner. In this game a grounder was played like a billiard ball. Tiger catcher Johnny Bassler hit the ball back towards Yankee pitcher Carl Mays. It caromed off Mays to Frank Baker and then off Baker to shortstop Everett Scott. Scott was able to field the ball and throw to Wally Pipp for the putout. The play is scored 1563 with no rundown in sight.
6-18-22 SLN @ NY1 -- The Cardinals started the game with singles by Max Flack and Jack Smith. Rogers Hornsby then singled to cf scoring Flack from2b. As Smith ran to 3b, Hornsby was caught between 1b and 2b. Here is the description from the account: "the crowd gave [Hornsby] a great hand when he delayed his retirement for about 3 minutes while almost the entire Giant team surrounded him." Smith scored during the rundown. The played ended up as follows: S8.2-H;1-H(TH);BX2(86439)
6-24-22 NYA @ BOS -- In the top of the first inning in the second game, Chick Fewster walked and Mike McNally followed with a fly out to rf. Then Red Sox first baseman George Burns (the one without the cigar) pulled off the hidden ball trick. He held Elmer Smith's return throw in his glove and waited for Fewster to step off the bag. [See a story above about the hidden ball trick.]
7-26-22 SLN @ NY1 -- In the bottom of the 7th, the Giants had Frank Snyder on 3b and Dave Bancroft on 1b with Johnny Rawlings at bat and two out. As Bancroft stole 2b, the pitch was strike 3 on Bancroft. However, Cardinal catcher Eddie Ainsmith did not catch the ball. He was charged with a passed ball as Snyder scored, Bancroft continued to 3b and Rawlings reached 1b. This is a very unusual collection of events to happen on one pitch: K+SB2.3-H(PB)(UR);1-3;B-1
7-28-22 SLN @ NY1 -- In the first game of a doubleheader there were two zip code plays in succession. In the bottom of the 4th, Ross Youngs was
on 3b and George Kelly was on 1b with no one out. Casey Stengel tapped to Cardinal pitcher Bill Doak and a general rundown ensued. Both Kelly
and Youngs ended up on 3b and umpire Sentelle called Youngs out after both runners were tagged. The Giants claimed that Kelly should be out
since Youngs had rights to the bag as the lead runner. Sentelle's ruling stood, however. Earl Smith then grounded to Jack Fournier and Kelly was
run down. The plays:
FC1.3X3(12535);1-3
FC3.3XH(3253);1-3;B-2
7-30-22 PIT @ NY1 -- In the top of the seventh at the Polo Grounds, Johnny Morrison hit a ball to lf. As the ball struck the fence, a fan reached out and pushed it. Morrison protested that it should be a homer but the umpires ruled that the interference did not prevent the ball from passing into the bleachers and held Morrison and 2b. [These kinds of actions seem to happen a lot in NYC.]
8-4-22 CIN @ BRO -- In the top of the first, Pat Duncan was on 3b and George Harper 2b with Lew Fonseca at bat. Fonseca hit a grounder that becomes a routine 53 in our event file. However, that is not the whole story. Firstbaseman Ray Schmandt threw to shortstop Ivy Olson to get Harper, who had run almost to 3b but he got back safely. Then Duncan started home but Olson's throw to catcher Hank DeBerry sent Duncan back to 3b. DeBerry's throw hit Duncan on the back. None of those extra throws show up in the event file since nothing happened.
8-5-22 NYA @ CLE -- In the top of the second, the Yankees had runners on 1b and 2b with no outs. Bob Shawkey hit the ball to short cf which Tris Speaker trapped. He then threw wildly to 2b trying for a forceout. The play string is: FC8.2-3;1-2(E8/TH2)
8-5-22 CIN @ BRO -- In the top of the fourth, the Reds had runners on 2b and 3b with one out. Lew Fonseca hit the ball to 3b and Jake Daubert was trapped off 3b but got back safely. Meanwhile, Pat Duncan was trapped between 2b and 3b and when the play moved there Daubert tried to score again. This time Daubert was out and then Duncan was trapped and tagged. The play becomes: FC5/DP.3XH(5242);2X3(26)
8-5-22 CHN @ NY1 -- In this game the Giants scored 19 runs on 27 hits, scoring in every inning except the eighth (they did not bat in the ninth.) In the bottom of the seventh, with the score 19-4, the Giants had a runner on 1b and 1 out. Irish Meusel hit a grounder to 2b and purposely slowed up so that he would be retired on the double play.
8-6-22 CHN @ NY1 -- In the top of the eighth, Charlie Hollocher grounded out 43. However, Cliff Heathcote running from 2b rounded 3b too far and was rundown. The description in the NY Evening Telegram says that "at the finish he was surrounded by practically the entire Giant team." The play went as follows: 43/DP.2XH(35626)
8-22-22 CLE @ NYA -- [Courtesy runner] In the top of the sixth, pitcher George Uhle singled to cf. The Yankees then agreed to let Les Nunamaker run for Uhle while the latter had a shoe repaired. Nunamaker was out rounding 2b on a strange play when Joe Dugan threw poorly to 2b trying for a force on Nunamaker. Les started for 3b but retreated towards 2b and was tagged before he got back to the bag. The inning ended when Nunamaker, now coaching 3b for the Tribe, grabbed Bill Wambsganss as he rounded 3b to hold him there on a single to lf. Uhle returned to the mound in the bottom of the inning and finished the game, beating the Yanks 6-2. [Not a good inning for Nunamaker!]
8-24-22 BRO @ CHN -- In the bottom of the third, Ray Grimes stole 2b. Thrilled with his success, he tried to steal 3b. Unfortunately, when he got there he found teammate Charlie Hollocher already on the bag. Hollocher then tried to score but was tagged out.
6-19-23 DET @ NYA -- [Courtesy runner] In the top of the 1st inning, Lu Blue singled to RF. Ty Cobb then got the consent of the Yanks to let Ray Francis run for Blue, who was still weak from being knocked unconscious by a batted ball during fielding practice before the game. Blue would start at 1b in the bottom of 1st and play the rest of the game.
6-25-23 PHI @ NY1 -- The New York Evening Telegram says: "When Wilson came to bat, Ryan came in to pitch (replacing Nehf). But Fletcher then called on Williams to bat instead of Wilson. McGraw countered this move by sending Nehf back to the pitcher's box. Fletcher countered this move by calling Williams back to the bench and again sending up Wilson." Dave Smith pursued this remarkable description with the help of Joe Dittmar. Joe examined five Philadelphia papers and Dave checked five from New York. The only other detail comes from the New York Times which wrote: "... John McGraw motioned Arthur Nehf to come out of the bull pen. Differing from his boss, Nehf walked into the dugout and pleaded with such eloquence that John J. let him go out again for another fling." So the question is whether or not the Giants were really allowed to bring in a pitcher, then change their minds. The resulting play saw Jimmy Wilson beat out a bunt to Travis Jackson at third and Ryan then was "summoned in earnest" as the Times wrote.
5-5-55 BOS @ DET -- On this unusual date, the two teams combined for 5 runs in the only AL game of the day.
5-24-66 (G2) CLE @ DET -- In this game there were nine foul fly outs recorded which, if not a record, is certainly an unusual number in one game. Norm Cash fouled out to catcher Jose Azcue on three consecutive at bats. The other six foul-out victims were Chico Salmon, Chuck Hinton, Fred Whitfield, Rocky Colavito, Bill Freehan and Don Wert.
8-26-71 CHA @ BAL -- This game saw the Birds blow a six run lead against the Pale Hose. The Sox scored twice in the top of the ninth to lead 9-8, but with 2-out, the rains came. After a 1:29 delay, the game was called, and it was ruled that the ninth inning rally didn't count, reverting back to the score after 8, for an Oriole "victory". The first run in the inning came on a pinch hit homer by Mike Andrews off Eddie Watt.
8-26/28-71 -- In seven consecutive at bats over these two games, Oriole Don Buford struck out. He went down in all five plate appearances on the 26th and on the first appearances on the 28th. On the next at bat he homered! In the five games previous to this streak and the four games after it, Buford did not strike out at all.
8-31-71 BAL @ BOS -- Red Sox centerfielder Reggie Smith gunned down a runner at 3b in consecutive innings. The first one was the ol' "85(2)/FO.1-2" force play on Andy Etchebarren and the second victim was Merv Rettenmund trying to go from 1b to 3b on a single.
4-26-72 CHN @ HOU -- In the bottom of the seventh with 2 out and Jesus Alou on 1b, Tom Phoebus threw a wild pitch. Randy Hundley's throw to 2b went into cf and Alou continued to 3b. Rick Monday threw out Alou at 3b for the following: WP.1X3(85).
5-16-72 (G1) CIN @ SFN -- With Dave Concepcion on 1b and 1 out, the Giants attempted to walk Pete Rose intentionally. Rose refused the walk and swung at a wide one, hitting a grounder to Jim Hart at 3b. Hart kicked the ball for an error but Rose was thrown out trying to advance to 2b: E5/G.2-H(NR);BX2(64)
5-29-72 SDN @ ATL -- In the bottom of the third, Bill Greif was facing Felix Millan. As Greif struck out the batter he pushed off so hard that he uprooted the pitching rubber.
5-31-72 LAN @ SFN -- In the top of the fourth, Frank Robinson was on 1b with 1 out. Wes Parker hit a liner to Bobby Bonds who doubled Robinson off 1b unassisted: 9(B)9(1)/LDP
9-13-72 CIN @ ATL --In the bottom of the second with the bases loaded and one out, Sonny Jackson hit a ball to lf. Pete Rose faked Rod Gilbreath into thinking he would catch the ball. Rose played it on a hop and threw home for a force: 72(3)/FO
Aug/Sep-72 -- As Maury Wills reached the end of his playing career he became a designated pinch-bunter, making almost all his appearances in that capacity. Of four tries, he succeeded twice, popped out once and bunted into a force the other time.
9-27-75 CAL @ OAK -- In the penultimate game of the season, pitcher Ken Holtzman batted ninth for the home team instead of a designated hitter. He went 0 for 2 before being replaced on the mound. In the seventh, Rollie Fingers pinch hit for Stan Bahnsen and flew out. No other pitchers batted that day when Oakland had already clinched the AL West title.
8-1-76 (G1) OAK @ MIN -- The Athletics stole 12 bases during this 12 inning game and the Twins added two of their own.
8-7-76 PHI @ SLN -- With the score tied in the top of the ninth, Greg Luzinski singled to lf. Jim Kaat ran for Luzinski and Jay Johnstone doubled to rf. Johnny Oates then ran for Kaat and scored the eventual winning run. So, we have a pitcher pinch running only to be replaced with another pinch runner who is a catcher. The Phillies manager was Danny Ozark.
9-23-76 MIN @ CHA -- White Sox hurler Ken Brett batted in the eighth spot that day instead of a desginated hitter. He went 0 for 3 while batting ahead of his catcher, Jim Essian.
5-22-77 SEA @ OAK -- The Mariners had six runners thrown out on the base paths. They were caught stealing for the cycle --out at 2b, 3b, and home (which was the front end of a double steal attempt by the slow-footed eight and nine hitters with two out --so much for the element of surprise!). This wonderful strategy occurred in the sixth inning. The M's also scored a run and had a runner picked off 2b in this frame. In the fourth, Ruppert Jones was forced at 2b 96 and then Skip Jutze was thrown out at the plate. The other runner thrown out was a "normal" (for this game) out trying to advance from 1b to 3b on a single. In trying to input this game, Doug Burks had to contend with two difficult scoresheets. There are four plays with disagreements. They are 962 vs 62, 24 vs 26, 53 vs 3/G (gulp), and 8 vs 63 (gulp, gulp). So who wasn't watching the game?
We won't give a full list this time, but will note some that are new since last time.
Jim Herdman is completing the 1954 Tigers as he continues his relentless pursuit of the AL for that season (he has already completed the Orioles, Indians and Senators). He has already discovered seven ejections for Chicago manager Paul Richards through the 8th of August -- shades of Earl Weaver!
Ted Turocy has been copying game accounts from Chicago newspapers, as mentioned last time and he has now started entering them into the computer. As Ted puts it, he would like to increase the blip in the 1911 peak on our games completed graph.
Clem Comly is working on the 1970 NL along with some Boston games from 1936 and New York from 1903. One comment he has about the 1903 games is that the accounts almost never give the fielding credit on caught stealing plays, which is unfortunate, although it is good to get a start on this ancient season.
With ideal weather conditions in the Quaker City on Saturday, April 22, 1905, a haughty band of John McGraw's Giants were in town. Waiting to greet the adversaries, 20,000 Philadelphians overflowed the park that would later be dubbed Baker Bowl while thousands more were left on the streets. The ambiance was ripe for turmoil, and it soon followed.
The New Yorkers shattered a tight game during a big eighth-inning rally. During the action, Giants' captain Dan McGann lost his temper after being called out on a close play at the plate and slugged Phillies catcher Fred Abbott. The backstop retaliated by throwing the ball at the visitor's head precipitating a fist fight. Umpire George Bausewine tossed both men out of the game, but for the restless crowd that wasn't enough. As McGann walked toward the bench he became the target of hundreds of seat cushions hurled from the grandstand. After being seated, the volley increased in intensity until McGann and several teammates were forced to seek shelter elsewhere. Before long another Giant got into a fracas with a lemonade vendor which also escalated and stopped play several times. This belligerence continued until the game was called.
Then, as the New Yorkers began to leave the grounds, they were surrounded by an angry mob that tossed more cushions their way along with any other projectiles that could be found. Finally the ballplayers fought their way out of the park to Huntingdon Street where their carriage awaited (there was no visitors locker room). Unfortunately, their getaway coach was also surrounded by angry thousands. The coachman attempted to drive away but was unable to budge. Men clutched at the horses heads to thwart any movement while hundreds of others hurled bricks and stones at the players "who were huddled together in the coach half frightened to death." Finally the carriage did start to move but, as it did, another brick was hurled with deadly accuracy "striking one of the players in the neck, felling him."
After my initial astonishment at this scene, I wondered how Albert Belle or Tony Phillips would have handled such adversity?
One entry was missing from the list published in the last issue of TRS. Christopher Chestnut completed the games of the 1969 Seattle Pilots. This epic group (at least if you believe Jim Bouton) still needs to be proofed, but we apologize for omitting it last time. The 1966 AL is now almost completely finished, with Dave Lamoureaux completing the season except for a handful which are left with Mark Dobrow. This gives a completed run for the AL of all games from 1959 to 1967 except for the seven Angels games we are missing from 1962 and 1963. Clem Comly has completed the 1972 NL, except for the 60 games for which do not yet have accounts.
St. Louis, 6-15-22 -- Kenneth Williams of the St. Louis Browns, whose spectacular home run batting early this season brought up the question of whether he would dethrone "Babe" Ruth as home run king, today told the Associated Press that he had given up hope of equaling Ruth's 1921 record of 59 homers.
"Not even 'Babe' himself will be able to repeat his Herculean feat of last season," said the local American's slugger. "I believe no one will ever equal Ruth's record of knocking out 59 home runs in one season."
Williams today is 8 home runs behind last year's record of Ruth's, the Bambino having 23 to his credit a year ago today, while Williams has fifteen. Although he leads both major leagues with his 15 four base clouts, Williams said he had fallen into a heavy batting slump since the latter part of April. He has connected for only 5 home runs in the last 6 weeks.
[Ed. note --Williams ended the season with 39 homers to lead the AL. Ruth ended third with 35. Rogers Hornsby led the majors with 42.]
On August 16, 1922, Giants pitcher Phil Douglas was banned from baseball for asking a player on another club for money. He promised to leave the Giants. Two days later, Commissioner Landis released the letter Douglas wrote. Here is the text of the letter, as published in the NY Evening Telegram:
New York, NY, August 7.
Dear -----,
I want to leave here, but I want some inducement. I don't want this guy to win the pennant and I feel if I stay here I will
win it for him. You know I can pitch and win. So you see the fellows, and if you want to send a man over here with the
goods, and I will leave for home on the next train. Send him to my house so nobody will know, and send him at night. I
am living at No. 45 Wadsworth Avenue, Apt. 1R.
Nobody will ever know. I will go down to fishing camp and stay there. I am asking you this way so there can't be any trouble to anyone. Call me up if you all are sending a man. Wadsworth 3210. Do this right away. Let me know. Regards to all.
(signed) Phil Douglas
An article in the June 23, 1905 issue of The Evening Telegraph tells of a new resolve by Connie Mack
by Joe Dittmar
In 1905 gambling on baseball games was common fare. Spectators openly bet not only on the outcome of the game but on individual plays and even pitches. Entire sections of the grandstand would be packed with gamblers cheering on each pitch or hit ball. At times, when a hometown player made an error, a certain segment of fans would cheer. This became a source of insult and embarrassment for the players and an annoyance for the non-betting patrons.
At the urging of both players and fans, Connie Mack engaged the services of the law. The known gamblers arriving at Columbia Park were warned that their actions would result in arrest, and three policeman in plain clothes were employed in the betting grandstand. Some of the violators, however, had heard of the plan beforehand and made their bets outside the park. (Could these gamblers have been the grandfathers of today's fantasy league players?)
Wayne Townsend wrote the following note to Dave Smith:
Scoring situation:
Runners on 1b & 2b, 1 out. Batter hits a grounder to 1b, who throws to ss for the force at 2b, who then throws to 3b to
get the runner (Yaz) from 2b.
Questions: is this a /GDP or just a /DP? Is it a FC? Is it a /FO with 2X3(65)? 2XH(65)? I scored it "36(1)5(2)/DP"
Thank for your advice, "Mr. R"!
Signed,
Lost in Boston
Dave answered: Dear Lost: This is a GDP, just a very uncommon one which should be entered as "36(1)5(2)/GDP". The rule book calls it a "reverse force double play" which I always thought was a silly name. The really odd thing is the batter getting dinged for a GDP even though he ended up on first base. We usually see the reverse force plays as "3(B)6(1)/GDP".
SACRAMENTO PASTOR OK'S SUNDAY BALL
Sacramento, Cal, June 27 -- Prefacing his sermon with a recitation of "Casey at the Bat", the Rev. Franklin Baker, pastor of the First Unitarian Church, spoke to a huge congregation here in defense of Sunday baseball. He declared the $15,000,000 spent for baseball last season was better expended than the same sum in foreign missions and that the game is "America's mental shower bath".
[Thanks to Ted Turocy for this article from the Chicago American of 6/27/1911.]
Everett Scott, the Yankees shortstop, formerly with the Red Sox, completed his string of 900 consecutive games, a record which nobody but himself is likely to improve.
Wayne Townsend discovered that Fred Westervelt umpired in the NL in 1923, even though Total Baseball says he was only in the AL and in the previous decade.
St. Louis 7-26-1922 -- Babe Ruth attempted to "bawl out" Wally Pipp for Pipp's baserunning when the latter was caught off 2b. Pipp retaliated with a left hook to Ruth's jaw and would certainly have handed the Babe a fine trimming if other players had not interfered. Pipp is one of the handiest men in baseball with his hands and what he would have done to Ruth would rival what Leonard and Tendler hand each other this evening. [Editor's note --Leonard and Tendler were scheduled for a prize fight that evening.] Huggins refused to discuss the battle which is reported to have taken place in the clubhouse.
Jim Herdman found an unusual situation and makes a good point about the value of having as much information as possible when inputting. Concerning the game of 7-24-54 CLE @ NYA, Jim wrote: "Note of interest -- In the last two innings of this game for New York, Miranda and Mantle switched between shortstop and second base according to what side the batter hit from. The Cleveland scoresheet did not indicate these defensive moves for either player. I noticed from TSN write up and box score for this game as I entered. This is a good reason why I like to have a newspaper account and box score for the games as I enter them."
Tim Cashion (with a little help from David Vincent) has input the All-Star games from 1933 to 1983. He will complete this project to the present as soon as the scoresheets are located in the RetroVault. This is a great set of games for us to have available.
Victoria, B.C., Aug 7 [1930] -- Ban Johnson, former president of the American League, arrived here for a fortnight's fishing off Vancouver Island. "Speaking of fish," said Ban, "reminds me of the time Silk O'Loughlin, the famous old-time umpire, put Ducky Holmes, White Sox outfielder, out of the game for using improper language.
"The Sox had to send a pitcher to fill Holmes' place in the outfield. When I got back from a fishing trip the next day O'Laughlin reported the matter to me. I was fixing up a nice basket of fish for Charley Comiskey, owner of the White Sox, and it reached him simultaneously with my decree that Homes was suspended indefinitely. 'What does Johnson want me to do with the fish' roared the Old Roman, 'play them in the outfield?'"
Ansonia, CT, 7-26-1922 -- A petition bearing eighty-two signatures, most of them women church members, was received by Prosecuting Attorney A.R. McOrmond today asking him to "forbid" the sale of tickets for the exhibition game of the St. Louis Cardinals in Ansonia Sunday August 6. The Prosecuting Attorney said he "complied with the request and forbade the sale of tickets."
A committee of members of Ansonia Lodge of Elks is arranging for the game, which will be made the occasion for the presentation of a gift to Lou North, the Ansonia pitcher, who is on the St. Louis National League team. North is to pitch.
Dr. S.B. Talcott, superintendent of the State Lunatic Asylum in New York, quoted in the New York Clipper, April 30, 1892
By Dave Smith
We continue to increase our holdings, thanks to the efforts of several people. I have completed the copying of the 1903 New York Evening Telegram, giving us over 300 games for teams from that city for that year. I have also done about half of the 1911 season from the Evening Telegram with the good news that beginning in mid-July, they published on Sundays, a special treat for us. The New York World-Telegram (lots of newspaper mergers) has yielded the 1931 accounts through August, with the rest of the season on order from Interlibrary loan.
Ted Turocy has made many copies from the 1911 Chicago American as he works on that season, inputting the games he copies. Paul Malone is keenly interested in no-hitters and has collected play by play accounts of dozens of them. He recently sent Ted several that he had copied from the 1911 Chicago Daily News.
Joe Dittmar is a wiz with the Philadelphia newspapers, which generally have pretty poor coverage. However, Joe has found and copied 84 accounts for the 1901 season and 171 for 1905, which are really treasures.
Bob Kistler continues with his excellent work with Boston games from 1936 (both teams) and has sent along games through July 2 of that year.
Bill McMahon continues on the 1939 Chicago Daily News and Mike Grahek has made an Interlibrary Loan request for the 1901 New York Evening Telegram, so we will soon have even better coverage for the start of the century.
Bob Yahr continues to find and copy games for the Cubs and White Sox in the 1950s, along with a few for the Braves and Browns. Something which is not widely appreciated is that the newspapers of the 1950s were pretty sporadic in their coverage as the Major Leagues increased their number of night games and radio and television made the newspaper accounts seem increasingly less necessary. Therefore, we are especially lucky to have Bob help with these games.
The biggest haul of newspaper accounts comes from Brad Sullivan, who recently sent in over 600 games, including the 1909, 1910 and 1911 Pirates, plus the Indians from 1937, 1938 and 1941. Brad also tells me he just copied the 1912 Pirates and this set appears to be complete! Many Retro-thanks to Brad for this great work.
As we have noted before, there are still thousands of newspaper accounts on microfilm waiting to be copied. Thanks to all who have already donated their time for this effort and here's hoping we can keep the momentum going.
We also continue to acquire games from scored programs and scorebooks. Jay Wigley made some inquiries on the Internet and found someone who has Reds scorecards from the 1940s and 1950s. I sent Jay the list of what we need for Cincinnati in that period and he has already obtained a few scored programs with hopes of getting more. Luke Kraemer continues his contacts with memorabilia dealers and very recently was contacted by one who has some games for Philadelphia in the late 1940s. The best item is a scorebook with about 150 games for the two Philadelphia teams in 1949, which is a really great find for us. Many thanks to Luke for keeping alert to these chances.
I hate to finish this section on a down note, but there is one more story that is important to relate, although the outcome is not what we wanted. Our two worst cities for getting game accounts from newspapers so far have been Philadelphia and Boston. Since David Vincent has entered so many games from 1925, I thought it would be good to make a special effort for games between the Bostons and the Philadelphias in each league. Joe Dittmar examined five Philadelphia newspapers and found play by play accounts for three of these games. I then asked Bob Kistler to look for some of these contests. Bob consulted five Boston newspapers and found two of them. This means that of the 44 games played between Boston and Philadelphia teams in 1925, we were only able to get accounts for five of them, even after the best efforts of two excellent researchers.
Here is our usual edition-ending feature: the report on group activity since the last issue of TRS. The smallest number of games entered in a single week during this period was 76 and the highest was 471.
Total Games in Computer (All Years before 1984) 44,711 Games Entered since last Report 2,122 Days since last Report (11/23/97 to 2/28/98) 98 Games Entered per Week (14 weeks) 151.6 Games Entered per Day (The Fisher Index) 21.7
Return to News Page
Return to Retrosheet Home Page
Page Updated: 3/11/98
Copyrighted: Retrosheet, 1998