This Weekend in Baseball History: Aug 22–August 24

AUGUST 22

1886: As Reds outfielder Abner Powell is chasing a ball hit into the gap, he is attacked by a stray dog that has run onto the field. With the dog tearing at his pant leg, Jimmy Wolfe of Louisville rounds the bases with an inside-the-park HR.

1934: The Red Sox defeat the White Sox, 3-2, in 12 innings. Pitcher Wes Ferrell hits 2 HR’s for Boston–one in the 8^th to tie it and one in the 12^th to win it.

1965: An all out 14 minute brawl erupts between the Giants and Dodgers. Giants ace Juan Marichal believes that Dodgers catcher Johnny Roseboro’s return throws to the mound are too close to him and so he attacks the catcher with his bat.

1982: The Cubs retire their first # ever, 14, to honor Ernie Banks.

1984: Mets phenom Doc Gooden fans 9 & becomes the 11^th rookie in history to strikeout 200 in his first season.

1989: With a 96 MPH fastball, Nolan Ryan strikes out Rickey Henderson and reaches the unimaginable mark of 5000 strikeouts.

2007: Jose Reyes sets the Mets team SB record with number 67.

AUGUST 23

1936: Bob Feller makes his 1^st start. Only 17, Feller strikes out the 1^st 8 batters he faces and winds up with 15 for the game.

1952: NY Giants 3bman Bob Elliott is tossed out mid-At Bat for arguing balls and strikes. He is replaced in the at-bat by Bobby Hoffman. Seconds later, Hoffman gets ejected when he argues the third strike.

1961: The Giants score 12 runs in the 9^th and crush the Reds, 14-0.

1970: Roberto Clemente becomes the 1^st player since the 1800′s to go 5-for-5 in back to back games.

1980: Charlie Finley agrees to sell the A’s to the Haas family, owner of Levi Strauss, for $12.7 million. This decision will keep the A’s in Oakland.

1998: Barry Bonds becomes the 1^st player in history with 400 HR’s and 400 SB’s.

1999: Ken Griffey jr. joins Babe Ruth and Mark McGwire as the only players in history to compile 200 home runs over a 4 year period.

2006: The Royals become only the 2^nd team in history to score 10 runs in the 1^st inning–but still lose the game. The Indians won 15-13 in 10.

2007: With his 1150^th win, Joe Torre passes Casey Stengel & becomes the 2^nd winningest manager in Yankees history, trailing only Miller Huggins.

AUGUST 24:

1905: The Cubs defeat the Phillies, 2-1, in 20 innings. Cubs pitcher Ed Reulbach pitches all 20 innings and gets the win.

1951: It’s ‘Fan Manager Night.’ Bill Veeck hands out 1000 signs to fans behind the Browns dugout. The words ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ are on each side of the sign and the signs are used to vote on decisions to be made by the coaching staff during the game. Veeck’s ‘stunt’ works as the Browns defeat the Phillies, 5-3.

1971: Ernie Banks hits the final HR of his career, # 512.

1975: In the 2^nd game of a double-header, Ed Halicki of the Giants no-hits the Mets at Candlestick, 6-0.

1975: Davey Lopes steals his ML record 38^th straight base. However, the streak ends in the 12^th when he is gunned down at 2b by Expos catcher, Gary Carter.

1982: John Wathan steals his 31^st base of the season, the most by a backstop since Ray Schalk in 1916.

1989: Pete Rose agrees to a lifetime suspension of baseball due to gambling and betting on baseball.