On July 4 in Baseball History...
1881 - At Riverside Grounds in Buffalo, Mickey Welch throws two complete game victories as the Troy Haymakers sweep a doubleheader from the Bisons in National Association action, 8-3 and 12-0.
1884 - In American Association action, Guy Hecker of the Louisville Colonels pitches complete games to win both ends of a doubleheader. The Youngsville, Pennsylvania native does not walk a single batter as he beats the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers, 5-4 and 8-2.
1900 - Approximately one thousand people in the crowd of 10,000 fans attending the game at West Side grounds celebrate Independence Day by firing pistols into the air. Chicago beats Philadelphia in 12 innings, 5-4.
1905 - In the afternoon game of a doubleheader, Philadelphia's Rube Waddell bests Cy Young in a 25-inning marathon as the Athletics down Boston 4-2. A's catcher Ossee Schreckengost works twenty-eught innings in one day, a Major League record.
1908 - With two outs and an 0-2 count in the ninth inning, Giant pitcher George 'Hooks' Wiltse loses his perfect game when he hits opposing pitcher, George McQuillan, with a pitch. Wiltse still keeps his no-hitter intact as the Giants win 1-0 in the tenth.
1911 - Armando Marsans and Rafael Almeida become the first Cuban natives to appear in a major league game as they both make their debut for the Reds. Appearing as pinch hitters in the eight inning, Almeida strikes out and Marsans singles in the 8-3 loss to the Cubs at Chicago’s West Side Grounds
1911 - In the morning game between Chicago and Detroit, Ed Walsh stops Ty Cobb's 40-game hitting streak as the White Sox win 7-3. Cobb has batted .491 since the streak started on May 15.
1912 - Tiger pitcher George Mullins celebrates the nation's birthday and his own by throwing a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns. In addition to his excellent pitching, the 32-year old also collected three hits and drove in two runs during the 7-0 victory
1925 - In a battle of southpaws at Yankee Stadium, Herb Pennock and Lefty Grove of the A's hook up in a 15 inning pitchers' duel which the Bronx Bombers win, 1-0. Pennock retires the first 18 batters and the last 21 batters he faces.
1932 - Bill Dickey punches and breaks Carl Reynolds’s jaw after the Senator outfielder collides with him on a close play at home plate. The American League suspends the Yankee catcher for 30 days and fines him $1,000 for his one-punch fight.
1938 - The Phillies move into Shibe Park by splitting a twin bill with the Boston Bees (Braves) losing the first game, 10-5, and winning the nightcap, 10-2. Problems with Baker Bowl made it necessary for the Phils to share the Athletics' home field at 21st Street and Lehigh Avenue.
1939 - A tearful Lou Gehrig tells 61,808 fans at Yankee Stadium, 'I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.' Gehrig's uniform number four is retired, the first Major League player so honored.
1939 - In a slugfest at Shibe Park, Red Sox third baseman Jim Tabor hits two grand slams as well as a third home run in Boston's 18-12 victory over the A's. It's only the second time the feat as been accomplished, both coming in a game against Philadelphia Athletics.
1940 - The Tigers draw the largest crowd in their history‚ 56‚272‚ for the first-place showdown with the Indians. Detroit takes the opener‚ 5-3‚ behind Tommy Bridges complete game. The Indians bounce back to win the nitecap in 11 innings‚ 2-1‚ to regain first place. Their previous largest crowd was last year on opening day at the newly enlarged Briggs Stadium.
1940 - Ab Wright of Minneapolis (AA) follows one HR in the morning game of a holiday doubleheader with 4 HRs and a triple-19 total bases-against St. Paul at Nicollet Park. Wright's first homer in game two is a monster shot that clears the center-field wall. His 4 homers in a game ties the 1935 mark of Dale Alexander of KC off Steve Sundra of Minneapolis‚ and the 19 TB is a new AA record. The Millers win the 2nd game‚ 17-5‚ after losing the a.m. game‚ 3-2. Wright will win the AA Triple Crown‚ hitting .369‚ 39 HRs‚ and 159 RBIs.
1942- In the 8th inning of an 8-4 Negro League victory over the Newark Eagles at Yankee Stadium‚ Baltimore Elite Giants spitball ace Bill Byrd beans Eagles manager Willie Wells. Wells is carried from the field‚ and the incident causes him to design a batting helmet. When he steps into the batter's box Thursday he will be wearing a modified construction worker's hardhat.
1945 - In the first game against Cleveland‚ the Indians tie a ML record with no assists‚ a first ever for a 9-inning game‚ in beating the Yankees‚ 4-2. Sidearmer Steve Gromek allows just 5 hits‚ including a Russ Derry homer‚ in winning‚ as the outfield pulls down 15 flyballs. Two years ago‚ the Browns went 8 innings without an assist: the Mets will be the next team to pull it off‚ on June 25‚ 1989. New York takes the nitecap‚ 3-2‚ as Al Gettel beats Allie Reynolds.
1948 - Ted Williams faces 3 pitchers in the 7th inning‚ a first in AL history‚ as Boston snaps a 5-5 tie by scoring 14 runs on 14 RBIs to beat the visiting Philadelphia Athletics‚ 20-8. A's pitcher Charlie Harris retires one batter in 14 and cough up 12 runs‚ before Bill McCahan takes over. Williams‚ who makes the final out in the inning‚ and Bobby Doerr tie records by drawing two walks apiece. Pitcher Ellis Kinder has two hits‚ off Harris and McCahan. The 14 runs in one inning is a record‚ but 5 years later they will do even better with 17 in one inning.
1948 - Braves rookie Johnny Antonelli‚ 18‚ makes his debut in the 8th inning of a 7-2 loss to the Phils‚ giving up 1 run on 2 hits. The Phils also win game 2 of the doubleheader.
1948 - Led by Roy Campanella's 1st 2 ML homers‚ the host Dodgers edge the Giants 13-12 in a wild game lasting 3 1/2 hours. 37 players see action‚ 20 by Brooklyn‚ as both teams score 4 times in the 9th.
1950 - Braves slugger Sid Gordon ties the ML record (held by 6) for season grand slams with 4 when he hits one against the Phillies ace Jim Konstanty in the 9th. Boston's 12-9 win in game 2 gives the two teams a total of 40 runs‚ 55 hits‚ and 90 total bases for the day. The Phils win the opener‚ 14-8‚ helped by Andy Seminick's grand slam in the first inning. Robin Roberts is handed a 9-0 lead after 4 innings and coasts home.
1954 - In a near no-hitter‚ Indians Mike Garcia‚ Ray Narleski‚ and Early Wynn‚ in a rare relief role‚ shut down the White Sox 2-1‚ only allowing Minnie Minoso's 9th-inning single. Minnie's single off Wynn comes with 2 outs in the 9th‚ and he is then caught stealing. Red hot Larry Doby drives in both runs.
1955 - In Three-I League action, Keokuk Kernels’ hurler, Jim 'Mudcat' Grant, hits three home runs in consecutive innings. During his 14 year major league career with seven teams, the right-hander from Lacoochee, Florida will go yard six times.
1957 - At Kansas City‚ the A's go into the 9th down 4-0 against the White Sox‚ then score 5 runs to win‚ 5-4. Joe DeMaestri slides across home with the winner. The A's won't duplicate this until 2005.
1960 - Mickey Mantle's three-run first-inning home run off Hal Woodeshick is the 300th of his career. Mantle becomes the 18th player to join the 300 club, but the Yankees drop a 9-8 decision to Washington.
1961 - At Metropolitan Stadium‚ the Twins sweep a pair from the White Sox‚ winning the opener 6-4 when Julio Becquer hits a 9th inning grand slam as a pinch hitter. Cal McLish shuts out the Twins in game 2 until the 8th inning when the Twins score 4 runs‚ 2 on Harmon Killebrew's only career inside-the-park-HR‚ off Cal McLish. Appropriately‚ it is the Metro's first IPHR. The Twins win‚ 4-2‚ behind Jack Kralick.
1961 - At Chicago‚ the Giants close out their road trip by rolling to a 19-3 win in game 1‚ collecting 22 hits including a homer by Orlando Cepeda that is one of the longest in Wrigley history. The Cubs come back in the nitecap to win‚ 3-2‚ overcoming Willie Mays' 300th homer. At the half way mark‚ the Giants are in 3rd place‚ 5 1/2 games in back of the first-place Reds.
1964 - Kansas City's Manny Jimenez, who didn't homer in 1963, connects for three in a 6-6 tie with the Orioles. Game is stopped by a special Baltimore curfew to permit a fireworks show to take place.
1966 - In his first game after being sidelined a week with a fractured cheekbone, Ron Santo sets a franchise record hitting in his 28th consecutive game. The streak will come to an end the Cubs' third baseman is held hitless in the nightcap of the twin bill against Pittsburgh.
1969 - At Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium, Bob Oliver becomes the first player in Royals history to hit a grand slam. The center fielder's eighth-inning blast comes off Jim Bouton of the Pilots in an eventual 13-2 KC victory.
1972 - Leron Lee singles in the 9th to break up Tom Seaver's no-hitter‚ but the Mets shut out the Padres 2-0‚ in the opener. Seaver strikes out 11. The Pads take the nitecap‚ 4-2‚ as Nate Colbert hits his 16th homer.
1972 - Denny McLain makes his NL debut in the 2nd game of a twinbill with the Cubs‚ called in the 8th inning because of rain. McLain gets no decision in the 3-3 tie‚ but gets a standing ovation at the end from the crowd of 50‚597. Atlanta wins the opener‚ 5-1‚ as Ron Reed beats Juan Pizarro. Paul Casanova's first NL homer and Lum's 3-run homer in the 7th account for 4 runs.
1974 - Mike Marshall picks up a 3-2 win over Reds. Over the past 30 days, Marshall is 9-0 with three saves and a 1.82 ERA in twenty appearances.
1976 - After hitting an apparent game-winning grand slam, Tim McCarver passes teammate Garry Maddox on the bases paths and will only be credited with a three-run single in the Phillies' 10-5 victory over the Pirates at Three River Stadium. The other base runners are allow to score on the Philadelphia catcher's 'grand slam single' because only the player who passes his teammate is called out and there were less than two outs.
1977 - The Boston Red Sox end their 9 game losing streak by walloping a ML-record-tying and since topped‚ 8 HRs‚ in beating Toronto 9-6 at Fenway. Seven of the homers are solo shots‚ another ML record. Four HRs (Lynn‚ Rice‚ Yaz‚ Scott) come in the 8th inning. Only Scott's is not consecutive. Lynn and Scott each have 2‚ while Rice‚ Yaz‚ Hobson and Carbo have one apiece. The Sox previous high for homers was 6 and they won't top that number until 1999.
1980 - Nolan Ryan fans Reds outfielder Cesar Geronimo to become the fourth pitcher ever to reach 3,000 career strikeouts. Geronimo was also Bob Gibson's 3,000th career strikeout victim. Despite the milestone, Ryan is tagged with the 8-1 loss.
1980 - Reggie Smith belts the 7,000th home run in Dodgers' history and Don Sutton sets a team record with his 52nd career shutout in the Dodgers' 4-0 victory over the Giants.
1982 - Celebrating Independence Day at Mile High Stadium in Denver, 65,666 fans watch an American Association contest and enjoy a giant fireworks display after game. The gathering is the largest crowd in minor league history.
1983 - Dave Righetti pitches the Yankees' first no-hitter since Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series. He handcuffs the Red Sox 4-0 before a holiday crowd of 41,077 at Yankee Stadium.
1984 - Phil Niekro strikes out five batters in the Yankees' 5-0 win over Texas to become the ninth pitcher in major league history to record 3,000 career strikeouts.
1985 - In a marathon game that borders on the surreal, the Mets endure two rain delays and six hours and ten minutes of playing time to beat the Braves 16-13 in 19 innings. Relief pitcher Rick Camp, an .060 career hitter, homers in the 18th inning to tie the game no pitcher has ever homered that late in a game. Keith Hernandez hits for the cycle in a game that ends at 3:55 a.m. on July 5, the latest finish in Major League history. At 4:01 a.m., the post-game fireworks display begins, causing some local residents to think the city is under attack.
1985 - With a double in the first, a triple in the fourth, a homer in the eighth inning, Keith Hernandez completes the cycle with a single in the twelfth frame of a 19-inning contest with the Braves. The Mets first baseman’s four hits, all off different pitchers, contribute to New York’s 16-13 early morning victory at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
1987 - In a seven-player swap, the Padres trade pitchers Dave Dravecky and Craig Lefferts and outfielder Kevin Mitchell to the Giants for third baseman Chris Brown and pitchers Keith Comstock, Mark Davis, and Mark Grant. In 1989, Mitchell will win the MVP Award for the Giants and Davis will win the Cy Young for the Padres.
1988 - Kansas City releases pitcher Dan Quisenberry, whose 238 saves are the fourth most in major league history. He will sign with St. Louis next week.
1988 - NL umpire Lee Weyer‚ 51‚ dies of a heart attack after working the Cubs 3-2 win over San Francisco. In a 1987 Sports Illustrated poll of NL catchers‚ the 6'6" Weyer was rates the best.
1989 - Cincinnati's Tom Browning is three outs from his second career perfect game when Dickie Thon doubles. Browning is eventually relieved by John Franco in a 2-1 win over Philadelphia.
1998 - Three White Sox pitchers combine to shut out the Red Sox‚ 3-0‚ on 5 hits. John Snyder gets the win with 7 1/3 innings. Nomar Garciaparra has 2 walks but his 24-game hit streak ends.
1998 - Dodger interim GM Tommy Lasorda sends blue chippers Dennis Reyes and Paul Konerko to the Reds for closer Jeff Shaw. Lasorda later admits he was unaware that Shaw‚ under terms of the Basic Agreement‚ has the right to demand a trade at the end of the season.
1998 - The National Baseball Facility of Ireland, considered the main home of the Irish National baseball team, officially opens in Corkagh Demesne Park in Clondalkin, West Dublin when U.S. Ambassador Jean Kennedy throws out the ceremonial first pitch. Dodger owner Peter O'Malley played an instrumental role in the construction of the diamonds now known as the Fields of Dreams, which includes a regulation sized adult field and an international standard Little League field.
1999 - Devil Rays' Jose Canseco becomes the first player in major league history to hit 30 home runs with four different teams reaching the mark previously with the A's, Rangers and Blue Jays.
2000 - Becoming only the third player in Cardinal history to homer in his first career at-bat, Keith McDonald pinch hits a home run in a 14-3 victory over the Reds. Eddie Morgan [1936] and Wally Moon [1954] are the only other Redbirds to accomplish the feat.
2001 - The Brewers' new home, Miller Park, continues to be jinxed as a parachutist breaks his ankle when he misses the opening in the retractable roof and lands on a beam several hundred feet off the ground. Another member of the Sky Knights Sports Parachute Club missed the stadium completely.
2001 - The fifty people stranded on the Ferris wheel ride at Comerica Park for two hours during the Royal-Tiger game are rescued by firefighters and emergency crews using a cherry picker and a fire truck ladder. The inconvenienced fans will receive tickets to another game, free dinner and team autographs from the Tigers.
2003 - In a 10-3 victory over the New York, the Red Sox score all their runs with the long ball hitting a record seven home runs off the Yankees. Prior to today's Independence Day fireworks, the Bronx Bombers had given up six homers in a game four times including twice to Boston (1997 and 1977) and the Indians (1970).
2004 - The selection of Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa as starters in the NL All-Stars line-up marks the first time in baseball history which three players with 500 career home runs have appeared on the same team. The trio will appear in the starting outfield in the 75th All-Star Game in Houston’s Minute Maid Park.
2006 - Yankee owner George Steinbrenner's 76th birthday is less than festive, as the Indians provide all of the fireworks in 19-1 Independence Day rout over the Bronx Bombers. The victory is the Tribe's most lopsided victory at home since the 1950 team, scoring 14 first inning runs, beat the Philadelphia A's at Cleveland Stadium, 21-2.
2006 - Nomar Garciaparra ties the major league record for being hit by the pitch in a game as he is plunked three times by three different Diamondback pitchers in a 10-4 Los Angeles victory. The Dodger first baseman is the first National Leaguer to equal the mark, both literally and figuratively, since the 2000 season when Astros outfielder Richard Hidalgo got thwacked thrice in a game in April.
2006 - Billy Wagner becomes the 20th pitcher baseball history to record 300 career saves. The Mets' southpaw, who has also played for the Astros and Phillies, significant save is his sixteenth of the season.
2008 - Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki needs 16 stitches to close up a gash in his right palm caused by a maple bat when the he pounds it into the ground in frustration and it shatters. These types of bats are under scrunity of a major league investigation because of their tendency to shatter when the hard wood breaks instead of just cracking like the bats made from softer ash.
2009 - In his 4,145th big league at-bat, Adam Dunn hits his 300th career home run in Washington's 5-3 win over Atlanta at Nationals Park. The 29-year-old left fielder is the fifth quickest player to reach the milestone only behind Babe Ruth (3,830), Mark McGwire (3,837), Ralph Kiner (3,883) and Harmon Killebrew (3,928).
Baseball Birthdays on July 4...
1852 - Turbidy, Jerry
1853 - Sullivan, Bill
1858 - Fulmer, Chris
1859 - Welch, Mickey
1860 - Bastian, Charlie
1864 - Donovan, Fred
1865 - Millard, Frank
1880 - Mullin, George
1880 - Swander, Pinky
1884 - Warhop, Jack
1884 - Manske, Lou
1886 - Kenworthy, Bill
1890 - Reed, Milt
1891 - Edington, Stump
1894 - Murray, Bobby
1900 - Kingdon, Wes
1900 - Fulghum, Dot
1904 - Ingram, Mel
1904 - Cotter, Ed
1917 - Palagyi, Mike
1922 - Bain, Loren
1929 - Tanner, Chuck
1929 - Tremel, Bill
1929 - Birrer, Babe
1929 - Tuttle, Bill
1931 - Malkmus, Bobby
1937 - Seyfried, Gordon
1942 - Lanier, Hal
1944 - Rico, Fred
1946 - Henderson, Joe
1947 - Minshall, Jim
1947 - Nelson, Jim
1948 - Nordhagen, Wayne
1948 - Armbrister, Ed
1954 - Beattie, Jim
1954 - Larson, Dan
1962 - Abrego, Johnny
1963 - Oquendo, Jose
1967 - Castilla, Vinny
1973 - Canizaro, Jay
Baseball Deaths on July 4...
1892 - Millard, Frank
1907 - McGeehan, Conny
1911 - Mathison, Jimmy
1911 - O'Brien, Jerry
1922 - Pickett, John
1925 - Derby, George
1938 - Roseman, Chief
1947 - Sweeney, Ed
1960 - Parkinson, Frank
1961 - Hehl, Jake
1962 - Kruger, Abe
1966 - Purnell, Jesse
1969 - Drill, Lew
1973 - Schmidt, Walter
1974 - Compton, Jack
1978 - Vance, Joe
1980 - Martin, Jack
1984 - Morris, Doyt
1986 - Roettger, Oscar
1993 - Stephenson, Walter
1994 - Cooper, Cal
1994 - Hoyle, Tex
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