On August 17 in Baseball History... 1882 - In what is considered one of the greatest games of the century, Providence beats Detroit 1-0 on an 18th-inning home run by right fielder Old Hoss Radbourn. This National League game will serve as the longest shutout in major league history until September 1, 1967, when San Francisco will blank Cincinnati 1-0 in twenty innings.
1891 - The American Aassociation franchise in Cincinnati folds. Milwaukee of the Western Association is elected to take its place, a move that dooms that minor league. The American Association will be subsumed by the National League over the winter.
1894 - Right-hander Jack Wadsworth of the National League's Louisville club set a record that still stands by giving up twenty-eight singles in one game. The Phillies rout the Colonels at the Philadelphia Baseball Grounds, 29-4.
1904 - At Chicago's South Side Park, Boston American hurler Jesse Tennehill no-hits the White Sox, 6-0. The Americans will change their name to the Red Sox for the 1907 season. 1909 - Nap Lajoie resigns as the manager of the faltering Cleveland club. The fans still show their support for the popular skipper when a response to a newspaper poll indicates the overwhelming choice is to keep the team name as the Naps instead of choosing a new one, which will not happen until they become the Indians following the 1914 season.
1915 - Boston defeats the Cardinals in their debut at Braves Field, 3-1. The concrete and steel facility, which took only five months to construct, becomes the first ballpark to seat more than 40,000 fans.
1920 - Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman died from a beaning by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees on Aug. 16. This was the only on-field fatality in major league history.
1933 - On his way to establishing the mark of playing in 2,130 consecutive games, Lou Gehrig quietly surpasses Everett Scott's previous record of 1,308 games. The first baseman's single and triple don't prevent the last place Browns from beating the Yankees in ten innings at Sportsman's Park, 7-6.
1937 - In Cincinnati, the Cardinals beat the Reds with the final out being recorded at 12:02 a.m. making it the first major league game ever completed after midnight.
1944 - Johnny Lindell of the New York Yankees hit four consecutive doubles in a 10-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Lindell drove in two runs and scored twice.
1947 - The Lowell Orphans, a bankrupt minor league team moved from Lawrence, MA last month, draws only 85 paying customers to a doubleheader. The team's poor performance, which includes a 20-game losing streak, causes the city to evict the New England League franchise from Alumni Field, making it necessary for the club to finish the season on the road.
1948 - An estimated crowd of 100,000 fans passes by the body of Babe Ruth which is on display at Yankee Stadium. After the funeral in two days at St. Patrick's Cathedral, the 'Bambino' will be buried in the Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, New York.
1948 - Tommy Henrich hits his fourth grand slam of the season to tie the American League mark. Henrich, who broke in with the Yankees in 1937, had never hit a grand slam before this season.
1957 - Richie Ashburn, known for his ability to foul pitches off, hits spectator Alice Roth twice in the same at bat. The first one breaks her nose, and the second one hits her while she is being removed from her seat on a stretcher. Ironically, she is the wife of Earl Roth, the sports editor of the Philadelphia Bulletin. The Phils win 3-1 over New York.
1966 - After tying Jimmie Foxx yesterday for most career home runs hit by a right-handed batter, Giants slugger Willie Mays passes 'Double X' with his 535th homer. The San Francisco center fielder now takes over second place on the all-time list trailing only Babe Ruth's 714.
1968 - After four tries, the Mets still haven’t scored a run when Jim McAndrew starts a game with their 1-0 loss to Houston at Shea Stadium. In his first four major league appearances, the 24 year-old rookie right-hander has a puny 1.82 ERA, but is 0-4 due to the team dropping two 2-0 and two 1-0 decisions.
1971 - Prior to tonight's game against the Senators, the A's are invited to the White House so President Nixon can meet with southpaw sensation, Vida Blue. The commander-in-chief tells the 21-year old left-hander, who is presently 22-4, he wouldn't want to be the team's lawyer negotiating the phenom's next contract given the success of the underpaid hurler this season.
1972 - On his wife's birthday, Steve Calrton extends his streak to 15 consecutive victories when he beats Cincinnati 9-4 to win his 20th game of the season. After the contest, 'Lefty' returns from the clubhouse and stands near home plate to acknowledge the deafending cheers from the sold-out crowd at Veterans Stadium.
1973 - At Shea Stadium, 42-year old Willie Mays hits his 660th and final home run of his career off Cincinnati southpaw Don Gullett. The Mets first baseman, who played 21 seasons roaming the outfield for the Giants before coming home to New York last season, is third on the all-time home run career list behind Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (703).
1976 - Royals' third baseman George Brett steals home in the tenth inning to beat the Indians, 4-3.
1980 - George Brett has four hits and five RBI in Kansas City's 8-3 win over Texas, raising his batting average to .401 and extending his hitting streak to 29 consecutive games.
1984 - A stamp featuring Roberto Clemente, the fourth in a series honoring American sports heroes, is unveiled in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the late Pirates outfielder's home. The twenty cent six-color commemorative, designed by Juan Lopez-Bonilla, shows the pensive Hall of Famer wearing his Pittsburgh cap with the Puerto Rican flag in the background.
1984 - Pete Rose returns to the Cincinnati lineup for the first time in six years, going 2-for-4, including a single in his first at-bat, in the team's 6-4 victory over Chicago at Riverfront Stadium. 'Charlie Hustle', traded by the Expos yesterday in exchange for infielder Tom Lawless, also replaces Vern Rapp in the dugout in his new role as the club's player-manger.
1986 - Pinch-hitting in the eighth inning of a 9-5 loss to the Padres at Riverfront Stadium, all-time hit leader Pete Rose makes his final major league appearance. The Reds player-manager, who will end his 24-year career with a .303 batting average, is struck out by future Hall of Famer Goose Gossage.
1990 - In Chicago's 4-2 win over Texas, Carlton Fisk homers off Charlie Hough to become the all-time home run leader (with 187) in White Sox history and the all-time leader in home runs by a catcher (328).
1992 - Kevin Gross, retiring 22 of the final 23 batters he faces on his wife's birthday, no-hits the Giants at Dodger Stadium, 2-0. The LA right-hander's no-no averts the team from being swept in a four-game series at home against the Giants for the first time in 69 years.
1999 - Oriole reliever Jesse Orosco, 42, sets a major league mark pitching in his 1,072nd game passing Dennis Eckersley on the all-time career appearance list.
2001 - After hitting a double, triple and homer, Blue Jay Jeff Frye elects to turn an apparent additional double in the 7th inning into a single making the infielder only the second player in Blue Jay history to hit for the cycle. Kelly Gruber, the other player to accomplish the feat for the franchise, makes it to the SkyDome in time to give an on-field hug after Frye's fourth at-bat.
2002 - Homering in the seventh inning off Mariner stater James Baldwin, Yankee All-star Alfonso Soriano becomes the first second baseman to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season. Bobby Bonds is the only other Yankee to post a 30/30 season accomplishing the feat in 1975.
2002 - Alex Rodriguez becomes the sixth player and the first infielder to compile five consecutive 40-home run seasons. The Rangers' shortstop joins Ralph Kiner (1947-51), Duke Snider (1953-57), Ken Griffey Jr (1996-2000), Sammy Sosa (1998-2002) and Babe Ruth (1926-32), who established the record with seven straight 40-homer seasons.
2003 - Good grief, Peanuts character Charlie Brown joins late broadcaster Bob Prince, Negro League star Josh Gibson, former catcher Manny Sanguillen, and current shortstop Jack Wilson to be honored by the Pirates with a bobblehead doll give-away day. Almost ten percent of the nearly 18,000 Peanuts strips created by Charles Schulz focused on baseball.
2003 - The Rally Monkey, the Angels' unofficial mascot, is honored for its contribution to last season's world championship with its own bobble head doll promotion. The Rally Monkey Bobble Belly joins other dolls given to fans this year paying tribute to Troy Glaus (2002 World Series MVP), Adam Kennedy (ALCS MVP), and Mike Scioscia (AL manager of the year) and will wear an Anaheim jersey with a name of a honored player on the back.
2004 - As she enters Raley Field at 6:27 p.m., five year old Olivia Perez is honored by the River Cats as she becomes the four millionth fan in franchise history. The Triple A affiliate of the Oakland A’s reaches the milestone faster than any club in minor league baseball history.
2005 - St. Louis announces the franchise has broken its single-season attendance record of 3.43 million set in 1989. The first-place Cardinals have sold 3.45 million tickets for the team’s farewell season at 40-year old Busch Stadium.
2006 - For first time in big league history, both teams hit leadoff home runs in the first two innings of a game. In a 5-4 White Sox victory over Kansas City at U.S. Cellular Field, Royals batters David DeJesus and Emil Brown go deep leading off in the first and second inning respectively as does Pablo Ozuna and Jermaine Dye for Chicago.
2008 - During the fifth inning of an 11-8 loss to the Twins at the Metrodome, Mariners' right-hander R. A. Dickey throws four wild pitches tying a major league record for WPs in one frame. Seattle backstop Kenji Johjima is also charged with a passed ball on another pitch thrown in the infamous inning.
2008 - The Blue Jays set a team record for two-baggers slugging 10 doubles in a 15-4 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. With his 5-for-6 performance, Alex Rios ties a club mark becoming the third player in franchise history to hit four doubles in one game.
2008 - In a pre-game 55-minute ceremony at Minute Maid Park, Craig Biggio becomes the ninth Astro to have his jersey number retired. The Smithtown, N.Y. native, who wore number 7, is the team's all-time leader in games (2,850) and seasons (20) played.
2008 - Josh Hamilton becomes only the sixth major leaguer to be intentionally walked with the bases loaded. Rays' manager Joe Maddon's decision to give the Rangers' slugger a run-producing free pass in the ninth inning is successful when Tampa Bay goes on to win the game in Arlington, 7-4.
2012 - Lugazi, Uganda becomes the first team from Africa to appear in the 66-year history of the Little League World Series when they are defeated by Aguadulce, Panama, 9-3. None of the African youths, who have become the darlings of the tournament, have been playing baseball for more than two years.
2012 - The Boston Red Sox released Mark Prior.
2012 - Clay Buchholz strikes out Adam Jones (looking), Matt Wieters (looking) and Chris Davis (swinging) on nine pitches in the bottom of the sixth inning of the Red Sox's 6-3 victory over Baltimore at Camden Yards. The immaculate inning thrown by the Red Sox right-hander marks the 47th time the feat has been accomplished in major league history, and the first for a Boston hurler since Pedro Martinez turned the trick in 2002.
2012 - In his 1,000th major league game, Prince Fielder, with his two homers off Josh Beckett in the Tigers' 10-0 rout of Boston at Comerica Park, ends the day with 232 career round-trippers. The Detroit first baseman's dad, Cecil, also had the same total of big league home runs after playing in the same amount of games.
2013 - Miguel Tejada is suspended for 105 games, one of the longest in baseball history, after he reportedly tested positive on multiple occasions this season for Adderall, an amphetamine used to treat attention-deficit disorder. The 39 year-old Royals infielder, a six-time All-Star, apologizes to the organization, his teammates and the Kansas City fans, explaining his medical condition requires medication, but that he was wrong to take it while re-applying for a Therapeutic Use Exemption.
2013 - Clayton Kershaw blanks the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, 5-0, giving the Dodgers their first double-digit winning streak since 2006. The team's 42 victories in their last fifty games, including a 25-3 mark since the All-Star break, equals the 1941 Yankees and 1942 Cardinals for the best record for that span of games since 1900.
2014 - Michael Cuddyer is the 30th player to hit for multiple cycles, but becomes only the third player to accomplish the feat in both the American and National League, joining Bob Watson (Astros, 1977, and Red Sox, 1979) and John Olerud (Mets, 1997, and Mariners, 2001). The rare baseball occurrence is completed with an eighth inning double off Reds reliever Manny Parra, who yielded three of the hits in the outfielder's first cycle in 2009, pitching for the Brewers in a game against the Twins.
Baseball Birthdays on August 17... 1861 - McFarland, Chris
1866 - Harper, George
1873 - Norton, Effie
1874 - Keister, Bill
1883 - Justis, Walt
1888 - Molyneaux, Vince
1891 - Reilly, Arch
1891 - Powell, Jack
1892 - Rawlings, Johnny
1896 - McWeeny, Doug
1897 - Lennon, Ed
1897 - Bradshaw, Joe
1900 - Pence, Elmer
1901 - Embrey, Slim 1904 - Walsh, Augie
1905 - Watwood, Johnny 1906 - Walker, Hub
1908 - Durham, Ed 1910 - McLaughlin, Pat
1913 - York, Rudy 1918 - Nevel, Ernie
1919 - Hausmann, Clem
1920 - Bickford, Vern
1923 - Clyde, Tom
1923 - Markell, Duke
1924 - Ciaffone, Larry
1930 - Varner, Buck
1933 - Davenport, Jim
1936 - Buzhardt, John 1937 - Segui, Diego
1938 - Lines, Dick
1941 - Powell, Boog
1943 - Turner, Ken
1946 - Lockwood, Skip
1948 - Parsons, Bill
1950 - Johnson, Larry 1950 - Lemanczyk, Dave
1951 - Hobson, Butch
1957 - Landrum, Bill
1959 - Moronko, Jeff
1959 - Wellman, Brad
1963 - Fischer, Jeff
1965 - Cole, Alex
1966 - Barron, Tony
1967 - Mann, Kelly
1971 - Converse, Jim
1971 - Posada, Jorge
1972 - Abbott, Jeff 1972 - Ramirez, Roberto
1973 - Butler, Adam
1974 - Liefer, Jeff 1976 - Anderson, Matt
1976 - Cervenak, Mike
1976 - Valera, Yohanny
1977 - Maroth, Mike
1978 - Crozier, Eric
1978 - Qualls, Chad
1980 - Myers, Brett 1980 - O'Connor, Mike
1980 - Ridgway, Jeff
1980 - Waters, Chris
1982 - Metcalf, Travis
1983 - Gosewisch, Tuffy
1983 - Greene, Tyler 1983 - Pedroia, Dustin
1983 - Perez, Luis
1987 - Neal, Thomas
1990 - Farmer, Kyle
1991 - Overton, Dillon
1993 - Caratini, Victor
1993 - Winker, Jesse
Baseball Deaths on August 17... 1914 - Steinfeldt, Harry
1920 - Chapman, Ray
1930 - Maskrey, Harry
1934 - Potts, Dan
1940 - Baker, Bock
1950 - O'Connor, Paddy
1950 - Gilman, Pit
1951 - Wylie, Ren
1951 - Crandall, Doc
1961 - McCandless, Jack
1964 - Felsch, Happy 1967 - Caldwell, Ray
1968 - More, Forrest
1969 - Shellenback, Frank 1974 - Barrett, Johnny
1975 - Schulte, Jack
1976 - Tooley, Bert
1980 - Iott, Hooks
1980 - Goldman, Jonah
1982 - Meixell, Moxie
1986 - Vick, Sammy
1989 - Frankhouse, Fred
1993 - Sima, Al 1998 - Lipon, Johnny
1999 - Heflin, Randy
2002 - Bloodworth, Jimmy
2007 - Sanders, Dee
2009 - Williams, Davey
2013 - Craig, Rod
2013 - Harshman, Jack 2014 - Teed, Dick
2016 - Arlin, Steve
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White Sox vs Rangers Brawl 8/17/1990
Aug 17th, 1990- In first game of a double-header, Nolan Ryan hits Craig Grebeck for having umpire check the ball. Greg Hibbard retaliates by hitting Steve Buechele and benches clear.