On August 22 in Baseball History...

    1886 - Just as he reaches the ball on a long hit by Jimmy Wolf, Reds center fielder Abner Powell's pants are grabbed by a stray dog. Wolf circles the bases with the homer that wins the game for Louisville 5-3 in eleven innings.

    1917 - Pittsburgh's Carson Bigbee set a major-league record — since tied — with 11 at-bats in a 22-inning game against Brooklyn. Pirate Elmer Jacobs pitched 16 2/3 innings in relief. The game was also the fourth consecutive extra-inning game by the Pirates for a total of 59 innings, a National League record.

    1926 - After three games with the Tigers are rained out at home, Connie Mack and Tom Shibe get a court injunction and play the first Sunday game ever seen in Philadelphia. A light rain holds the crowd to 10,000 while Lefty Grove defeats the White Sox 3-2. A court later rules that Sunday baseball is still illegal; it will be 1934 before the law changes in Philadelphia.

    1933 - Bill Veeck suggests the idea of a mid-summer series of inter league games and proposes a split-season schedule format. Although the Cub president's concept of games between two circuits receives some support, Senator owner Clark Griffith opposes the proposal calling the American League a major league not in need of grandiose schemes he deemed as "Hippodrome stuff".

    1934 - Pitcher Wes Ferrell hit two home runs to give the Boston Red Sox a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox in 12 innings. Trailing 2-1, Ferrell hit a home run in the eighth inning to tie the score and with two out in the 12th, Ferrell connected again for the game-winner.

    1939 - At Comiskey Park in front of 50,000 fans, the Yankees win their first night game in franchise history defeating the hometown White Sox, 14-5. The Bronx Bombers bang out 14 hits in the evening tilt, nine of which are for extra bases.

    1946 - Clubs approve a change to a 168-game schedule, but they will rescind the decision at another meeting September 16. Television is first recognized, with clubs given rights to their own games. Players jumping to outlaw leagues will not be allowed to apply for reinstatement for five years.

    1957 - Stan Musial tears a muscle and chips a bone swinging at a pitch in the fourth inning against the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. The injury will end 'Stan the Man's' consecutive game streak at 894, but by pinch-running in a game which was suspended on July 21st and completed on August 27th, he establishes a new NL mark officially playing in 895 consecutive contests.

    1961 - Roger Maris, in his record-setting season, becomes the first player to hit his 50th home run in the month of August. The 26-year old all-star outfielder connects off Ken McBride as the Yankees lose to the Angels, 4-3.

    1961 - At L.A.'s Wrigley Field, the Angels edge the Yankees, 4-3. in front of 19,930 fans, the largest home crowd of the season. The expansion team will have an average attendance of 6,620 patrons per game in its first season, but that total almost triples when the Bronx Bombers are the opponents.

    1965 - San Francisco's Juan Marichal, batting against Los Angeles' Sandy Koufax, complains that catcher Johnny Roseboro's return throws are too close. He then turns and attacks Roseboro with his bat. A 14-minute brawl ensues before Koufax, Willie Mays, and other peacemakers can restore order. Roseboro suffers a considerable cut on the head. Juan Marichal is suspended eight playing days and levied a National League-record $1,750 fine.

    1982 - The Cubs pay tribute to Ernie Banks when the team retires the outfielder's uniform number (14) that he wore for 19 seasons. The Hall of Famer, who retired in 1971, is the first player in the 106-year history of the franchise to be honored in this manner.

    1982 - With two outs and two strikes in the 12th inning, Glenn Brummer steals home giving the Cardinals an overtime walk-off 5-4 victory over the Giants at Busch Stadium. The reserve catcher will finish his major league career with just four stolen bases.

    1984 - En route to tossing a three-hitter, 19 year-old phenom Dwight Gooden strikes out Garry Templeton in the eight inning of the Mets' 5-2 victory at Jack Murphy Stadium to become the 11th pitcher to strike out 200 batters in his rookie season. One of the hits is a two-run, round-tripper by Graig Nettles, the seventh in his last six games to tie a National League record shared by Walker Cooper, George Kelly, and Willie Mays.

    1989 - On a 96 mph fastball, A's Rickey Henderson swings and misses making Nolan Ryan the first pitcher and only major league pitcher to strike out 5000 batters. The 'Ryan Express' strikes out 13 and gives up only five hits, but loses the game to Oakland, 2-0.

    1992 - In the seventh inning of a Class A Florida State League contest, the Clearwater Phillies string together two walks and two sac bunts to score the game's only run beating the Winter Haven Red Sox, 1-0. Opposing minor league hurlers Andy Carter and Scott Bakkum do not give up any hits making it the first professional game to be hitless in 40 years.

    1998 - In the Orioles' 6-3 win over the Indians, Cal Ripken scores his 1,500th career run. The 'Iron Man' will cross the plate 1,647 times for Baltimore during his 21-year career in the big leagues.

    1998 - With his 52nd home run, Mark McGwire breaks Babe Ruth's record for round-trippers in three consecutive seasons. 'Big Red' has 162 homers in three seasons (1996-52, 1997-58) compared to the Bambino's 161 dingers hit in 1926-28.

    1998 - Although there are no penalties or testing for the use of performance-enhancing substances in Major League Baseball, the discovery of a jar of androstenedione in Mark McGwire's locker garners much attention. The Cardinal slugger, who will finish the season with a record 70 home runs, will admit he uses the steroid precursor.

    1999 - Cardinal first baseman Mark McGwire becomes the first player to reach the 50 home run plateau in four consecutive seasons. 'Big Red' goes deep twice (#'s 49 and 50) in an 8-7 loss to the Mets at Shea Stadium.

    2000 - Hitting a solo blast and a three-run round tripper during a nine-run sixth inning of a 14-6 victory over the Expos, Dodger first baseman Eric Karros becomes the first player in the 111-year franchise history to hit two homers in an inning.

    2000 - Working a scoreless 12th in a 7-6 victory over the Braves, Rockies' catcher Brent Mayne becomes the first position player to be a winning pitcher since 1968 when outfielder Rocky Colavito, as a Yankee, homered and threw 2 2/3 shutout innings against his former teammates helping the Bronx Bombers to beat the Tigers.

    2000 - Reds' outfielder Alex Ochoa helps to set a major league record by hitting the 142nd grand slam of the season. The Cincinnati outfielder's first career bases-loaded homer eclipses the previous mark of 141 grand slams established in 1996.

    2003 - For the fourth consecutive season, Garret Anderson reaches 100 RBIs mark to become the first player in team history to do so. The Angels' outfielder was also the first to have three straight 100-RBI seasons.

    2005 - The Baltimore Orioles claimed James Baldwin from the Texas Rangers on waivers.

    2007 - Stealing three bases in a 7-5 loss to the Padres at Shea Stadium, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes sets a team record swiping his 67th stolen base of the season. Roger Cedeno had established the previous mark of 66 in 1999.

    2007 - Brandon Webb's scoreless streak ends at 42 innings in the first frame of the Diamondbacks' 3-2 victory at Chase Field. The 2006 NL Cy Young Award winner, who had thrown three straight shutouts, falls 17 innings short of Orel Hershiser's 1988 major league record of 59 straight shutout innings.

    2007 - After feeling a near game-removing pain close to the top of his right hamstring, Albert Pujols hits a first inning two-run homer off Scott Olsen of the Marlins at Busch Stadium to become first player to hit 30 or more homers in his first seven seasons. It is the fifth consecutive game the Cardinal first baseman has gone deep.

    2007 - The Rangers become the first post-1900 big league team to score 30 runs in a game. After beating the Orioles, 30-3, setting a club single-game record 29 hits in the first game of the twin bill, Texas wins the night cap, 9-7, to break the AL mark of 36 tallies established by the 1937 Tigers during an August 14 doubleheader against the Browns.

    2007 - Rangers' relief pitcher Wes Littleton earns his second career save pitching the last three innings of the record 30-3 rout of the Orioles. The 24-year-old reliever from Hayward, California establishes a new major league mark for recording a save with the largest winning margin.

    2007 - Appearing as the skipper in his 4,409th game, Tony LaRussa passes Bucky Harris for third place on the all-time list for the total number of contests managed in the major leagues. Only Connie Mack (7,755 games) and John McGraw (4,769) have spent more time in the dugout as a manager than the current Cardinal field boss.

    2008 - Joining Lou Gehrig (2,721) and Babe Ruth (2,518), Derek Jeter becomes the third player to collect 2,500 hits in a Yankee uniform. The milestone safety is a first-inning bloop single off Radhames Liz in New York's 9-4 comeback victory over the Orioles in Baltimore.

    2008 - In an 18-3 rout of the Braves, the Cardinals collect 26 hits tying a franchise record established in 1930. All but five of the hits were singles, two shy of the major league record set by the Astros in 1976.

    2009 - In the 14th inning of the 1-0 Mariners' victory over Chicago, Adrien Beltre, who scores the winning run, is hit below the belt by a ninth-inning ground ball scorched by Alexei Ramirez. The Seattle third baseman, who doesn't wear a protective cup because it makes him feel uncomfortable, will be placed on the disabled list with a torn right testicle much to the chagrin of his manager.

    2011 - With two outs in the the eighth inning, Matt Holliday is forced to leave the field during the game when a moth gets stuck deeply into his right ear. The Cardinal outfielder is treated in the trainer's room where a utensil is used to extract the embedded insect, which still comes out alive.

    2012 - Oakland right-hander Bartolo Colon is suspended for 50 games after testing positive for testosterone. The infraction will end the 2005 Cy Young Award winner's season with a 10-9. record (.526) along with an ERA of 3.43 for the playoff bound A's.

    2014 - Statues designed by Matt Glenn and a team of artists as a tribute to the youth sports organization are unveiled in Williamsport to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Little League. The 'Bases Loaded' project, comprising of ten interacting commissioned 3rd street to represent a diamond as a home run is hit, follows the history of baseball, incorporating players from around the world.



    Baseball Birthdays on August 22...

    1857 - Hanlon, Ned
    1858 - Cudworth, Jim
    1859 - Becannon, Buck
    1862 - Yewell, Ed
    1873 - Butler, Ike
    1880 - Hartley, Chick
    1881 - Camnitz, Howie
    1881 - Swacina, Harry
    1882 - Carson, Al
    1883 - Downs, Red
    1888 - Bashang, Al
    1889 - Schang, Wally
    1891 - Felsch, Happy
    1892 - Shocker, Urban
    1893 - Fuhr, Oscar
    1893 - Bigbee, Lyle
    1897 - Clark, Bob
    1899 - Lee, Dud
    1909 - Keely, Bob
    1911 - Fink, Herman
    1916 - Kelleher, Frankie
    1919 - LaManna, Frank
    1919 - Freed, Ed
    1930 - Ernaga, Frank
    1930 - Speake, Bob
    1931 - Barclay, Curt
    1934 - Dagres, Angelo
    1939 - Yastrzemski, Carl
    1943 - Arcia, Jose
    1946 - Boyd, Gary
    1947 - Burbach, Bill
    1949 - Bair, Doug
    1950 - Burris, Ray
    1951 - Hampton, Ike
    1951 - Doherty, John
    1952 - Beare, Gary
    1956 - Gilbert, Mark
    1956 - Molitor, Paul
    1962 - Jackson, Darrin
    1965 - Hill, Milt
    1966 - Chiamparino, Scott
    1968 - Scott, Gary
    1969 - Pichardo, Hipolito
    1971 - Schutz, Carl
    1972 - Kline, Steve
    1973 - Wathan, Dusty
    1976 - Wolf, Randy
    1976 - Weaver, Jeff
    1977 - Mateo, Julio
    1984 - Huff, David
    1985 - Feierabend, Ryan
    1985 - Rosario, Sandy
    1990 - Busenitz, Alan
    1990 - Hutchison, Drew
    1990 - Stratton, Chris
    1991 - Dozier, Hunter



    Baseball Deaths on August 22...

    1897 - Nichols, Tricky
    1901 - Sweeney, Pete
    1904 - Dewald, Charlie
    1909 - Lochhead, Harry
    1927 - Shea, Mike
    1937 - Galligan, Jim
    1949 - Zimmer, Chief
    1953 - Tabor, Jim
    1958 - Taylor, Dummy
    1960 - Carmichael, Chet
    1968 - Groh, Heinie
    1973 - Cutshaw, George
    1982 - St.Claire, Ebba
    1986 - Eckert, Charlie
    1988 - Daughters, Bob
    2000 - Bradford, Bill
    2004 - Nelson, Jim