Braves History and Birthdays for October 1...
Mike Lattin
doubt if I could possibly go through it again." - Roger Maris, commenting
about his historic season
1903 - The first modern World Series game, also called "Championship of the
United States," is played at Boston's Huntington Street park before 16,242.
Deacon Phillippe pitches Pittsburgh to a 7-3 win over Cy Young (1911 Boston
Rustler). Pittsburgh RF Jimmy Sebring hits the first home run and adds three
other hits. 3B Tommy Leach has four hits, including two triples for the
Pirates and winds up with four three-baggers, a Series record.
1906 - The Cardinals get whitewashed twice today, losing 3-0 and 2-0 to the
Giants. Red Ames wins the opener and George Ferguson (1908-11 Boston
Dove/Rustler) takes the nitecap victory.
1906 - The Series-bound Colts sweep two from the Phillies, winning the first
game 4-0 behind Carl Lundgren's 2-hitter. They then take the nitecap, 4-3 in
a six inning contest called because of darkness, as Ed Reulbach (1916-17
Boston Brave) wins his 12th straight. This tops Mordecai Brown's 11-game
winning streak snapped earlier this month. Reulbach will win 14 in a row in
1909, a 20th century Cubs record.
1907 - The Cubs score one run in the 9th against Christy Mathewson to tie
the score at 1-1, then push across the winner in the 11th to beat the
Giants, 2-1. Chick Fraser (1905 Boston Beaneater) and Carl Lundgren allow
just two Giant safeties in 11 frames.
1908 - Ed Reulbach (see above) shuts out the Reds for a 6-0 Cubs win, and
Reulbach's 4th straight shutout, tying a mark set by Three Finger Brown
earlier in the year. Big Ed will complete 44 consecutive scoreless innings,
a National League record until Carl Hubbell's 46 in 1933, and the four
straight shutouts will not be tied until another Cub, Bill Lee (1945-46
Boston Brave), does it in 1938.
1910 - In a 9-6 Chicago win in Cincinnati, the Cubs' Johnny Evers (1914-17,
29 Boston Brave) breaks his ankle sliding home and will not play in the
World Series.
1911 - The Giants complete a western trip that ices the pennant by beating
the Cubs, 5-0, behind Rube Marquard (1922-25 Boston Brave). Chicago's Jimmy
Sheckard sets a NL record by drawing his 147th walk, a mark not broken until
Dodger Eddie Stanky's (1948-49 Boston Brave) 148 in 1945.
1914 - In the Braves 7-6 win over the last-place Giants, Bill Klem provides
most of the fireworks. He tires of the name-calling in the 6th inning and
clears the entire Giants bench-24 players, including many rookies, march in
step to the clubhouse.
1917 - In a 2-0 Pittsburgh win over the Braves, Boston LF Joe Kelly and SS
Rabbit Maranville combine on a 9-6 double play. Rabbit makes his out at home
plate.
1921 - After clinching the pennant with a 5-3 win over Philadelphia in the
opener behind Carl Mays' 17th straight win over Philadelphia, the Yankees
bring Babe Ruth into pitch in relief in the night cap. Ruth, with just one
other pitching appearance all season, takes over in the 8th with New York in
the lead 6-0. Ruth quickly allows the A's six runs to tie the score, but
then knuckles down to hold them scoreless to the 11th when New York scores a
run to win, 7-6. Ruth drives in his 167th run in the game, besting Sam
Thompson's mark set in 1884. For Mays, it is his 7th straight win over
Philley this season.
1922 - Rogers Hornsby's (1928 Boston Braves player/manager) 3-for-5 on the
last day puts him at .401, the first .400-hitter in the NL since Ed
Delahanty in 1899. His NL-record 250 hits top Willie Keeler's 243 in 1897.
Hornsby wins the Triple Crown with 152 RBIs and 42 HRs. His 102 extra-base
hits will be the NL's tops until Chuck Klein's 107 in 1930.
1922 - In the second of two games vs Boston Braves, Giants OF Hy Higbee
clouts a sixth inning 2-run homer off Al Yeargin to pace New York to a 3-0
win. It is Higbee's third game as a Giant and his HR comes in his last
major-league at bat.
1929 - Before fewer than 500 paying fans, in the first of a five game
series, the host Reds drop a 3-2 decision to the Cubs and Guy Bush (1936-37
Boston Brave).
1930 - The World Series opens with a Wednesday game at Philadelphia's Shibe
Park. The defending World Champion Athletics are held to 5 hits by Burleigh
Grimes (1930 Boston Brave). Lefty Grove limits the Cards to a pair of runs,
as the A's capitalize on their power. Their 5 hits include HRs by Mickey
Cochrane and Al Simmons (1939 Boston Brave), 2 triples and a double,
providing Philadelphia with single runs in 5 different innings and a 5-2
victory.
1932 - Babe Ruth, as legend has it, called his home run against Chicago's
Charlie Root in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the
New York Yankees, 7-5, at Wrigley Field. Ruth and Lou Gehrig each hit two
homers for the Yankees.
1933 - Babe Ruth, in a season-ending stunt, pitches the final game of his
career, defeating the Red Sox 6-5 with a complete game. Ruth hits a HR to
help his effort.
1942 - Behind 3-0, the Yankees tie it up in the top of the 8th, but rookie
Stan Musial singles in Enos Slaughter (1959 Milwaukee Brave) in the bottom
of the inning to forge a 4-3 Cardinal victory.
1946 - Johnny Neun (1930-31 Boston Brave) is named the Reds manager for next
year.
1946 - While waiting for the NL playoff to be completed, the Red Sox tune up
by playing a team of American League All Stars. In the 5th, Senator P Mickey
Haefner (1950 Boston Brave) accidentally hits Ted Williams on the right
elbow with a pitch. The injury will affect Williams' play in the World
Series.
1949 - Alex Kellner wins his 20th to finish the season as the A's first
20-game winner since Lefty Grove in 1933. A future pitching trend is
foretold by the record of Yankee ace Allie Reynolds (17-6), who finishes
only 4 of 31 starts. Dave Koslo (1954-55 Milwaukee Brave) of the Giants is
the surprise ERA leader in the NL, but his 2.50 mark contains not a single
shutout.
1951 - In the National League's first best-of-three play-off since 1946,
Ralph Branca of the Dodgers loses to Jim Hearn and the Giants 3-1. Branca
serves up home runs to Bobby Thomson (1954-57 Milwaukee Brave) and Monte
Irvin. It is the first game ever to be broadcast live coast-to-coast. With
both the Dodgers and Giants tied 96-58 at the end of regulation, Brooklyn
wins the coin toss and elects to play the first game of the playoffs at
home. The next two games will be played at the Polo Grounds.
1958 - In the World Series, the Braves pick up where they left off the
previous year, defeating the Yankees behind Warren Spahn 4-3 in 10 innings.
1959 - The Go-Go Sox change character at home and hammer the LA Dodgers 11-0
in the first game of the WS, as Ted Kluszewski has 2 HRs and 5 RBI. Early
Wynn and Gerry Staley combine for the shutout. Yankee manager Casey Stengel
(1924-25 Boston Brave, 1938-43 Boston Bees/Braves manager), sitting out only
his 2nd Series since 1947, covers the game as a reporter.
(1960 - The Yankees win their 14th straight, beating the Red Sox, 3-1 behind
three pitchers. Jim Coates (13-3) is the winner. Nichols is the loser for
the Bosox, while Tracy Stallard, in relief, fans Roger Maris. Maris's next
at bat against Stallard will be a momentous one a year from now.)
1961 - Roger Maris' torturous, season-long race against Babe Ruth ends in a
dramatic at bat against Boston's Tracy Stallard. Maris' classic lefthanded
swing sends home run number 61 into the RF stands in "The House That Ruth
Built." (Sal Durante, one of 23,154 fans in attendance, grabs the historic
home run ball which he sells for $5,000). New York's 1-0 win gives the Yanks
109 wins, one short of the club's 1927 record. It is New York's major-league
record 240th homer of the year.
1964 - Danny Murtaugh (1947 Boston Brave) resigns as manager of the Pirates
for health reasons.
1965 - The Dodgers finally lose as Denny LeMaster and the Braves stop them
2-0. The Giants fail to capitalize as they are bombed by the Reds, 17-2.
1967 - Joe Adcock (1953-62 Milwaukee Brave) is fired as manager of the
Indians.
1970 - Fergie Jenkins allows two hits - two doubles by Ken Singleton - and
Joe Pepitone (1973 Atlanta Brave) hits a 2-run homer to beat the Mets, 4-1.
The win puts the Cubs in 2nd place in the NL East, with the Mets in 3rd.
1974 - The Dodgers clinch the NL West with an 8-5 victory over Houston. Don
Sutton earns the win over J.R. Richard.
1978 - With an 8-3 lead over the Braves, Reds manager Sparky Anderson pulls
Pete Rose in the 8th inning. Atlanta scores five runs in the 9th to tie and
the Reds finally win in 14 innings, 10-8. Rose thus ends the season with 198
hits, and Sparky's move deprives him of reaching his annual 200 hit total.
Johnny Bench has a grand slam and the Braves hand out an National League
record 16 walks in the game. Reds pitchers strike out 19.
1984 - Braves manager Joe Torre is fired by owner Ted Turner and replaced by
Eddie Haas. Atlanta was 80-82 this season, 12 games behind the first-place
Padres.
1984 - Peter Ueberroth begins his 5-year term as commissioner of baseball.
1985 - In the first game of a 3-game showdown between the Mets and
Cardinals, Ron Darling and John Tudor each pitch 10 shutout innings before
Darryl Strawberry belts a titanic home run off reliever Ken Dayley (1982-84
Atlanta Brave). The Mets' 1-0, 11-inning win cuts the Cardinals' lead in the
National League East to two games.
1985 - The Angels go back into 1st place in the American League West,
beating the Royals, 4-2. Mike Witt and Donnie Moore (1982-84 Atlanta Brave)
combine on a 6-hitter.
1985 - Houston's Charlie Kerfeld (1990 Atlanta Brave) beats the Braves, 2-0,
handing the loss to starter to Steve Bedrosian (1981-85, 93-95 Atlanta
Brave)). Bedrock is not around at the end and finishes none of his 37 starts
this year, a ML record.
1996 - The Orioles defeat the Indians, 10-4, in Game One of their AL
Division Series. Bobby Bonilla (2000 Atlanta Brave) hits a grand slam in the
game, which was delayed for 17 minutes due to a threatened umpire boycott in
protest to handling of the Roberto Alomar situation.
1996 - The Rangers top the Yankees, 6-2, in the 1st game of their American
League Division Series. Juan Gonzalez and Dean Palmer homer to back the
pitching of John Burkett (2000-01 Atlanta Brave). David Cone takes the loss.
1997 - The Braves pound the Astros, 13-3, to lead 2-0 in their division
series. Jeff Blauser homers for the Braves, who take advantage of eight
walks from Houston's Mike Hampton in four 2/3 innings.
1997 - The Marlins again score the winning run in bottom half of the 9th,
this time on a single by Moises Alou, to take a 2-game lead over the Giants.
Bobby Bonilla (see above) drives home three runs for Florida, while Stan
Javier gets four hits for the Jints.
1998 - Atlanta's Javy Lopez hits a one-out home run in the bottom of the 9th
to tie the Braves' game with Chicago at 1-1. Chipper Jones' base hit wins
the game in the 10th, 2-1, as the Braves win their 2nd in a row.
2004 - With a little ground ball through the box, Ichiro Suzuki makes
history in a big way as he breaks the major league record for hits in a
single season. The historic hit by the Mariner outfielder from Japan
surpasses George Sisler's (1928-30 Boston Brave) 84-year-old mark of 257
hits established in 1920 with the St. Louis Browns.
Braves birthdays for October 1...
Jim Russell - 1918 in Fayette City, PA
Bob Boyd - 1925 in Potts Camp, MS
Remy Hermoso - 1946 in Carabobo, Venezuela
Buzz Capra - 1947 in Chicago, IL
Pete Falcone - 1953 in Brooklyn, NY
Jeff Reardon - 1955 in Dalton, MA
Roberto Kelly - 1964 in Panama City, Panama
John Thomson - 1973 in Vicksburg, MS
Other birthdays of note for October 1...
Duster Mails - 1894 in San Quentin, CA
Ray Kolp - 1894 in New Berlin, OH
Carmen Hill - 1895 in Royalton, MN
Hal Naragon - 1928 in Zanesville, OH
Rod Carew - 1945 in Gatun, Ca, Panama
Bill Bonham - 1948 in Glendale, CA
Vance Law - 1956 in Boise, ID
Mark McGwire - 1963 in Pomona, CA
Chuck McElroy - 1967 in Port Arthur, TX
Chad Orvella - 1980 in Renton, WA
Matt Cain - 1984 in Dothan, AL
Braves deaths for October 1...
Lee Richmond (72) - 1929 in Toldeo, OH
Pat Veltman (74) - 1980 in San Antonio, TX
Other deaths for October 1...
Billy Goodman (58) - 1984 in Sarasota, FL
Walter Alston (72) - 1984 in Oxford, OH