April 24
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on April 24.
[edit] Events
- 1901 - Three rain postponements give Chicago the honor of hosting the first game in American League history. At South Side Park, a crowd of over 10,000 fans attends the game to see pitcher Roy Patterson take the win for the Chicago White Stockings over the the visiting Cleveland Blues, 8 - 2. Clark Griffith manages Chicago.
- 1902 - Professional baseball gets its start in Durham, North Carolina as the Durham Tobacconists (renamed the Bulls 11 years later) played an exhibition game against Trinity College (now Duke University). The Bulls, except for 1971-80, when minor league baseball didn't exist in the city, will continue to play in Durham until the present day.
- 1911 - The Battle Creek Crickets of the Southern Michigan League turned two triple plays in the first two innings against Grand Rapids.
- 1917 - George Mogridge of the New York Yankees pitches a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox, 2 - 1, at Fenway Park. Mogridge strikes out three batters and walks three as he becomes the first Yankee pitcher to actually win a no-hit game.
- 1923 - U.S. President Warren G. Harding witnesses the first shutout ever thrown at Yankee Stadium as Babe Ruth hits a home run in New York 4 - 0 victory over the Senators.
- 1931 - Rogers Hornsby of the Chicago Cubs hit three consecutive home runs to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10 - 6, at Forbes Field.
- 1945 - Happy Chandler becomes the second baseball commissioner. The major league owners unanimously elect the former governor of Kentucky on the first ballot and reward him with a seven-year contract. Chandler succeeds Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the game's first commissioner, who died in 1944.
- 1946 - Former major leaguers Jesse Burkett, Frank Chance, Jack Chesbro, Johnny Evers, Clark Griffith, Tommy McCarthy, Joe McGinnity, Eddie Plank, Joe Tinker, Rube Waddell and Ed Walsh, are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
- 1947 - Johnny Mize of the New York Giants becomes the first major leaguer to hit three home runs in a game on five different occasions. Mize hits his trio off Johnny Sain of the Boston Braves, but in spite of hiss barrage, the Giants lose to the Braves, 14 - 5.
- 1956 - American League umpire Frank Umont is the first to wear glasses in a regular season game when he officiates a contest between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Athletics. A former NFL tackle for the New York Giants, Umont still presents an intimidating appearance to most players and fans.
- 1957 - The Chicago Cubs set a National League record by walking nine batters in the fifth inning of a 9 - 5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Moe Drabowsky walks four batters, Jackie Collum issues three, and Jim Brosnan two during the wild inning.
- 1958 - Lee Walls hit three home runs and drove in eight runs as the Cubs routed the Dodgers 15 - 2 at Los Angeles Coliseum.
- 1962:
- Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers struck out 18 Chicago Cubs in a 10 - 2 victory at Wrigley Field. Koufax ties the record of 18 strikeouts in a single game, matching the mark set by Bob Feller with the Cleveland Indians.
- New York Mets manager Casey Stengel is fined $500 dollars by Commissioner Ford Frick for appearing in a beer advertisement.
- 1965 - Casey Stengel recorded his 3,000th victory as a manager as the Mets beat the Giants, 7 - 6, at County Stadium.
- 1966 - The Atlanta Braves establish a major league record by winning their 18th consecutive game at home. The first 17 wins of the streak had actually occurred in Milwaukee, the Braves' home in 1965.
- 1976 - Bert Campaneris of the Oakland Athletics collects five stolen bases in an 8 - 7 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The Oakland shortstop will steal 54 bases in 1976. As a team, the Athletics will pile up a record 341 stolen bases on the year.
- 1978 - Nolan Ryan of the California Angels strikes out 18 batters for the 20th time in his career, but leaves in the ninth inning without a decision. The Seattle Mariners prevails over the Angels, 6 - 5, in the twelfth.
- 1994 - Chicago White Sox hitters Julio Franco and Robin Ventura hits home runs back-to-back twice in a 7 - 6 defeat to the Detroit Tigers.
- 1996 - Greg Myers and Paul Molitor each had five RBI as the Minnesota Twins set a team record for runs and routed the Detroit Tigers 24 - 11. It was the highest run total against the Tigers in 84 years, matching the mark set in a 24 - 2 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics on May 18, 1912, in a game where Detroit did not have their regulars due to a players' strike.
- 1998:
- Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza ties a major league record hitting his third grand slam of the month. The blast highlights a nine-run second inning which leads Los Angeles to 12-4 victory over the visiting Chicago Cubs.
- At Candlestick Park, Geoff Jenkins hits a home run off Orel Hershiser to become the first Milwaukee Brewers player to hit a home run in his major league debut. The Brewers defeat the Giants, 7 - 5. Jenkins joins Chuck Tanner, who accomplished the feat in 1955 as a member of the Milwaukee Braves, as the only players in Milwaukee baseball history to homer in their first game.
- 2001 - The American League celebrates its 100th anniversary as a major league.
[edit] Births
- 1863 - Jim Field, infielder (d. 1953)
- 1873 - Bob Ewing, pitcher (d. 1947)
- 1878 - Charlie Graham, catcher (d. 1948)
- 1889 - Joe Wagner, infielder (d. 1948)
- 1890 - Henry Smoyer, infielder (d. 1958)
- 1891 - Pete Falsey, pinch hitter (d. 1976)
- 1893 - Walt Smallwood, pitcher (d. 1967)
- 1894 - Howard Ehmke, pitcher (d. 1959)
- 1895 - Harry Harper, pitcher (d. 1963)
- 1895 - Dixie Parker, catcher (d. 1972)
- 1896 - Andy Cooper, Negro League pitcher; Hall of Famer (d. 1941)
- 1896 - Pug Griffin, infielder (d. 1951)
- 1896 - Ken Penner, pitcher (d. 1959)
- 1903 - Jimmy Moore, outfielder (d. 1986)
- 1906 - Red Worthington, outfielder (d. 1963)
- 1910 - Sam Harshany, catcher (d. 2001)
- 1913 - Herb Harris, pitcher (d. 1991)
- 1920 - Dixie Howell, catcher (d. 1990)
- 1922 - Ed Musial, minor league outfielder (d. 2003)
- 1927 - Frank Lucchesi, , manager
- 1931 - Lou DiMuro, umpire (d. 1982)
- 1936 - Glen Hobbie, pitcher
- 1940 - Terry Tata, umpire
- 1943 - Ivan Murrell, outfielder (d. 2006)
- 1943 - Joe Verbanic, pitcher
- 1944 - Bill Singer, pitcher; All-Star
- 1948 - Bob Beall, infielder
- 1952 - Pat Zachry, pitcher; All-Star
- 1958 - Bill Krueger, pitcher
- 1958 - Herman Segelke, pitcher
- 1963 - Tony DeFrancesco, minor league catcher and manager
- 1964 - Mick Billmeyer, coach
- 1965 - Mike Blowers, infielder
- 1967 - Omar Vizquel, infielder; All-Star
- 1968 - Todd Jones, pitcher; All-Star
- 1969 - Ryan Turner, minor league outfielder
- 1972 - Chipper Jones, infielder; All-Star
- 1974 - Will Cunnane, pitcher
- 1976 - John Barnes, outfielder
- 1977 - Carlos Beltran, outfielder; All-Star
- 1978 - A.J. Zapp, minor league infielder
- 1983 - Daniel Barone, pitcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1899 - Pat Luby, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1905 - Jim Gardner, pitcher (b. 1874)
- 1926 - Ed Springer, pitcher (b. 1861)
- 1936 - Tacks Latimer, catcher (b. 1877)
- 1946 - Joe Birmingham, outfielder, manager (b. 1884)
- 1966 - Rinaldo Williams, infielder (b. 1893)
- 1967 - Lester Patterson, scout (b. ????)
- 1971 - Erv Lange, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1978 - Marty Walker, pitcher (b. 1899)
- 1979 - Fred Koster, outfielder (b. 1905)
- 1980 - Beryl Richmond, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1981 - John Krider, minor league pitcher and manager (b. 1907)
- 1982 - Buster Ross, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1987 - John Mihalic, infielder (b. 1911)
- 1988 - Mike Blazo, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1917)
- 1992 - Elio Chacon, infielder (b. 1936)
- 1995 - John Campbell, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1996 - Gary Geiger, outfielder (b. 1937)
- 2003 - Fuzz White, outfielder (b. 1916)
- 2006 - Sibby Sisti, infielder (b. 1920)
