1. materials characteristic of baseball and the culture of baseball; 2. collectible baseball Americana
1952
Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe is sworn into the Army. The 26-year old New Jersey native, who posted a 56-28 record his first three years with the team (and an All-Star in each of those seasons), will miss two seasons.
1964
Will “The Thrill” Clark was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Clark was 22 years old when he broke into MLB with the San Francisco Giants. The six-time All-Star had a lifetime slash line of .303/.384/.497 with 284 home runs. More than just a slugger, Clark won a Gold Glove in 1991.
1962
Happy 56th birthday to the one and only Bo Jackson, born on this date in Bessemer, Alabama. He is the only athlete in history to be named to All-Star teams in both MLB and the NFL.
Happy 71st birthday to Amos Otis, most notably the All-Star centerfielder for the Kansas City Royals in the 1970s. Otis was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 6, 1967, with the New York Mets. He made the American League all-star team each of his first four years with KC and he won three Gold Gloves.
1951
Major League Baseball signs a six-year All-Star Game contract for TV-radio rights for $6 million. A number of owners criticize lame-duck Commissioner A.B. “Happy” Chandler, believing that in a couple of years, the broadcast rights would be worth much more than $1 million per year.
1981
Baseball returned from a labor-strife induced strike by hosting the All-Star Game in Cleveland before a crowd of 72,086. Gary Carter of the Montreal Expos hit two home runs in the contest to give the National League a 5-4 triumph over the American League. Vida Blue became the first pitcher to win an All-Star game for both leagues. His…
Continue readingOn This Day: August 9
1973
Nolan Ryan of the California Angels struck out seventeen batters as he threw his second no-hitter of the 1973 season, beating Detroit 6-0. The 17 K’s are the most in a recorded no-hitter. (This record was tied by Max Scherzer on October 3, 2015.) Ryan was so dominant in this game, it led to one of baseball’s best-remembered pranks. Tigers…
Continue readingOn This Day: July 15
1971
Reggie Jackson’s storied home run off the power generator on top of the right-field roof at Tiger Stadium highlighted a barrage of six homers—three by each team—as the American League beat the National League 6-4 in the All-Star Game. Using physics and formulas it has been estimated by ESPN that the ball would have traveled an incredible…
Continue readingOn This Day: July 13
1951
Exploding for four home runs, the National League trounces the American League by a score of 8-3 at the annual All-Star Game. This edition is played at Briggs Stadium in Detroit (later known as Tiger Stadium). As part of the scoring, for the third year in a row Pittsburgh slugger Ralph Kiner hits a home run during the All-Star Game.…
Continue readingOn This Day: July 10