OTD - 1918 - In what will become a precursor of a tragic event, Indian outfielder Tris Speaker is struck on the head by a pitch thrown by Red Sox hurler Carl Mays. The submarine pitcher, who will fatally bean Ray Chapman with a pitch in 1920 as a member of the Yankees, denies Speaker's allegation that the pitch was intentional.
OTD - 1945 - Pete Gray is the star in St. Louis as the Browns sweep the Yankees 10-1 and 5-2. Gray, who has only one arm, has two RBI on three hits in the opener and in the nightcap scores the winning run and hauls in seven fly balls, three on spectacular catches.
**Note to the Custom Card makers out there, Pete never had an official card produced.**
OTD - 1947 - In a game which features no extra-base hits, the Pirates defeat Boston at Forbes Field, 4-3. The teams collect a total of 22 hits, all singles with Pittsburgh collecting a dozen.
OTD - 1962 - During the Cubs' doubleheader sweep of the Phillies, Ken Hubbs strokes eight singles in eight trips to the plate at Connie Mack Stadium. The Chicago second baseman will be selected as the Rookie of the Year.
OTD - 1991 - Jeff Reardon gains his 300th career save in relief of Matt Young and Jeff Gray. Reardon preserves the 3-0 Boston win over Milwaukee
Cheers,
And here I am, after reading all these stories about him all these years, I thought his real first name was "One-armed" Pete Gray.
ReplyDeleteIt's also funny to see poorly researched stories on Pete Gray that just conclude that he lost his arm in the Second World War, just because the timing works out nicely.