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July 16
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
Today's Daily Highlights
On July 16, 1941, Joe DiMaggio went 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to a major league record 56 games — a record that still stands 85 years later. During the streak he hit .408 with 15 homers and 55 RBI. The Yankees went from 5.5 games back to a 7-game lead. Also: Rod Carew steals home for the 7th time in a season in 1969, Willie Stargell splashes one into the swimming pool at Jarry Park, 12 classic broadcasts, and today's Vintage Commercial: Bulova Watches.
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July 16, 1941 New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio goes 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to a major league record 56 games. The future Hall of Famer, whose record still stands today, helps the Yankees defeat the Cleveland Indians, 10-3.
The previous day, July 15th, DiMaggio extended the streak against Eddie Smith, he had started the streak against - Eddie Smith on May 15.
Jeff Seidel wrote that "DiMaggio's three hits were representative of the range of the streak as a whole: one clean, one a little lucky, and one driven hard and far."
Despite receiving little press coverage in its early days, the streak ultimately gained significant attention from the media and baseball fans. It served as a distraction at a time when World War II was ongoing in Europe; author Richard Ben Cramer wrote that it "gave America just what it needed: something apart from woe and war to talk about—a summer craze."
In the game after the streak was snapped, DiMaggio recorded two hits off Feller. He posted at least one base hit in each of the following 15 games as well; the streak-breaking contest was the only one in a 73-game span in which he did not have a hit.
During the 56 games that encompassed his 1941 hitting streak, DiMaggio went 91-223 at-bats for a .408 average. He had 55 RBI's during, and his hit count included 15 home runs. He also scored 56 runs scored matched the number of games in his streak. In the final 11 games, DiMaggio had a .545 average, with 24 hits in 44 at-bats. The Yankees went from 5 and half back to a 7 game lead over the Indians, overall they were 41-13 with two ties.
Other streaks: DiMaggio began his professional career in 1933 with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). That season, he had hits in 61 straight games, breaking the PCL record of 49 games that had been held by Jack Ness. That streak is the second-longest in the history of Minor League Baseball, behind a 69-game streak by Joe Wilhoit, and remains a PCL record.
Earlier in his career he was chasing .400
As the 1939 season drew to a close, 24-year old Joe DiMaggio was on the brink of baseball history.
"I remember there were about three weeks to go in the season and I had a plus-.400 batting average," Joe recalled in 1963. "I figured I was odds-on to finish the year with a .400 mark. I remember Joe McCarthy calling me into his office and telling me he didn't think I wanted to be a cheese champion so he was going to play me every day, even though the pennant was about clinched."
"I agreed, but a few days later I got this terrible pain over my right eye. I didn't tell anyone, and I went to a doctor who gave me Novocain shots over the eye to kill the pain. I was taking a terrible chance, but I never thought of the consequences. All I wanted to do was stay in the lineup and hit .400. I didn't make it though."
DiMaggio finished the season at .381, winning his first batting title and Most Valuable Player Award.
Sometimes it is easy to forget how good DiMaggio was because his career totals are less then some of the greats because of WWII. Here is a quick reminder of his accomplishments:
Consecutive games with a hit, 56, 1941
Strikeout to home run ratio, career, 1.02
Most home runs in first 2 seasons, 75, 1936-37
Fastest player to reach 200 RBI in his career (201 games)
Fastest player to reach 300 RBI in his career (297 games)
Fastest player to reach 400 RBI in his career (396 games)
Fastest player to reach 500 RBI in his career (505 games)
Fastest player to reach 600 RBI in his career (604 games)
Fastest player to reach 700 RBI in his career (693 games)
Fastest player to reach 800 RBI in his career (803 games)
Most RBI in first 2 seasons, 292, 1936-37
Most RBI in first 3 seasons, 432, 1936-38
Most RBI in first 4 seasons, 558, 1936-39
Most RBI in first 5 seasons, 691, 1936-40
Most RBI in first 6 seasons, 816, 1936-41
Most RBI in first 7 seasons, 930, 1936-42
Most RBI in first 10 seasons, 1,277, 1936-48
Most RBI in first 12 seasons, 1,466, 1936-50
Most RBI in four consecutive games: 18, August 28-September 1, 1939 (tied with Jim Bottomley, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Sammy Sosa and Alfonso Soriano)
TRIVIA Sponsored by Classic Baseball Broadcasts — Start you free trial here.
Todays Trivia . . .
Which five-hundred-home-run club member had Joe DiMaggio as a hitting coach?
Hint: #1 He appeared in the pilot of a television sitcom focusing on his baseball career.
Hint: #2 He played football at a D-1 college.
Answer in a bit!
Quote of the day:
"Joe DiMaggio was the greatest all-around player I ever saw." - Ted Williams
Game of The Day:
Game of the Day — July 16, 1985 National League All Star vs American League All Star
July 16, 1985 National League All Star vs American League All Star
Played at: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Todays starting pitchers: Dan Petry vs Nolan Ryan
Todays broadcasters: Brent Musburger, Jerry Coleman and Johnny Bench
👇 Join and Listen to the full game right here
🎧 Classic Broadcasts — July 16
July 16, 1962 — New York Mets vs. San Francisco Giants
The expansion Mets were deep in their first lost summer, but facing the Giants meant Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Juan Marichal at Candlestick. The Mets lost 120 games that year — but every game was an education.
July 16, 1972 — California Angels vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Two rebuilding clubs in the early 1970s — the Angels trying to find their footing after a rough stretch, and the Brewers in just their fourth year of existence after arriving from Seattle. Low-stakes baseball, high-quality radio.
July 16, 1976 — Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals
The Royals were in the middle of building one of the decade's best teams, with George Brett beginning to establish himself as a force at third base. The Red Sox were still riding the emotional hangover of their 1975 pennant run.
July 16, 1978 — Minnesota Twins vs. Boston Red Sox (Partial)
Rod Carew was in the midst of his legendary .388 season — one of the most dominant batting campaigns in American League history. Worth a listen even as a partial recording just for the chance to hear him at the plate.
July 16, 1978 — Detroit Tigers vs. California Angels
Both clubs were in the middle of the pack in their respective divisions. Mark Fidrych had briefly electrified Detroit two years earlier but was fighting injuries — this is the quieter side of a Tigers rebuild.
July 16, 1978 — New York Mets vs. Cincinnati Reds
The Big Red Machine was still intact in 1978 — Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey Sr., and Joe Morgan. The Mets were headed toward one of their worst seasons. A mismatch in talent, but a time capsule of two very different franchises.
July 16, 1980 — Montreal Expos vs. Cincinnati Reds (Partial)
The Expos were in the thick of a pennant race that year — Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, and Warren Cromartie leading one of the most underappreciated teams in NL history. They finished one game behind Philadelphia.
July 16, 1983 — Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees
The '83 Yankees were a transitional club — Dave Winfield in his prime, Dave Righetti transitioning to the bullpen. The Rangers were still looking for their first winning season.
July 16, 1984 — New York Mets vs. Houston Astros
One year before Dwight Gooden and the Mets machine fully arrived. The Astros had Nolan Ryan and a strong rotation. A preview of two clubs that would collide memorably in the 1986 NLCS.
July 16, 1994 — New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners
Less than a month before the players' strike that would wipe out the rest of the season and the World Series. Ken Griffey Jr. was on pace for 60 homers before a wrist injury slowed him. One of the last broadcasts before the game went dark.
Todays Podcast
July 16 highlights and Historic Days!
July 16, 1941, New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio goes 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to a major league record 56 games. The future Hall of Famer, whose record still stands today, helps the Yankees defeat the Cleveland Indians, 10-3.
July 16, 1948 Ordered by Bill Veeck to pass up the All-Star Game, a well-rested Bob Feller is shelled in the 1st inning vs the Athletics, he gives up 5 hits and his lone recorded out was a Sac fly. The rest will prove to help, Feller 9-11 after this game finishes up 19-15 (10-5 in second half), leading the league is starts and strikeouts for the 7th time, helping the Indians to the title.
July 16, 1952 At Griffith Stadium, in a Detroit Tiger 9-0 blowout over the Washington Senators, Tiger Firstbaseman Walt Dropo gets two more hits, giving him 15 in four games, which ties the American League record. Dropo goes Fifteen for Eighteen with Nine RBIs during the min streak. Raising his average from .277 to .298 in just four days.
Dropo will go on an 11 game hitting streak hitting .543, twenty-five for forty-eight. Bill Wright picks up the win for the Tigers, in an otherwise dismal season for the Bengals, this is just their twenty-seventh win vs fifty-six losses.
July 16, 1956 — The Tigers and Briggs Stadium are sold to a syndicate of 11, led by radio executives John Fetzer and Fred Knorr, for a record $5.5 million from Walter Briggs, Jr., after he was ordered by family estate administrators to sell the ownership inherited from his father. The deal includes an agreement to retain Briggs, who will also become the team’s general manager, as executive vice president, but the former owner, who wanted keep the team and ballpark, will resign from both posts at the start of next season.
July 16, 1969 Despite four homers by Montreal, the Pirates beat the Expos, 8 – 7, scoring three in the 8th and three in the 9th. The Pirates’ only homer comes in the 8th inning with Matty Alou on second base and Dan McGinn pitching, when Willie Stargell splashes a pitch over the RF fence into the municipal swimming pool at Jarry Park.
When he retired in 1982, the Expos presented him with a life-preserver in tribute to the homers he hit into what came to be called “Willie’s pool” or, per the French broadcasters, la piscine de Willie.
July 16, 1969, After White Sox lefty Jerry Nyman walks in a run with the bases loaded, Rod Carew steals home for the 7th time, as the American League West-leading Minnesota Twins sweep a twin bill, winning 9 – 8 and 6 – 3 from the White Sox. Carew ties Brooklyn Dodger Pete Reiser’s major-league record for steals of home in a season, a record since given back to Ty Cobb (8 steals in 1912) in 1991 after further research.
July 16 , 1971 — The Houston Astros turn the first triple play in their history during a 9-4 victory over Nolan Ryan and the New York Mets . Shortstop Roger Metzger takes a tap by Cleon Jones and steps on second, forcing Tommie Agee. His toss to first beats Jones to the bag. First baseman Denis Menke sees Ken Boswell make a belated dash to third so he fires across the diamond where Doug Rader completes the trifecta.
July 16, 1971 Oakland A’s starter Vida Blue boosts his record to 18-3 with a one-hit, 4 – 0, victory over Detroit. Tony Taylor’s single in the 4th is the only hit.
July 16, 1985 All Star Game , The National League won the game 6–1, LaMarr Hoyt of the San Diego Padres is the winning pitcher tossing 3 innings and allowing 1 unearned run and Jack Morris of the Detroit Tigers takes the loss. Hoyt also won the game’s MVP award. The National League was managed by the Padres’ Dick Williams, while the American League was managed by Sparky Anderson of the Tigers.
Williams was backed by coaches Jim Frey and Bob Lillis and Anderson was aided by coaches Bobby Cox and Dick Howser.
The teams’ honorary captains each starred in the 1965 All-Star game, also held in Minnesota — Harmon Killebrew for the AL, and Sandy Koufax for the NL. In the game two decades ago, Koufax earned the NL win, and Killebrew hit the AL’s second home run.
Attendance was announced as 54,960. The telecast of the All-Star Game played in Minnesota’s Metrodome becomes the first-ever program to be transmitted in stereo. The Midsummer Classic is aired on NBC, the network which, in 1939, broadcast the first professional baseball game.
News Reels — July 16
Adventures of Babe Ruth: A Practical Joke on Don Brush
One of the serialized Ruth entertainment shorts from the era — part comedy, part mythology. Ruth's off-field personality was as large as his on-field legend, and these clips capture why he was the first true celebrity athlete.
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel — July 16, 1948 (with William Powell)
Bill Stern was one of radio's great storytellers — his sports broadcasts blended fact and embellishment so seamlessly that listeners rarely knew the difference. William Powell, the film star, guest-anchors.
Hank Aaron Interviewed by Leo Cloutier — 1972 (Parts 1 & 2)
Two years before he passed Ruth's all-time home run record, Aaron sat down with Cloutier at the start of the chase. A primary source document on one of baseball's great sustained achievements.
Willie Horton, Detroit Tigers — Interviewed by Leo Cloutier, 1976
Horton was a cornerstone of the Tigers' 1968 championship club and one of Detroit's most beloved players. By 1976 he was nearing the end — a quiet, honest interview with a player who gave everything he had.
Chicago White Sox vs. Milwaukee Brewers — July 16, 1993: "White Sox/Brewers Play Tit For Tat Baseball"
The title says everything. Mid-90s AL baseball at its most contentious — both clubs were scrappy, the rivalry was real, and someone clearly objected to something.
Benny Ayala Interview — Passed Ball Show
Ayala had one of baseball's more unusual careers — a long minor league apprenticeship, a key role on the 1979 Pirates World Series team, then a career as a pinch-hitting specialist.
Milestones July 16
🎙️ Did you know? Lew Burdette has 20 broadcasts in our library — including the 1957 World Series that cemented his legend.
[Explore the Full Library →]
Birthdays:
Notable: Norm Sherry
Debuts:
Notable: Lance Berkman
Final Games:
Highlights: Lew Burdette
Passings:
Notable: Tony Taylor
New From Around the League!
ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA
TRIVIA ANSWER: Reggie Jackson
DiMaggio was the hitting coach for OAK 1968-69., Jackson’s 2nd & 3rd years on the team. Jackson’s career HR total = 563
- #1 The show, titled Mr. October, was never picked up.
- #2 While at Arizona State University, Jackson played football before committing to baseball.
Thank you Horsehide Trivia
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