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July 17
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
Today's Daily Highlights
On July 17, 1941, Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak ended — not because pitchers finally figured him out, but because third baseman Ken Keltner made two brilliant plays on hot smashes, robbing DiMaggio twice. The next day DiMaggio got two hits. It remains the longest streak in major league history. Also: Don Mattingly hits a home run in his 7th consecutive game in 1987, Ty Cobb passes away in 1961, Dizzy Dean dies on this date, Christy Mathewson's MLB debut, 12 classic broadcasts, and today's Vintage Commercial: Bromo Seltzer.
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July 17, 1979 The National League wins its 8th straight All-Star Game, 7 - 6, at Seattle. Lee Mazzilli homers to tie the game in the 8th, and walks in the 9th to bring in the winning run. Dave Parker, with two outstanding throws, is named the game's MVP, and Pete Rose plays a record 5th All-Star position. The Red Sox provide the starting OF for the American League in Jim Rice, Carl Yastrzemski, and Fred Lynn, though Yaz has played 1B most of the season.
Parker on winning the MVP. "When Bowie handed me the All-Star hardware, man, I carried that thing through the dugout, through the clubhouse and out the Kingdome. It sat beside me on the hotel bar late that night while I cooled out with all the fellas from the game. I might’ve even bought it a drink. Stared at it before I fell asleep. Carried it through Sea-Tac Airport like a damn Cabbage Patch doll.
You got no idea what that trophy meant to me, what that moment means to me now, and it touches me beyond words that the moment means so much to you.”
Editors note: I can still remember watching this happen live. Still gives me goose bumps.
As we wind down on the All Star Game features with only a handful remaining this year I wanted to go down a list of the top All Sta Game moments:
Adding in today here are the other 9 events that top out my Top 10 All Star Moments . . .
July 6, 1983 - Fred Lynn hits only AS game grand slam
July 8, 1941 Ted Williams hits a walk off homerun for a 7-5 win
July 8, 1997 - Larry Walker vs Randy Johnson. Walker turned around to bat right handed
July 9, 2002 Tori Hunter steals a HR from Barry Bonds
July 10, 1934, Carl Hubbell fans 5 straight future HOFers
July 10, 2001 Cal Ripken Jr moves from third to short and homes in bottom of first.
July 11, 1989 - Bo goes dip with Vin Scully and the gipper in the booth.
July 13, 1999 - Pedro Martinez fans first four batters (all whom could be in Cooperstown), and got Bagwell on strikeout throw out DP to end 2nd.
July 14, 1970 - Rose takes Fosse down to classic collision
Read more on past Newsletters or listen to them on Classic Baseball Broadcasts.
TRIVIA Sponsored by Classic Baseball Broadcasts — Start you free trial here.
Todays Trivia . . .
Who tied a teammate for most games played the games played in the majors the same year that he finished second in Most Valuable Player voting behind a future teammate who himself went on to be a first-round Hall of Famer?
Hint: #1 This Angelino once played for the Angels.
Hint: #2 He once had his jaw broken during a game where the same pitcher had broken his teammate’s hand earlier in the same game!
Answer in a bit!
Quote of the day:
Parker on winning the MVP. "When Bowie handed me the All-Star hardware, man, I carried that thing through the dugout, through the clubhouse and out the Kingdome. It sat beside me on the hotel bar late that night while I cooled out with all the fellas from the game. I might’ve even bought it a drink. Stared at it before I fell asleep. Carried it through Sea-Tac Airport like a damn Cabbage Patch doll.”
Game of The Day:
Game of the Day — July 17, 1979 National League All Star vs American League All Star
(Read above)
👇 Join and Listen to the full game right here
🎧 Classic Broadcasts — July 17
July 17, 1960 — New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers
The Yankees were in the middle of another dominant AL run — Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle both emerging as the league's most feared lineup. Detroit's Frank Lary, nicknamed "the Yankee Killer," made his living at their expense.
July 17, 1966 — Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Athletics
One year before the Impossible Dream season, the Red Sox were still a middle-of-the-pack club. The Athletics were a year away from moving to Oakland. A transitional moment for two franchises about to transform completely.
July 17, 1966 — Houston Astros vs. New York Mets
The Astrodome was just over a year old and still the eighth wonder of the world. The Mets were in the middle of a decade of losing but two years from their miracle championship. Early days for both expansion clubs.
July 17, 1969 — Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Montreal Expos
The Expos' very first season — Jarry Park, hand-me-down uniforms, and a city discovering baseball. Willie Stargell and the Pirates were a legitimate contender. A first-year franchise learning the hard way.
July 17, 1970 — Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees
Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, and a young A's club building toward a dynasty. The Yankees were between championships — a rare quiet period in the Bronx. One great team on the way up, one in transition.
July 17, 1977 — Houston Astros vs. Cincinnati Reds (Partial)
The Big Red Machine's final championship-caliber season. Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Ken Griffey Sr., and Joe Morgan still intact. The Astros had J.R. Richard developing into one of the NL's most feared pitchers.
July 17, 1978 — Montreal Expos vs. Cincinnati Reds
The Expos were quietly building one of the NL's best clubs — Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, and Ellis Valentine all under 25. The Reds were defending two consecutive championships and still loaded.
July 17, 1978 — Philadelphia Phillies vs. Houston Astros
Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, and Greg Luzinski at their peak for Philadelphia. J.R. Richard on the mound for Houston. Two of the NL's best facing off in what would become a recurring postseason rivalry.
July 17, 1978 — Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees
The exact game from today's lead story — Reggie Jackson ignores Martin's instructions, bunts anyway, pops out, and gets suspended five days. New York trails Boston by 14 games. Three months later they'll be in the World Series.
July 17, 1986 — San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs
Wrigley Field in the mid-80s — the Cubs riding the wave of their surprise 1984 division title, the Giants with a young Will Clark and Jeff Leonard. Both clubs were competitive, both had compelling personalities.
Todays Podcast
July 17 highlights and Historic Days!
July 17, 1909 At League Park, Addie Joss and the Cleveland Naps were up early on the visiting Boston Red Sox 3-0. Joss was cruising along until the 5th when a series of infield singles and a misplayed double play by second-baseman, George Perring allowed the Red Sox to score 3 unearned runs. Second-year man Smoky Joe Wood comes in, sporting a 2-3 record, this would be his 9th appearance on the season. Things appeared headed in the wrong direction right away as he gave up back to back singles then he would strikeout 7 of the next 9 batters, and over 4 innings fan 10 of the 17 men he faced to establish a new MLB record.
The Red Sox will pull out the win 6-4 vs the NAP’s
July 17, 1924 On Tuberculosis Day at Sportsman’s Park, the Cards’ Jesse Haines hurls his only shutout in two years, a 5 – 0 no-hitter over the Braves. “While the majestic northpaw was realizing his lifelong pitching ambitions, the Cardinals were making merry with the right-hand shoots of McNamara” (St. Louis Globe-Democrat). It is the first no-hitter by a St. Louis hurler since 1876, and the first-ever National League no-hitter in St. Louis. It will be 54 years before another no-hit game is thrown in St. Louis, a span that will end in 1978 when Bob Forsch holds the Phillies hitless at Busch Stadium. Rogers Hornsby chipped in with 3 hits to power the Cardinal offense.
July 17, 1941, New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio sees his hitting streak halted at 56 games by two Cleveland Indians pitchers, Al Smith and Jim Bagby. Third baseman Ken Keltner makes two great plays on hot smashes by DiMaggio, robbing the “Yankee Clipper” of hits each time. DiMaggio’s 56-game streak stands as the longest in major league history.
July 17, 1947 Less than two weeks after Larry Doby’s debut with the Indians, Hank Thompson and Willard Brown become the second and third black players in the American League and first for the Browns. The former Kansas City Monarchs standouts will play in less than 30 games for St. Louis because their presence does not significantly raise attendance.
July 17, 1959 Mel Allen asks his director to replay Jim McAnay’s ninth-inning single, the first hit allowed by Ralph Terry in the team’s eventual 2-0 loss to Cleveland at Yankee Stadium. The Yankee broadcaster’s request marks the first use of instant replay in a baseball broadcast.
July 17, 1961, Hall of Famer Ty Cobb dies at the age of 74. One of the greatest hitters of all-time, the “Georgia Peach” led the American League in batting 12 times. Cobb also reached the coveted .400 mark three times in his career. When he retired, Cobb held the all-time record for most hits, runs scored, RBI and highest career batting average.
July 17, 1961 Commissioner Ford Frick decrees that Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs in a 154-game schedule in 1927 “cannot be broken unless some batter hits 61 or more within his club’s first 154 games.”
On July 17, 1966 At Busch Stadium The Cubs clip the Cardinals, 7 – 2, behind the pitching of Ken Holtzman and the slugging of Billy Williams, who becomes just the 5th Chicago Cub to hit for the cycles, he accomplishes the feat in the second game of a double header vs the Cardinals.
Besides the 4-for-5 hitting display, Williams scored all four times he was on base, and he drove in two runs. Williams liked hitting in the new Busch Stadium, telling reporters, “I really got started here the last time when I hit a couple of balls good.” Williams went 8-for-14 in the three-game series with St. Louis, raising his batting average to .301,
The other Cubs were, Frank Chance in 1904, Frank Schulte in 1911, Hack Wilson in 1930, Roy Smalley in 1950 and Lee Walls in 1957.
July 17, 1974 St Louis Cardinals pitching great Bob Gibson fans the Reds’ Cesar Geronimo to become the second hurler after Walter Johnson to strike out 3,000 batters. Geronimo will become Nolan Ryan’s 3,000th strikeout victim six years later. The Reds shrug it off, scoring six runs in the 1st inning and three in the 2nd on their way to a 12 – 7 win.
July 17, 1978 In the latest incident in his feud with manager Billy Martin, the Yankees’ Reggie Jackson ignores instructions and attempts to bunt in the 10th inning of a tie game with the Royals. Jackson pops up, the Yanks lose, 9 – 7, in the 11th, and Martin serves Jackson with a five-day suspension without pay. The Royals’ three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium leaves New York in 4th place, 14 games behind the Red Sox.
July 17, 1987, Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees becomes the first American League player to hit home runs in seven consecutive games. Mattingly connects against Paul Kilgus of the Texas Rangers, helping the Yankees to an 8-4 win.
July 17, 1990, the Minnesota Twins become the first team to turn two triple plays in one game. Third baseman Gary Gaetti, second baseman Al Newman, and first baseman Kent Hrbek are involved in both triple killings against the Boston Red Sox. The Twins still lose the game, 1-0, at Fenway Park.
News Reels — July 17
July 17, 1948 — Dizzy Dean: Results of the All-Star Game
Dean was by 1948 a broadcaster, not a pitcher — his arm long gone after the 1937 All-Star line drive that broke his toe and changed his delivery. Here he breaks down the midsummer classic in his unmistakable style.
July 17, 1966 — Lee Maye Slaps a Double Against the Mets
Maye was a solid outfielder who spent time with the Braves, Astros, and others through the 1960s. A quick clip from a deep Astros team trying to make its mark in its new domed ballpark.
July 17, 1966 — Rusty Staub and Felix Mantilla Spark a Three-Run Rally
Staub was just 22 and already becoming one of Houston's fan favorites — "Le Grand Orange" before he got the nickname. A glimpse of the young Astros offense finding its footing.
This Week in Baseball — July 17, 1979
One week after the All-Star Game, the stretch run begins. The 1979 season featured one of the great pennant races of the era and ended with the Pittsburgh Pirates winning the World Series as the "We Are Family" team.
Bob Elson Interviews Bob Luce — July 17, 1980
Elson was a Chicago radio institution — voice of the Cubs and White Sox for decades and one of the first great baseball broadcasters. A master of the conversational interview.
This Week in Baseball — July 17, 1985
Pete Rose was 39 games away from passing Ty Cobb's all-time hit record. The Mets were rising. The Cardinals were fading. A summer snapshot of the NL in transition.
Chicago White Sox vs. Yankees — July 17, 1986: "Claudell Washington Kisses the Yankee Stadium Wall"
The full play behind the news reel title — a spectacular catch that became one of the signature moments of the '86 season. Washington at full sprint, crashing, holding on.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Reds — July 17, 1986: "Pete Rose Walk-Off Triple for the Reds"
Rose was player-manager at 45, long past his prime but still finding ways to win games. A walk-off triple at that age, for a team he was managing himself, is pure Rose.
New York Mets vs. Braves — July 17, 1988: "Rookie Tom Glavine Beans Mookie Wilson"
Glavine was in his second full season, still learning how to own the inside of the plate. Wilson was one of the Mets' most beloved players. The kind of incident that defined the late-80s NL East rivalry.
Kansas City Royals vs. Yankees — July 17, 1990: "Bo Jackson/Deion Sanders Have a Night"
Two of the greatest two-sport athletes in history on the same field. Jackson was in the middle of his baseball prime before the hip injury. Sanders was just beginning his MLB career with the Yankees. Must-watch.
Milestones July 17
🎙️ Did you know? Lou Boudreau was born on this day — the player-manager whose Indians ended DiMaggio's 56-game streak in 1941, and who has 26 broadcasts in our library.
[Explore the Full Library →]
Birthdays:
Notable: Lou Boudreau
Debuts:
Notable: Hank Thompson
Final Games:
Highlights: Hal McRae
Passings:
Notable: Dizzy Dean
New From Around the League!
ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA
TRIVIA ANSWER: Al Cowens
In 1977, Cowens played 162 G, tied with Hal McRae, but also even w/NLers Garvey & Rose. IN AL MVP voting, he received 217 votes to MIN’s Rod Carew’s 273. Cowens and Carew played together on the Angels in 1980.
- #1 Cowens played for CAL for 34 games in 1980.
- #2 In the game on 08-May-1979 in Arlington, Texas, Rangers’ P Ed Farmer hit Cowens in the jaw during the , costing him to miss 19 games. Farmer had broken KCR’s AS 2nd baseman Frank White’s wrist with the first pitch of the game.
Thank you Horsehide Trivia
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