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July 21
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
Today's Daily Highlights
July 21, 1959, Elijah "Pumpsie" Green debuted for the Boston Red Sox — making them the last team in Major League Baseball to integrate, a full 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Brooklyn. Also: the Ken Phelps trade that even Seinfeld mocked, the Padres manager who pulled a no-hitter in the 8th for a pinch-hitter — and lost both the game and the no-hitter, the 1969 Baseball Centennial names Ruth the greatest player ever, Jimmie Foxx passes away, David Wright makes his MLB debut, 6 classic broadcasts, and today's Vintage Commercial: Beech Nut Chewing Gum.
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July 21, 1919 At Comiskey Park, 18,000 fans were reveling while watching their first place team take on the New York Yankees in a scheduled doubleheader on a warm summer day on the Southside. The spectators would enjoy the fact that the Sox would twice during this day, come from behind in the late innings to sweep the Yanks 7-6 in the first game behind the pitching of Dickie Kerr who had come on in relief of starter, Lefty Williams, thanks to a 9th inning walk-off single from third baseman Buck Weaver, scoring Nemo Leibold from third base.
The fans would get some bonus baseball in the second game as the two teams were deadlocked at 4 going in to the bottom of the 10th inning. This time Shano Collins would be the hero with a carbon copy of Bucky’s first game heroics, a walk-off single that would plate Ray Schalk and the White Sox would record their third straight victory against New York in Walk-off fashion, stretching their lead from 4 1/2 games to 7 1/2 by the time the twin-bill had concluded. Kerr, again in relief, would be credited with the win, his second in one day. By the time the Yankees had left town, they had fallen to third place and never challenged the powerhouse White Sox again for the rest of the season.
During the second game, somewhere around the 4th inning, fans and players alike would witness something far more distressing then the White Sox trailing the Yankees early in the game. A Goodyear Airship was making its maiden voyage. The Wingfoot Express as it was called, had just passed over Comiskey Park around 4 p.m. enroute to the Windy City Amusement Park located on 63rd Street, south of the ballpark.
Certain sections of the ballpark, especially the upper deck on the third base line and the left field grandstands could watch as the blimp floated effortlessly southbound. The mood at Comiskey Park would take a turn for the worse when occupants of the stadium witnessed the 150’ airship, just after the pilot would feel a violent shaking from the fuselage, burst in to flames and began a downward plunge of over 1,200 feet. There were 16 souls on board as the airship plunged in to the earth, crashing in to the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank. Although some on board attempted to jump to safety with parachutes as the dirigible was becoming engulfed in flames, only the pilot and one of the mechanics would survive the crash.
By a scary coincidence, another of the on-board mechanics would carry the same nickname “Buck” and the same last name “Weaver” as the White Sox third baseman, Buck Weaver who could see the chaotic developments from his position on the field. Carl Weaver would try to jump before impact but would die when his body crashed through the skylight of the bank as bank employees would watch in horror while just moments earlier they had been going about their usual routine at their desks. The employees would then see the blimp following right behind the body of the deceased mechanic with a downpour of flames and showering glass as it fell all around and on the workers.
In the nightmarish panic, 27 bank employees would be injured but by a miracle, no one on the ground would die, as for those aboard the blimp, 14 souls would perish. The Chicago Tribune would report the horror of the day in the next mornings edition:
“Nearly everyone at Comiskey Park witnessed the fate of the dirigible. The instant it caught fire, there was a scream from the fans. The game was stopped as all watched the catastrophe. It seemed that the entire thing burned up in about a half minute. After that, there wasn’t much enjoyment felt over the (two) ballgames”.
Instead of being able to celebrate the exciting come from behind victories, White Sox fans would exit Comiskey Park in almost stunned silence and still mortified over what they had witnessed.
This incident not only had a profound affect on White Sox fans and those at the scene of the fiery devastation, but it would also cause sweeping changes in air safety. Chicago’s future Mayor, Anton Cermak who was an alderman at the time, would lead a crusade to create new laws that would prohibit flights over populous areas. Dirigibles in the U.S. would be required to utilize only helium, a less flammable fuel, replacing the highly ignitable hydrogen currently in use.
Just 12 years later, the horror of the German dirigible, the Hindenburg crashing in New Jersey (still using hydrogen gas) would bring back horrible memories for those in Chicago that were at Comiskey Park and at the crash site on that fateful day.
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Todays Trivia . . .
Which former Kanas City A’s player was six feet tall at age eleven and carried his birth certificate with him to show to doubting adults, particularly coaches of young baseball teams?
Hint: #1 The first time he was an All-Star, his team won their first World Series in more than forty years.
Hint: #2 He also led the team in WAR that season, a team that could itself claim three future Hall of Famers.
Answer in a bit!
Quote of the day:
"I will get one someday" - Bill Singer after losing a no hitter in the 7th the game before he got one.
Game of The Day:
Game of the Day — July 21, 1937 — Washington Senators at Chicago White Sox (Walter Johnson)
Hall of Fame broadcaster Walter Johnson behind the microphone at Comiskey Park — a rare chance to hear one of the game's greatest pitchers calling the game. A genuine piece of broadcasting history from the Dead Ball Era's defining figure.
👇 Join and Listen to the full game right here
🎧 Classic Broadcasts — July 21
July 21, 1962 — New York Mets vs. Cincinnati Reds
The expansion Mets' first season — 120 losses, maximum chaos, and yet the fans loved them anyway. The Reds were a contender. This is the kind of mismatch that somehow produced some of the decade's most entertaining radio.
July 21, 1976 — New York Mets vs. Cincinnati Reds
Same matchup, 14 years later — the Big Red Machine now fully assembled with Rose, Bench, Perez, and Morgan, the Mets rebuilding after their 1973 pennant run. A reminder of how much both franchises had transformed in a decade and a half.
July 21, 1978 — Cincinnati Reds vs. Montreal Expos
The Expos were quietly building one of the NL's most underappreciated clubs — Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, and Ellis Valentine all under 25. The Reds were defending two straight championships. A collision between a dynasty fading and a contender rising.
July 21, 1978 — California Angels vs. Detroit Tigers, Game 2
The Angels were building toward their first division title in 1979 — Nolan Ryan, Frank Tanana, and Don Baylor the core. The Tigers were a middle-of-the-pack club with a young Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker just emerging. A team at the start of something big
July 21, 1983 — Chicago White Sox vs. Milwaukee Brewers
The White Sox won the AL West that year under Tony La Russa — one of the surprise teams of the decade, led by Carlton Fisk, Harold Baines, and Richard Dotson. The Brewers were the reigning AL pennant winners trying to stay relevant.
2959 broadcasts in the library — and growing.
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Todays Podcast
July 21 highlights and Historic Days!
July 21, 1892 — In a matchup of 300 game-winners at the Philadelphia Baseball Grounds, Phillies’ submarinerTim Keefe sinks Jim “Pud” Galvin and the Browns, 2-0. The next time two National League pitchers with 300 or more victories will face each other will occur in 2005 when Greg Maddux of the Cubs beats Astros ace Roger Clemens at Minute Maid Park, 3-2.
July 21, 1936 — Joe Medwick collects his tenth consecutive hit to tie a National League record shared by Ed Konetchy, Kiki Cuyler, and Chick Hafey when he singles off Carl Hubbell in the sixth inning of the Cardinals’ 2-1 loss to the Giants at Polo Grounds. The Giants break a 1 – 1 tie on Dick Bartell’s homer in the 10th off Dizzy Dean to win, 2 – 1.
The 24-year-old Cardinals slugger, called Ducky by his teammates, had seven hits in his last seven times at-bat in the doubleheader sweep of the Boston Bees at Sportsman’s Park before yesterday’s off-day.
July 21, 1947, Mickey Cochrane, Frankie Frisch, Lefty Grove, and Carl Hubbell are inducted into the Hall of Fame. Cochrane and Grove had made their major league debuts in the same game for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1926. Frisch and Hubbell were stars in the National League, Frisch having served as player/manager for the Gashouse Gang Cardinals, he becomes the first switch-hitter inducted into the Hall of Fame. “King Carl” hurled for the Giants.
July 21, 1959, the Boston Red Sox become the last team to debut a black player when Elijah “Pumpsie” Green appears in a game as a pinch-runner and shortstop. Green’s debut with Boston comes 12 years after Jackie Robinson’s historic debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
July 21, 1970, San Diego Padres manager Preston Gomez lifts starter Clay Kirby for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning, even though the right-hander has a no-hitter in progress. With the Padres trailing 1-0, Gomez decides to play for the win instead of letting Kirby finish. The Padres eventually lose both the game and the no-hitter. Gomez would repeat the mistake in 1974 as well.
On July 21, 1973, At Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits his 700th career home run in the 3rd inning against Ken Brett of the Philadelphia Phillies, but the Braves lose the game, 8-4. The 39 year old is only the second player to reach that milestone, Babe Ruth reached the milestone in 1934, homering off Detroit’s Tommy Bridges at Briggs Stadium.
July 21, 1975 — New York Mets’ infielder Joe Torre becomes the first player in National League history to hit into four straight double plays in one game. Felix Millan singles in four consecutive at-bats against the Astros, making the dubious mark possible.
Said Torre after the game to reporters, “ It’s the first record I’ve ever set in baseball. But I’m not nearly as embarrassed by it as I am by my RBI total. I couldn’t have set a record without Millan. He ought to get an assist.” Showing a sense of humor, Torre added, “When I retire, I’m going to buy a shortstop and put him in my den. At night, when I’m lonely, I’m going to go down there and hit grounders to him.”
The Mets drop a 6-2 verdict to the Astros. Ken Forsch gets the win and said all of Torre’s double plays were on sliders. Roger Metzger has a two-run triple and starts three of Torre’s recurring nightmares.
On July 21, 1988 — Red Sox veteran Jim Rice is suspended for three games by the club for shoving manager Joe Morgan. Rice was angered when Morgan replaced him with the light-hitting shortstop Spike Owen in the 8th inning of Boston’s eventual 9 – 7 win over Minnesota.
July 21, 1988, the New York Yankees make the infamous “Ken Phelps Trade” with the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees acquire the veteran first baseman/DH for promising outfield prospect Jay Buhner. Phelps will remain with the Yankees for parts of only two seasons, while Buhner will emerge as a star, reaching the 40-home run mark in 1995, ’96, and ’97. Even Seinfeld questioned this trade
News Reels — July 21
Ferguson Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, and Rod Carew — 1991 Hall of Fame Induction Speeches
Three Hall of Famers inducted on the same day — a rare triple induction ceremony. Jenkins the stoic Canadian ace, Perry the confessed spitballer who made the league prove it, and Carew the most elegant contact hitter of his generation. All three speeches in the library.
Dick O'Connell, VP of Boston Red Sox — Interviewed by Leo Cloutier, 1970
O'Connell was the Red Sox executive who built the 1967 Impossible Dream team — assembling Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Lonborg, and Tony Conigliaro into an AL pennant winner from a last-place club in two years. A behind-the-curtain look at how that team was constructed.
This Week in Baseball — July 21, 1984
The pennant races beginning to take shape at the All-Star break. The Tigers had started 35-5 and were on their way to one of the great wire-to-wire seasons in AL history. The Cubs were quietly becoming contenders. A summer that felt electric.
July 21, 1937 — Rogers Hornsby Replaced by Jim Bottomley
A newsreel capturing a managerial change that marked the passing of an era — Hornsby, the greatest right-handed hitter of all time, stepping aside for Bottomley. The Cardinals' internal politics of the 1930s were as dramatic as anything on the field.
Texas Rangers vs. Milwaukee Brewers — July 21, 1992: "Union Meeting at Second Base"
The title tells the story — two players stopping mid-game for what appears to be a very animated conversation at second base. Whatever was said, it apparently couldn't wait. One of the better-titled clips in the library.
959 broadcasts in the library — and growing. Every game, every era, every team.
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Milestones July 21
🎙️ Did you know? Jimmie Foxx passed away on this day in 1967 — the third man in history to hit 500 home runs — and has 14 broadcasts in our library
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Birthdays:
Notable: Al Hrabosky
Debuts:
Notable: Mario Soto
Final Games:
Highlights: Pat Hentgen
Passings:
Notable: Jimmie Foxx
New From Around the League!
ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA
TRIVIA ANSWER: JOE RUDI
Rudi eventually topped out at 6'2", watching many of his classmates catch up to him.
#1 His A’s won their first of 3 straight WS in 1972, the first time the franchise had taken the top spot since the Hall-of-Fame laden squad of 1930 when Mickey Cochrane, Eddie Collins, Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx & Al Simmons were on the payroll.
#2 The 1972 A’s had Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter & Orlando Cepeda (who only played 3 games for them in July).
Thank you Horsehide Trivia
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