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July 26
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
Today's Daily Highlights
Long before he was a Tigers batting champ, Harry Heilmann dove into the Detroit River in 1916 to save a group of drowning strangers — the next day, he got a standing ovation just for taking the field. Also: Johnny Bench hit his 300th career homer the same day Pete Rose stretched his hitting streak to 39 games in 1978, and Mark Gardner lost a no-hitter in the 10th inning back in 1991 on a heartbreaking infield single. Pulled from our library of 3,100 games and 1,000 interviews, and today's Vintage Commercial: Campana Magic Touch Makeup.
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July 26, 1916 — Tigers favorite Harry Heilmann gets an appreciative hand from the crowd for having dived into the Detroit River last night to save a woman from drowning.
Late in the evening on July 25, 1916, Heilmann was driving when he witnessed an automobile back off a dock at Water Works Park and fall into the Detroit River. Heilmann jumped from his car and into the river, saving the lives of Lydia Johnson of Rome, NY, three of the five passengers. Sadly, Mrs Leroy Steadman and her daughter drowned. Newspapers made note of the incident, reporting on the identity of the famous hero.
We can’t be sure if Harry was thinking of his brother Walter, who had died sailing. Walter was on the ocean with friends when the sailboat they were in capsized. Everyone was saved except Walter, who drowned as he tried to swim to shore. He bravly went into the Detroit River to save those strangers, but it’s likely that the tragic loss of his sibling was on his mind. The next afternoon at Navin Field, Heilmann received a standing ovation as he took his position in the outfield.
Heilmann will drive in 2 vs Walter Johnson in a walk off win vs the Washington Senators.
Harry Heilmann - was a 6'1" 200-lb righthanded hitter who captured four American League batting titles in 15 seasons with the Tigers. Heilmann is among Detroit's all-time leaders in every major hitting category. He was working as a bookkeeper when he was offered his first baseball job. In 1913 he hit .305 for Portland (Northwest League) and was purchased by the Tigers for $1,500. He first joined Detroit in 1914, but stayed from 1916 through 1929, with only two gaps; he missed half of 1918 while on a Navy submarine, and several weeks of 1922 with a broken collarbone.
A fair outfielder, Heilmann was moved to first base for 1919 and 1920 and led the AL in errors at that position both seasons. During the 1920s, he was a part of .300-hitting Tiger outfields in seven seasons. Joining him, at various times, were Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Heinie Manush, and Detroit stars Bobby Veach and Bob Fothergill. Disgruntled pitcher Dutch Leonard wrote to Heilmann in December 1926, telling him of the two letters Leonard had sent to Ban Johnson implicating Joe Wood and Ty Cobb in betting on games. Heilmann showed the letter to Tigers owner Frank Navin and the story came out into the open.
Heilmann was involved in many close batting races. In 1921, he topped Ty Cobb by five points by hitting .394 with a league-high 237 hits. His .403 mark in 1923 bested Babe Ruth's .393. In 1925 he caught and passed Tris Speaker with a few games to go; he refused to come out of the lineup, and won the title, .393 to .389. He trailed Al Simmons by one point going into the last day of the 1927 season; in a doubleheader at Cleveland, he had four hits in the first game, and three in the second, finishing at .398 - six points above Simmons.
Arthritis in his wrists began bothering Heilmann in 1929. He was sold to the Reds after the '29 season, but was unable to play in 1931. He came back as a player-coach in 1932, appearing in 15 games. Popular with fans and players, with a keen sense of humor and a trove of stories, he was the radio voice of the Tigers for 17 years. During WWII, he traveled to the Middle East as part of a baseball group entertaining troops. He died of lung cancer at age 56 in 1951, and was elected to the Hall of Fame the following year.
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Todays Trivia . . .
Which Hall of Famer hit two home runs his first season in the majors, the first while a teenager, the second, the day after he turned twenty?
Hint: #1 He received MVP votes eight times in his seventeen-year career, the first seven in consecutive seasons, four times in the top five.
Hint: #2 He once hit a grand slam and a bases-loaded triple in the same game.
Answer in a bit!
Quote of the day:
"People nowadays just don't realize how great a hitter Harry was. Next to Rogers Hornsby, he was the best righthanded hitter of them all." - Ty Cobb
Game of The Day:
Game of the Day — July 26, 1991 Montreal Expos vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
👇 Join and Listen to the full game right here
🎧 Classic Broadcasts — July 26
Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees (July 26, 1978) — The exact game from today's headline story: Johnny Bench's 300th career homer paired with Pete Rose extending his streak to 39 games on the way to a new NL record of 44. A must-listen for the history alone.
Montreal Expos vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (July 26, 1991) — Mark Gardner's gutting near-miss — nine no-hit innings before Lenny Harris broke it up in the 10th. One of the great "so close" broadcasts in the library.
Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees (July 26, 1977) — Late-70s AL East rivalry baseball between two clubs on very different trajectories that year.
Boston Red Sox vs. California Angels (July 26, 1986) — Red Sox pennant-run baseball from their World Series season — always worth a listen.
New York Yankees vs. California Angels (July 26, 1969) — A quieter Yankees season sandwiched between eras, against an Angels club still finding its footing as a young franchise.
Pulled from our library of 3,100 games and 1,000 interviews, and today's Vintage Commercials
Todays Podcast
July 26 highlights and Historic Days!
July 26, 1933 The 61-game hitting streak of the San Francisco Seals’ 18-year-old rookie, Joe DiMaggio, is stopped by Ed Walsh, Jr. of the Oakland Oaks.
July 26, 1936 — Umpire Bill Summers is forced out the game after he is hit in the groin by a pop bottle thrown from an unruly crowd of 50,000 at Comiskey Park. (listen to full story)
Hal Totten describes umpire Bill Summers being hit by a bottle July 26, 1936.
July 26, 1946 — Monty Stratton, who lost a leg in a hunting accident in 1938, wins his 14th game for the Sherman Twins of the East Texas League. He will finish with 18 victories for the second-division team.
July 26, 1948 – Babe Ruth makes his final public appearance on July 26, 1948. Ruth visited the film premiere of “The Babe Ruth Story.” and would succumb to throat cancer just three weeks later.
July 26, 1962 in New York, pitcher Gene Conley and infielder Pumpsie Green of the Red Sox mysteriously disappear after a 13 – 3 loss to the Yankees. They get off a team bus in traffic to use a rest room but fail to return. Conley decides he wants to fly to Israel, and goes to the airport, but is refused a ticket because he does not have a visa. Conley is perhaps best known for being the only person to win championships in two of the four major American sports, one with the Milwaukee Braves in the 1957 World Series and three Boston Celtics championships from 1959-61.
July 26, 1978 Johnny Bench of the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds collects his 300th career home run in a 12-3 loss to the New York Mets on July 26th, 1978. In the same game, Cincinnati’s Pete Rose, aka “Charlie Hustle”, extends his hitting streak to 39 games. Rose’s streak will eventually reach 44 games – a new National League record which would attract massive interest nationwide.
July 26, 1984 — Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces that free agent pitcher Vida Blue will be suspended for the remainder of the season as a result of his conviction on cocaine possession charges last November.
July 26, 1987 The Hall of Fame expands by three members on July 26th, 1987. Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Billy Williams, and Ray Dandridge are honored in Induction Ceremonies in Cooperstown. Hunter played on five world champions and was called “Catfish” by Oakland owner Charles O. Finley for no other reason than Finley thought his new pitcher needed a flashy nickname.
July 26, 1991 Montreal’s Mark Gardner pitches a no-hitter for nine innings against the Dodgers before Lenny Harris beats out an infield single in the 10th. The Dodgers would get two more hits, including an RBI single by Darryl Strawberry, to plate the only run of the contest. After a 2-out walk in the 1st to Eddie Murray, Gardner retires 19 in a row. The Expos manage only two hits themselves against the combined efforts of Orel Hershiser, Kevin Gross, and Jay Howell. Gardner is the 11th pitcher to lose a no-hitter after nine innings and the first pitcher to hurl nine no-hit innings against the Dodgers since Johnny Vander Meer, in 1938.
July 26, 1998 — At Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies, with his 44th homer, Mark McGwire surpasses Johnny Mize as the all-time Cardinal single-season home run leader.
News Reels — July 26
Rick Dempsey Charges the Mound, Melee Ensues — Pure old-school baseball chaos — the kind of reel that never gets old.
New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves (July 26, 1986) — "The Braves/Mets Play a Crazy Doubleheader" — A wild twin bill between two clubs that always seemed to bring the drama in the mid-80s.
Catfish Hunter 1987 Hall of Fame Induction Speech — Hunter's own words at Cooperstown, the same induction class mentioned in today's highlights alongside Billy Williams and Ray Dandridge.
Rickey Henderson's Hall of Fame Induction Speech — Vintage Rickey being Rickey in his own words — always a crowd-pleaser.
Pulled from our library of 3,100 games and 1,000 interviews, and today's Vintage Commercials
Milestones July 26
🎙️ Did you know? Did you know? In 1962, Red Sox players Gene Conley and Pumpsie Green got off the team bus in New York traffic for a bathroom break — and just never came back. Conley tried to fly to Israel on the spot but got turned away at the airport for not having a visa. He's got dozens of broadcasts and interviews in our library.
[Explore the Full Library →]
Birthdays:
Notable: Hoyt Wilhelm
Debuts:
Notable: Tony Perez
Final Games:
Highlights: Larry Doby
Passings:
Notable: Ruben Gomez
New From Around the League!
ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA
TRIVIA ANSWER: HARRY HEILMANN
- Ans. Heilmann was born 03-Aug-1894. His 1st HR came on 05-Jul-1914(1)*. The second one was on 04-Aug-1914. *The day after the U.S.A.’s birthday!
- #1 Season Awards
1922 - MVP - 12
1923 - MVP - 3
1924 - MVP - 9
1925 - MVP - 4
1926 - MVP - 5
1927 - MVP - 2
1928 - MVP - 15
1930 - MVP - 28
- #2 In a 13-10 victory over NYY on 26-Jul-1928(1), Heilmann tripled in the 1st inning, homered in the 5th.
Thank you Horsehide Trivia
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