TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

September 10, 1974 On July 21, 1974, Sports Illustrated captured Lou Brock in his element: flying around the basepaths. The cover headline said it all — Brock was a “Thief at Work.”

That summer, the St. Louis speedster wasn’t just chasing another stolen-base crown. He was eyeing Maury Wills’ single-season record of 104 steals, set in 1962. By September, Brock had swiped 94 bags, well ahead of his closest rival, Davey Lopes of the Dodgers.

On September 10, with the Phillies in town, history arrived. Brock led off the seventh inning with a single, then broke for second. Phillies catcher Bob Boone’s throw bounced into the dirt. Safe! St. Louis erupted as Brock claimed his 105th stolen base, passing Wills. Play stopped for ten minutes as fans cheered and a ceremony honored his achievement.

Brock was 35 years old that season, but his legs carried him to a staggering 118 stolen bases by year’s end — a record that stood until Rickey Henderson shattered it in 1982.

Though the Cardinals fell just short of a division title, Brock’s brilliance earned him second place in the MVP race and cemented his legacy as one of baseball’s greatest baserunners. He retired in 1979 with 938 career steals, a mark that made him the all-time leader until Henderson’s arrival.

Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985 on his first ballot, Lou Brock remains a symbol of daring speed, relentless determination, and the electric thrill of a stolen base. Fans in St. Louis — and across the game — still remember the summer of ’74 as the season Brock ran himself into baseball history.

Lou Brock is featured in 76 Games and 5 Interviews in our streaming library join us below and find your favorite Brock memories.

Lou Brock steals 105th base, Jack Buck/Mike Shannon on KMOX, 9/10/1974

Todays Podcast

September 10, 1915 -- Rogers Hornsby, brought up a week earlier from Class D Denison (Western Association), makes his major league debut for the Cardinals. With the Cards trailing the Reds, 7 - 0, after six innings, Hornsby plays SS and goes hitless in two appearances against Cincinnati rookie King Lear, who wins, 7 - 1.

September 10, 1921 -- Walter Johnson, pitching in his 594th game strikes out Shano Collins of the Boston Red Sox in the 4th inning. The strikeout is the 2804th of his career surpass Cy Young's major league mark of 2,803 career strikeouts. The Senators will win the game 5-3 improving Johnsons record to 13-13.

In 1927, the 'Big Train' will finish his 21-year tenure with the Senators with 3,509 punch outs, a record which will last for 62 seasons when it is broken by Nolan Ryan in 1983.

Newspaper accounts have this as happening on September 5, 1921. However using baseball-reference I calculated that he needed 112 strikeouts to pass 2,803 entering the 1921 Season and after the game on September 5 he had 109. Thus I have updated this information accordingly

September 10, 1950, In New York's 8-1 victory over the Senators Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees hits three 400-foot home runs against the Washington Senators. DiMaggio becomes the first major leaguer to hit three home runs in the 39-year history of the ballpark. It is the third time that Joltin' Joe has hit a trio of round-trippers in a game, but he has never accomplished the feat at Yankee Stadium.

September 10, 1961 -- At Yankee Stadium the New York Yankees sweep the Indians, 7 - 6 and 9 - 3, their 12th win in a row at home, and the Indians' 20th loss in a row at Yankee Stadium. Mickey Mantle hits home run number 53 in the nightcap, while Roger Maris, homerless, stays at 56.

September 10, 1963 -- In the first inning of an 8-0 rout of the Cubs at Sportsman's Park, Cardinals left fielder Stan Musial becomes the first grandfather in big league history to hit a home run. The 42 year-old new grandpa accomplishes the feat in his first at-bat since the birth of his grandson earlier in the day. His 2 run shot in the first inning was his 11th of the season and 474th of his career. Dick Groat scored in front of Musial.

September 10, 1964 -- With his office being responsible for all of the costs for teams not making it into the postseason, Baseball commissioner Ford Frick authorizes the Phillies, Yankees, White Sox, and Orioles to print tickets for the World Series. Due to a historic late-season collapse by Philadelphia, the surging Cardinals win the National League pennant on the last day of the season, and will play the Bronx Bombers in the Fall Classic.

September 10 1967, the four team race for the pennant. 4 teams are within 1.5 games of first place. Minnesota holds the slim half game lead. Boston Red sox in second and Detroit and Chicago tied for 3rd.

In the first game of a doubleheader, White Sox Joe Horlen no-hits the Tigers, 6 - 0. Cisco Carlos, Hoyt Wilhelm, and Bob Locker combine to shut out Detroit in the second game.
Minnesota edges the Orioles, 4 – 2
Boston beats New York 9-1

September 10, 1968 -- Don Wilson, who struck out 18 Reds on July 14, fans 16 Reds today while pitching the Astros to a 3 - 2 win in game 1. The Reds win the nitecap, 4 - 3.

September 10, 1980 -- Montreal Expos Rookie Bill Gullickson whiffs 18 batters, the most strikeouts ever recorded by a rookie in a major league game. The Expos right-hander throws a complete-game four-hitter, beating Chicago Cubs at Olympic Stadium, 4-2.

September 10, 1980 The Dodgers call up a young lefty from their Double-A San Antonio farm club. Fernando Valenzuela. He appears in 10 games and allows a total of none runs. He will go onto historic fame in 1981 leading the Dodgers to a World Series title.

September 10, 1985, the California Angels acquire future Hall of Famer Don Sutton from the Oakland A’s for two players to be named later, Bob Sharpnack (minors) (September 25, 1985) and Jerome Nelson (minors) (September 25, 1985). The 40-year-old right-hander will win two games for California down the stretch, but the Angels will fall one game short in the American League’s Western Division

September 10, 1997 -- At San Francisco, Pac Bell Park in a 7-6 extra inning loss to the San Francisco Giants, St Louis Cardinal Mark McGwire becomes only the second player in major league history to hit 50 home runs in consecutive seasons. Babe Ruth accomplished the feat twice, in the 1920-21 and 1927-28 seasons.

McGwire joined Ruth as the only players in major league his­tory with consecutive 50-homer seasons by hitting a 446-foot shot Wednesday in his St. Louis Cardi­nals’ 7-6, 10-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants.

September 10, 1999 -- The Red Sox trip the Yankees, 3 - 1, as Pedro Martinez hurls an impressive one-hitter for his 21st victory of the year. Martinez strikes out 17 batters, the most Yankees ever fanned in a single game. DH Chili Davis' 2nd-inning home run is New York's only safety. Chuck Knoblauch, leading off the game, gives the Yankees their only other baserunner; he is caught stealing, so Martinez faces just one over the minimum.

The Red Sox right-hander extends his own record to 40 consecutive innings with at least one strikeout per frame.

 ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA

TRIVIA ANSWER: LOU BROCK

Ceremony prayer 30-Jul-2006. Brock Ministry.

Lou Brock is featured in 76 Games and 5 Interviews in our streaming library join us and find your favorite Brock memories.

Thank you Horsehide Trivia

JOIN CLASSIC BASEBALL BROADCASTS TODAY