On the last day of the campaign, by striking out opposing pitcher Hal Newhouser and four others, Bob Feller establishes a major league record by striking out 348 batters in one season. Future research, however, will show Rube Waddell had struck out 349 in 1904.
1946 – In Detroit’s Briggs Stadium, Indian fireballer Bob Feller ties Rube Waddell’s strikeout mark with his 343rd K of the season. Future research, however, will show Rube Waddell had struck out 349 in 1904.
The Phils score 5 in the 9th to beat the Dodgers, 11 – 9, a loss that will haunt the Dodgers at the season’s end. Phils 1B Frank McCormick makes his first error of the season after a major league record 131 straight errorless games.
Handling 13 chances without an error against the Braves in an 8 – 0 loss, Giants SS Buddy Kerr runs his errorless streak to 254 chances, breaking Eddie Miller’s 1940 record.
1946 – Disappointing on the field, the Yankees nevertheless finish their home season with a 2,309,029 attendance. The best previous draw was the 1929 Cubs at 1,485,166. Total major league attendance was 18.5 million, 80 percent more than 1945.
1946 – Washington’s Sherry Robertson leads off with a home run against Cleveland. It is his second consecutive leadoff homer, having connected yesterday in Detroit.
In Brooklyn, a giant swarm of gnats engulfs Ebbets Field at the end of the fifth inning of the second game of a doubleheader. Due to the bothersome insects and the impending darkness, the game is called, resulting in a 2-0 victory for the Dodgers over the Cubs.
In the first game at Griffith Stadium, Josh Gibson hits a home run into temporary bleachers that shorten the left-field fence, helping the Homestead Grays beat the New York Cubans 8-3, to sweep a season-ending Negro League double-header. It is Gibson’s last career homer. After a few more games, the Grays close out their season, and Gibson will die from a reported stroke four months later.
After dropping the opener, the Brooklyn Dodgers are stinging the Chicago Cubs 2 – 0 in the 5th inning when a swarm of gnats descends upon Ebbets Field and causes the game to be postponed.
Ernie Lombardi of the Giants slams the ball 483 feet under the stairway in right-center of the Polo Grounds, but barely makes third base. It is the 3rd triple in 7 years for Schnozz and the last of his career.
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