red patek and john mayberry

Freddie Patek of the California Angels slugs three home runs in a game at Fenway Park

ByThis Day in Baseball

  On June 20, 1980, five-foot, five-inch Freddie Patek known by the nickname of “Flea” of the California Angels slugs three home runs in a game at Fenway Park. The diminutive shortstop, who will finish his career with only 41 home runs, becomes the smallest player to hit three homers in a game. Patek also


White Sox reliever Ed Farmer swears he will take criminal action against Detroit’s Al Cowens following an on-field brawl in Chicago. Cowens hit a grounder to SS, and then charges the mound instead of running to first base. The action stems from an incident a year earlier when a Farmer pitch shattered Cowens’s jaw. American League President Lee MacPhail will suspend Cowens for seven games. The Tigers win, 5 – 3, in 11 innings.

ByThis Day in Baseball

On June 20, 1980, Chicago White Sox reliever Ed Farmer swears he will take criminal action against Detroit’s Al Cowens following an on-field brawl in Chicago. Cowens hit a grounder to SS, and then charges the mound instead of running to first base. While still playing with the Royals in 1979, on May 8, in


lyman bostock
|

Lyman Bostock’s killer Leonard Smith is released

ByThis Day in Baseball

On June 20, Leonard Smith the man who confessed to killing California Angels star Lyman Bostock, is set free. Smith killed Bostock with a shotgun blast on September 23, 1978, Smith stating he intended to shoot his wife. He later went to trial for murder, after the first trial resulted in a hung jury, Smith