Carl Stolz’s dream of providing a wholesome baseball experience for local boys as a means of teaching the concepts of sportsmanship, fair play, and teamwork becomes a reality when the first Little League game is played, with Lundy Lumber defeating Lycoming Dairy in Williamsport, PA, 23-8. Allen “Sonny” Yearick, a participant in the inaugural game, will be the first graduate of the fledgling youth league to play professional ball, becoming a farmhand in the Boston Braves organization in 1948. Read More June 6, 1939
Hanshin Tigers outfielder Matt Murton breaks Ichiro’s Japanese record for the most hits in a single season when he strokes his 211th hit of the year, a two-run single to center in a game against the Yakult Swallows. The 29 year-old former major leaguer, a 2003 first-round draft pick of the Red Sox who became part of a trade to the Cubs in a four-team deal that included Nomar Garciaparra, also played with the A’s before being released by the Rockies last season. Read More October 5, 2010
In his attempt to break Walter Johnson’s consecutive game winning streak of 17 games, Lefty Grove loses as Browns hurler Dick Coffman throws a three-hit shutout against the A’s. Reserve Jimmy Moore, playing in place of the absent Al Simmons, misjudges a fly ball which leads to the decisive run and subsequently to Lefty’s meltdown in the locker room. Read More August 31, 1931