Ernie Shore no hitter in relief but some historians consider a perfect game
Ernie Shore No Hitter or Perfect Game?
on June 23, 1917, the Washington Senators in the first game of a doubleheader at Fenway Park. Babe Ruth started the game, walking the first batter, Ray Morgan. As newspaper accounts of the time relate, the short-fused Ruth then engaged in a heated argument with apparently equally short-fused home plate umpire Brick Owens. Owens tossed Ruth out of the game, and the even more enraged Ruth then slugged the umpire a glancing blow before being taken off the field; the catcher Pinch Thomas was also ejected. Ernie Shore was recruited to pitch, and came in with very few warm-up pitches. With a new pitcher and catcher, runner Morgan tried to steal but was thrown out. Shore then proceeded to retire the remaining 26 Senators without allowing a baserunner, earning a 4–0 Red Sox win. For many years the game was listed in record books as a “perfect game,” but officially it is scored as a no-hitter, shared (albeit unequally) by two pitchers. Following the game, Ruth paid a $100 fine, was suspended for ten games, and issued a public apology for his behavior. He entered with the Babe and he left with the Babe. Shore, along with Babe Ruth and many other stars was sold to the New York Yankees by Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, where he closed out his career.
It seemed as if Ernie Shore and Babe Ruth were destined to share something. Though never the best of friends, the two of them were sent from Baltimore to the Boston Red Sox along with catcher Ben Egan in a 1914 deal. When they arrived in Boston, Shore was the one who jumped right to the majors. The more heralded Ruth was sent back down for another year in the minors.
While Ruth had more potential, Shore was the one producing. He won the opening game of the World Series in 1915 against star hurler Grover Cleveland Alexander. Meanwhile Ruth appeared just once in that entire series, and it was as a pinch-hitter.
The pair had roomed together during the spring of 1915 and that was where the tension started to show. Shore requested that he be paired with someone other than Ruth, citing the Babe’s sanitary habits, or lack thereof. To wit: Ruth would often use Shore’s toothbrush instead of his own, and it was rumored that Ruth had a bad habit of not flushing the toilet. Either way, Shore wanted out and that’s what he got.
Ruth and Shore were both dominant pitchers during their careers, but the similarities ended there. While Ruth had come straight from reform school to the pros, Shore had taken postgraduate courses the winter before his first season with the Red Sox. He had even taught at a local Boston school. While they were both great players on the field, they had little in common off it.
@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@Boston Red Sox 4, Washington Senators 0
Game Played: Saturday, June 23, 1917 at Fenway Park
Time of Game: 1:40
Attendance: N/A
Line Score
WAS A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 3
BOS A 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 x – 4 9 0
Umpires: HP – Brick Owens, 1B – Barry McCormick, 3B – Bill Dinneen
Ejections: Babe Ruth by Brick Owens [Balls and strikes]; Pinch Thomas
by Brick Owens [Balls and strikes]
Box Score
Starting Lineups
Senators
1 Ray Morgan 2B
2 Eddie Foster 3B
3 Clyde Milan CF
4 Sam Rice RF
5 Patsy Gharrity 1B
6 Charlie Jamieson LF
7 Howie Shanks SS
8 John Henry C
9 Doc Ayers P
Red Sox
1 Harry Hooper RF
2 Jack Barry 2B
3 Dick Hoblitzell 1B
4 Larry Gardner 3B
5 Duffy Lewis LF
6 Tillie Walker CF
7 Everett Scott SS
8 Pinch Thomas C
9 Babe Ruth P
Play by Play
Play-by-play data not available for this game.