On May 27, 1939 — For the first time in his career, Charlie Gehringer of the Detroit Tigers hits for the cycle, in a 12 – 5 win against the St. Louis Browns. Gehringer does it in order – single, double, triple, home run.
Gehringer became the fourth Tigers player to hit for the cycle. The first was Bobby Veach, who shared his fame with George Burns on September 17, 1920. This was the first time in history that two batters had hit for the cycle on the same day (although for different teams and in different games). Veach hit for the cycle against the Boston Red Sox while the New York Giants’ Burns did so against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The second Tigers player to hit for the cycle was Bob Fothergill, who accomplished a natural cycle on the last day of the 1926 season (September 26), against the Red Sox. The third was Gee Walker, who on April 20, 1937 “did his hitting in reverse, starting with a home run and going down the line to his single” against the Cleveland Indians. Walker’s cycle occurred on Opening Day. So, the first four cycles in Detroit history were noteworthy: two natural cycles, a reverse natural cycle and one of two cycles accomplished on the same day! Plus, one of them was on Opening Day and another on the final day of a season.
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Other Resources & Links
Retrosheet.org Boxscore:DET193905270
BackToBaseball.com Game Playback
Baseball-Reference Box Score Charlie Gehringer Natural cycle
SABR Game Story – Gehringer hits for Natural Cycle
Game Played on Saturday, May 27, 1939 (D) at Briggs Stadium
STL A 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 - 5 8 0 DET A 1 0 3 1 3 2 0 2 x - 12 18 0
Umpires: HP - Eddie Rommel, 1B - George Moriarty, 3B - Cal Hubbard
Time of Game: 2:17 Attendance: 17345
BROWNS 1ST: Thompson homered; Mazzera popped to shortstop in foul territory; McQuinn grounded out (second to first); Hoag grounded out (second to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Browns 1, Tigers 0. TIGERS 1ST: McCosky singled; McCosky stole second; Walker grounded out (second to first) [McCosky to third]; Gehringer singled [McCosky scored]; Greenberg popped to first; Bell popped to third in foul territory; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Browns 1, Tigers 1. BROWNS 2ND: Clift struck out; Sullivan homered; Berardino grounded out (first unassisted); Heffner grounded out (third to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Browns 2, Tigers 1. TIGERS 2ND: Kress flied to left; Rogell flied to center; Tebbetts doubled; Bridges struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Browns 2, Tigers 1. BROWNS 3RD: Kennedy singled; Bridges threw a wild pitch [Kennedy to second]; Thompson walked; Mazzera reached on a fielder's choice on a sacrifice bunt [Kennedy to third, Thompson to second]; McQuinn hit into a double play to left [Kennedy out at home (left to catcher)]; Hoag grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Browns 2, Tigers 1. TIGERS 3RD: McCosky singled; Walker singled [McCosky to third]; Gehringer grounded out (second to first) [McCosky scored, Walker to second]; Greenberg doubled [Walker scored]; Bell singled [Greenberg scored]; Kress grounded into a double play (third to second to first) [Bell out at second]; 3 R, 4 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Browns 2, Tigers 4. BROWNS 4TH: Clift walked; Sullivan was hit by a pitch [Clift to second]; Berardino grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [Clift to third, Sullivan out at second]; Heffner grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Browns 2, Tigers 4. TIGERS 4TH: Rogell tripled; Tebbetts hit a sacrifice fly to left [Rogell scored]; Bridges struck out; McCosky flied to center; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Browns 2, Tigers 5. BROWNS 5TH: Kennedy flied to right; Thompson singled; Mazzera walked [Thompson to second]; McQuinn flied to right; Hoag singled [Thompson scored, Mazzera to second]; Clift walked [Mazzera to third, Hoag to second]; Sullivan struck out; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Browns 3, Tigers 5. TIGERS 5TH: Walker singled; Gehringer doubled [Walker to third]; Greenberg was walked intentionally; Bell singled [Walker scored, Gehringer scored, Greenberg to third]; Kress hit a sacrifice fly to left [Greenberg scored]; Rogell walked [Bell to second]; TROTTER REPLACED KENNEDY (PITCHING); Tebbetts grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [Rogell out at second]; 3 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Browns 3, Tigers 8. BROWNS 6TH: Berardino grounded out (shortstop to first); Heffner flied to center; Trotter struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Browns 3, Tigers 8. TIGERS 6TH: Bridges grounded out (pitcher to first); McCosky walked; Walker singled [McCosky to second]; Gehringer tripled [McCosky scored, Walker scored]; Greenberg struck out; Bell grounded out (second to first); 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Browns 3, Tigers 10. BROWNS 7TH: Thompson lined to right; Mazzera flied to center; McQuinn popped to second; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Browns 3, Tigers 10. TIGERS 7TH: Kress grounded out (shortstop to first); Rogell singled; Tebbetts popped to catcher in foul territory; 21 minute rain delay; Bridges struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Browns 3, Tigers 10. BROWNS 8TH: CROUCHER REPLACED KRESS (PLAYING SS); Hoag struck out; Clift doubled; Sullivan flied to left; Berardino flied to left; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Browns 3, Tigers 10. TIGERS 8TH: McCosky grounded out (pitcher to first); Walker grounded out (first unassisted); Gehringer homered; Greenberg singled; Bell singled [Greenberg to second]; Croucher singled [Greenberg scored, Bell to second]; Rogell walked [Bell to third, Croucher to second]; Tebbetts grounded out (third to first); 2 R, 4 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Browns 3, Tigers 12. BROWNS 9TH: Heffner singled; SPINDEL BATTED FOR TROTTER; Spindel struck out; Thompson walked [Heffner to second]; Mazzera forced Thompson (first to shortstop) [Heffner to third]; McQuinn singled [Heffner scored, Mazzera scored]; Hoag flied to left; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Browns 5, Tigers 12. Final Totals R H E LOB Browns 5 8 0 8 Tigers 12 18 0 8
