Major League Baseball Season Recap 1952

Major League Baseball Season Recap 1952

World Series – New York Yankees AL over Brooklyn Dodgers NL 4 games to 3

World Series MVP –
Babe Ruth Award – Johnny Mize

Awards – </strong?
Major League Cy Young Award Cy Young Award National League Cy Young Award American League
MVP Awards – NL Hank Sauer AL Bobby Shantz
Major League Rookie of The Year –
NL Rookie of The Year – Joe Black AL Rookie of The Year – Harry Byrd

All-Star Game – July 8th – N.L. 3 over A.L. 2 (5), played at Shibe Park (NL)
AL Starter V. Raschi NL Starter C. Simmons MVP

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January 9, 1952

The U.S. Marines announce they will recall Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams into active duty to serve in the Korean War

January 16, 1952

The U.S. Standardization Board clears the way for Stan Musial to get a salary increase to $85,000

January 17, 1952

Walter O. Briggs, owner of the Detroit Tigers, dies of heart failure at the age of 74

January 18, 1952

1952 – The Chicago White Sox accept the resignation of general manager Charlie A. Comiskey, Jr. after his request for more money is refused.

January 18, 1952

The White Sox board of directors accept the resignation of Charlie A. Comiskey, Jr., the team’s vice president and secretary, after turning down his request for a promotion and more money. The 25 year-old’s dissatisfaction with the club came as a complete surprise to his mother, Grace Comiskey, the president of Chicago ball club.

January 26, 1952

1952 – Because of poor attendance, the Canadian-American League suspends operations for this season. This is one of seven minor leagues that will not operate this year, dropping the total from 50 to 43. The Korean War military obligation is the primary reason stated.

January 30, 1952

The Little League office is moved to Williamsport, PA, with Peter J. McGovern becoming the circuit’s first full-time president. In November of 1955, Carl Stotz, who started the youth baseball program 28 years earlier, will have strong differences with the increasing commercialization of the organization, causing the L.L.B. Inc. Board to remove him from his position as commissioner.

January 31, 1952

A U.S. Federal Jury awards Mexican League owner Jorge Pasquel $35,000 for breach of contract by former Brooklyn Dodgers star catcher Mickey Owen.

January 31, 1952

The Hall of Fame elects two new members: Harry Heilmann, with 203 votes, and Paul Waner with 195

February 14, 1952

St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers make seven payer deal

February 16, 1952

Honus Wagner announces his retirement after a lifetime in baseball

February 19, 1952

Don Newcombe sworn into the Army

February 26, 1952

Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe is sworn into the Army.

March 1, 1952

Billy Cox, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson pose for the media during Spring Training, 1952

March 5, 1952

Norman Bel Geddes designs a 5,000 seat complex for the Brooklyn Dodgers in Vero Beach, Florida

March 24, 1952

1952 – During spring training, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Slaybaugh is hit in the left eye with a line drive and subsequently loses the eye. The young pitcher will return to the mound in 1953 and again in 1954 before he retires from professional baseball.

March 24, 1952

Gil Hodges straps on the catcher’s gear

March 26, 1952

1952 – The St. Louis Cardinals purchase infielder Gene Mauch from the New York Yankees.

April 2, 1952

Irvin breaks ankle misses 1952 season

April 18, 1952

Pafko hits a walk off for Dodgers – but Willie Mays makes the catch he’ll later call his greatest

April 18, 1952

Bob Friend shuts out the Reds in Buc’s home opener

April 18, 1952

Joe DiMaggio number is retired

April 19, 1952

Eddie Mathews hits his first homerun

April 23, 1952

Bob Cain of the St. Louis Browns and Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians each pitch one-hitters, with the Browns prevailing, 1 – 0

April 23, 1952

Giant reliever Hoyt Wilhelm homers in his first major league at-bat it willl be his only career homerun

April 26, 1952

Art Houtteman loses a no hitter with 2 out in 9th

April 28, 1952

1952 – The St. Louis Browns become the first major league organization to loan or sell players to a team outside of the United States when they “lend” two African-American minor league players, infielder John Britton and pitcher Jimmy Newberry, to the Hankyu Braves of the Japanese Pacific League. Abe Saperstein, owner and coach of the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters, negotiated this special example in lend-lease for both sides.

April 29, 1952

Cleveland left fielder Jim Fridley is 6-for-6 as the Indians soundly beat the Philadelphia A’s, 21-9. ‘Big Jim’, who will play briefly for Cleveland, Baltimore, and Cincinnati, respectively, in 1952, 1954, and 1958, collects six singles in the Shibe Park contest.

April 29, 1952

Cleveland OF “Big Jim” Fridley goes a (20th c) record-tying 6-for-6 in a 21-9 romp over the host Philadelphia A’s. Al Rosen chips in with 3 HRs and 7 RBI‚ as both teams total 43 hits‚ 2 hits short of the AL mark. The Indian outfield collects 12 hits to tie the AL record‚ last tied in 1917. The Indians had been shut out in 3 out of their past 4 games‚ and held to a single hit in 2 of them.

April 30, 1952

Ted Williams Day- Ted Williams plays his final game before leaving for military duty in Korea

May 1, 1952

Joe Dobson of the Chicago White Sox pitches 7 1/3 innings of hitless ball against the Philadelphia Athletics before yielding a single to Skeeter Kell. Dobson goes on to complete the two-hit shutout in the 3 – 0 White Sox victory at Shibe Park.

May 3, 1952

The Cleveland Indians set a record when they use 23 players in a regular game against the Washington Senators, including the first black battery in American League history. Quincy Trouppe is the catcher when pitcher Sam Jones comes to relieve.

May 3, 1952

In an effort to fill the void in center field created by Joe DiMaggio’s retirement and Mickey Mantle’s recovery from last season’s knee surgery, the Yankees trade Jackie Jensen and right-hander Spec Shea to the Senators for veteran fly chaser Irv Noren. In 1958, Jensen will win the American League MVP playing for Boston.

May 10, 1952

1952 – Hank Bauer of the Yankees goes 5 for 6 in an 18 – 3 romp over Boston. The Sox come away with a record-tying 10 assists in the 5th inning.

May 13, 1952

Ron Necciai of the Bristol Twins strikes out 27 batters in throwing a 7-0 no-hitter

May 13, 1952

Larry Miggins hits the first of his two major league home runs, going deep off Preacher Roe in the fourth inning of the Cardinals’ 14-8 loss to the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. The round-tripper hit by the Bronx-born outfielder, who had once shared his dream of playing in the big leagues during a prep school assembly with a buddy with aspirations to be a baseball broadcaster, is called by an overwhelmed Vin Scully, Brooklyn’s play-by-play announcer who had wondered that day with his friend “what the odds against that would be.”

May 15, 1952

Virgil Trucks no hits Senators

May 15, 1952

After pitching four no-hitters in the minors, 33-year-old Virgil “Fire” Trucks of Detroit pitches his first in the major leagues, a 1 – 0 blanking of the Senators. Vic Wertz’s dramatic two-out home run in the 9th off Bob Porterfield wins the game at Briggs Stadium. Trucks will throw a second no-hitter later this year.

May 20, 1952

Hank Aaron Scouting Report 1952

May 21, 1952

Dodgers plate 19 straight batters off the Reds

May 21, 1952

Joe Nuxhall, best known for signing with Cincinnati in 1944 after obtaining the permission of his parents and high school principal, returns to the Reds seven years after pitching two-thirds of an inning in his major league debut as a 15 year-old. The southpaw gives up just one hit in the final three frames of the team’s 19-1 loss to Brooklyn at Ebbets Field.

May 22, 1952

The Celler committee finds legislation for government control of baseball to be unnecessary. It says that the sport can solve its own problems, and opposes legislation exempting the reserve clause from antitrust laws.

May 23, 1952

The Dodgers jar the Phils‚ 5 – 1‚ as Roy Campanella drives in all five runs. Campy has two homers (the 99th and 100th of his career) in his first two at bats‚ including a grand slam. In his final at bat yesterday against the Reds‚ Campy also homered. Ben Wade wins over Karl Drews.

May 23, 1952

Sal Maglie wins his 8th without a loss‚ stopping the Braves‚ 5 – 3. Maglie tires in the 9th‚ giving up three hits‚ including a 2-run homer by Ebba St. Claire. Al Dark’s two-run homer in the 5-run 4th is the big blow for the Giants‚ who stay a half-game in back of the Dodgers.

May 23, 1952

The Phillies send P Bubba Church‚ 15-11 last year‚ to Cincinnati for OF Johnny Wyrostek‚ an All-Star the past two years‚ and P Kent Peterson.

May 24, 1952

Jimmy Piersall and Billy Martin Brawl

May 24, 1952

At Crosley Field‚ Reds catcher Andy Seminick drives in 6 runs with 2 homers‚ one a grand slam‚ in an 11 – 5 win over St. Louis.

May 29, 1952

Boston’s Maury McDermott faces 27 batters and fires a one-hitter to beat the visiting Senators‚ 1 – 0. Mel Hoderlein’s 4th-inning single is the only hit, and he is erased on the basepaths. Maury walks one batter who is also doubled up. The Senators leave no runners on base today and combined with the two they left on base on the 27th set a new major league low for fewest in two consecutive games. It will be matched in both leagues.

May 29, 1952

The Giants’ Willie Mays enters the army. Although Mays is hitting just .236‚ the Giants are 2 1/2 games in first place. They will lose 8 of their next 10 games.

May 29, 1952

Meanwhile‚ the Giants lose a shot at another young Birmingham player as Braves scout Dewey Griggs signs Henry Aaron to a contract. The Indianapolis Clowns receive telegram offers from both clubs‚ and Aaron‚ thinking he’ll have a better chance to make the team‚ prefers the Braves.

June 2, 1952

Sal Maglie takes the loss after 9 straight wins

June 4, 1952

Billy Goodman of the Red Sox goes 5 for 5 in a 13 – 11 slugfest with Cleveland. The Indians’ Larry Doby hits for the cycle.

June 4, 1952

The Giants push across 2 runs – one earned – in the 4th inning against the Cubs’ Bob Rush to stop his streak of consecutive scoreless innings at 32. Rush (8-2) is still victorious‚ 6 – 2‚ and now leads the National League in strikeouts.

June 4, 1952

The Reds purchase veteran OF Willard Marshall from the Boston Braves.

June 10, 1952

St. Louis Browns fire manager Rogers Hornsby

June 10, 1952

After an absence of 5 months‚ Charlie Comiskey‚ Jr. rejoins the Chicago White Sox as vice president after being reelected to the board.

June 10, 1952

The Red Sox send pitchers Randy Gumpert and Walt Masterson to Washington for pitcher Sid Hudson.

June 10, 1952

Sam Mele of the White Sox hits a 3-run homer and a 3-run triple in the 4th inning of a game at Philadelphia‚ as Chicago romps 15 – 4. Chicago plates 12 runs‚ 6 unearned‚ in the frame.

June 11, 1952

At Wrigley Field Hank Sauer hits 3 homers off Curt Simmons at Wrigley Field to account for all the scoring as the Cubs‚ behind Turk Lown‚ beat the Phillies, 3 – 2. It is Hammerin’ Hank’s second three-homer game: the first came in 1950‚ also off Curt Simmons. Sauer is now leading the National League in home runs (18)‚ RBIs (58)‚ and batting average (.352)‚ but he’ll go hitless in his next 24 at bats‚ striking out 10 times‚ and his average will drop 32 points in a week.

June 11, 1952

At Fenway Park‚ Bosox catcher Sammy White clouts a 9th-inning grand slam with one out to defeat the Browns’ Satchel Paige‚ 11 – 9. Paige (5-2) takes a 9 – 5 lead into the 9th. White completes his home run trot by rounding third base and crawling from half way home and kissing the plate. Another rookie provides entertainment to start the inning as Jimmy Piersall‚ leading off‚ announces to Paige that he is going to bunt. He does just that and beats Paige to first base‚ whereupon he starts mirroring Satchel’s moves and yelling “oink‚ oink‚ oink.” Hoot Evers beats out an infield hit and Piersall continues his antics at second. A now distracted and annoyed Paige walks George Kell‚ and one out later‚ forces in a run by walking Billy Goodman. A single by Ted Lepcio sets up White’s slam. After the game‚ Browns C Clint Courtney opines‚ “I believe that man is plumb crazy. Yeah‚ he’s nuts altogether. I never saw a man do those things. Anywhere.”

June 14, 1952

Warren Spahn homer’s and strikes out 18 Chicago Cubs in a 15-inning 3-1 loss

June 14, 1952

Hank Aaron bought from the Indianapolis Clowns for $10,000

June 15, 1952

Cardinals set record for coming back after being down 11-0

June 16, 1952

At the Polo Grounds, Bobby Thomson erases a three-run ninth-inning deficit with a walk-off grand slam, giving the Giants a come-from-behind 8-7 victory over the Cardinals. The third baseman’s decisive blow comes with one out off Willard Schmidt.

June 19, 1952

Carl Erskine throws a no-hitter against the Cubs in the Dodgers’ 5-0 victory

June 21, 1952

Harrisburg Senators sign a female player, Eleanor Engle, to a pro contract

June 21, 1952

6/21/1952: Steve Souchock of the Tigers lost a two-run homer to the rain. The game against the Athletics was called in the bottom of the fourth.

June 24, 1952

Bobby Shantz’s 11-game win streak comes to an end as the Indians edge the A’s‚ 2-1. Al Rosen’s 2-run homer trumps Allie Clark’s solo shot to Early Wynn the win .

June 27, 1952

Phils manager Eddie Sawyer is fired. Steve O’Neill will replace him the next day.

June 28, 1952

1952 – Stan Musial tops the All-Star balloting for the second year in a row.

June 29, 1952

The Kansas City Blues slam 10 home runs against St. Paul to set an American Association record for most homers by one team and tie the record for most by two teams. St. Paul hits none.

June 29, 1952

The National League suspends manager Leo Durocher for four days for misconduct.

June 30, 1952

Satchel Paige is named to the All-Star team.

July 1, 1952

The Indians’ Larry Doby walks five times in a 19-inning game.

July 3, 1952

In a 14-2 victory over Brunswick, Cordele A’s third baseman Ralph Betcher goes deep for the Philadelphia farm club, accounting for the only home run the team will hit all season. ‘Froggie,’ a moniker given to the infielder because of his deep voice, records the only round-tripper in the 4,679 at-bats that the Class D team will take during the 139-game Georgia-Florida minor league season.

July 5, 1952

The Tigers fire their manager, Red Rolfe, replacing him with the popular pitcher Freddie Hutchinson.

July 6, 1952

Ben Wade homers twice vs Warren Spahn in an 8 – 2 win over the Braves.

July 8, 1952

The National League defeats the American League, 3 – 2, in the 1952 All-Star Game behind the pitching of Philadelphia’s Curt Simmons and Cub Bob Rush in Philadelphia. The game is ended after five innings because of rain. Cub Hank Sauer’s homer with Stan Musial aboard in the 4th proves to be the deciding run.

July 13, 1952

Vic Raschi gives up only one hit as the Yankees rout the Tigers, 11 – 1, in the first game of a doubleheader.

July 13, 1952

Before 26,770 fans, Mike Garcia of the Indians blanks Washington 1 – 0 on two hits in the first game of a doubleheader.

July 14, 1952

Walt Dropo, acquired from the Red Sox in June, collects five singles in the Tigers’ 8-2 victory over New York at Yankee Stadium. The 29 year-old first baseman’s 5-for-5 performance begins a string of a dozen consecutive hits.

July 15, 1952

former major leaguer Johnny Vander Meer pitches a no-hitter for Beaumont of the Texas League

July 15, 1952

Johnny Vander Meer, 38, of the Beaumont Roughnecks in the Texas League pitches a no-hitter. In 1938 he pitched two consecutive major league no-hitters, still a record.

July 15, 1952

The Cleveland Indians’ power hitters dazzle the New York Yankees with a triple steal in the 1st inning

July 15, 1952

Walt Dropo continues his streak in the opening game of a doubleheader, going 4 for 4 against the Washington Senators’ Walt Masterson. In the second game, he gets 3 hits in his first 3 at bats to run his streak to 12 straight hits. He goes 4 for 5 with 5 RBI, but Washington wins both games, 8 – 2 and 9 – 8.

July 15, 1952

Trailing in their final turn at bat by six runs, Eddie Joost’s walk-off grand slam off of Satchel Paige gives the A’s a dramatic 7-6 victory over the Browns at Shibe Park. ‘Old Satch,’ who yielded a game-ending bases full round-tripper to Sammy White two weeks ago at Fenway Park, becomes the first hurler in major league history to give up two walk-off grand slams in the same season.

July 16, 1952

Walt Dropo gets two more hits, giving him 15 in four games, which ties the American League record.

July 18, 1952

The Cardinals, trailing 11-0 after three innings against Sal Maglie, pull off a major comeback, defeating the Giants at the Polo Grounds, 14-12. The rally equals the largest come-from-behind win in National League history.

July 19, 1952

Joe Relford becomes the first black player in the history of the Class-D league.

July 20, 1952

1952 – League Presidents Will Harridge and Warren Giles become directors of the Hall of Fame.

July 21, 1952

Harry Heilmann and Paul Waner welcomed into the Hall of Fame

July 22, 1952

1952 – Detroit’s Virgil Trucks gives up one hit in beating Washington, 1 – 0.

July 28, 1952

The seventh-place Reds fire manager Luke Sewell, who will be replaced by the recently released skipper of the Browns, Rogers Hornsby

July 30, 1952

Journeyman hurler Lou Kretlow fashions his second consecutive two-hitter, as the White Sox down New York, 7 – 0.

August 1, 1952

Boston starter Max Surkont matches goose eggs with the Reds’ Ken Raffenberger during the first eight innings in a scoreless duel at Braves Field. The hard-luck right-hander will lose the game when he uncorks two wild pitches in the ninth inning allowing two unearned runs to score.

August 2, 1952

Sawyer loses homerun crown after lost homerun in rain out

August 3, 1952

8/3/1952 – The Yankees were playing a double header against the Browns in St. Louis. In the top of the second in the first game, Gene Woodling, who was the number seven hitter in the order came up in Gil McDougald’s number six spot. After Woodling took a ball, the Yankees discovered the mistake and McDougald came up without penalty with the count 1-0. He fouled out.

August 4, 1952

Yankees hurler Vic Raschi sets the record for RBI by a pitcher with seven, as the Yanks roll over Detroit, 15 – 0. Raschi singles in two in the 2nd, doubles home three in the 3rd, and singles home the last two in the 8th. His teammates fill his locker with bats after the game.

August 5, 1952

Danny Menendez, the owner of the Toledo Mud Hens, is indicted and charged with cheating three fans out of $1,700 worth of tickets after he failed to keep his promise of keeping the team in Ohio until the end of the season. Menendez moved them to Charleston, WV, midway through the season, where they became the Charleston Senators, and kept the proceeds from 38,000 extra seat sales.

August 6, 1952

Satchel Paige becomes the oldest pitcher in major league history to pitch a complete game or shutout

August 7, 1952

Umpire Bill McGowan is suspended indefinitely by the American League. In a game in St. Louis, McGowan had thrown out Tiger P Billy Hoeft, who had been heckling him from the dugout. When St. Louis writers, who have had a stormy relationship over the years with the veteran McGowan, ask him to identify the player, the umpire refuses, then adds an obscene gesture. The writers’ complaint results in a suspension.

August 8, 1952

1952 – Bob Neighbors, who played seven games for the St. Louis Browns, is killed in action in North Korea. He is the only major leaguer to die in action in the Korean War.

August 11, 1952

At Yankee Stadium‚ the third-place Red Sox‚ trailing first-place New York by 4 games‚ manage just 2 hits off Allie Reynolds‚ as the Chief wins, 7 – 0. For Reynolds‚ it’s his 4th two-hitter of the year. Mickey Mantle’s 1st-inning homer‚ off Sid Hudson‚ is all the scoring New York needs‚ but Mantle adds a double in the 4th and a 2-run homer‚ again lefty‚ in the 5th‚ off Ralph Brickner.

August 12, 1952

Stu Miller of the Cardinals blanks the Cubs, 1 – 0, in 10 innings in his big league debut. For Bob Rush (11-11‚ 2.67 ERA)‚ it is his second 1 – 0 loss in a row; Pittsburgh beat him on August 8th.

August 12, 1952

At Boston‚ with the A’s leading 4 – 3 in the 13th with 2 out‚ Sox George Kell hits a fly ball down the left field line. When LF Gus Zernial attempts to catch the ball‚ a fan knocks it out of his glove. Interference is called and the A’s win.

August 12, 1952

A Texas League game between the Fort Worth Cats and Beaumont Roughnecks is stopped for several minutes by seagulls landing on the field. The seagulls harrass the players before settling in deep centerfield to watch the game.

August 14, 1952

1952 – The St. Louis Browns send Ned Garver to the Tigers for slugger Vic Wertz in a deal involving six other players.

August 15, 1952

Dick Marlowe of the Buffalo Bisons pitches the second perfect game in the history of the International League, against Baltimore.

August 15, 1952

Phil Cavarretta signs his 1953 contract as manager of the Cubs.

August 18, 1952

1952 – The National League suspends Leo Durocher for five days and fines him $100 for a row with an umpire.

August 21, 1952

1952 – The Bradford Phillies and the Batavia Clippers of the Pony League play the first double no-hit game in league history. The Clippers win on a walk, sacrifice, wild pitch, and sacrifice fly. Jim Mitchell loses while Frank Etcherger wins.

August 23, 1952

Bob Elliott of the Giants is tossed from the Cardinal game for protesting a strike two call and his replacement, Bobby Hofman, is also thrown out for arguing the third strike of the same at-bat.

August 24, 1952

8/24/1952 – After losing the first game of a doubleheader, the Philadelphia Athletics started the second game confused. Eddie Joost struck out and Ferris Fain doubled to left. Dave Philley then walked although he was listed in the fifth spot in the order not third. Gus Zernial doubled, bringing White Sox manager Paul Richards out of the dugout. According to the official lineup, Cass Michaels followed Philley. After a 15-minute delay while the umpires read the rule book, Michaels was declared out and Zernial’s double was eliminated. However, the Athletics still won the game, 5-1.

August 25, 1952

Although the game only lasts seven innings, Bill Bell of Bristol (Appalachian League) pitches his third no-hitter of the season.

August 25, 1952

Tiger Virgil Trucks throws the second of his two no-hitters this season

August 27, 1952

The Dodgers set the National League mark for consecutive games with a double play when they complete a twin killing in their twenty-third straight contest, a 10-5 loss to Chicago at Wrigley Field. The fifth inning 1-4-3 DP, pitcher Clyde King to second baseman Jackie Robinson to first baseman Gil Hodges, leaves Brooklyn two shy of the major league record.

August 28, 1952

1952 – The Brooklyn Dodgers set the National League mark for consecutive games with a double play, with 23.

August 30, 1952

Hall of Fame shortstop Arky Vaughan dies at the age of 40 when his fishing boat capsizes

August 31, 1952

1952 – The Montreal Royals clinch the International League pennant behind the stellar pitching of lefty Tommy Lasorda.

September 1, 1952

1952 – In the second game of a doubleheader in St. Louis‚ the Indians lose a critical game‚ 2 – 1‚ in 5 innings when rain halts the game for the second and last time. The Indians are ahead in the 6th‚ but a porous tarp turns the infield into a quagmire‚ washing out their three runs. The Indians protest the game‚ saying Bill Veeck told the grounds crew to work slowly‚ but Will Harridge will reject the protest.

September 2, 1952

Yankee hurlers Tom Gorman and Ewell Blackwell shut out the Red Sox, 5 – 0 and 4 – 0, in a doubleheader.

September 2, 1952

In his major league debut, Washington’s Miguel Fornieles tosses a one-hitter, beating the visiting A’s at Griffith Stadium, 5-0. The Senators’ 20 year-old rookie right-hander, who will be traded to the White Sox in the offseason for Chuck Stobbs, finishes the season with a 2-2 record, posting an ERA of 1.37 in four games.

September 3, 1952

Dick Littlefield of the Browns 2-hits the White Sox, but loses, 1 – 0.

September 3, 1952

Harry Byrd of the Philadelphia Athletics one-hits the Yankees, 3 – 0.

September 5, 1952

1952 – Raul Sanchez of the Senators pitches a 2 – 0 whitewash against the Red Sox in the first start of his career.

September 6, 1952

Sid Gordon of the Braves goes 5 for 8 in the first game of a doubleheader that goes 17 innings‚ as Boston loses, 7 – 6, at Philadelphia. Phils starter Robin Roberts trails 6 – 2 after 8 innings but stays the distance, pitching 17 innings for the win. Del Ennis ends the game with a leadoff homer in the 17th. This is the third 17-inning effort in 2 years.

September 6, 1952

For the third win in a row‚ Luke Easter homers as the Indians win‚ 8 – 3, over the Browns. Big Luke clouts two to back Bob Lemon’s 19th win‚ and Larry Doby hits his 30th.

September 6, 1952

The Giants sweep a pair from Brooklyn‚ winning 6 – 4 and 7 – 3‚ to cut the Brooks’ lead to 4 games. The first game goes 3 hours and 38 minutes as the Dodgers fumble the win away. Jim Hearn holds Da Bums to 4 hits in the nitecap.

September 6, 1952

The National League’s longest game of the season ends when Del Ennis hits a walk-off home run in the 17th inning, giving the Phillies a 7-6 victory over the Braves in the first game of a twin bill at Shibe Park. Philadelphia starter Robin Roberts goes the distance, giving up 18 hits in the three-hour and fifty-minute contest.

September 7, 1952

OF Don Grate of Chattanooga sets a record for a long toss of a baseball in Chattanooga’s Engel Stadium, with a throw of just one inch better than 434 feet, breaking a 42-year-old mark set by Larry LeJeune on October 3, 1908. Grate will improve his own record to 443 feet 31 1/2 inches on August 23, 1953.

September 7, 1952

Johnny Mize pinch-hits a grand slam, giving the Yankees a 5-1 victory over the Senators

September 8, 1952

1952 – An umpire ejects Giants P Larry Jansen for throwing a beanball. Giants manager Leo Durocher is also suspended and fined $100. Jansen is fined just $25 because of his “excellent conduct record.” Brooklyn splits the doubleheader, winning the opener, 10 – 2, and losing the nightcap, 3 – 2. The Dodger lead stays at 5 games.

September 9, 1952

1952 – The Cardinals’ Stan Musial gets his 2,000th hit, off Curt Simmons, as the Cardinals lose 4 – 2.

September 12, 1952

Pirates become the first team to use protective headgear, a precursor to the batting helmet

September 13, 1952

OF Frank Carswell of the Buffalo Bisons wins the International League batting title with a .344 average. He also leads the league in home runs with 30 and has 101 RBI.

September 13, 1952

Warren Spahn strikes out 6 Pirates in a row en route to an 8 – 0 win in Boston.

September 14, 1952

Cardinals score 11 times in 5th off Dave Koslo ending a 13 game streak he had against the red birds

September 14, 1952

9/14/1952(2): Minnie Minoso of the White Sox hit a two-run homer off Dick Brodowski of the Red Sox in the second game of two in Chicago but lost it when the contest was halted in the 4th inning due to darkness and a 7PM Sunday curfew on the use of lights. The first game had gone 17 innings. The Sox were ahead of the Red Sox, 3-0. The game was replayed the next day and won by the White Sox 4-2.

September 15, 1952

The Braves play their last game in Boston’s Braves Field before moving to Milwaukee, WI, losing to Brooklyn’s Joe Black 8 – 2. The Dodgers clinch a tie for the pennant. The crowd of 8,822 is the Braves’ second largest of the season.

September 15, 1952

In a Cold War move, the Russians decry the American game of baseball by citing their own game of “lapka” as being the progenitor of baseball. They call American players “slaves.” The State Department links the Soviet claim as the founders of baseball as part of its “Hate America” campaign.

September 15, 1952

The Pirates become the first team to wear helmets in which the temples are protected. The headgear is worn both at the plate and in the field.

September 16, 1952

Pacific Coast League’s Sacramento manager, former major league All-Star second baseman Joe Gordon, pinch hits homers in both ends of a doubleheader. The first one, a grand slam, wins the game, 4-1.

September 21, 1952

the Braves play their final home game in Boston

September 21, 1952

Ted Williams out at home

September 25, 1952

Hal Newhouser of the Tigers wins his 200th game. It is his last win for Detroit, who will release him in early 1953.

September 26, 1952

1952 – The Yanks clinch their 4th straight pennant, an 11-inning, 5 – 2 win at Philadelphia behind Ed Lopat and Johnny Sain.

September 27, 1952

Ralph Kiner of the Pittsburgh Pirates becomes the first player to lead the National League in home runs for seven consecutive seasons

September 27, 1952

Braves rookie Eddie Mathews hits 3 home runs as Boston breaks a 10-game losing streak

September 28, 1952

The Braves end 77 years of representing Bostonin a 5-5 tie with the Dodgers.

September 28, 1952

Former pitching prospect Stan Musial throws his only pitch in his 22 year career

September 29, 1952

1952 – Stan Musial makes his major league pitching debut. Harvey Haddix moves to right field, Hal Rice shifts to center, and Musial pitches to Frank Baumholtz. After Baumholtz grounds out to third, everyone returns to their positions.

October 1, 1952

Joe Black becomes the first African-American pitcher to win a World Series game

October 2, 1952

Carl Erskine strikes out 14 Yankees in Game 3 to establish a new World Series mark

October 5, 1952

Brooklyn wins 6 – 5 in 11 innings over Yankees

October 7, 1952

New York Yankees win their fourth consecutive World Championship

October 14, 1952

The Reds obtain outfielder Gus Bell from the Pirates in exchange for Cal Abrams, Gail Henley, and Joe Rossi. The newest Cincinnati flychaser, considered one of general manager Gabe Paul’s best acquisitions for the team, will become a fan favorite and will hit .288 during his nine-year tenure in the Queen City.

October 23, 1952

The Pacific Coast League announces its teams will play a reduced 176-game schedule next season. The PCL clubs, however, will continue to play 180 contests next season as they have for the past two years.

October 24, 1952

Omar Moreno is born in Puerto Armuelles, Panama.

November 12, 1952

Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Bobby Shantz the American League Most Valuable Player

November 19, 1952

1952 – American League President Will Harridge says there will be greater fines for managers who use abusive language while arguing with umpires.

November 20, 1952

Chicago Cubs slugger Hank Sauer is named National League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The Cubs finished in fifth place despite Sauer’s 37 home runs and 121 RBI.

November 20, 1952

Commissioner Ford Frick states his belief that the Pacific Coast League will eventually reach major league status. The PCL is the only minor league in history to be given the “Open” classification, considered a step above the AAA level, that limited the rights of big league clubs to draft players from its teams, and is perceived as a precursor to the circuit becoming a third major league.

November 21, 1952

Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Joe Black is voted National League Rookie of the Year

November 22, 1952

Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Harry Byrd is selected American League Rookie

November 25, 1952

1952 – The St. Louis Cardinals seek payment from the New York Giants for two televised games in an effort to determine the TV and radio rights of visiting teams for revenue.

November 28, 1952

1952 – International League President Frank Shaughnessy reveals plans to form two new major leagues by merging the top teams in the American Association and the top teams from the IL. Shaughnessy thinks that in five to six years, major league baseball will elevate these two leagues, along with the Pacific Coast League, which nearly has major league status now.

November 30, 1952

Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson charges that the New York Yankees management is racist

December 2, 1952

The Pittsburgh Pirates draft relief pitcher Elroy Face from the Montreal Royals, the top minor league affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers. During a 15-year career with the Pirates, Face will lead the National League in saves three times. In 1959, he will win an incredible 18 of 19 decisions in relief.

December 2, 1952

Brooklyn Dodgers executive Buzzie Bavasi dismisses the New York Yankees reaction to Jackie Robinson’s charges

December 4, 1952

Virgil (No-Hit) Trucks Traded To Brownies In Big Six-Player Swap

December 5, 1952

1952 – Major league attendance figures released today show an 11 percent drop.

December 6, 1952

The American League approves a 2-league waiver rule curbing inter-league trading after June 15th.

December 6, 1952

At the Winter Meetings a new bonus rule is approved‚ replacing the one that was instituted in 1946 and repealed in 1950. This new rule sets the bonus limit at $4‚000 or the player could be lost though the draft. This second bonus rule lasts until abolished in 1957.

December 11, 1952

The Pirates name Fred Haney to be the team’s manager, replacing Billy Meyer who was selected as The Sporting News Major League Manager of the Year in 1948 following his first season at the helm. The Bucs will finish in last place each season, compiling a dismal 163-299 (.353) record during their new skipper’s three-year tenure in Pittsburgh.

December 12, 1952

Peter J. McGovern becomes president of the Little League

December 18, 1952

the Cleveland Indians shake things up  

December 21, 1952

1952 – Joaquin Andujar is born in San Pedro de Macoris, DR. The self-proclaimed “One Tough Dominican” has a colorful career which included switch-hitting regardless whether the pitcher threw lefthanded or righthanded and wearing glasses while at the plate but not while on the mound. 

December 28, 1952

Ray Knight is born in Albany, GA

September 20, 1953

Capt. Leslie Banyard presents a sports car to New York Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto