Behind Jack Bentley’s 4-hitter the Giants clinch their 4th straight pennant, beating the Phils, 5 – 1, while Brooklyn is losing, 3 – 2, to Boston.
Down 4 – 0 in the 1st, the Senators rally to top the Red Sox, 7 – 5, as the Fenway Park crowd of 20,000 cheers the Washington win. Rookie pinch hitter Wade Lefler, who had one at-bat with the Braves previously, drives in three runs with a bases-loaded double to win it. Lefler drove in Washington’s only run in Friday’s loss, but his five games with Washington (5 for 9 with three doubles) and one with Boston will sum up his major league career. In Philadelphia, the A’s beat the Yankees, 4 – 3, to give the Senators a 2-game lead with two to play.
Rookie Pedro Dibut (3-0) hurls the Reds to a 10 – 1 win over the Cardinals. Except for a brief relief appearance next year, that’s it in the majors for the chunky Cuban, who played in the Negro Leagues for the Cuban Giants (West) before the Reds. He sets an oft-tied National League record for most wins without a loss in a career, a mark that will be eclipsed by Ben Shields (4-0 in two leagues).
1924 – With the Yankees beating the A’s, Boston tightens the race by edging the Senators, 2 – 1. September call-up Wade Lefler drives in Nemo Leibold in the 8th with a pinch double for the Nats’ only run. Washington now leads by a game. For the Senators, the loss stops Walter Johnson’s 13-game win streak and Sam Rice’s 31-game hitting streak.
Carl Mays wins his 20th for the Reds, 9 – 6, over the hosts Phils, becoming the first pitcher to win 20 for three different teams in his career. Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander’s 21 wins for the Cards in 1927 will make him the second; Gaylord Perry will be third in 1978.
Brooklyn’s Burleigh Grimes dusts six batters in the first two innings and bests the Cubs, 6 – 5. Reliever Rip Wheeler takes the loss. 30,000 Brooklyn fans celebrate the team’s showing at the 160th Street Regiment Armory where each player receives a gold watch. Manager Wilbert Robinson predicts that the Robins will overtake the Giants in the next few days.
9/23/1924 – In the bottom of the second, the Phillies had a runner on second and one out when Walter Holke, the number eight hitter, hit out of order in the number seven spot insted of the proper batter, Lew Wendell. Holke doubled driving in a run, so the Cardinals protested. Wendell was called out, and Holke hit again grounding out to end the inning without a run scoring. The Cardinals won the game 8-7 in ten innings.
VINTAGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA Vintage Baseball Memorabilia September 22, 1924 At Navin Field, Charlie Gehringer makes his debut as a defensive replacement in a Tigers 9-1 win over the Red Sox. He fields two balls cleanly and turns a double play. Gehringer’s first manager was Ty Cobb, who treated the youngster as if he didn’t exist….
On September 20, 1924, Future Hall of Famer 37 year-old righty Grover Cleveland Alexander goes the distance to earn his 300th victory when the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Giants in 12 innings, 7-3. To become the fourth pitcher of the modern era to reach the milestone. ‘Old Pete’ will collect 373 victories during his…
1924 – The Senators coast to a 15 – 9 win in St. Louis to stay even with the Yankees.