In a rain-shortened 4-0 victory over the Tigers, Silent John Whitehead of the St. Louis Browns pitches a six-inning no-hitter. The victory will be the quiet Texan’s only victory this season.
In Boston, the two teams dedicate the game in memory of Willard Hershberger, then Frank McCormick drives in six runs to lead the Reds to a 12 – 9 win over the Bees after Bucky Walters loses the opener, his third straight defeat.
Jimmie Foxx, who started as a catcher in 1925, is behind the plate for the Red Sox to catch a 7 – 3 win for long-time teammate Lefty Grove. Foxx cracks his 24th home run to start the Sox on an 8-game skein in which they will hit 20 homers.
During a road trip in Boston, Reds backup catcher Willard Hershberger is found dead in his room after taking his own life at the Copley Plaza Hotel. Having talked with his fragile player for hours after the game, Cincinnati skipper Bill McKechnie thought he had consoled the worn out backstop, who was distraught about leaving runners on base in every at bat with his 0-for-5 performance at the plate.
In Detroit, the Red Sox pound 14 hits in beating the Tigers, 12 – 9. Shortstop Joe Cronin is 4 for 5 and hits for the cycle, the 5th in Sox history. Cronin cycled in 1929, not the first player to cycle twice, but the first to do it a decade apart. His 8th-inning homer, off Archie McKain, follows a Doc Cramer triple and ices it for the Sox. Boston also gets homers from Dom DiMaggio and catcher Jimmie Foxx, his 23rd. Ted Williams, pinch-hitting in the 4th, draws a walk. Jack Wilson beats Tom Seats, with both pitching in relief.
1940 – Veteran Lou Finney hits so well for the Red Sox early in the season that manager Joe Cronin must make a place for him in the lineup. With rookie Dom DiMaggio joining Ted Williams and Doc Cramer in the OF, Cronin puts Finney at 1B when Jimmie Foxx volunteers to catch. The experiment lasts but a few games.
1940 – King Kong Keller clouts three home runs for the New York Yankees in a 10 – 9 win over Chicago in the first game of a doubleheader split.
New York P Spud Chandler beats the White Sox with his bat, knocking in six runs with a single and two home runs, one a grand slam off Pete Appleton. The six RBI ties the American League record held by Appleton, George Uhle and Wes Ferrell.
1940 – Buddy Rosar of the Yanks hits for the cycle; Joe Cronin will do it August 2nd, and Joe Gordon on September 8th.
Freddie Fitzsimmons of the Brooklyn Dodgers wins his 200th career game, a 4-hitter over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fat Freddy will win six games each from the Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies on the way to a 16-2 won-loss mark.
Enjoy our free trial and start listening to games, interviews and shows! Ruth, Mantle, Aaron, and Seaver!