1948 – Stan Spence, Vern Stephens and Bobby Doerr hit consecutive home runs as the Boston Red Sox set a team record on Opening Day, but the long ball isn’t enough as the Philadelphia Athletics beat Boston in 11 innings, 5 – 4.
The super station WGN-TV televises a major league baseball game for the first time. With Jack Brickhouse doing the play-by-play, the White Sox beat the Cubs, 4 – 1, in the first game of the Windy City Classic played at Wrigley Field.
The Phillies trade infielder Ralph LaPointe and give the Cardinals $30,000 to obtain first baseman Dick Sisler. The son of Hall of Famer George Sisler will hit .287 during his four-year tenure in Philadelphia, playing a pivotal role in the team’s 1950 National League championship.
Before an exhibition game in Orlando, A’s manager Connie Mack, who is 84 years old, challenges Clark Griffith, the 78 year-old owner of the Senators, to a foot race from third base to home plate. The participants enter the Florida field in an ambulance before starting their contest, which ends in a photo-finish tie.
April 1, 1948 – Roy Campanella and Carl Furillo during a Montreal Royals and Brooklyn Dodgers exhibition game in Cuidad Trujillo, Dominican Republic – 1948. @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@ Other Resources & Links [et_pb_signup provider=”getresponse” getresponse_list=”Thomas Hannon|zs45L” success_action=”redirect” success_redirect_url=”https://thisdayinbaseball.com/join-the-community/” success_redirect_query=”on|off|off|off|off” title=”Baseball history from Doubleday to Present Day” button_text=”Join us!” description=” This Day In Baseball gives…
At Ebbets Field No. 2, the Dodgers play their first exhibition game at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, which will remain the team’s home for 61 years. Amidst much fanfare, including Governor Millard Caldwell throwing the ceremonial first pitch, Jackie Robinson homers in the first inning as Brooklyn beats its top farm club, the Montreal Royals, 5-4.
On March 30, 1948, Murry Dickson of the St. Louis Cardinals achieves a rarity: a spring training no-hitter. Dickson shackles the New York Yankees, becoming the first pitcher to throw a nine-inning no-hitter in spring training. Prior to Dickson, two no-hitters had taken place in the spring, but both were shared by more than one…
1948 – Former slugger Hank Greenberg, who tormented the Cleveland Indians for most of his career as a member of the Detroit Tigers, is hired as the Indians’ farm club director by Bill Veeck.
Connie Mack and Happy Chandler at Spring Training in West Palm Beach, Florida – 1948.
Shortly before his death in 1948, Babe Ruth, in an interview with The Saturday Evening Post, picked an all-time all-star team, minus the right fielder—though he offered some suggestions. “I just don’t want to pick myself,” he said. His most surprising omission, however, was that of Lou Gehrig. You’re probably thinking: “Maybe he went with…
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