P Russ Meyer hurls a 1 – 0 shutout over the Cubs, the fourth shutout in a row for the Phillies staff. Robin Roberts, Ken Johnson and Bubba Church pitched the earlier whitewashings.

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P Russ Meyer hurls a 1 – 0 shutout over the Cubs, the fourth shutout in a row for the Phillies staff. Robin Roberts, Ken Johnson and Bubba Church pitched the earlier whitewashings.

Clyde Vollmer and Mickey McDermott

Clyde Vollmer hits a walkoff grandslam in 16th off Bob Feller

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Clyde Vollmer, who started the month on the bench, continues his explosive fireworks against the Indians. He singles in the tying run in the 15th and then in the 16th hits a grand slam off reliever Bob Feller for an 8 – 4 Red Sox win. The grand slam is the latest to be hit in a game in major league history. Mickey McDermott pitches all 16 innings for the Sox, striking out 15 and walking one.

The White Sox, just 3 1/2 games behind New York and Boston, open a four-game series in New York. Trailing 3 – 1 in the 9th, the Sox make it 3 – 2 before rain and the Yankees delay the game. Gil McDougald is thrown out for stalling, and Casey Stengel uses five pitchers in the inning. Finally, the Yanks win as the game is called after 30 minutes.

The White Sox, just 3 1/2 games behind New York and Boston, open a four-game series in New York. Trailing 3 – 1 in the 9th, the Sox make it 3 – 2 before rain and the Yankees delay the game. Gil McDougald is thrown out for stalling, and Casey Stengel uses five pitchers in the inning. Finally, the Yanks win as the game is called after 30 minutes.

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The White Sox, just 3 1/2 games behind New York and Boston, open a four-game series in New York. Trailing 3 – 1 in the 9th, the Sox make it 3 – 2 before rain and the Yankees delay the game. Gil McDougald is thrown out for stalling, and Casey Stengel uses five pitchers in the inning. Finally, the Yanks win as the game is called after 30 minutes.

After two shutouts over the Cards, Bubba Church gives the Phils staff its third in a row, stopping Chicago, 2 – 0. It is Church’s eighth straight win over the Cubs and Chicago’s ninth straight loss at Wrigley Field.

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After two shutouts over the Cards, Bubba Church gives the Phils staff its third in a row, stopping Chicago, 2 – 0. It is Church’s eighth straight win over the Cubs and Chicago’s ninth straight loss at Wrigley Field.

In a 9-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Jim Russell becomes the first player in major league history to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in a game in two different games. The Dodger outfielder’s accomplishment will be surpassed in 1956, when Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle goes deep both right and left-handed in the same game for a third time.

ByTom

In a 9-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Jim Russell becomes the first player in major league history to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in a game in two different games. The Dodger outfielder’s accomplishment will be surpassed in 1956, when Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle goes deep both right and left-handed in the same game for a third time.

Willie Mays

Willie Mays Bare handed grab

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1951 – Ouch!! Willie Mays’s oft-recalled bare-handed grab of left-handed Rocky Nelson’s screaming opposite field line drive takes place in Forbes Field in the 1st inning of a 5 – 4 Giant loss to Pittsburgh. Mays runs to the left-center corner of the bullpen (also known as Greenberg Gardens, or Kiner’s Corner), about 410 feet from the plate. At the last minute, the wind gets a hold of Nelson’s slicing shot and starts pushing it back towards right. Mays looks up and locates the ball but too late to adjust. As he will recall on June 3, 1957, after robbing Roberto Clemente on a shot to almost the same spot, “I couldn’t get my glove around. So I just stuck my bare hand up and the ball stuck.”

Willie Mays

Willie Mays makes barehanded grab at Forbes Field

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“That was the finest catch I have ever seen, and the finest I ever expect to see” – Pirates GM Branch Rickey, commenting on a catch made by Willie Mays at Forbes Field. At cavernous Forbes Field, Giants’ outfielder Willie Mays, unable to reach across his body to make a catch with his glove of Rocky Nelson’s sinking 457-foot blast to deep center, sticks out his bare right hand and grabs the ball on a full gallop to make the incredible final out of the inning. Venerable Branch Rickey, Pittsburgh’s general manager, sends a note to the New York dugout during the game to tell the 20 year-old rookie, “That was the finest catch I have ever seen, and the finest I ever expect to see.”