Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hits in the second game of a doubleheader sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Braves winning, 3 – 2 and 4 – 1. This is the start of a 25-game hitting streak for Aaron, the longest of the season.
Boston Red Sox lefty Mel Parnell pitches a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park, winning 4 – 0. It is only Parnell’s third win against two losses and is the sixth straight loss for second-place Chicago. The no-hitter is the first for the Red Sox since 1923. Parnell will go 4-4 before a torn muscle in his pitching arm ends his career as the Red Sox’s winningest southpaw.
At Wrigley Field, Ernie Banks plays in his 394th consecutive contest to tie Al Simmons’ mark for straight games played after breaking in as a rookie. Mr. Cub’s single drives in the decisive run in the Cubs’ 7-6 victory over Pittsburgh.
The White Sox purchase Cardinal relief pitcher Ellis Kinder.
In the 1956 All-Star Game, Ken Boyer of the Cardinals makes three sparkling plays at 3B and gets 3 hits as the National League defeats the American League, 7 – 3. Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and Stan Musial all homer. Mays’s pinch-hit two-run home run off Whitey Ford is his 7th straight hit against the Yankee lefty.
The BBWAA, by a narrow margin of 14-12, votes to establish the Cy Young Award to honor the major leagues’ most outstanding pitcher. Commissioner Ford Frick initiated the idea because he felt hurlers were not recognized in the MVP voting, but ironically the first recipient of the Cy Young Award, Dodger Don Newcombe, will also win the Most Valuable Player Award.
The Giants connect for a team-record seven home runs in a 11 – 1 home win over the Pirates. Willie Mays, Daryl Spencer and Wes Westrum each connect for 2. Hank Thompson, Westrum, and Spencer hit consecutive homers in the 4th inning.
Boston’s Ted Williams becomes the 12th player to drive in 1,500 runs when he hits a single in the second game of a doubleheader against the Orioles. The Red Sox sweep, winning 9 – 0 and 8 – 4.
Jim Busby hits his second grand slam in consecutive days to beat the A’s, 4-2. Yesterday, in a 13-7 loss to Detroit, the Indians’ outfielder hit his bases-loaded home run off winner Frank Lary in the first inning.
Ford Frick inaugurates the Cy Young Award, to honor the outstanding pitcher each year. The BBWAA will do the voting. Only one pitcher will be honored each year until 1967, when a pitcher will be selected in each league.
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