April 17, 1964 Boston Red Sox rookie Tony Conigliaro hits his first Major League home run in his first at-bat at Fenway Park, off Joe Horlen, 2nd inning. The two-out blast totally clears the Green Monster. the 19-year-old was born in Revere MA just a few miles away from Fenway Park. He will become the…
The New York Mets lose their first game at Shea Stadium to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4 – 3. Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell hits the first home run ever at Shea.
1963 – Backup catcher Jim Campbell homers in the 13th for a 2-1 triumph over the Giants. The Colts’ other run comes when Howie Goss, Carroll Hardy and Bob Aspromonte successfully execute a triple steal.
4/17/1963: Al Luplow had a homer rained out against the Senators in Cleveland. The hit came off Tom Cheney with one out and no one on in the first inning.
1962 – Don Buddin’s three-run blast in the 11th inning gives Houston their first road win in franchise history, a 5-2 victory over the Mets at the Polo Grounds. Norm Larker hit a two-run shot to account for the earlier runs.
On April 17, 1960, the Cleveland Indians trade American League home run king, Rocky Colavito, to the Detroit Tigers for the league’s defending batting champion, Harvey Kuenn. The trade is especially unpopular with Indians fans, who regard Colavito as one of their favorite players.
After his 8th-inning, game-tying solo shot off the Braves’ Bob Rush, Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente has compatriot Juan Pizarro right where he wants him – namely, ahead, 0-2, in the top of the 10th and thus poised to once again give up a game-winning home run to his fellow Puerto Rican. The two collaborated on a Clemente game-winner back on May 16, 1957and again last year on August 4th. But before the pair from Puerto Rico can try for a trilogy, the skies absolutely open, bringing this tense confrontation to an abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion, no resolution possible as the game will ultimately have to be replayed in its entirety.
On April 17, 1956, Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees hits a pair of tape measure home runs against Camilo Pascual at Griffith Stadium. Both long balls are estimated at over 500 feet. The Yankees and Washington Senators combine for six home runs in a 10-4 Opening Day victory for the Bombers. @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@
On April 17, 1956, three future Hall of Famers make their major league debuts. Luis Aparicio of the Chicago White Sox, Don Drysdale of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Frank Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds play the first games of their brilliant careers. The 19 year old Drysdale pitches 1 inning of scoreless relief vs Philadelphia….
On April 17, 1955, At Forbes Field, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 20-year-old rookie Roberto Clemente makes his major league debut, playing both ends of a doubleheader, ironically but perhaps fittingly, against the Brooklyn Dodgers, the team that first signed him but left him unprotected in the 1954 Rule V draft. In his first at-bat, the future Hall of Famer rifles one back through the originator, Johnny Podres, and…
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