After a 51-year absence, big league ball returns to Baltimore as a crowd of 46,354 watch the Orioles beat the White Sox, 3 – 1, in the first game played at Memorial Stadium. Clint Courtney of the Orioles hits the first major league home run in the ballpark. A Baltimore ownership group, which includes Clarence Mills, Jim Keelty, Jerry Hoffberger and Zanvyl Krieger, bought the former St. Louis Browns and brought the franchise to the Charm City.
1954 – The Baltimore Orioles purchase first baseman Eddie Waitkus from the Philadelphia Phillies.
Jackie Robinson hits an upper-deck home run in the 14th inning off Robin Roberts, who came on in the 8th, to give the Dodgers a critical 9 – 8 win over the Phils. Robbie saves the game in the 13th by making a great catch of an Eddie Waitkus line drive and throwing to second base for a double play. In the process, he injures his elbow. Reliever Bud Podbielan is the winner, the victory keeping Brooklyn in a first-place tie with the Giants. Catcher Andy Seminick of the Phils walks five times, the first Phillie to do so in a game. The Dodgers overcome a 6 – 1 deficit to win and set the stage for a playoff with the Giants.
Seventeen months after nearly being mortally wounded by an obsessed fan’s rifle shot to the chest, Eddie Waitkus is named the Comeback Player of the Year by the Associated Press. The Phillies’ infielder hit .284 this season and continued to be one of the best fielding first basemen in the league.
1949 – Eddie Waitkus of the Philadelphia Phillies is shot by 19-year-old Ruth Steinhagen at Chicago’s Edgewater Beach Hotel. She will later be placed in a mental hospital. Waitkus battles for his life but will come back to play the following season.
On June 14, 1949, Eddie Waitkus of the Philadelphia Phillies is shot with a .22-caliber rifle by an obsessed 19-year-old fan named Ruth Ann Steinhagen. Waitkus suffers a collapsed right lung after being shot near his spine but will survive the bizarre attack on his life.
1947 – At Wrigley Field‚ Bill Nicholson breaks up a pitching duel between Johnny Schmitz and Ewell Blackwell with an 11th-inning solo homer. The Cubs whip the Reds‚ 2 – 1. Nicholson also scores the Cubs’ first run‚ an unearned tally. Chicago helps Schmitz out with a 7th-inning triple play when Lennie Merullo snags a liner‚ steps on second base‚ and fires to Eddie Waitkus.
On June 23, 1946, Eddie Waitkus and Marv Rickert of the Chicago Cubs hit consecutive inside-the-park home runs in the fourth inning against the New York Giants. The dual inside-the-parkers, which occur at the spacious Polo Grounds, don’t prevent the Cubs from losing the game, 15-10. @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IGp1c3QgY2xpY2sgdGhlIHRhZ3MhICAiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsImxpbmtfdG9fdGVybV9wYWdlIjoib24iLCJzZXBhcmF0b3IiOiIgfCAiLCJjYXRlZ29yeV90eXBlIjoicG9zdF90YWcifX0=@
Eddie Waitkus Essentials Positions: Outfield Bats: L Throws: L Height: 72 Weight: 170 Born: Thursday, September 04, 1919 in Cambridge, MA USA Died: 9 16 1972 in Jamaica Plain, MA USA Debut: 4/15/1941 Last Game: 9/20/1955 Full Name: Edward Stephen Waitkus Notable Events and Chronology for his Career Biography Waitkus was a top defensive…