1949 – The Reds beat the Giants, 6 – 3, in New York. All the Giants’ scoring is in the 6th inning when Whitey Lockman‚ Sid Gordon‚ and Willard Marshall pole consecutive home runs.
1948 – At Philadelphia‚ the A’s edge the White Sox‚ 4 – 3‚ as Lou Brissie picks up the win. The Sox score 3 runs in the 3rd on a bases-loaded single by newly-acquired Pat Seerey. Tony Lupien‚ running on a 3-2 count‚ scores all the way from first base.
The Giants send 3B Babe Young to the Reds for pitcher Joe Beggs.
In the 5th inning at Ebbets Field‚ Dodgers OF Pete Reiser crashes into the fence and is knocked unconscious. He still manages to hold onto the long fly by Culley Rikard to help the Dodgers win over Pittsburgh, 9 – 4. In the clubhouse, a priest administers the last rites of the Catholic Church to Reiser‚ who will be hospitalized for 10 days.
1944 – In Hawaii‚ Joe DiMaggio hits a 435-foot home run‚ but the 7th Army Force team loses 6 – 2 to a Navy team‚ as former major league P Bob Harris throw a four-hitter for the Navy.
At Forbes Field‚ the Pirates hold an 8 – 7 lead when Vince DiMaggio singles off Giants P Bill Sayles in the bottom of the 8th. With Pete Coscarart at bat‚ the first pitch skips by C Ernie Lombardi‚ who lumbers after the ball as DiMaggio heads for second base. When Vince sees that Lombardi has yet to reach the ball he continues on to third base‚ while Sayles shakes his head at how slow his backstop is. With home plate unguarded‚ DiMaggio continues running and scores – from first – on a passed ball. The Bucs win, 9 – 8.
Mort Cooper of the St. Louis Cardinals tosses the second of back-to-back one-hitters‚ beating the Philadelphia Phillies‚ 5 – 0. Hits by Brooklyn’s Billy Herman on May 31 and by the Phils’ Jimmy Wasdell today deprive him of no-hitters. Cooper has 6 wins and 3 shutouts on the way to his second 20-win year.
1942 – Muskogee (Western Association) OF Allen McElreath is declared permanently ineligible by minor league head George Trautman for attempting to induce a teammate to throw a game.
On June 4, 1941, numerous baseball dignitaries attend the funeral of Lou Gehrig in the Bronx. Former New York Yankee great Babe Ruth, Yankee manager Joe McCarthy, and American League president Will Harridge pay their respects to Gehrig, who died on June 2.
On June 4, 1940, the Braves sign Warren Spahn, this South Park High School (Buffalo, NY) standout and he’ll make his major league debut in 1942 when he appears in two games as a 20 year-old for Boston before serving three years in the Army during World War II. He’ll become a Bronze Star and…
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