Boston Red Sox manager Pinky Higgins accepts the first Red Sox schedule ever printed in braille from the National Braille Press.
“Clemente’s Brilliant Catch in 9th Kills Rally by Braves.” So reads the New York Times headline but that’s not the whole story. Clemente’s game-ending circus catch not only secures Pittsburgh’s 5 – 4 victory, it also bails out the main protagonist after his errant throw put the tying and go-ahead runs on 2nd and 3rd base. And who should walk to the plate at this moment but George Crowe, Clemente’s teammate and fellow Caribbean Champion with the Santurce Crabbers just three months earlier. As the Milwaukee Journal tells it: “Crowe, who had replaced the slump-ridden Joe Adcock at first base, pasted the ball against the remote grandstand not far from the right field foul line, only to have young Roberto Clemente race over and time his leap perfectly as he scraped the ball off the wall with his gloved hand.”
In a contest delayed 12 minutes by snow, the Braves, thanks to Warren Spahn’s six-hitter, move out of last place when the team beats the Pirates and former teammate Max Surkont, 6-1. The temperature in Milwaukee is reported to have dropped 37 during the game.
On May 4, 1954, the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals set a major league record by using a whopping 42 players in an 11-inning marathon. The Phillies win the game, 14-10. A few notables only 8,000 fans showed up to see todays game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Phillies starter was a…
On May 4, 1946, Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators collects six straight hits before having his streak ended by Steve Gromek of the Cleveland Indians. Travis’ performance marks one of the few highlights of his career after World War II, where he suffered frozen feet.
For the first time in the city’s history, blacks are allowed to buy grandstand seats in St. Louis. The Browns and Cardinals are the last major league teams to integrate seating for fans, having restricted the minority to the bleachers in previous years.
On May 4, 1943, Commissioner Ford C. Frick demonstrates that the revised balata ball is livelier than the previous year’s ball by bouncing it on a carpet in his office. The major leagues had turned to the balata ball because of wartime restrictions on the supplies used to make standard baseballs.
In his first-ever at-bat in the city of Detroit, Boston Red Sox rookie Ted Williams becomes the first player to hit a home run which totally clears the right field seats at Briggs Stadium.
MAy 4, 1937, at Cleveland League Park, the Washington Senators, and Cleveland Indians, were tied 5-5 in the 11th inning. Carl Fisher, came in to pitch the top of the 11th, it was his first appearance for the Tribe in 1937 after missing all of the 1936 season, Fisher walks Ben Chapman and Buddy Lewis…
In an effort to put less strain on his leg, Babe Ruth plays first base as Lou Gehrig moves to right field. Gehrig commits a costly error in the outfield helping the Washington Senators beat the Yankees, 7 – 3.
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