1917 – George Mogridge of the New York Yankees pitches a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox, 2 – 1, at Fenway Park. Mogridge strikes out three batters and walks three as he becomes the first Yankee pitcher to actually win a no-hit game.
On April 22, 1915, the New York Yankees wear their famed pinstripes for the first time. Although they are not the first club to use the vertical stripes, the Yankees become so associated with them that writers will commonly refer to the team as the “Pinstripers.”
1913 – In a game which features U.S. President Woodrow Wilson throwing out the first pitch, the New York Highlanders become the New York Yankees. Playing their first game under their new nickname, the Yankees lose to the Washington Senators, 2 – 1, as future Hall of Famer Walter Johnson picks up the win for Washington. After giving up an unearned run in the 1st inning, Johnson begins a string of shutout innings that will reach a major league record 56 before the St. Louis Browns score in the 4th inning on May 14th.
1913 – The New York Giants give the Yankees permission to use the Polo Grounds for this season only, as the lease on the Hilltop grounds has expired. The team will no longer be known as the “Highlanders” as a result of the move and will remain as a tenant through 1922.
On January 8, 1913, the New York Highlanders sign Frank Chance to a three-year contract to be their next manager. Chance, nicknamed “The Peerless Leader,” previously won two World Series and four pennants as the manager of the Chicago Cubs. Chance inherits Hal Chase and one of the weakest offenses the New York Yankees…
In a rainy doubleheader at the Polo Grounds, Red Sox ace Joe Wood tops the Highlanders in the nitecap, 1 – 0, for his 30th win and his 13th straight victory. It is Wood’s 8th shutout and second in a row. Boston takes the opening squeaker, 2 – 1 to finish the year in New York with 10 wins in 10 tries. With three wins last year, and five wins in their first five road games with New York in 1913, Boston ties the major league record for most consecutive wins on the road against one team (18).
1912 – Little-known Guy Zinn, New York outfielder, steals home twice in a 5 – 4 win at Detroit; this will add to last-place New York’s major-league record of 18 steals of home for the year.
Shoeless Joe Jackson completes the stolen base cycle when he swipes home in the seventh inning of the Indians’ 8-3 victory over New York at Cleveland’s League Park. The 25 year-old outfielder had made his way around the bases by stealing second and third base before his thievery of the plate to complete the deed.
At Fenway Park, the Red Sox sweep two from the Highlanders, winning 13 – 6 and 6 – 0. Smoky Joe Wood wins the nitecap, his second shutout in a row, allowing just one hit, in winning 6 – 0 in seven innings. Dutch Sterrett’s single is the lone hit. In the nitecap, Hick Cady makes two hits in one at bat. His single scores Jake Stahl from third base, but umpire Silk O’Loughlin rules that Stahl was balked home. In Cady’s second chance, he doubles.
The Highlanders send future star Hippo Vaughn (2-8), winner of last year’s opener, to the Senators for the waiver price. In late August, Washington will compound the mistake by selling him to the Kansas City Blues (American Association).