Socks Seybold, the holder of the American League season home run record before Babe Ruth, dies at 51 years of age when his car plunges over an embankment.

ByThis Day in Baseball

1921 – Socks Seybold, the holder of the American League season home run record before Babe Ruth, dies at 51 years of age when his car plunges over an embankment.

Chief Bender wins his 11th straight for the Athletics, 4 – 2, over Cleveland, to tighten the pennant race with the Tigers. The Chief is helped by right fielder Socks Seybold who pulls off an unassisted double play. He’ll pull off another on September 10th against Boston.

Chief Bender wins his 11th straight for the Athletics, 4 – 2, over Cleveland, to tighten the pennant race with the Tigers. The Chief is helped by right fielder Socks Seybold who pulls off an unassisted double play. He’ll pull off another on September 10th against Boston.

ByThis Day in Baseball

Chief Bender wins his 11th straight for the Athletics, 4 – 2, over Cleveland, to tighten the pennant race with the Tigers. The Chief is helped by right fielder Socks Seybold who pulls off an unassisted double play. He’ll pull off another on September 10th against Boston.

The American League’s longest game to date takes place in Boston before 16‚000 in this 24 inning marathon both starters Jack Coombs and Joe Harris go the distance.

The American League’s longest game to date takes place in Boston before 16‚000 in this 24 inning marathon both starters Jack Coombs and Joe Harris go the distance.

ByThis Day in Baseball

The American League’s longest game to date takes place in Boston before 16‚000. Rookies Jack Coombs and 24-year-old Joe Harris go the route in a 24-inning struggle‚ ending with a 4 – 1 Athletics victory after 4 hours and 47 minutes. It sets the major league record‚ later broken‚ and is still the AL mark for two pitchers. Two batters single, and then Socks Seybold and Danny Murphy hit triples with two outs to end the contest. Philadelphia’s Coombs faces 89 batters‚ striking out a major league record 18 (broken in 1962) and giving up 14 hits‚ while the Americans’ Harris fans 14 and yields 16 hits. Harris drops his record to 2-21‚ and will start next year at 0-6 before exiting the majors for Providence‚ holding the distinctions of the worst winning percentage (.091 for a 3-30 record) and the fewest wins for any pitcher with 300 innings pitched. The 24 innings pitched will only be exceeded this century by the 26-inning battle on May 1‚ 1920 between Joe Oeschger and Leon Cadore. There won’t be a longer game in the AL until May 8‚ 1984.