May 2, 1953: Horse Racing's Big Daddy & His Only Loss

Native Dancer, with Eric Guerin aboard

May 2, 1953: Dark Star, ridden by Henry Moreno, wins the Kentucky Derby, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, edging the heavily favored Native Dancer.

It is the only race Native Dancer ever lost: "The Grey Ghost" won 21 of 22 starts, including the other 2 legs of that year's Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. He also won that year's Travers Stakes, the annual "Midsummer Derby" at Saratoga Race Course in Upstate New York.

Because he was gray, at a time when black-and-white TV viewers couldn't really tell the difference between a colt that was jet black and one that was chestnut brown, he stood out, and he is considered to be the 1st televised horse racing star.

His jockey was Eric Guerin, a 29-year-old Cajun from Louisiana, who had won the 1947 Kentucky Derby, about Jet Pilot; and won the Belmont Stakes again in 1954, aboard High Gun. He lived until 1993.

Native Dancer sired 635 foals, living until 1967. Although he couldn't win the Kentucky Derby, that race has been won by his offspring in 1964, Northern Dancer; 1966, Kauai King; 1968, Dancer's Image, disqualified for reasons that weren't the horse's fault; 1978, Affirmed, who went on to win the Triple Crown; 1998, Real Quiet; 1999, Charismatic; 2008, Big Brown; and 2009. In fact, while 3 different horses split the Triple Crown races in 2009, all were descendants of Native Dancer: Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby, Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness, and Summer Bird in the Belmont.

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May 2, 1953 was a Saturday. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Jamaal Wilkes was born on this day.

Football was out of season. The NBA and NHL seasons had ended a few days earlier, won by the Minneapolis Lakers and the Montreal Canadiens, respectively.

The FA Cup Final was played at the old Wembley Stadium in London. Blackpool FC, of Lancashire, beat Bolton Wanderers of the Manchester area, 4-1. Although Stan Mortensen of Blackpool because the 1st player to score 3 goals in an FA Cup Final, and remains the only one, his teammate Stanley Matthews played so well that it remains known as "The Matthews Final." I have a separate entry for this event.

These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 8-7 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Mickey Mantle went 2-for-4, but Eddie Lopat did not have a good start, and 3 Yankee pitchers blew a 7-4 lead in the bottom of the 9th, including allowing a home run by Ferris Fain to tie the game, and a sacrifice fly by Jim Rivera to win it.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 12-4 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Ralph Kiner and Danny O'Connell hit home runs for the Bucs.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Hal Brown outpitched Bob Feller, despite Ted Williams being unavailable, due to serving in the Korean War.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-1 at Briggs Stadium (later renamed Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

* The Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 5-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs were rained out at Ebbets Field. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 14. The Dodgers won the opener, 6-3. Billy Loes was the winning pitcher. By this point, the Pirates had traded Ralph Kiner to the Cubs, and he went 1-for-3 with a walk for them.

The nightcap was called due to rain, with the teams tied 6-6 after 9 innings. Kiner tied it with a grand slam off Carl Erskine in the top of the 9th. Over the 2 games, Jackie Robinson went 4-for-8 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The New York Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals were rained out at the Polo Grounds. The game was made up on June 15. The Giants won, 3-2, despite Willie Mays not being available, due to serving in the Korean War. Alvin Dark went 3-for-4 with an RBI, in support of Jim Hearn. Stan Musial went 1-for-2 with 2 walks.

* And the Milwaukee Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies were rained out at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 21. The Phillies won the 1st game, 10-0. The Braves won the 2nd game, 7-3.