May 8, 1902: The Caribbean Volcanoes

May 8, 1902: Mont Pelée erupts on the Caribbean island of Martinique. destroying the town of Saint-Pierre, killing about 30,000 people in a few minutes. It was the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th Century.

The previous day, La Soufrière erupted on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent. This devastated the northern portion of the island, killing about 2,000 people. But its story was lost in the attention given to the Martinique eruption the next day.

La Soufrière in its 2021 eruption

Martinique remains a French "overseas department and region." Mont Pelée last erupted in 1932. But the city of Saint-Pierre was never rebuilt. A new village on the site is home to about 4,000 people. Saint Vincent, formerly a British colony, became part of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an independent country within the British Commonwealth, in 1979. La Soufrière last erupted in 2021. Thanks to improvements in warning systems, leading to proper evacuations, no one has died in the eruption of either volcano since 1902.

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May 8, 1902 was a Thursday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Giants lost to the Chicago Colts, 10-4 at the West Side Grounds in Chicago. The next season, the Colts adopted the name by which they are still known, the Chicago Cubs.

* The Brooklyn Superbas beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh. Honus Wagner went 0-for-3 with a walk. The Brooklyn team became the Dodgers in 1911.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Americans, 5-1 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston. The Americans became the Boston Red Sox in 1908. The Senators became the Minnesota Twins in 1961.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-3 at Columbia Park in Philadelphia. The Orioles folded at the end of the season, and were replaced by the New York team that would become the Yankees in 1913.

* The Chicago White Stockings beat the Cleveland Bronchos, 2-1 at League Park in Cleveland. The next season, the Bronchos renamed themselves for their best hitter and 2nd baseman, and even named him their manager: Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie. They became the Cleveland Naps in 1903, the Cleveland Indians in 1915, and the Cleveland Guardians in 2022. The White Stockings became the Chicago White Sox in 1904.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Beaneaters, 2-0 at The Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati. Frank "Noodles" Hahn pitched a 6-hit shutout. The Beaneaters went through some name changes before becoming the Braves in 1912.

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-0 at Bennett Park in Detroit. Jack Powell pitched a 2-hit shutout.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 at Robison Field in St. Louis.