June 1, 1925: The New York Yankees lose to the Washington Senators, 5-3 at Yankee Stadium. Walter Johnson outpitched Sad Sam Jones. Sam Rice, the Senators' center fielder and leadoff hitter, headed for the Hall of Fame, went 5-for-5.
Despite their frequent billing as "Washington: First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League," there was no shame, at that time, in losing to the Senators. They had won the World Series the year before, and would fall just 1 game short of doing it again. But after staying in the Pennant race late in 1919 and 1920, winning the American League Pennant in 1921 and 1922, winning the World Series in 1923, and finished only 2 games behind the Senators in 1924, the Yankees were a mess.
Babe Ruth had only recently made his season debut, after an illness that still baffles baseball historians to this day. And a bunch of the players who had helped them win those 3 straight Pennants simply weren't hitting: 1st baseman Wally Pipp was batting .244, 2nd baseman Aaron Ward was at .255, shortstop Everett Scott was at .224, center fielder Whitey Witt was at .194, and catcher Wally Schang was at .247.
Scott didn't play in this game. Paul "Pee Wee" Wanninger did. He was the 1st New York-based shortstop nicknamed Pee Wee, but he was no Harold "Pee Wee" Reese.
Pipp. Ward. Scott. Witt. Schang. All 5 of these players would be replaced as starters by the time the 1926 season began. And the players they got would help them win another 3 straight Pennants, losing the World Series in 1926, but sweeping it in 1927 and 1928.
Schang wasn't exactly replaced. The Yankees tried Benny Bengough, Mike Gazella and Pat Collins, but it would take until Bill Dickey became the starter in 1929 for them to again have an elite catcher. It is an oddity that the 1927 Yankees, known as "Murderers' Row," have often been considered the greatest team in baseball history without having a great catcher.
But Witt had already been replaced in center field by Earle Combs, who would go on to became a Hall-of-Famer. Ward was replaced at 2nd base by Tony Lazzeri, who also went to the Hall of Fame. Scott was replaced at shortstop by Mark Koenig, a decent player.
As for Pipp... He was batting .244 after going 1-for-4 in this game. That's why he was replaced. Yes, later in the year, he was hit in the head by a batting-practice pitch, as the myth says. But he had already been replaced as the starting 1st baseman by that point. It's also not true that Pipp never played again. He did play, and well -- but for teams other than the Yankees.
His replacement, who had previously made only 34 major league appearances, pinch-hit for Wanninger with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th inning. He flew out to left fielder Goose Goslin, and replaced Pipp at 1st base in the 9th inning.
The next day, he started at 1st base, going 3-for-5. Bob Meusel hit 2 home runs, and the Yankees beat the Senators, 8-5. It was the 2nd of what would turn out to be 2,130 consecutive games. His name was Lou Gehrig. He became the greatest first baseman in the history of baseball.
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June 1, 1925 was a Monday. These other games were played in what would later be called Major League Baseball:
* The New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 8-4 at Ebbets Field. Actually, from 1914 to 1931, because they were managed by Wilbert Robinson, the Dodgers were known as the Brooklyn Robins.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Braves, 12-10 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.
* The St. Louis Browns beat the Cleveland Indians, 10-2 at League Park in Cleveland.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-6 at Navin Field in Detroit. It would be renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938 and Tiger Stadium in 1961.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Cubs Park in Chicago. It was renamed Wrigley Field the next year.
* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.
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