June 23, 1917: The Ernie Shore Game

June 23, 1917: One of the weirdest games in baseball history is played at Fenway Park in Boston. That is not surprising. The specifics of the surprise are.

Babe Ruth started for the Boston Red Sox. He had debuted in 1914, and, in his 1st 2 full seasons, 1915 and 1916, he had become one of the best pitchers in baseball, and helped the Red Sox win the World Series each time. He would finish this season 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA and, not that anybody knew it at the time, an ERA+ of 128 and a WHIP of 1.079. And he had only begun to show what he could do when he swung the bat.

But he would barely begin this game, when he was finished in it. The Red Sox were playing the Washington Senators, and the Senators' leadoff hitter was Ray Morgan. Morgan drew a walk, and Ruth, just 22 years old and very much a hothead at this stage of his career, argued with home plate umpire Clarence "Brick" Owens.

Owens threw him out of the game, and, when catcher Chester "Pinch" Thomas argued that, Owens threw him out of the game, too. Ruth decked Owens. For this, he was fined $100 (about $2,258 in 2022 money), and suspended for 10 games. He issued a public apology.

Red Sox manager Jack Barry brought Ernie Shore in to pitch. Winner of 35 games over the last 2 World Championship seasons, 38 counting the Series, Shore was a 26-year-old native of East Bend, North Carolina, in the Appalachian Mountains. Sam Agnew was the new catcher.

Instead of pitching to the next batter, Eddie Foster, Shore picked Morgan off 1st base. He then went through the Washington lineup 3 times, and got everybody out. Everybody: 26 men up, 26 men down. Meanwhile, backup catcher Agnew drove in 2 runs with a 7th-inning double, and the Red Sox won, 4-0.

For the record, the Senators' pitcher that day, Yancey Wyatt "Doc" Ayers, wasn't all that bad: He allowed 4 runs, 2 of them earned, on 9 hits and no walks, although he also had no strikeouts.

Shore finished the 1917 season 13-10, and missed the 1918 season, in which the Sox won another World Series, serving in World War I. He never recovered his prewar form, last pitched in the majors in 1920, retired with a career record of 65-43, became Sheriff of Forsyth County, North Carolina, led the building of a ballpark in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that bore his name from 1956 and 2008 (it still stands, but now bears someone else's name), and lived until 1980.

He died believing he had pitched a perfect game. After all, he had gotten the credit for it, because he had retired all 27 batters. But in 1991, Major League Baseball changed its rules, and so the game, while still a combined no-hitter between Ruth and Shore (even though Ruth didn't get an out), was no longer officially a perfect game.

Brick Owens was not seriously injured by Babe Ruth's punch. He was an umpire in the National League in the 1908, 1912 and 1913 seasons, and in the American League from 1916 to 1937. He officiated at 5 World Series, including as crew chief for 1928 and 1934. He died in 1949.

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June 23, 1917 was a Friday. Football, basketball and hockey were out of season. These other baseball games were played that day:

* The Shore no-hitter was the 1st game of a doubleheader. In the 2nd game, which Shore was supposed to start, the Red Sox got another shutout, winning 5-0. Hubert "Dutch" Leonard allowed only 4 hits, outpitching Walter Johnson.

* The New York Yankees swept a doubleheader with the Philadelphia Athletics at the Polo Grounds. The not-yet-Bronx, far-from-Bombers won the opener, 10-4; and the nightcap, 2-1.

* The New York Giants lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-2 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers (known as the Robins when Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931) swept a doubleheader from the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field. They won the 1st game, 3-0, with Leon Cadore pitching a 6-hit shutout. A little less than 3 years later, Cadore would pitch against the Braves for 26 innings, with no decision. Brooklyn won the 2nd game, 7-5.

* The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, 2-0 and 6-4 in 10 innings.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-1 in 15 innings at League Park in Cleveland.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-1 at Robison Field in St. Louis.

* And the Detroit Tigers were supposed to host the St. Louis Browns at Navin Field in Detroit (later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium), but were rained out. It was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 13. The Browns won the 1st game, 10-5. The Tigers won the 2nd game, 7-6.