August 8, 1963: A Royal Mail train headed from Glasgow to London is robbed at Bridego Railway Bridge in Ledburn, Buckinghamshire, about 45 miles northwest of London. It becomes known as the Great Train Robbery.
A gang of 16 men, led by Bruce Reynolds, without using firearms, escaped with £2.61 million pounds -- about £63.1 million in 2022, or $80.5 million with the current exchange rate -- mostly in £1 and £5 notes. The police soon cracked the case, and most of the gang was convicted, with the ringleaders were sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The year 1963 was a wild one for Britain: Beatlemania, the start of the Swinging London fashion scene, this robbery, and the sex scandal that was already underway and would force the resignation of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in October.
As of August 8, 2022, only 1 of the 16 men in on it is still alive: Bob Welch, no relation to the baseball pitcher or the rock singer of the same name, nor to the Robert Welch who founded the far-right political group The John Birch Society.
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August 8, 1963 was a Thursday. These baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 3-1 at District of Columbia Stadium. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in 1969.) Ralph Terry went the distance for the win. Phil Linz hit a home run. Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Roger Maris did not play. It was a day game after a night game, but of the three, only Maris played the night before.
* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at the Polo Grounds. Al Jackson outpitched future Met Ray Sadecki. Duke Carmel hit a home run for the Mets in the bottom of the 8th inning. Duke Snider walked as a pinch-hitter. So did Stan Musial, in his last 2 months as an active player.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-3 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Frank Robinson and Tommy Harper hit home runs. Pete Rose, soon to be named the National League's Rookie of the Year, went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 2-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Dick Donovan pitched a 3-hit shutout, allowing a double to Jackie Brandt, and singles to Luis Aparicio and Russ Snyder. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Braves, 1-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Bob Friend pitched a 6-hit shutout. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the 9th, when Donn Clendenon singled home Bill Mazeroski with the winning run. Roberto Clemente went 0-for-4. So did Hank Aaron.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Red Sox led 2-1 going into the bottom of the 8th, but the Tigers scored 4 runs. The Sox scored 3 in the top of the 9th to tie it, but Rocky Colavito singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Al Kaline went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Carl Yastrzemski went 2-for-3 with 2 walks.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ron Santo hit a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Ernie Banks did not play.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Athletics, 5-3 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-0 at Dodger Stadium, where the Angels groundshared with the Dodgers until Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium) opened in 1966. Dick Stigman pitched a 6-hit shutout. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-3 with 2 walks.
* And the Houston Colt .45s (renamed the Astros in 1965) and the San Francisco Giants were not scheduled.
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