September 13, 1959: Luna 2 lands on the surface of the Moon, east of Mare Imbrium, near the craters Aristides, Archimedes and Autolycus. It is the 1st Earth-made object to land on the Moon.
It was not beginners' luck. In fact, it was the Soviet Union's 6th attempt to land an object on the Moon. Unlike the United States, they didn't publicize their failures, or even give them names. It was only after the fall of the country in 1991 that declassified documents listed the failures.
The first unnamed probe exploded on launch on September 23, 1958. Two more launches were unsuccessfully attempted on October 11 and December 4, 1958. Luna 1 was the 4th launch attempt, and the 1st partial success of the program. It launched on January 2, 1959, and missed the Moon by 3,706 miles. The Soviets decided that this was close enough to represent progress, and announced it. One mission separated Luna 1 and Luna 2, a launch failure that occurred with an unnamed probe on June 18, 1959.
Luna 2 was designed to search for a magnetic field and a radiation belt around the Moon. It found neither. This made a manned voyage there possible, and the race was on. The Soviets had won the race to put any object in orbit, and to place a living creature in orbit. They would win the race to put a human being into space, a human being into orbit, a woman into orbit, a human being into a "spacewalk," two in space at once, three at once, and a viable space station.
But they did not win the race to put a human being on the Moon. That would be America's achievement.
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September 13, 1959 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees swept a doubleheader from the Cleveland Indians, 2-1 and 1-0 at Yankee Stadium. Near the end of a frustrating season that would see the Yankees finish in 3rd place, with their worst record between 1917 and 1965, Mickey Mantle won the opener with a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning. This made a winning pitcher of Eli Grba. Bob Turley had pitched 10 innings, but got no decision. Duke Maas pitched a 6-hit shutout in the nightcap, outpitching Jim Perry.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Billy Goodman, who'd won the American League batting title with the Red Sox in 1950, hit a home run against them in this game. Ted Williams only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and grounded out. Nine days later, the White Sox would win the Pennant, their 1st in 40 years.
* The Kansas City Athletics swept a doubleheader from the Baltimore Orioles, 9-5 and 4-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Former Brooklyn Dodger Billy Loes melted down in the top of the 10th inning of the 1st game, including giving up RBI singles to future Yankees Roger Maris and Bob Cerv.
* The Washington Senators beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-1 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-4. Al Kaline went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Glen Hobbie pitched a 3-hit shutout. Ernie Banks and former Yankee Irv Noren hit home runs. Stan Musial drew a walk as a pinch-hitter.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Braves, 3-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Bob Purkey outpitched Warren Spahn. Frank Robinson went 1-for-4. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-5. Duke Snider went 0-for-4.
* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0 at Seals Stadium in San Francisco. Jack Sanford nearly pitched a 5-hit shutout, but needed Mike McCormick to get the final out. Willie Mays went 0-for-4.
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