Sunny Jim Bottomley. Ball Four fans, take note
of the jaunty angle of his cap.
September 16, 1924: The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brooklyn Robins -- as the Dodgers were known from 1914 to 1931, when Wilbert Robinson was their manager -- 17-3 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. The Cards never scored more than 4 runs in any single inning, but they did it 3 times: In the 1st, the 4th and the 6th.
The Cards' Jim Bottomley had one of the best individual games in Major League Baseball history: He went 6-for-6 with 2 home runs, and 12 RBIs, still a major league record. The 1st baseman, known as Sunny Jim because he always seemed to be smiling, did the following:
* 1st inning: Singled home Heinie Mueller and Taylor Douthit. The Cards got their 1st 5 men on base, and Robinson took starting pitcher Welton "Rube" Ehrhardt out before he could get a single man out.
* 2nd inning: Doubled home Bill Sherdel.
* 4th inning: Hit a grand slam home run off Art Decatur, driving in Sherdel, Mueller and Rogers Hornsby.
* 6th inning: Hit another homer off Decatur, driving in Douthit.
* 7th inning: Singled home Mueller and Douthit.
* 9th inning: Singled home Ray Blades.
Sherdel, the Cards' starting pitcher, went 8 innings for the win, and helped his own cause by going 3-for-4 with a walk at the plate, although no RBIs. Hornsby, whose .358 lifetime batting average is the highest in National League history, went 2-for-4 with a walk before the Cards' manager, Branch Rickey, pinch-ran Blades for him.
Ironically, Robinson, the opposing manager, held the previous record: On June 10, 1892, as a catcher for the old NL version of the Baltimore Orioles, he had 11 RBIs.
Over a 16-year major league career, Bottomley batted .310, with 2,313 hits, including 219 home runs, a big total for the time. In 1926, he led the NL in RBIs, and helped the Cardinals, by this point with Hornsby as player-manager, win their 1st World Series. In 1928, he led the NL in home runs and RBIs, and was named its Most Valuable Player. He was the 1st player ever to hit at least 150 doubles, 150 triples and 150 home runs in a career. Only 1 other player has done that: Lou Gehrig.
Bottomley was also known for his defense. He wasn't as good as the other St. Louis 1st baseman of the era, the Browns' George Sisler, who was considered the best-fielding 1st baseman ever to that point. But he did set a record for 1st basemen that still stands, with 8 unassisted double plays in a single season.
Bottomley died in 1959. In 1974, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Only 1 other player has achieved 12 RBIs in a major league game. It was another Cardinal, Mark Whiten, in 1993, and he topped Bottomley by hitting 4 home runs in that game. In addition to the preceding, 2 other players have had 11 RBIs in a game. Tony Lazzeri holds the American League record, having gotten 11 for the New York Yankees in a 1936 game; and Phil Weintraub of the New York Giants did it in 1944.
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September 16, 1924 was a Tuesday. These other major league games were played that day:
* A doubleheader was split at the Polo Grounds. The New York Giants won the opener, 5-1. The Cincinnati Reds won the nightcap, 3-1. Over the 2 games, Ross Youngs went 3-for-8 with 2 RBIs, Bill Terry went 2-for-7 with 2 RBIs, and Edd Roush went 3-for-8 with an RBI.
* The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from the Boston Braves, 8-3 and 4-2 at Braves Field. The Cubs won the 2nd game in 12 innings.
* A doubleheader was split at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Phillies won the 1st game, 6-5. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the 2nd game, 13-7.
* The Washington Senators beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-2 at League Park in Cleveland. Indians player-manager Tris Speaker did not put himself into the lineup.
* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 14-2 at Navin Field (later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. The A's scored 7 runs in the top of the 1st, and never looked back. Sammy Hale, Al Simmons and Jimmy Dykes each had 3 RBIs. Tigers player-manager Ty Cobb went 1-for-4.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-4 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* And the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Browns were rained out at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Yankees swept, 7-3 and 8-7. Hall-of-Famer Waite Hoyt outpitched once-and-future Yankee Urban Shocker, and then Bullet Joe Bush won the 2nd game. Babe Ruth went 3-for-10 with a walk and an RBI over the 2 games, but the only Yankee home run was hit by Aaron Ward in the 2nd game. George Sisler went 4-for-7 with a walk and an RBI.
Also, actress Lauren Bacall was born on this day.
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