September 8, 1923: The Honda Point Disaster

September 8, 1923: The Honda Point Disaster occurs. It remains the largest peacetime loss of ships in U.S. Navy history.

Honda Point, also called Point Pedernales, is located on the seacoast at Vandenberg Air Force Base, near the city of Lompoc, California, 165 miles up the coast from Los Angeles.

Destroyer Squadron Eleven, consisting of 14 ships, headed into the Santa Barbara Channel, ignoring their radio navigation aids, which were still new, and not completely trusted. The Squadron's commanding officer, Captain Edward H. Watson, aboard USS Delphy, was running them in an exercise that simulated wartime conditions. He wanted the squadron to make a fast passage to San Diego, so the decision was made not to slow down.

Despite heavy fog, he ordered all ships to travel in close formation and, turning too soon, went aground. Six others followed and sank. Two ships whose captains disobeyed the close-formation order survived, although they also hit the rocks. There were 23 deaths.

Eleven officers, including Watson, were brought before general courts-martial, the largest single group of officers ever court-martialed in the U.S. Navy's history. The court martial ruled that the events of the Honda Point Disaster were "directly attributable to bad errors and faulty navigation" by Watson. He was stripped of his seniority, and 3 other officers were admonished. The others were acquitted.

Nevertheless, Watson was commended by his peers and the government for assuming full responsibility for the disaster. He was assigned to a command in Hawaii, and held it until retiring from the Navy in 1929. He died in 1942.

There is a plaque and a memorial to the disaster at the site.

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September 8, 1923 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Washington Senators, 4-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Paul Zahniser pitched a 5-hit shutout, outpitching Herb Pennock. Babe Ruth went 1-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-6 at the Polo Grounds. Frankie Frisch went 4-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Casey Stengel -- yes, the future Yankee manager -- went 3-for-4 with a 3-run home run.

Oddly, neither starting pitcher got into the 3rd inning. Phillies manager Art Fletcher pulled Charles "Whitey" Glazner after allowing 4 runs in the 1st inning; while Giants manager John McGraw pinch-hit for Art Nehf in the 2nd inning, after he'd allowed a run on 3 hits. Jack Scott pitched the rest of the way for the Giants, getting the win.

* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known when Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931) swept a doubleheader from the Boston Braves, 7-4 and 5-4 at Braves Field in Boston. Burleigh Grimes outpitched Rube Marquard in the opener. In the nightcap, the Braves scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th, but fell just short.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Johnny Morrison pitched a 2-hit shutout, for his 21st win of the season. He finished the season 25-13. He went 103-80 over his career, which included winning the 1925 World Series with the Pirates.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at League Park in Cleveland. Tris Speaker went 2-for-4. Ty Cobb went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The St. Louis Browns swept a doubleheader from the Chicago White Sox, 7-3 and 1-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Ray Kolp allowed 8 hits in the 2nd game, but kept the shutout.

* The St. Louis Cardinals swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 and 13-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Hi Myers singled Ray Blades home with the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning.

* And the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Athletics were not scheduled.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal went to the Birmingham area, and lost to West Bromwich Albion, 4-0 at The Hawthorns.