October 24, 1999: The Major League Baseball All-Century Team

Top row, left to right: Johnny Bench, Willie Mays, Stan Musial.

Middle row: Mike Schmidt, Brooks Robinson,

Ken Griffey Jr., Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan.

Bottom row: Bob Gibson, Yogi Berra, Cal Ripken, Warren Spahn,

then-Commissioner Bud Selig, Roger Clemens and Hank Aaron.

October 24, 1999: The New York Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-2 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium), behind the pitching of David Cone and 3 hits from Bernie Williams, and take a 2 games to 0 lead in the World Series.

Before the game, the winners in the fan balloting for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team were introduced. With some older players overlooked by young fans, some "wild cards" were added by a "select panel."

Pitchers
* Cy Young, born in 1867, pitched for several teams from 1890 to 1911. He died in 1955.
* Christy Mathewson, born in 1880, New York Giants, 1900-16. He died in 1925, and was added by the panel.
* Walter Johnson, born in 1887, Washington Senators, 1907-27. He died in 1946.
* Robert "Lefty" Grove, born in 1900, Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox, 1925-41. He died in 1975, and was added by the panel.
* Warren Spahn, born in 1921, Boston/Milwaukee Braves, 1942-65. He was added by the panel. He was on hand for the ceremony, and threw out the ceremonial first ball before Game 1, even though he never pitched for the Braves in Atlanta. He died in 2003.
* Sandy Koufax, born in 1935, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, 1955-66. He was on hand, making a rare public appearance, and joked that Spahn had to be added to the All-Century Team, "because he pitched for most of the century." As of October 24, 2022, he is still alive.
* Bob Gibson, born in 1935, St. Louis Cardinals, 1959-75. He was on hand for the ceremony, and died in 2020.

* Nolan Ryan, born in 1947, and pitched his best years with the California Angels and Houston Astros, pitching overall 1966-93. He was on hand, and is still alive.
* Roger Clemens, born in 1963, pitched his best years with the Boston Red Sox, was then still active with the Yankees, and would start and win Game 4. His career lasted 1986-2007. He was on hand, and is still alive.

Catchers
* Lawrence "Yogi" Berra, born in 1925, Yankees, 1946-63. He was on hand, and died 2015.
* Johnny Bench, born in 1947, Cincinnati Reds, 1967-83. He was on hand, and is still alive.

1st Basemen
* Lou Gehrig, born in 1903, Yankees, 1923-39. He died in 1941.
* Mark McGwire, born in 1963, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals, 1986-2001. He was on hand, and then still active. He is still alive.

2nd Basemen
* Rogers Hornsby, born in 1896, best years with the St. Louis Cardinals, 1917-37. He died 1963.
* Jackie Robinson, born in 1919, Brooklyn Dodgers, 1947-56. He died in 1972. Joe Morgan, one of the finalists on the ballot, was part of the NBC broadcasting crew for this Series, and said that if he were one of the 2nd basemen chosen, and Robinson was not, he would forfeit his place to Robinson. Morgan finished 3rd in the 2B voting, so it wasn't necessary.

Shortstops
* John "Honus" Wagner, born in 1874, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1897-1917. He died in 1955, and was added by the panel.
* Ernie Banks, born in 1931, Chicago Cubs, 1953-71. He was on hand, and died in 2015.
* Cal Ripken Jr., born in 1960, Baltimore Orioles, 1981-2001. He was then still active, was on hand, and is still alive.

3rd Basemen
* Brooks Robinson, born in 1937, Baltimore Orioles, 1955-77. He was on hand, and is still alive.
* Mike Schmidt, born in 1948, Philadelphia Phillies, 1972-89. He was on hand, and is still alive.

Outfielders
* Ty Cobb, born in 1886, Detroit Tigers, 1905-28. He died 1961.
* Babe Ruth, born in 1895, Yankees, 1914-35. He died in 1948.
* Joe DiMaggio, born in 1914, Yankees, 1936-51. He had died earlier in 1999.
* Ted Williams, born in 1918, Boston Red Sox, 1939-60. He was on hand despite already being ill, and it turned out to be his last appearance in a big-league ballpark, following his emotional appearance at that season's All-Star Game at Fenway Park in Boston, his former home field. As he did on that occasion, he tipped his cap to the fans. He died in 2002.
* Stan Musial, born in 1920, St. Louis Cardinals, 1941-63. He was added by the panel. He was on hand, and died in 2013.

* Mickey Mantle, born in 1931, Yankees, 1951-68. He died in 1995.
* Willie Mays, born in 1931, New York/San Francisco Giants, 1951-73. He was on hand, and is still alive.

* Hank Aaron, born in 1934, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, 1954-76. He was on hand, and threw out the first ball that night. He died in 2021.

* Pete Rose, born in 1941, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies, 1963-86. He is probably better known as a 3rd baseman or a 1st baseman. Despite having been permanently banned from baseball, for betting on baseball games while a manager, he was permitted to attend, and did. He is still alive.

* Ken Griffey Jr., born 1969, Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, 1989-2010. He was still active, was on hand, and is still alive.

(UPDATE: Mays and Rose both died in 2024.)

With the steroid accusations against Clemens and McGwire, the ban on Rose, and the "kid vote" for Griffey in mind, the next-highest vote getters at the positions in question were Greg Maddux (who was on hand as an active Brave) for Clemens' spot, Jimmie Foxx (who died in 1967) for McGwire's, and Roberto Clemente (who died in 1972) for Griffey's and Shoeless Joe Jackson (who died in 1951) for, with some irony, Rose's. So if Jackson, also banned permanently for gambling-related offenses, is also removed, the next-highest outfielder was Reggie Jackson (who was on hand, being a Yankee front-office man).

*

October 24, 1999 was a Sunday. These NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants beat the New Orleans Saints, 31-3 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The New York Jets lost to the Oakland Raiders, 24-23 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum).

* The New England Patriots beat the Denver Broncos, 24-23 at Foxboro Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Carolina Panthers, 24-9 at Ericsson Stadium (now Bank of America Stadium) in Charlotte.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Chicago Bears, 6-3 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 16-13 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 31-10 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the San Francisco 49ers, 40-16 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The St. Louis Rams beat the Cleveland Browns, 34-3 at the TWA Dome (now the Dome at America's Center) in St. Louis.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat their arch-rivals, the Washington Redskins, 38-20 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the San Diego Chargers, 31-3 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Buffalo Bills, 26-16 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* The preceding Thursday, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens, 35-8 at PSINet Stadium (now M&T Bank Stadium) in Baltimore.

* The next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 13-9 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* And the Arizona Cardinals, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans all had a bye week.

The NBA season started 9 days later. There were 4 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Vancouver Canucks, 3-0 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Florida Panthers, 2-0 at the First Union Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 3-2 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now the Honda Center).

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-3 at the brand-new Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

October 3, 1976: A Career, a Race and a Dynasty End In Baseball

October 3, 1976: Hank Aaron plays his last game. In his last at-bat, playing for the Milwaukee Brewers at Milwaukee County Stadium, where he had previously played for the Milwaukee Braves, he singles off Dave Roberts of the Detroit Tigers -- the same pitcher who, for the Houston Astros, had given up his 712th and 713th career home runs. But the Tigers win the game, 5-2.

Hank retires with 3,771 hits and 2,174 runs scored, both 2nd at the time only to Ty Cobb; a .305 batting average, a 155 OPS+; and with these all-time records: 755 home runs, 2,297 RBIs, 6,856 total bases, and 1,477 extra-base hits (624 doubles, 98 triples and 755 homers). Only the home run record has been broken, and that, dubiously.

The Brewers retire his Number 44 on this day, even though he only played 2 seasons for them. It's more of a recognition for his contribution to baseball in Milwaukee, which was 14 seasons counting his tenure there with the Braves. The Atlanta version of the Braves will retire Number 44 for him on their next Opening Day.

This was the 30th season of racially integrated Major League Baseball. Hank Aaron was the last active MLB player who had played in the Negro Leagues.

Another note from the '76 Brewers: On September 23, pitcher Danny Frisella, a member of the Mets' 1969 World Champions, made his last appearance of the season. There was no indication that he wouldn't be pitching in 1977. But on New Year's Day, in Phoenix, he was killed in a dune buggy accident. He was only 30 years old, and was the 1st member of the "Miracle Mets" to die.

This Brewers-Tigers game was also the last for Tiger catcher Bill Freehan. A key member of their 1968 World Series winners, he had been battling a thumb injury, and retired at age 34. In the late 1960s and early '70s, he was, beyond any question, the AL's best catcher. He made 11 appearances in the All-Star Game. No other player has made that many and still not been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Another Tiger whose career was ending was Alex Johnson, who last played on October 1. As a rookie in 1964, he nearly helped the Philadelphia Phillies win the NL Pennant. In 1970, with the California Angels, he won the AL batting title. But he rarely played so well again, and wore out his welcome with 7 different teams. He later took over his father's trucking company, and admitted he enjoyed it more than baseball. Also in 1970, his brother, Ron Johnson, playing for the Giants, became the 1st player for an NFL team in New York to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

*

On the same day, the last day of the regular season, the Kansas City Royals' George Brett and Hal McRae, and the Minnesota Twins' Rod Carew, 3 players, are separated by .001 for the American League batting title -- and their teams are playing each other at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. (It was renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993.) The Twins won, 5-3.

Brett, who goes 3-for-4, edging his Royals teammate for the crown with the deciding hit, an inside-the-park home run, a line drive that outfielder Steve Brye misplayed, leading McRae to believe the lack of effort was intentional, and racist. (Like McRae, Carew was black; unlike McRae, he was also Hispanic. His thoughts on McRae's theory are unrecorded.) The final totals: Brett .333, McRae .332, Carew .331. Or, to take the decimal point one step further: Brett .3333, McRae .3321, Carew .3306.

In case you're wondering about on-base percentage: McRae .407 (to lead the AL), Carew .395, Brett .377. So Brett had the lowest of the 3 in that category.

Both Carew and Brett would win more batting titles, and both would flirt with a .400 batting average: Carew finished at .388 in 1977, while Brett finished at .390 in 1980.

Another former AL batting champion, Tony Oliva, had been battling knee injuries, and last played for the Twins on September 29. He retired, at age 38.

Tommy Davis had been a National League batting champion, in 1962 and '63 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he never fully recovered from a broken ankle in 1965, and over the next 11 seasons, played for 9 teams, including Finley's A's twice. He played his last game for the Royals on October 2, and retired at 37.

*

Also on this day, only 9,155 fans come out to the Oakland Coliseum to witness what is already expected -- correctly, as it turned out -- to be the end of an era. The California Angels beat the Oakland Athletics, 1-0. Nolan Ryan of the Halos and Mike Torrez of the A's each go the distance.

With the reserve clause having been struck down in the previous off-season, free agency is coming in the upcoming one. Having already lost ace pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter to a legal wrinkle, and having traded away his best player, right fielder Reggie Jackson, A's owner Charlie Finley goes on to refuse to offer new contracts to reliever Rollie Fingers, 3rd baseman and team captain Sal Bando, left fielder Joe Rudi, 1st baseman Gene Tenace, shortstop Bert Campaneris, or even the recently acquired right fielder Don Baylor. He also looks to trade pitcher Vida Blue, this time without the interference of Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.

Hunter, Jackson and Fingers would make the Hall of Fame. All-Star Game appearances for these players: Jackson 14, Hunter 8, Fingers 7, Campaneris and Blue 6 each, Bando 4, Rudi 3, and Tenace and Baylor 1 each. Blue and Hunter had won an AL Cy Young Award; Blue, Jackson, Baylor and Fingers would each win an AL Most Valuable Player award.

Finley thought that, with the money he saved by not paying them, he could build a new dynasty. In the next 3 seasons, the A's were dreadful. But in the 4th, 1980, they finished 2nd; in the 5th, 1981, they won the AL Western Division. But before the 1980 season ended, he sold the team, and didn't get to enjoy being proven, at least partially, right.

This was also the last game in Oakland uniforms for future Hall-of-Famers Billy Williams, the great former Chicago Cub left fielder, who retires; and Willie McCovey, who heads back across the Bay and re-signs with the San Francisco Giants. Nate Colbert, former star for the San Diego Padres, was also on the A's roster, and had last played on October 1. That would be his last game as well: After trying to catch on with the expansion Toronto Blue Jays in the next season's Spring Training, his back injury convinced him to retire at the age of 30.

Over the next 3 seasons, the A's would lose 299 games, and play before a total of 1,329,361 home fans -- an average of 5,471 fans per game. Their attendance had never been good, and the Coliseum, even when new and considered suitable, had already been nicknamed the Oakland Mausoleum. Finley's cheapness and stubbornness had blinded him to what needed to be done, and one of the best teams in baseball history became a joke franchise almost overnight.

A note from the '76 Angels: This game against the A's turned out to be the last major league game for shortstop Mike Miley. A quarterback at Louisiana State University, where he was known as "Miracle Mike," he got them into the 1974 Orange Bowl, losing to Penn State. He left school to play pro baseball, and played 70 games with the Angels in '75 and another 14 in '76. But on January 6, 1977, back in LSU's seat of Baton Rouge, he was killed in a car crash, only 23 years old.

*

October 3, 1976 was a Sunday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Steve Carlton outpitched Craig Swan. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Rick Burleson singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 15th inning. Carl Yastrzemski did not play. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-6.

Rico Petrocelli did not play, either. The shortstop on the Sox' 1967 AL Pennant winners, and the 3rd baseman on their 1975 Pennant winners, had been battling an inner ear infection, and hadn't played since September 14. The Sox released him early in 1977, without playing him again. He was not quite 34 years old. There were no hard feelings, and he later coached and broadcast for the Sox.

On September 29, Tommy Harper played for the Orioles, and it turned out to be his last major league game. He had been one of baseball's top base stealers, but his hitting had tailed off, and he retired at 36.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals at Three Rivers Stadium, winning both games by a 1-0 score. Jim Rooker pitched a 7-hit shutout in the opener, while Jerry Reuss pitched a 5-hit shutout in the nightcap. Neither the Pirates' Willie Stargell nor the Cardinals' Lou Brock got into either game.

Bob Moose didn't get into the game for the Pirates, either. The relief pitcher had last appeared on September 25. On October 9, his 29th birthday, he was driving back from the charity golf tournament of former teammate Bill Mazeroski, in Maz's hometown of Martins Ferry, Ohio, when he was killed in a car crash.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 11-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 2-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI. Johnny Bench went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. On June 13 of that season, Pat Darcy, who gave up the game-winning home run to Carlton Fisk in Game 6 of the previous year's World Series, was sent down to the minors. At 26, he never appeared in another major league game.

Carl Morton, the 1970 National League Rookie of the Year, had lost his consistency, and last pitched for the Braves on August 21. After struggling in the minor leagues the next 2 seasons, he retired, and died of a heart attack while jogging in 1983, only 39.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 8-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-0 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Len Barker pitched a 3-hit shutout. Earlier in the year, on June 19, former Yankee pitcher Fritz Peterson made his last major league appearance, for the Rangers. Injuries convinced him to retire at age 34.

On August 17, another member of the Oakland dynasty, pitcher John "Blue Moon" Odom, made his last appearance, for the White Sox. He returned to Oakland's minor-league system in 1977, but an injury forced him to wrap it up at 32.

Cleon Jones, a key figure on the 1969 Mets, made what turned out to be his last major league appearance with the '76 ChiSox, on May 1. Team owner Bill Veeck saw him not hit well in 13 games, and released him. It was just as well: Veeck had given the team awful uniforms, and made them worse later on, with shorts. Jones was spared this indignity.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Dave Winfield did not play.

* The New York Yankees, the Cleveland Indians, the Houston Astros and the San Francisco Giants finished their seasons the day before. Frank Robinson, officially still the player-manager of the Indians, had not played since September 18, although he never officially announced his retirement as a player. On September 29, former Twins star César Tovar, now with the Yankees, played his last game.

And these games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 27-21 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The New York Jets lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 17-6 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* The New England Patriots beat the Oakland Raiders, 48-17 at Schaefer Stadium (later Sullivan Stadium and Foxboro Stadium) in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts. But the Raiders would beat the Pats in the Playoffs, en route to winning Super Bowl XI.

* The Baltimore Colts beat the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 42-17 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Atlanta Falcons, 14-13 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Miami Dolphins, 31-28 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

* The Houston Oilers beat the New Orleans Saints, 31-26 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 50-17 at Rich Stadium (later Ralph Wilson Stadium) in Orchard Park, New York.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 45-24 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins, 33-7 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions, 24-14 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

* The Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers, 26-0 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the expansion Seattle Seahawks, 28-13 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Minnesota Vikings beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-6 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

Actor Seann William Scott was born on this day. And the NBC drama Quincy, M.E. premiered, marking Jack Klugman's return to TV after The Odd Couple. I have a separate entry for this event.

September 23, 1957: Hank Aaron Walks a Pennant Off

Aaron with his 1957 MVP award

September 23, 1957: Hank Aaron hits the 109th home run of his career. He would later say it was the most important.

In hindsight, it probably was his most important home run, as it gave his team the Pennant. But the qualifier "probably" needs to be used, since he would go on to hit 755 home runs, and the 715th was also very important.

But no one could have foreseen that on this night. All anyone knew then was that Aaron was the defending National League batting champion, and that he had power, too, going into the game with 42 home runs on the season. He was the favorite for the NL's Most Valuable Player award, and did win it. Teammate Warren Spahn was awarded the Cy Young Award.

Managed by Fred Haney, and with an attack that also included Eddie Mathews, Joe Adcock, Del Crandall, Red Schoendienst, Wes Covington, Bill Bruton and Frank Torre, the Braves were in their 5th season in Milwaukee, after having moved from Boston. They had finished 1 game behind the Brooklyn Dodgers the season before. Now, with the Dodgers aging and in transition, it was the Braves' year.

The St. Louis Cardinals began the day 5 games behind the Braves, with 6 games to go, including the next 3 against each other at Milwaukee County Stadium. One more Braves win, or one more Cards loss, and the Braves had the Pennant. Before the Braves moved in, the minor-league version of the Milwaukee Brewers won the American Association Pennant in 1913, 1914, 1936, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1947 and 1951. This would be the city's 1st major league Pennant.

But this game wouldn't be easy. The Braves got a run on an error in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Alvin Dark singled 2 runs home for the Cards in the top of the 6th. Mathews doubled Schoendienst home in the 7th. (Schoendienst had starred for the Cardinals in the 1940s, would manage them to 2 Pennants in the 1960s, and remained in their organization until his death in 2018.)

The game went to extra innings. Lew Burdette pitched 10 innings for the Braves, before Gene Conley pitched the top of the 11th. Billy Muffett took the mound for the Cardinals in the bottom of the 11th. He got Schoendienst to fly to center, but allowed a single to Johnny Logan. (Logan, the Braves' shortstop, was once told that something that appeared in the newspaper was "a typographical error." Without thinking, his hitter's instinct kicked in, and he said, "The hell it was! It was a clean base hit!")

Muffett got Mathews to fly to center. But that brought Aaron up. He hit a drive into the center field bleachers, and the Braves were 4-2 winners. They weren't called "walkoff" home runs at the time, but a full house of 40,926 at County Stadium seemed to run out of the stands and onto the field.

Stan Musial went 3-for-4 in a losing cause for the Cardinals.

The Braves would face the New York Yankees in the World Series. Years later, Aaron said that the Braves weren't intimidated by the Yankees, but that they were intimidated by Yankee Stadium. They must have gotten over it, because they won Game 7 there, 5-0, and became World Champions.

The Green Bay Packers had won 6 NFL Championships by this point. The title of the National Basketball League had been won by the Oshkosh All-Stars in 1941 and 1942, and the Sheboygan Red Skins in 1943. And the University of Wisconsin had had some athletic success. So the State of Wisconsin had won titles before. But this was the 1st major league championship won by a Milwaukee team. They have been few and far between since.

*

September 23, 1957 was a Monday. The film The Three Faces of Eve premiered on this day. I have a separate entry for this event.

There were 3 other games in the major leagues that day:

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Senators, 9-4 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Frank Malzone hit a home run for the Red Sox. Ted Williams went 1-for-1... with 3 walks. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run as a pinch-hitter.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Dick Brown singled Billy Harrell home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Cal McLish -- in full, Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish -- went the distance for the win. Hitting home runs for the Indians were Brown, Rocky Colavito, and a rookie named Roger Maris. It is interesting that, on a night when Aaron hit a major home run, Maris -- who, like Aaron, would break a home run record set by Babe Ruth -- also hit a home run. For the Tigers, Al Kaline went 3-for-4 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs.

* And the Kansas City Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-5 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.

There was another notable sporting event: Carmen Basilio won a split decision over Sugar Ray Robinson to win the Middleweight Championship of the World at Yankee Stadium. They would have a rematch 6 months later, at Chicago Stadium on March 23, 1958. It was another split decision, awarded to Robinson. 

July 13, 1971: The Shelling of Tiger Stadium

Reggie Jackson

July 13, 1971: Major League Baseball holds its All-Star Game at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. It was a ballpark that strongly favored hitters, but nobody expected the onslaught that came that night.

For the 1st time in All-Star Game history, both starting pitchers were black: For the American League, Vida Blue of the Oakland Athletics; for the National League, Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The year before, Ellis had pitched a no-hitter, which he later claimed to have done while under the influence of the drug LSD. From September 11, 1970 to August 15, 1971, Blue was 24-4 with an ERA of 1.76. That remains one of the best stretches of starting pitching in the post-1968, 10-Inch Mound Era.

Tiger Stadium was a hitter's park, with a 325-foot right field pole, an overhanging upper deck that made it even closer, and close power alleys on both sides. And, on this night, a strong wind was blowing out to right field.

Tiger Stadium set up for the 1971 All-Star Game.

Note the red, white and blue stars in the outfield.

It got the familiar blue and orange seats in the 1977-78 off-season.

In the top of the 2nd inning, with Ellis' Pirate teammate Willie Stargell on 1st base, Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds, the previous season's (and the next season's) NL Most Valuable Player, hit a 2-run home run to the opposite field, to make the score 2-0 in the NL's favor. In the top of the 3rd, Hank Aaron hit one to the opposite field, also wind-aided. Although he would become the game's all-time home run leader, this was his 1st extra-base hit in an All-Star Game, in his 18th season. It was 3-0 NL.

Luis Aparicio, the former Chicago White Sox shortstop now playing with the Boston Red Sox, singled to lead off the bottom of the 3rd. The AL manager, Earl Weaver of the Baltimore Orioles, sent Reggie Jackson up to pinch-hit for Blue, his Oakland teammate. Reggie was already one of the top sluggers in the game, but nobody expected this: He crushed a drive that looked like it might clear the right-field roof. Instead, it hit the transformer of a light tower. It became Reggie's signature moment -- until the 1977 World Series.

The transformer is the box at the lower right of this light tower.

The AL was not done for the inning. Rod Carew of the Minnesota Twins walked. Bobby Murcer of the New York Yankees popped up. Carl Yastrzemski of the Red Sox hit one against the wind, to left field, and it was held up so that the shortstop, Bud Harrelson of the New York Mets, caught it. That brought up Frank Robinson of the Orioles, and he hit a home run with the wind to right field. The AL led, 4-3.

In the bottom of the 6th, against Ferguson Jenkins of the Chicago Cubs, Al Kaline of the host Detroit Tigers singled, and Harmon Killebrew of the Twins, like Jackson one of the few sluggers with enough power to beat the kind of wind this game had, did so, into the upper deck in left field. That made it 6-3.

In the top of the 8th, Mickey Lolich of the Tigers came in to pitch, to the delight of the home crowd. He gave up an opposite-field home run to Roberto Clemente of the Pirates. That made the score 6-4 AL, but the NL got no closer. Although previous pitchers have been retroactively credited with saves in All-Star Game competition, Lolich was the 1st one to be credited with one after the stat's official recognition in 1969.

Lolich ended up winning more games that season than Blue, going 25-14 to Blue's 24-8. But Blue edged Lolich in the voting of the AL's Cy Young Award, and also won the AL's MVP. For many years, my schoolmates, knowing I was a baseball trivia whiz, tried to trip me up with a trick question: Who was the last switch-hitter to win the MVP? In the AL, it was a pitcher, Blue. But they tended to forget that Pete Rose was a switch-hitter, and had won it in the NL in 1973, so he was the answer.

Since then, in the NL, it's been won by switch-hitters Willie McGee in 1985, Terry Pendleton in 1991, Ken Caminiti in 1996, Chipper Jones in 1999, and Jimmy Rollins in 2007. But Vida Blue remains the last switch-hitter to win the Most Valuable Player award in the American League.

In 1978, pitching for the San Francisco Giants, Blue was selected as the National League's starting pitcher. This made him the 1st pitcher to start the All-Star Game for both Leagues.

On May 15, 1984, playing for the team then known as the California Angels, on an NBC Game of the Week, Reggie Jackson, 38 years old, finally hit a home run over the roof of Tiger Stadium. It was the 485th homer of his career.

The 6 Hall-of-Famers who hit home runs in the 1971 All-Star Game would finish as follows: Hank Aaron, 755; Frank Robinson, 586; Harmon Killebrew 573, Reggie Jackson, 563; Johnny Bench, 389; Roberto Clemente, 240.

Clemente's total doesn't sound like much, but he played most of his home games at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, whose dimensions were similar to those of the pre-renovation original Yankee Stadium: Close in right field, too far everywhere else. In contrast, Aaron and Clemente were the only ones of this group to collect at least 3,000 hits, and Clemente's .317 lifetime batting average was easily higher than any of the others.

Tiger Stadium was the home of the Detroit Tigers from 1912 to 1999, and the NFL's Detroit Lions from 1938 to 1974. It was named Navin Field from 1912 to 1937, and Briggs Stadium from 1938 to 1960. There were over 30 home runs hit over the right field roof, including 4 by the Tigers' Norm Cash, and 2 by the Yankees' Mickey Mantle, as a switch-hitter batting lefthanded.

But only 4 players hit one over the left-field roof: Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Cecil Fielder and Mark McGwire. Mantle certainly had the power to hit one over the left field roof batting righthanded, having done so twice at Comiskey Park in Chicago and once at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, but he never did that at Tiger Stadium.

Tiger Stadium had also hosted the All-Star Game in 1941 and 1951. Its successor, Comerica Park, hosted its 1st All-Star Game in 2005.

*

July 13, 1971 was a Tuesday, as the day of the All-Star Game usually is. There were no other scores on this historic day.

May 26, 1959: The Harvey Haddix Game

May 26, 1959: Harvey Haddix puts on the greatest pitching performance of all time. And loses.

In 1981, baseball historian John Thorn published Baseball's 10 Greatest Games. He included this game as one of them. He began the chapter on it by referring to Game 3 of the 1951 National League Playoff and Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, saying, "Fate can be cruel, as it was to Ralph Branca; or it can be kind, as it was to Don Larsen. Today, it will be both to Harvey Haddix."

Haddix, a native of Medway, Ohio, outside Dayton, arrived in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1952. Like his teammate, Harry Brecheen, he was a lefthanded pitcher. Brecheen was nicknamed The Cat, so Haddix was nicknamed The Kitten. He wasn't just a protégé: He made the National League All-Star Team in 1953, '54 and '55.

On the night of May 26, 1959, a crowd of 19,194, a good crowd for a Tuesday night in that era, filed into Milwaukee County Stadium, and saw the 33-year-old Haddix take the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Milwaukee Braves. His fastball and breaking ball were both very sharp: He later said, "I could have put a cup on either corner of the plate, and hit it." Bill Mazeroski, often called the greatest-fielding 2nd baseman of all time, said, "Usually, you have one or two great or spectacular defensive plays in these no-hitters. Not that night: It was the easiest game I ever played in."

The problem was, the Pirates weren't scoring, either. Their starter, Lew Burdette, who won 3 games in the 1957 World Series, was also really on his game. At the end of 9 innings, the Pirates had 9 hits, the Braves none -- but the score was 0-0. Haddix hadn't allowed a single baserunner. He had pitched not just a no-hitter, but a perfect game. Indeed, he had been a baserunner: He had singled off Burdette. And yet, he hadn't won. The game continued.

Pirate 3rd baseman Don Hoak singled in the top of the 10th. He couldn't score. Haddix kept the perfecto going. Shortstop Dick "Ducky" Schofield singled to lead off the top of the 11th. But for the 3rd time in the game, Burdette induced a ground ball that was turned into a double play. Haddix kept his end going, becoming, still, to this day, the only man to go through the 1st 11 innings of a game without allowing a hit, and he still hadn't allowed a baserunner.

Mazeroski singled in the top of the 12th, but was stranded. Haddix still didn't budge in the bottom of the 12th: 36 men up, 36 men down. It had never happened before, and it has never happened since. Schofield singled again in the top of the 13th, to no avail. Haddix took the mound for the bottom of the 13th. It was still 0-0. He still hadn't allowed a baserunner.

Félix Mantilla led off for the Braves. He hit a bouncer to Hoak at 3rd, but Hoak bobbled it, lost his composure, and made a bad throw to 1st base. Mantilla was safe. An error. The perfect game was gone. But the no-hitter still had a chance.

Eddie Mathews, one of the best sluggers in the game, bunted Mantilla over to 2nd. With 1st base open and 1 out, the next batter was Hank Aaron. Pirate manager Danny Murtaugh ordered Haddix to intentionally walk him. It was the 39th batter of the game for Haddix, and his 1st walk. But it did set up an inning-ending double play.

There would be no double play. Joe Adcock was the next man up, and he hit the ball over the right-center field fence, into the bleachers, for a game-winning home run.

Or so everyone thought. With less than 2 outs, Aaron didn't know whether the ball would be caught, so he was stuck between 1st and 2nd base. He later said he thought the ball landed in front of the fence, so he got to 2nd base, and the next thing he knows, Adcock has passed him. National League President Warren Giles ruled that Adcock was out, since only Aaron was entitled to the base, and ruled that the final score was Braves 1, Pirates 0.

It didn't matter to Haddix: He had pitched 12 perfect innings, only to lose the perfect game, the no-hitter, the shutout, and the win. For his valiant effort, he walked away with only a loss.

God, or "the baseball gods," or Fate, or whatever you want to ascribe it to, made it up to Haddix: He became the winning pitcher for the Pirates in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, the Bill Mazeroski Game. (John Thorn included that game in his book, too.) He finished his career in 1965, with a record of 136-113, an ERA of 3.63, 1,575 strikeouts, 3 Gold Gloves, and a World Series ring.

Haddix later became a pitching coach. In 1991, Major League Baseball officially redefined a "no-hitter" as "a game in which a pitcher or pitchers complete a game of nine innings or more without allowing a hit." This retroactively disqualified Haddix: Despite his having thrown more perfect innings than anyone in a single game, his achievement was taken off the lists of perfect games and no-hitters. He said, "It's okay. I know what I did." So did everybody else. He died in 1994, at the age of 68.

*

May 26, 1959 was a Tuesday. Ed Walsh, who pitched a no-hitter for the Chicago White Sox in 1911, and was on the losing side of Addie Joss' 1908 perfect game despite striking out a then-record 15 batters, died that day. These other baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 12-2 at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox did this without Ted Williams, who did not play. Tom Brewer outpitched Bob Turley. Mickey Mantle went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Yogi Berra went 0-for-3.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Senators, 6-5 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson did not play for the Orioles. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-4 with a walk for the Senators.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Frank Robinson went 1-for-4. The winning pitcher was former Brooklyn Dodger ace Don Newcombe.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Don Ferrarese (6 2/3rds innings) and Jim Perry combined for a 4-hit shutout.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Athletics, 9-5 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Al Kaline went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Roger Maris was on the A's roster, but did not play in this game. But future managing great Dick Williams hit a home run, and another, Whitey Herzog, went 3-for-4.

* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-4 at Seals Stadium in San Francisco. Sandy Koufax, not yet the superstar that he would become, started for the Dodgers, but ran out of gas in the bottom of the 9th, allowing a game-winning grand slam to Leon Wagner. Willie Mays went 1-for-2 with 2 walks.

* And the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals, arch-rivals, having wrapped up a series the day before, were not scheduled.

May 17, 1970: Hank Aaron Is the 1st Player to 3,000 Hits & 500 Homers

Left to right: Stan Musial, unknown umpire,

Hank Aaron, Braves owner Bill Bartholomay

May 17, 1970: Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves singles home a run against Wayne Simpson of the Cincinnati Reds, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. It is the 3,000th hit of his career, making him the 1st player in Major League Baseball history to have both major career hitting milestones: 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.

Aaron beats Willie Mays to this distinction by 62 days. Later in the game, he hit his 570th home run, and finished the game 3-for-5 with 5 RBIs. But the Reds carried the day, which went 15 innings. It was pitcher Don Gullett, batting for himself because he was the last unused man on the Cincinnati roster, who singled home the winning run, and the Reds won, 7-6, completing a doubleheader sweep.

The Reds had won the 1st game, 5-1, with Jim Merritt outpitching Pat Jarvis. Five days earlier, Jarvis had pitched against the Chicago Cubs, and gave up the 500th career home run of Ernie Banks. The Cubs won that game, 4-3 in 11 innings at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Over the 2 games, Aaron went 3-for-9 with a home run, 2 walks and 3 RBIs; Pete Rose went 2-for-9 with 2 home runs, 2 walks, and 3 RBIs; and Johnny Bench went 3-for-11 with a home run and and 3 RBIs.

Aaron joining the 500 Home Run Club in 1968, only 34 years old, was the first sign that maybe he would be the player to break Babe Ruth's record of 714 career home runs. Up until then, the player who seemed most likely to do it was Mays, who had surpassed Mickey Mantle as such when he surpassed Mantle on the home run list in 1964.

Among those on hand to congratulate Aaron on his milestone was Stan Musial, who, until then, was the last player to reach 3,000 hits. He finished his career with 475 home runs.

The list of players who have done 3000/500 is more surprising for who is not on it than it is for who is on it. The greatest hitter who ever lived? Most people will say either Ruth or Ted Williams. Ruth hit 714 home runs, a record that lasted until Aaron surpassed him with 755, but he finished with 2,873 hits. I suspect that if someone had told him that, one day, 3,000 hits would be considered a big deal, he would have gone for it.

As for Williams, he closed his career by hitting a home run in his last at-bat, his 521st homer. But, because he missed the equivalent of 5 seasons serving in 2 different wars, his career hit total was 2,654. Barry Bonds, who would use steroids to surpass Aaron's record and finish with 762 home runs, had 2,935 hits. Mantle's many injuries did not prevent him from hitting 536 home runs, but they did limit him to 2,415 hits.

Musial had 3,630 hits, but, as I said, fell short of 500 home runs, at 475. Carl Yastrzemski had 3,419 hits, but 452 home runs. Dave Winfield had 3,110 hits, but 465 home runs. Frank Robinson hit 586 home runs, but fell short of 3,000 hits, with 2,943. Mel Ott hit 511 home runs, but had 2,876 hits.

Here's the players who have done both:

1. May 17, 1970: Hank Aaron. He finished with 3,771 hits, including 755 home runs. In other words, without counting his home runs, he still had over 3,000 hits.

2. July 18, 1970: Willie Mays. He finished with 3,283 hits, including 600 home runs.

3. September 6, 1996: Eddie Murray. He is the only player, so far, to get his 3,000th hit first, and his 500th home run second. He finished with 3,255 hits, including 504 home runs.

4. July 15, 2005: Rafael Palmeiro. He finished with 3,020 hits, including 569 home runs. He would have finished with more, but he failed a steroid test, got benched, got released, and was not signed by anyone else, essentially blackballed from baseball.

5. June 19, 2015: Alex Rodriguez. He finished his career with 3,115 hits, including 696 home runs. But he, too, was exposed as a steroid user.

6. May 14, 2018: Albert Pujols. He finished his career with 3,308 hits, including 703 home runs.

7. April 23, 2002: Miguel Cabrera. As of May 17, 2022, he is still active. (UPDATE: He retired after the 2023 season, with 3,174 hits, including 511 home runs.)

So, out of 22,000 or so men who have played Major League Baseball since it began in 1871, only 7 have both 3,000 hits and 500 home runs -- and only 5 have done so honestly.

*

May 17, 1970 was a Sunday. Basketball player Hubert Davis and New Kids On The Block singer Jordan Knight were born.

These other games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-7 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Willie Stargell appeared as a pinch-hitter, and drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk.

* The Kansas City Royals swept a doubleheader from the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 and 8-4 at Comiskey Park. Both games went to extra innings. In the opener, Joe Keough doubled Amos Otis home in the top of the 10th. In the nightcap, the Royals scored 4 runs in the top of the 11th, including a home run by Pat Kelly.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-3 with a walk. Rod Carew went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, 4-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lou Brock went 0-for-4. Ernie Banks also went 0-for-4, but had an RBI on a groundout.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 5-3 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 8-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Claude Osteen pitched a 4-hit shutout. Willie Mays went 1-for-3 with a walk. Willie McCovey went 0-for-2 before getting the rest of the game off.

* A doubleheader was split at the Oakland Coliseum. The California Angels won the 1st game, 7-1. The Oakland Athletics won the 2nd game, 6-5. Greg Garrett walked Bert Campaneris with the bases loaded, forcing Sal Bando home, in the bottom of the 10th inning. Over the 2 games, Reggie Jackson went 1-for-8 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Senators were rained out at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. The game was made up on June 29. The Senators won, 5-3. The Senators scored 3 runs, including a home run by Aurelio Rodríguez, off Mike Cuellar in the bottom of the 8th to come from behind, making Jim Shellenback the winning pitcher. Frank Howard also hit a home run. For the O's, Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson each went 1-for-4.

* The New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies were rained out at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 2. The Phils swept, 6-1 and 3-2.

* The Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians were rained out at Fenway Park in Boston. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 3. The Red Sox swept, 2-1 and 5-4. Over the 2 games, Carl Yastrzemski went 4-for-7 with a home run, 2 walks, and an RBI.

* The New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers were rained out at Yankee Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 6. The Tigers won the 1st game, 2-1. Mike Kilkenny outpitched Mel Stottlemyre. Al Kaline went 1-for-4, then got the 2nd game off.

The Yankees won the 2nd game, 7-5. Stan Bahnsen and Joe Niekro started, but Ron Klimkowski was the winning pitcher, and John Hiller was the losing pitcher. Roy White and Bobby Murcer hit home runs.

There was 1 other score to report: Game 2 of the American Basketball Association Finals was played at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis. The Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Stars, 114-111. The Stars went on to win the title in 6 games.

The NBA Championship had been decided 9 days earlier, with the New York Knicks beating the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the Finals. The NHL Championship had been decided 7 days earlier, with the Boston Bruins sweeping the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Finals in 4 straight. And football was out of season.

May 1, 1975: Hank Aaron Becomes the All-Time RBI Leader

May 1, 1975: Hank Aaron breaks another career record that had been held by Babe Ruth -- and hardly anybody notices.

On April 8, 1974, playing for the Atlanta Braves, Aaron hit the 715th home run of his career, surpassing Ruth as the all-time leader in that category. He finished the season with 733. On November 2, the Braves, who had moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta for the 1966 season, traded him to the team that replaced them in the beermaking city, the Milwaukee Brewers, for Dave May and Roger Alexander. Aaron returned to the city where he began his career, and was warmly welcomed by their fans.

At the age of 41, in the American League for the 1st time, Aaron, formerly a right fielder and 1st baseman, was now usually the Brewers' designated hitter. He came into the game of May 1 with 2,209 career runs batted in, tied with Ruth for the most all-time. But, with only a fraction of the attention that his pursuit of 715 home runs had gotten, it seemed like hardly anyone cared, or even noticed, his pursuit of 2,210 RBIs.

In the bottom of the 3rd inning at Milwaukee County Stadium, Aaron singled home Sixto Lezcano. This gave him 2,210 career RBIs, and also gave the Brewers a 2-2 tie with the Detroit Tigers. In the 5th, he hit a double, scoring Robin Yount, for his 2,211th RBI. That gave the Brewers a 5-3 lead.

Yount, who would one day join Aaron in the Baseball Hall of Fame, went 2-for-6 with 4 RBIs. He and Darrell Porter would both hit home runs. The Brewers won in a blowout, 17-3. The Brewers were slowly improving, but would not contend for the Playoffs until 1978. But, for the moment, they were better than the Tigers: In their 1st season without Al Kaline on their roster since 1952, they had one of their worst seasons ever.

On February 3, 1976, Major League Baseball's Records Committee revised Ruth's career RBI total to 2,204. In actuality, Aaron set the record with 2,205 on April 18, 1975. But nobody knew that at the time.

Aaron retired after the 1976 season, with 3,771 hits, 1,477 extra-base hits, 6,856 total bases, 755 home runs, and 2,297 RBIs. The hit total was then 2nd all-time behind Ty Cobb. The other figures were all-time records. While Barry Bonds used steroids to hit 762 career home runs, Aaron still holds the career records for extra-base hits, total bases and RBIs.

*

May 1, 1975 was a Thursday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-0 at Shea Stadium, where they played while Yankee Stadium was renovated in the 1974 and '75 seasons. Catfish Hunter pitched a 5-hit shutout, beating Jim Palmer. Thurman Munson hit a home run.

* The New York Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs, 5-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-6 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4. Frank Robinson, who had just become MLB's 1st black manager, was still playing, and went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 11-10 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. The Angels scored a run in the top of the 13th inning, but a Cookie Rojas double and a Buck Martinez single won it for the Royals in the bottom of the 13th. Harmon Killebrew, running out the string with the Royals, went 0-for-7, but had an RBI on a groundout. George Brett went 4-for-7 with an RBI.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* And the Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres, 6-3 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).

Both the NBA and the ABA were in their Playoffs, but no games were scheduled for that day. Two games were played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Buffalo Sabers, 7-0 at the Montreal Forum. Guy Lafleur had a hat trick. But the Sabres would win the series.

And the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Islanders, 5-4 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. Bobby Clarke won the game, 2:56 into overtime. The Flyers would beat the Sabres, to make it back-to-back Cups.

There were also 2 games in the World Hockey Association Playoffs. The Houston Aeros beat the San Diego Mariners, 5-4 in overtime at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston. And the Quebec Nordiques beat the Minnesota Fighting Saints, 4-2 at the St. Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

And soccer player Marc-Vivien Foé was born in Cameroon. Sadly, he died of a heart attack while playing for his national team in 2003.

April 13, 1954: A Big Day of Baseball Debuts

Curt Roberts

April 13, 1954: A big day in baseball. The Baltimore Orioles, formerly the St. Louis Browns, debut on the road, losing to the Detroit Tigers, 3-0 at Briggs Stadium. (It is renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961.) Their 1st batter is 2nd baseman Bobby Young, who grounds out to 1st base. Steve Gromek pitches a 7-hit shutout. The losing pitcher will see better days: His name is Don Larsen.

The Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Braves, 9-8 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Making his major league debut for the Braves is Hank Aaron, batting 5th, playing left field, and wearing Number 5. In the 1st inning, batting against Clarence "Bud" Podbelian, he grounds to short, starting an inning-ending double play. He grounds out to 3rd base in the 3rd. He pops up to 2nd in the 4th. He leads off the top of the 7th, and flies to right. And he flies out to right again in the 8th.

Hank Aaron at the Polo Grounds, early in his career

He ends the day at 0-for-5. Over the next 23 seasons, wearing Number 44 from the 2nd season onward, he would collect 3,771 hits, 755 of them home runs.

The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. 2nd baseman Curt Roberts becomes the 1st black player to play for the Pirates, and goes 1-for-3.

The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 13-4 at Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's Park, in St. Louis. 1st baseman Tom Alston becomes the 1st black player to play for the Cardinals, and goes 0-for-4. The previous September Ernie Banks had become the Cubs' 1st black player.

Tom Alston

Four days later, on April 17, Saturnino "Nino" Escalera, an outfielder from Puerto Rico, became the 1st black player for the Cincinnati Reds, who were known as the Cincinnati Redlegs from 1953 to 1958, because the only thing dumber than caving in to McCarthyism was McCarthyism itself.

In 2014, 60 years later, New York Daily News baseball columnist Bill Madden published 1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever. In the introduction, he wrote, "Whether baseball and America realized it, 1954 was the launching pad for a new era, when the dominant players in baseball were to be blacks and Hispanics."

The Pirates' pioneer would not be one of those dominant players: Curt Roberts, who had previously been a teammate of Banks on the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues, only lasted 2 years in the majors, last playing on June 8, 1956, as the emergence of Bill Mazeroski made other 2nd basemen surplus to requirements. He starred in the high minors, with teams like the Denver Bears, the Montreal Royals and the Spokane Indians, but a broken leg in 1961 led to the end of his career in 1963. In 1969, he was changing a tire on his car in Oakland, California when he was hit by a drunk driver, and killed. He was only 40 years old, and should still have been playing.

The Cards' barrier-breaker also felt short of stardom: Tom Alston played 4 full seasons for them, but fell victim to neurasthenia, a neurotic disorder, and never played again after the 1957 season. He spent the rest of his life in hospitals, dying in 1993, at 67.

And Escalera only played 73 games in the majors, all for the '54 Redlegs. He does have the distinction of being the last lefthanded thrower to play shortstop in the National League. He played in the high minors until 1962, then scouted Puerto Rico for the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. Among the players he discovered were Jerry Morales, Ed Figueroa and José Oquendo. He lived until 2021, at 91.

All 3 franchises would find more suitable representatives. After being openly hostile to the integration of the sport in 1947, the Cardinals began to develop black players like Bob Gibson, and acquire Curt Flood, Bill White and Lou Brock; while developing Hispanic players like Julián Javier and Mike Cuellar, eventually acquiring Orlando Cepeda. That team would win 3 Pennants in the 1960s.

In 1955, the Pirates obtained Roberto Clemente, and he was a key figure in their team that won the 1960 World Series. In 1971, with Clemente and Mazeroski still there, and Willie Stargell building a career that would allow him to join them in the Baseball Hall of Fame, they fielded the 1st starting lineup in MLB history to be entirely made up of players who were black, Hispanic, or both; and went on to win another World Series.

In 1956, the Reds brought Frank Robinson up, and followed him with other black and/or Hispanic players like Vada Pinson, winning the Pennant in 1961.

*

April 13, 1954 was a Tuesday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Washington Senators, 5-3 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. President Dwight D. Eisenhower threw out the ceremonial first ball. Uncharacteristically, Whitey Ford didn't get out of the 4th inning. The Yankees used 5 pitchers, the last of them Allie Reynolds. Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra each went 0-for-5. 

Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Reynolds walked Eddie Yost -- known as the Walking Man, with 8 seasons of 100 or more walks, leading the American League 6 times, so his lifetime batting average was .254 but his on-base percentage was .394 -- and gave up a game-winning home run to Mickey Vernon, to make a winning pitcher out of Chuck Stobbs.

* The National League's New York arch-rivals played each other at the Polo Grounds. The New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-3. Sal Maglie outpitched Carl Erskine. Mays, Hank Thompson (who became the Giants' 1st black player in 1949), and Alvin Dark each hit home runs. Roy Campanella hit 2 for the Dodgers, while Jackie Robinson went 1-for-4, and Duke Snider went 2-for-5. From 1951 to 1956, either the Giants or the Dodgers won the Pennant every year.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-4 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Bobby Shantz outpitched Mel Parnell. Gus Zernial hit a home run, and A's 2nd baseman Forrest "Spook" Jacobs went 4-for-5. Ted Williams did not play, but in his place in left field, Billy Goodman went 4-for-5. Sammy White and Jackie Jensen hit home runs for Boston. No one knew it at the time, but this would be the last season in Philadelphia for the A's.

* And the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Early Wynn, later to be the ace for the White Sox' 1959 American League Pennant winners, outpitched Billy Pierce. Wally Westlake and George Strickland hit home runs. The Indians went on to break the Yankees' streak of 5 straight Pennants, and win 111 games, to break the Yankees' AL record of 110 wins in 1927. But the Giants swept them in the World Series.

Football was out of season. The NBA season, and an era, ended the night before, as the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Syracuse Nationals, 87-80 at the Minneapolis Auditorium, to win the Finals in 7 games. George Mikan retired, and the NBA instituted the 24-second shot clock for the next season.

And Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals was played. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 at the Montreal Forum, to send the Finals to a Game 7. Floyd Curry scored 2 goals, while Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion and Maurice "the Rocket" Richard each added 1. But the Wings would win Game 7 in Detroit, 3 days later, on an overtime goal by Tony Leswick.