This Weekend in Baseball History
July 24th, 1990: It all came up fours for Vince Coleman of The Cardinals. The speedster puts up some spectacular numbers, with four hits (two triples, a single and a home run), four stolen bases (including stealing home) and four runs scored – as well as a tumbling catch in left field to end the game as the Cards defeat the Cubs 9 – 4 at Busch Stadium.
July 24th, 1988: The Mets retire Tom Seaver's number 41, for the future Hall of Famer, who went 198 - 124 in his 12 Shea Stadium seasons. He's the first Mets player to be so honored -- joining former managers Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges.
July 24th, 1979: Carl Yastrzemski belts his 400th career home run off the A's Mike Morgan. Dwight Evans also homered for Boston in a 7-3 win at Fenway Park.
July 24th, 1978: A day after his "One's a born liar, the other's convicted," outburst about Reggie Jackson and George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin is replaced by Bob Lemon as Yankee manager. The club goes 48-20 the rest of the way, catches the Red Sox for the division, and goes onto win its second straight World Series championship.
July 24th, 1970: Tommie Agee steals home with two outs in the bottom of the 10th to give the Mets a 2-1 win over the Dodgers.July 24rd, 1965: Casey Stengel manages what turns out to be his final game for the Mets, a 5-1 loss to the Phillies at Shea Stadium. Late that night, the almost-75 year old breaks a hip when he falls (some say in the rest room, others say getting into a car) at Toots Shor's restaurant in Manhattan and never returns to the dugout.
July 24th, 1961: The Yankees host the San Francisco Giants in a mid-summer exhibition game at Yankee Stadium. Despite threatening weather, more than 47,000 came to the Bronx to watch the former Polo Grounds residents beat the Yankees 4-1. Willie Mays drove in a pair of San Francisco runs, while Mickey Mantle homered for the only Yankee score. (But due to the weather, a pre-game home run derby with Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle opposed by Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda was canceled.)
July 24th, 1926: Lou Gehrig swipes home on the front end of a double steal with Babe Ruth trailing -- one of 15 times this legendary slugger would steal home during his career. Ben Paschal then drives in Ruth on a single -- the only Yankee runs in a 2-1 win over the White Sox.
July 25th, 2015: In what turns out to be Cole Hamels' final game for the Phillies, the veteran lefty authors a no-hitter against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The lefty strikes out 13 and walks two for his first win since May 23rd.
July 25th, 1999: Nolan Ryan, baseball's all time strikeout leader, heads the inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He's joined by George Brett, Robin Yount and veterans committee selections Orlando Cepeda, Nestor Chylak, Frank Selee, and 'Smokey' Joe Williams.
July 25th, 1998: The Yankees unveil a plaque for Mel Allen, the club's iconic broadcaster who died two years earlier. Its message calls him" a Yankee institution, a national treasure" and includes his signature line, "How about that?"
July 25th, 1994: Rico Brogna have a five hit day for the Mets, five days after being promoted from their Norfolk minor league club. He joins Dick Smith (1964) and John Milner (1972) as the only Mets to do so, in a 7-2 Busch Stadium win over the Cardinals.
July 25th, 1990: George Brett hits for the cycle in the Royals 6-1 win over the Blue Jays at the SkyDome.
July 25th, 1980: Mike Schmidt homers twice off the Braves' Larry McWilliams to move past Del Ennis as the Phillies all time home run leader. In the game Schmidt went 4 for 4, including a 12th inning bases loaded walk that gave the Phillies a 5-4 win in the opener of a Veterans Stadium doubleheader.
July 25th, 1972: Leo Durocher steps down after seven seasons as Cubs manager, and is replaced by one of his former New York Giants stars, Whitey Lockman.
July 25th, 1968: Bob Gibson fires a 5-0 shutout over the Phillies for his 11th straight victory -- which stretches his consecutive innings scoreless streak to 33, breaking William Doak's old club record.
July 25th, 1966: Casey Stengel and Ted Williams are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Williams' speech is noteworth as he calls fot the Hall to consider adding Negro League players to its honorees.
July 25th, 1961: Roger Maris, taking aim at Babe Ruth’s single-season record, blasts a pair of home runs in each game of a twi-night doubleheader, giving him four for the day and 40 for the season, as the Yankees sweep the White Sox at Yankee Stadium by scores of 5 – 1 and 12- 0.
July 25th, 1956: Carl Furillo becomes the first Dodger to homer in a game at Jersey City. It's the only Brooklyn score in a 2-1 loss to the Reds, as Brooks Lawrence outpitches Don Newcombe.
July 25th, 1956: Roberto Clemente becomes the first player ever to hit an inside-the-park walk-off grand slam. It comes off Jim Brosnan of the Cubs for a 9-8 Pittsburgh victory.
July 25th, 1950: The Phillies sweep a doubleheader from the Cubs -- with Bubba Church firing a shutout in the opener, and Robin Roberts matching that in the nightcap -- and move into 1st place for keeps.
July 25th, 1941: Hall of Famer Lefty Grove wins his 300th and final game as the Red Sox outscore the Indians 10-6 at Cleveland.
July 26th, 2012: Matt Harvey makes a splash his major league debut, as the Mets visit the the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Therookie became the first MLB pitcher since 1900 to record at least 10 strikeouts and two hits in the same game -- striking out 11 in 5-1/3 innings, in the Mets 3-1 victory.
July 26th, 1984: Roger Clemens posts double digit strikeouts for the first of more than 50 times in his career, as the Red Sox blank the White Sox 7-0.
July 26th, 1980: Steve Stone posts his 14th consective victory as the Orioles beat the Brewers 4-1. The Baltimore righthander would go 25-7 and win the Cy Young Award.
July 26th, 1971: Bob Gibson is a one man wrecking crew, leading the Cardinals to a 13-1 win over the Mets -- and driving in five runs on a grand slam homer and a single.
July 26th, 1957: Mickey Mantle's 200th career home run comes off fellow future Hall of Famer Jim Bunning in the Yankees 3-2 loss to the Tigers in Detroit.
July 26th, 1948: The Babe Ruth Story has its world premiere at the Astor Theater in New York. William Bendix -- a onetime vendor at Yankee games in the Polo Grounds -- plays the Bambino in a film that pales in comparison to its six years earlier rival The Pride of the Yankees. The cancer-stricken legend makes his final appearance before the screening; he'll die three weeks later.
July 26th, 1939: For the first time in their history. the Yankees score in every inning, as they crush the St. Louis Browns 14-1. Bill Dickey has four hits, including a home run. Joe DiMaggio and Tommy Henrich each have three in the 20-hit attack. So does pitcher Red Ruffing, who gives up as many hits (3) as he produces!
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