This Day in D.C. Baseball History – Heinie’s game saving catch

September 21, 1933

Heinie Manush saves the victory with a diving catch in the 9th inning as the Senators beat the St. Louis Browns 2-1 and clinched the American League Pennant.

In a season where the Yankees were picked to win the AL pennant, the surprising Senators clinched the pennant with over a week left in the regular season. The New York Giants will beat out the Pittsburgh Pirates by 5 games to win the National League Pennant

With the Senators leading the majors in team Average (.287), Hits (1,586), and Triples (86) against the Giants who led the majors in team ERA (2.71), Fewest Hits Allowed (1,280), and Shutouts (23) meant you would have a classic series between a great hitting team against a great pitching team. The great pitching of the Giants was able to shut down the Senators hitters as the Giants won the World Series 4 games to 1.

September 21, 1961
In the last game played at Griffith Stadium the Minnesota Twins beat the Washington Senators 6-3 in front of only 1,498 fans. The fans in D.C. were making it pretty clear that they either hated baseball or they are sick and tired of rooting for losers.

With only one winning season from 1961 to 1971 it was only 10 years and 10 days later the new Senators were playing their last game at RFK Stadium.