June 26
1901 – A 5-4 victory over visiting Philadelphia moves the Nationals into a 3rd place tie with the Baltimore Orioles. Overall, the Nationals are 24-20, 4 and a half behind 1st place Boston.
1912 – In what should have gone down as one the best Senators acquisitions ever, the Sens acquire P Hippo Vaughn from the Highlanders for the waiver price. In 12 games for Washington, Vaughn posts a 4-3 mark with a 2.89 ERA. Curiously, Clark Griffith is not that impressed with Vaughn and deals Vaughn to Kansas City of the American Association in August. Vaughn will eventually resurface and emerge as a star with the Chicago Cubs.
Scattering 4 hits and fanning 10 is not enough on this day for the Big Train. Behind the stellar pitching of “Smokey” Joe Wood, the Red Sox outlast the Senators, 3-0, in the nation’s capital.
1920 – The streaking A’s skid to their 17th straight loss. Clyde Milan‘s RBI single in the top of the 9th spells defeat for the Mackmen, 4-3.
1924 – The beat goes on for the red hot Senators. With President Calvin Coolridge and the First Lady in attendance, the
Senators cool off Philadelphia, 5-0, in Washington. It is the 10th consecutive victory for 1st place Washington.
1925 – Washington pulls out a hard fought, 5-3 win in Philly. The key blow is Goose Goslin‘s 3-run homer off Lefty Grove in the 7th. The 42-22 Senators close to within 1.5 games of league leading Philadelphia.
1927 – In game 3 of a 5 game set at home against Boston, the Nats outpunch the Sox, 8-7. Despite getting credit for the win, Walter Johnson lasts only 5 innings. Buddy Myer of the Red Sox homers off his former teammate and future manager, Johnson, while Goslin homers for Washington.
1942 – A 3-run home run and 3-run double from the Brown’s Harland Clift and Chet Laabs, respectively, is all the offense that St. Louis will need. The Browns add 2 more runs for the 8-5 win in St. Louis.
1970 – Becoming only the 7th player in major league history to hit grand slams in consecutive at bats, Baltimore’s Frank Robinson historic feat is the story of the O’s 12-2 laugher in RFK. Dave McNally dominates the Nats once again with a complete game. Rick Reichardt is the only Senator able to solve the riddle of McNally by homering twice off the southpaw.
Senators Birthdays
Joseph Peter Albanese B Jun. 26, 1933 D Jun. 17, 2000
Senators Short Timer Joe Albanese appeared in 6 games during the 1958 season. Pitching in just 6 innings, he left the majors with a 0-0 record and a 4.50 ERA.
Gene Leroy Green B Jun. 26, 1933 D May 23, 1981
Gene Green‘s 7 year career in the majors began in 1957 when he appeared in 6 games with the St. Louis Cardinals. He’d remain with the Cardinals through 1959 and then be traded to the Baltimore Orioles. He’d appear in just 1 game for Baltimore in 1960.
Selected in the expansion draft by the Washington Senators, he’d appear in 110 games for the “new” Senators, catching and playing right field. Green would go 102 for 364, yielding a .280 BA, with 18 home runs.
During the off season, he’d be traded, along with Dick Donovan and Jim Mahoney to the Cleveland Indians for Jimmy Piersall.
Green would play for the Indians in 1962. After 43 games in a Cleveland uniform in 1963 he was traded one last time and finish his career appearing in 15 games for the Cincinnati Reds.
Bert Elmer Singleton B Jun. 26, 1918 D Jan. 5, 1996
Pitcher Bert Singleton first appeared in the major leagues in 1945 as a 27 year old rookie with the Boston Braves. Appearing in just 22 games over the 1945 & 1946 seasons, he find himself with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947 & 1948.
After a brief hiatus in 1949, he’d return to the majors in 1950 when he appeared in 21 games for the Washington Senators in 1950. Pitching in 36.1 innings, he’d leave Washington with a 1-3 record and an ERA of 5.20 for the season.
7 years later, he’d have one final fling with the Chicago Cubs from 1957-1959, appearing in just 28 games over those 3 seasons.
Richard Morley Tettlebach B Jun. 26, 1929 D Jan. 26, 1995
Dick Tettlebach got his short major league career started in late September of 1955 when he appeared in 2 games for the New York Yankees.
During the winter he was traded, along with Lou Berberet, Whitey Herzog, Herb Plews and Bob Weisler, from the Yankees to the Washington Senators for Bobby Kline and Mickey McDermott.
An outfielder, Tettlebach would find himself in just 18 games in 1956, when he hit .156. After another 9 games in 1957 he was traded once again, in May, to the Cleveland Indians, along with Dick Brodowski, for Bob Usher. Tettlebach would never appear in another major league game.
