July 6
1914 – Washington SS George McBride‘s steal of home in the home 4th is all the help Walter Johnson will need in a 1-0 win over Boston. It is the 16th 1-0 victory of Johnson’s career.
1920 – In a game that Clark Griffith and the Senators would much rather forget, Washington is steamrolled by the Yanks, 17-0, in D.C. The lowlight is the 5th inning, when the Nats allow a then record 14 Yankee runs to cross the plate. Nats hurler Olaf Erickson goes down in the record books as the losing pitcher of this humiliating contest.
1933 – Joe Cronin is tapped as the starting SS in the inaugural All Star Game at Comiskey Park. Cronin collects a single off Lon Warnerke of the Cardinals in the 6th and is 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Washington’s other All Star representative, P General Crowder, gives up the NL’s only 2 runs, including a home run from the bat of the Cards Frankie Frisch in the 6th. The American League defeats the National League, 4-2, with the highlight off the game being a Babe Ruth 2-run home run.
1962 – Tallying 7 runs in the bottom of the 8th, Kansas City soars to a 12-9 win over the Senators. Shoddy pitching from Tom Cheney, Steve Hamilton, Bennie Daniels and Marty Kutya waste a solid offensive performance. Jim King, Bob Schmidt, Chuck Hinton and Bob Johnson all homer for the Nats, with Johnson and Bid Zipfel driving home 2 RBI’s apiece.
1969 – The Senators shutout Boston in Fenway, 5-0. P Dick Bosman continues his breakout year with a 6 K, 0 walk and complete game victory to run his record to 6-2 with a 1.89 ERA.
Senators Birthdays
Hardin Abner (Lil’ Abner) Cathey B Jul. 6, 1919 D Jul. 27, 1997
One Season Wonder Abner Cathey appeared in 12 games for the Senators in 1942. A pitcher, his final appearance was in mid-June of that season. He would depart with a 1-1 record and an ERA of 7.42.
Karl Arthur (Ole) Olson B Jul. 6, 1930 D Dec 25, 2010
Outfielder Karl Olson made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox in 1951, playing in 5 games. He’d return to the Red Sox roster in 1953 and remain in Boston through the end of the 1955 season.
During the off season, he was part of a multi-player trade that sent minor leaguer Al Curtis, Dick Borodowski, Neil Chrisley and Tex Clevenger to the Senators in exchange for Mickey Vernon, Bob Porterfield, Johnny Schmitz and Tom Umphlett.
Playing in 106 games for the Senators in 1956, Olson would hit .246 with 4 home runs.
Olson would start the 1957 season in Washington but only appear in 8 games before being purchased by his previous team, the Boston Red Sox. However, his stay would be very short as he was traded the same day to the Detroit Tigers. 8 more games in a Detroit uniform would mark the end of Olson’s major league career.
Barry Stevan Shetrone B Jul. 6, 1938 D July 18, 2001
Another outfielder, Barry Shetrone played for portions of 5 seasons in the American League, but only appeared in a grand total of 60 games during that span.
His most active season would be his rookie year of 1959 when he appeared in 33 of those 60 games. He’d remain in the Orioles organization, making brief appearances in 1960 through 1962.
In December of 1962 he was traded by the Orioles, along with Marv Breeding and Art Quirk to the Senators in exchange for Bob Johnson and Pete Burnside.
2 games for the Senators in 1963, where he went 0-2 at the plate, marked the end of his major league experience.
