August 17
1909 – Starting for the second day in a row, Walter Johnson yields 4 hits in 12 innings of a 1-0 Nationals victory over Philadelphia.
1919 – A then Tiger record crowd of 31,500 descend upon Navin Field to witness Detroit’s, 4-2, 11 inning loss to the Nats. Both teams combine to hit 10 ground rule doubles into the overflow crowd lining the outfield.
1924 – Beginning to heat up, the 3rd place Senators paste the Tigers at home, 8-1. The Big Train is masterful in going the distance, allowing 4 hits and no walks, for his 15th victory. Johnson retires the side in order in 7 of the 9 innings and punctuates the win with a strikeout of Ty Cobb for the final out.
1940 Double X, Jimmie Foxx, sets a Red Sox club record with 5 home runs in 5 straight games of a 12-9, Sox victory in Beantown.
1961 – Better complete games have been pitched, but Nat’s hurler Bennie Daniels will take this one. Daniels compiles an unusual pitching line (9 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 10 SO) in a 4-3, Griffith Stadium victory over the Angels. Bud Zipfel gathers 2 RBI, with Chuck Hinton and Pete Daly collecting the other 2. Commencing tomorrow, the Senators will go on to drop their next 14 games to start a horrendous 2-26 stretch.
1967 – In another marathon game that has highlighted this season, Cleveland scores 5 runs in the 16th for an 8-3 win in D.C. The game appears promising for the Senators when Tribe starter Luis Tiant is chased after the 4th. Tim Cullen‘s run scoring single and a Frank Howard 2-run longball stake the Nats to 3-0, 4th inning lead. The Indians will knot the tilt in the 8th with 2 runs off Bob Humphreys, including an RBI triple from former Nat Chuck Hinton. Over the ensuing 8 innings, 5 different Indian pitchers blank the Nats on just 4 hits until Cleveland breaks the game open in the 16th.
Senators Birthdays
William Hoffman Keister B Aug. 17, 1871 D Aug. 19, 1924
Baltimore native Bill Keister began his major league days way back in 1896 with the National League version of the Baltimore Orioles. After 15 games in Baltimore during the 1896 season, Keister wouldn’t return to the majors until 1898, playing in just 10 games for the National League Boston Beaneaters.
Keister would make it back into the Baltimore lineup in 1899, playing in 136 games, batting .329.
Purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals, Keister plays in 126 games for the 1900 Cardinals, hitting an even .300.
After the formation of the rival American League in 1901, Keister would jump to the hometown Baltimore Orioles (the franchise that would shift to New York in 1903 to become the Highlanders and eventually the Yankees) starting the new century by hitting .328 in 115 games.
Purchased by the Washington Senators, Keister would play in 119 games, spending 65 games in the outfield and another 56 as a shortstop, 2nd & 3rd baseman, and once again hit an even .300.
1903 would find Keister jumping again, this time to the Philadelphia Phillies. Keister would play in an even 100 games, strictly as an outfielder in 1903, hitting .320.
An impressive hitter with a .312 career BA, Keister would be purchased by Jersey City of the Eastern League prior to the 1904 season and would not appear in another major league game, his major league career ending at the ripe old age of 31.
Richard George Lines B Aug. 17, 1938 Still Living
Canadian born Dick Lines started his baseball career in 1957, being signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Acquired by the Washington Senators in 1965, Lines would pitch for the Senators in 1966 and 1967.
Lines would appear in 53 games in 1966, posting a 5-2 record with an ERA of 2.28. 1967 would see Lines in 54 games, and in a strange coincidence, would post a record of 2-5 with an ERA of 3.36.
Lines last major league game would be October 1st of 1967.
Glen Gann (Buck) Varner B Aug. 17, 1930 D Apr. 29, 2000
Senators Short Timer Buck Varner would appear in 2 games for the 1952 Senators in late September, going 0-4 at the plate with 1 walk.
