August 19
1907 – Washington pitcher Sam Lanford makes his ML debut a memorable one for all the wrong reasons. The righthander makes the start at Chicago and allows 4 runs, 2 walks, plunks 2 batsmen, tosses a wild pitch and balks-all in the 1st inning. Lanford pitches until the 3rd inning, during which he gives up 7 more runs in a 16-2 Nats loss. The 21 year old will appear in 1 more game before disappearing from the majors.
1924 – Gearing up for the final stretch, Washington reclaims second place by taking 4 out of 5 against visiting 
Detroit. Today, the Senators culminate the series by sweeping a pair, 4-3 and 5-3. George Modridge and Tom Zachary are the winning hurlers.
1936 – Joe DiMaggio bags 3 hits, including a home run in the top of the 5th that breaks a 2-2 tie, to pace the Yanks to a 7-4 win. Senator John Stone homers off winning pitcher Red Ruffing, who hurls the complete game.
1939 – In a Saturday doubleheader in Washington, Ted Williams‘ first major league grand slam lifts Boston to an 8-6 victory in the opener. The Nationals are 1 run better in the nitecap, a 2-1 win behind southpaw Ken Chase.
1958 – The Senators bounce Detroit, 3-1. Roy Sievers deposits his 34th homer in the bottom of the first, a solo shot, and posts his 88th and 89th RBI’s on the year. Tiger 2B Billy Martin sac fly off Camilo Pascual is Detroit’s only run. Dick Hyde pitches 2 innings of scoreless relief for his 17th save.
1969 – The Nats move above .500 for good with a 3-1 win over the Pale Hose at RFK. Ken McMullen‘s RBI single off Joe Horlen with 2 aboard in the 8th snaps a 1-1 deadlock. Sens starter Casey Cox goes 8.1 innings for his 8th win of the season.
Senators Birthdays
Robert Brown (Speed) Kelly B Aug. 19, 1884 D May 6, 1949
Senators Short Timer Speed Kelly sped onto the Washington roster in mid-July of 1909. Appearing in a grand total of 17 games, he’d go 6 for 42 at the plate with 2 doubles and 1 triple and zipped off the roster at the end of the season.
James Aloysius Shaw B Aug. 19, 1893 D Jan. 27, 1962
Pitcher Jim Shaw is another of those rare examples of someone who spent his entire career with the Senators. Pitching 9 years, from 1913 through 1921, Shaw would post a career record of 84-98 in 287 games, all while wearing a Washington uniform.
Arguably his best season came in 1918 when he went 16-12 with a 2.42 ERA.
Known as “Grunting Jim”, Shaw lead the American League in batters faced in 1919 with 1229 and games played at 45, when he’d pitch in over 306 innings.
A couple of dubious honors Shaw garnered included leading the league in walks in 1914 with 137 and again in 1917 with 123. He also threw the most wild pitches in both 1919 (10) and 1920 (13).
Shaw posted an ERA of less than 3 every season from 1913 through 1919 except for 1917, when it was 3.17.
After only 15 games in 1921, his career would come to an end in mid-July.
