September 23
1905 The first major league home run of Ty Cobb‘s career comes at the expense of Washington. Cobb connects for an inside-the-parker of Cy Falkenberg in the Nationals, 8-5, victory at home.
1911 “Shoeless” Joe Jackson cracks a 2-run home run off Walter Johnson in the 6th inning of Cleveland’s 6-1 win. After yielding only 2 homers in the previous 4 seasons, Johnson has surrendered 8 this year.
1925 Senators SS Roger Peckinpaugh is named the American League MVP. Philadelphia’s Al Simmons
is the runner up.
1945 Thanks to Clark Griffith‘s ill advised decision to make Griffith Stadium available for the NFL’s Redskins, his Senators have to complete their season early. In Philadelphia, Washington finishes their season by splitting two with the A’s. The Senators lose a heart breaker in the opener when OF Bingo Binks, neglecting to wear sunglasses, loses a fly ball in the sun that falls for a double. George Kell promptly makes the Nats pay for Bink’s mistake by singling home the game winner for the Mackmen, a 4-3 loss in 12 innings. The Nats take the second game, 4-3. 2nd place Washington now must await its fate for a nearly week while Detroit plays its final 4 games.
1957 Going 1-for-1, with 3 walks and a hit by pitch extends Ted Williams‘ consecutive on base to streak to a record 16. Former Nat Mike Fornieles allows 10 hits and 4 runs in a sloppy complete game victory for Boston, 9-4. Harmon Killebrew, recently recalled from the minors, whacks his 1st homer of the year in the bottom of the 5th.
1960 Casting their final victory before departing to Minnesota, the Senators apply the whitewash to Baltimore, 4-0. The last winning pitcher of record for the original version of the Senators belongs to the late Chuck Stobbs, who goes the route in Griffith.
1964 Introducing Nats newcomer Don Loun. Loun is a 23 year old, righthanded pitcher from Frederick, MD who is making his major league debut today against the Red Sox. The youngster’s debut is storybook, pitching a complete game 5-hitter, for an 1-0, Nat’s win. Loun loses his next start and disappears from the show.
Senators Birthdays
Horace Milton (Hod) Lisenbee B Sep. 23, 1898 D Nov. 14, 1987
Hod Lisenbee made his major league debut as a 28 year old rookie with the 1927 Washington Senators. His rookie season would also be his most active and successful. He’d pitch in 242 innings and post an 18-9 record with a 3.57 ERA. Back with the Senators in 1928, Lisenbee would only work in 77 innings and post a 2-6 record, with his ERA swelling to 6.08.
Traded with Elliot Bigelow, Milt Gaston, Grant Gillis and Bobby Reeves to the Boston Red Sox for Buddy Myer, Lisenbee would stay on the Boston roster through 1932.
After a 3 year hiatus from the major leagues, Lisenbee would show up again in 1936 pitching in 19 games for the Philadelphia Athletics, posting a 1-7 record with a 5.09 ERA.
As they say on those television infomercials, “But wait! There’s more!” After another 9 year break, Lisenbee would show up on the roster of the Cincinnati Reds in 1945, at age 46, pitch in 31 games, posting a 1-3 record with 1 save, pitching in 80.1 innings. Then the story FINALLY ends on Hod Lisenbee.
George King Murray B Sep. 23, 1898 D Oct. 18, 1955
George Murray is another pitcher who had some “broken service” in his career. Originally appearing with the 1922 New York Yankees, where he’d post a 4-2 record in 22 games, Murray would be traded to the Boston Red Sox where he’d pitch in 1923 & 1924, posting records of 7-11 & 2-9.
Out of the major leagues in 1925, Murray would be on the roster of the Washington Senators in 1926, going 6-3 and 1927 where he’d post a 1-1 record in just 7 games.
Murray would drop off the major league radar after those 7 games in 1927, reappearing in 1933 to pitch in 2 games for the Chicago White Sox where his career ended.
Marino Paul Pieretti B Sep. 23, 1920 D Jan. 30, 1981
Italian born Marino Pieretti debuted with the Washington Senators in 1945, pitching in 44 games, posting a 14-13 record over 233.1 innings.
Returning with the Senators in 1946, Pieretti’s ERA would rise and his innings pitched would drop, ending the season with a 2-2 record.
1947 would see him earning a 2-4 record in 23 games.
After 8 games with the Senators in 1948, Pieretti was traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Earl Harrist. Pieretti would remain with the White Sox through 1949, be released and picked up by the Cleveland Indians for the 1950 season, where his career would end after appearing in 29 games where he posted an 0-1 record.
Walter Cleveland (Lefty) Stewart B Sep. 23, 1900 D Sep. 26, 1974
Lefty Stewart made his major league debut in 1921, pitching in 5 games for the Detroit Tigers.
He wouldn’t see the majors again until 1927 when he found himself on the roster of the St. Louis Browns. In 1930 Stewart would post a 20-12 record, pitching in 35 games.
After the 1932 season, Stewart was a part of the trade that sent Goose Goslin, Fred Schulte and Stewart to Washington in exchange for Lloyd Brown, Carl Reynolds, Sam West and that always desireable commodity, ca$h.
Stewart would post a 15-9 record with the 1933 Senators and be charged with a loss in the World Series, as the Senators lost to the New York Giants in 5 games.
With the Senators in 1934 where he’d post a 7-11 record, Stewart would be traded one last time in 1935, after appearing in just 1 game for Washington.
Sent to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Belve Bean, Stewart would post a 6-6 record in 24 games, his career ending with the end of the 1935 season.
