Mark Hornbaker

Author's posts

Mickey Vernon’s MLB Debut

James Barton “Mickey” Vernon who was born on April 22, 1918 in Marcus Hook, PA, made his Major League and Washington Senator debut on July 8, 1939. In his first game Vernon went 1 for 5 at the plate and played first base as the Senators beat the Philadelphia Athletics 6-3. During the rest of …

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FDR attends 1937 All-Star Game

July 7, 1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt is the first President to attend an All-Star game as he is invited to throw out the first ball at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. The President and the rest of the sellout crowd of 31,391 at the 5th Annual All-Star game had to deal with a very …

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Almost Perfect – Big Train’s No Hitter

Washington’s Walter Johnson almost pitched perfect game during his July 1, 1920 no-hit game against the Boston Red Sox. I was amazed to find out that the Big Train missed pitching a perfect game by one error. The Big Train pitched a perfect game through six innings. In the bottom of the seventh inning Boston’s …

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The Babe Gets Ejected After Walking Senators’ Morgan

June 23, 1917 The Babe Gets Ejected After Walking Senators’ Morgan In the top of the first inning of the first game of a scheduled double-header between the Senators and the Red Sox, Babe Ruth gave up a four pitch walk to the Senators’ Ray Morgan. The 24 year old Ruth was so outraged that …

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Casanova’s Long Night

June 12, 1967 At District of Columbia Stadium the Washington Senators and the Chicago White Sox played in what was the longest night game (22 innings, six hours, and 38 minutes) in Major League history.  The Senators win the game 6-5 when Paul Casanova hits a single to left field and Hank Allen scores the …

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Ferrell Boys traded to Washington

June 11, 1937 The Boston Red Sox and the Washington Senators made a five player trade, five days before the trading deadline. At the time the Red Sox were in desperate need of quality pitching so they traded brothers Wes and Rick Ferrell along with outfielder Mel Almada to the Senators, for pitcher Bobo Newsom …

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The Great Bambino knocked out cold at Griffith Stadium

It was always a special time in D.C. when Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees came to town to play the Washington Senators. The fans in the Nation’s Capital came out in droves to Griffith Stadium in hopes to witness one of Ruth’s mammoth home runs. One of those mammoth home runs took place …

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Big Train’s Last Shutout

May 30, 1927 Walter “The Big Train” Johnson gave up only three hits as he led the Washington Senators (18-18) to a 3-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox (10-26). The shutout will be the Big Train’s “Major League Record” 110th career shutout and the last one of his illustrious career. Walter Johnson’s shutout record …

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Let There Be Light

On May 28, 1941 the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators played in the first night game under the lights at Griffith Stadium. The first night game at Griffith Stadium was a big deal. The Washington Senators invited Walter “Big Train” Johnson to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. It was actually the Big …

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Mickey Vernon’s Special Day

On May 27, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sets aside four hours to attend a special baseball “Mickey Vernon-Red Cross Day” game that afternoon at Griffith Stadium. What made this game a special game for the 34th President of the United States of America, was that he was there to present his favorite ball player …

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