Mark Hornbaker

Author's posts

Gabby’s Monumental Catch

August 21, 1908 To settle a bet between two gentlemen, Washington Senators catcher Charles “Gabby” Street agreed to try to catch a baseball dropped from the Washington Monument. Gabby was attempting to replicate the feat achieved by Chicago Colts catcher Pops Schriver on August 24, 1894. On the morning of August 21, 1908, Gabby set …

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Walter Johnson Day

The Washington Nationals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-3 Day at RFK stadium. Walter Johnson Day was in honor of the Big Train’s 105th year anniversary of his ml debut. Before the game Walter Johnson’s daughter Carolyn Thomas and grandson Hank Thomas were honored before the game. Mr. Thomas threw out the pitch.   Side Note: …

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Walter Johnson’s D.C. Debut

August 2, 1907 — The Senators young pitcher Walter Johnson made his big-league debut in D.C., kicking off a thirty-year baseball career and leaving a lasting imprint on the game. The Washington Senators, with a record of 28-59-2 ties, started the rookie Johnson against the Detroit Tigers, then 29 games ahead of the Senators in …

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Hansen’s Unassisted Triple Play

July 30, 1968 On a hot evening at Cleveland Stadium the 5,937 fans in attendance witnessed a baseball rarity. In the bottom of the 1st inning the Cleveland Indians had runners on 1st and 2nd base when Joe Azcue lined a ball to the Washington Senators shortstop Ron Hansen. Before anyone knew what had happened …

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The Big Train Keeps on Rolling

July 22, 1923 Walter Johnson, the Washington Senators star pitcher, becomes the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to strikeout 3,000 batters. Walter “ Big Train” Johnson rolled right over the Cleveland Indians as the Senators beat the Indians 3–1. The victory was The Big Train’s ninth of the season and the Senators won …

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Goslin gets police escort out of the park

July 18, 1925 At Cleveland‚ the Washington Senators are leading the Indians 11-4 after five innings. Washington‘s Goose Goslin‚ who has knocked in 3 runs on a double and a home run faces the Indians’ reliever Bert Cole. Cole’s first pitch sailed inside near Goslin’s head. As the story goes, Goslin with a raised bat …

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Nationals start Great Western Tour

July 13, 1867 The Washington Nationals baseball team that was made up by mostly government workers and were led by second baseman George Wright, played their first game of the their western tour. The Nationals could not have asked for a better start to their great tour as they beat up the Capital Club of …

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Tearing Down the Chicken Wire

May 3, 1949 The Senators (3-11) arrive in Chicago (8-5) for a short two game series with the White Sox. The team is looking to snap a two game slide. In baseball, as in life, timing is everything. Before the 1949 season started the White Sox General Manager Frank Lane had a chicken-wire fence installed …

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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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