September 28 1949 Clinging to 1st place, the Red Sox head into the 9th in Washington nursing a 1-0 edge. Red Sox manager Joe McCarthy, taking no chances, summons Nat killer Mel Parnell to close it. With nothing to play for, the Nats rally to hand the Red Sox a crushing loss, 2-1. Parnell’s wild …
Category: D.C. Baseball History
D.C. Baseball History
Sep 28
This Date in D.C. Baseball History – Senators Beat Yankees in 4 Hit Shutout, 5-0
September 28, 1941 The end of the regular season is always bittersweet. In years like this, more bitter than sweet. But, looking back, there is a particular poignancy to the end of the 1941 season. First, it was a tremendous season, perhaps the best in baseball history, featuring DiMaggio’s streak, Williams’ .400 season …
Sep 20
Young Phenoms, Now and Then
By Jeff Stuart and Phil Hochberg Every club has hopes on opening day of the baseball season. It is a similar kind of hope and sense of renewal that takes place when a highly regarded young prospect makes his major league debut. But you never know. The play’s the thing. On April 28, 2011, Bryce …
Aug 30
Gil Hodges in Washington
By Jeff Stuart It was fifty odd years ago today Gil Hodges taught the gang to play. The legendary Dodger great Gil Hodges, acquired from the New York Mets in return for outfielder Jim Piersall, took over the helm of the Senators just 40 games into the 1963 Season. While the club lost a franchise …
Aug 09
Don Zimmer-66 Years-Just Baseball
By Jeff StuartDon Zimmer was there to witness so much baseball history and is indelibly linked to it. He was one of the last two players alive to have played with Jackie Robinson. He was on the 1955 Dodgers World Series Championship team. “When Yogi hit the ball down the left-field line,” said Zimmer with …
Aug 09
Pearson and Allison, Back to Back Rookies of the Year
By Jeff Stuart When Albie Pearson won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1958 and Bob Allison followed suit in 1959, Washington became the first American League team to have players win the award in back to back years. It was not until 30 years later that another AL team accomplished the feat. Jose …
Aug 06
Steve Hamilton, From the Nats to the “Folly Floater.”
By Jeff StuartOn June 24, 1970 two of Yankee Steve Hamilton‘s “Folly Floater” pitches retired Cleveland’s Tony Horton, a very good hitter, at the Bronx in New York to end the top of the 9th. That earned him a place in baseball history. The Yankees trailed the Indians badly and had no chance of beating …
Aug 05
The Nats’ Claude Osteen Pitched Among Giants
Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1957, lefthander Claude Osteen was traded to Washington for Dave Sisler in November 1961.In November 1963, Gil Hodges told Ben Olan of the Associated Press that he had high hopes for the 24 year-old Osteen. “He has all the tools to be a 15-game winner for us,” Hodges said. …
Aug 05
Clint Courtney – A Lasting Impression in Washington and Elsewhere
By Jeff StuartIt is not surprising that Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby, who had a reputation for being hardnosed, noticed the young catcher Clint Courtney when he managed the Beaumont Roughnecks, a Yankees AA Farm Team in the Texas League in 1950.Clint Though he was an All-State Basketball player in High School, Clint was short …
Jul 20
Dick Bosman Could Pitch
By Jeff Stuart Dick Bosman could pitch. Consider for a minute that he finished with the lowest ERA, 2.19. in the American League in 1969. Am achievement under appreciated in Washington and elsewhere I think. Jim Palmer and Mike Cuellar of the Orioles finished 2nd and third respectively. Cuellar won the Cy Young based on …
