Get me to the station

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - Dick Williams of the Baltimore Orioles hit a ninth-inning, game-tying solo home run against Chicago White Sox pitcher Paul LaPalme seconds before 10:20 p.m. on this date in 1957. If Williams had done anything else - taken a pitch, hit a foul ball, gotten a single, double or triple, struck out - any of those things, the game would have ended with the White Sox a winner because the Sox led and a curfew was about to put an end to the contest.

The curfew was an agreement by the two teams ahead of time so the White Sox could catch the last train out of Baltimore. With the game now tied, it was suspended and replayed from the beginning at a later date. Baltimore ended up winning the next time.

Curfews were fairly common in the major leagues into the 1950's and 60's. The initial impetus was World War II, during which there were curfews to accommodate dim-outs (as in "dim" the lights) to save energy. Games all over the country had curfews putting a limit on how long a night game could last. By the 1970's night games could last as long as it took.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCE:
Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball, by Leonard Koppett, 1998

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The overly friendly confines

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - On this date in 1979 the Chicago Cubs scored 6 runs in the first, 3 in the fourth, 7 in the fifth, 3 in the sixth, 3 more in the eight and still lost. The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cubs 23 to 22 in ten innings, but not before the Cubs made a miraculous comeback from a 21-9 deficit in the 5th to tie it 22-22 in the eigth.

There were eleven home runs on this windy afternoon at Wrigley Field, a record at the time. It's as though former NFL great Gale Sayers sneaked into the Chicago Bears old stomping grounds and ran off a few touchdowns.

The Cubs' Dave Kingman had three home runs. Teammate Bill Buckner had a grand slam and seven runs batted in. The Phillies Mike Schmidt hit two home runs, including the game winner.

The Cubs also have the record for the most runs scored, 36, against the Louisville Colonels on June 29, 1897. The Boston Red Sox scored 29 against the St. Louis Browns June 8, 1950 and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City A's 29-6 on April 23, 1955.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, May 18, 1979
May 17, 1979 box score/play-by-play

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Into the night

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - On this date in 1939 the American League finally played a game under the lights - four years after the National League pioneered the trend. The game took place at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The Cleveland Indians beat the home team Philadelphia Athletics (today's Oakland A's) 8-3 in ten innings.

Night games are so prevalent today, it's hard to imagine a time when all games were played during the day. That slowly began to change in 1935. The Cincinnati Reds played the first night game at Crosley Field in Cincinnati May 24, 1935. Crosley was the only park to have lights for more than 3 years.

Brooklyn was the next team to play under the lights on June 15, 1938. By coincidence, or maybe not, the Dodgers' first night game was the night Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds pitched his second consecutive no-hitter - the only time it's been done.

Here are the dates MLB teams first played under the lights:

NL AL
Cincinnati Reds 1935
Brooklyn Dodgers 1938
Philadelphia Athletics 1939
Philadelphia Phillies 1939
Cleveland Indians 1939
Chicago White Sox 1939
New York Giants 1940
St. Louis Browns 1940
Pittsburgh Pirates 1940
St. Louis Cardinals 1940
Washington Senators 1940
Boston Braves 1946
New York Yankees 1946
Boston Red Sox 1947
Detroit Tigers 1948
Milwaukee Braves *1953
Baltimore Orioles *1954
Kansas City Athletics *1955
San Francisco Giants *1958
Los Angeles Dodgers *1958
Washington Senators **1961
Los Angeles Angels **1961
Minnesota Twins *1961
Houston Colt .45s **1962
New York Mets **1964
Atlanta Braves *1966
Oakland Athletics *1968
San Diego Padres **1969
Kansas City Royals **1969
Seattle Pilots **1969
Montreal Expos **1969
Milwaukee Brewers *1970
Texas Rangers *1972
Seattle Mariners **1977
Toronto Blue Jays **1977
Chicago Cubs 1988
Florida Marlins **1993
Colorado Rockies **1993
Tampa Devil Rays **1998
Arizona Diamondbacks **1998
Washington Nationals *2005

*Existing team in new location
**Expansion team

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
BASEBALL-ALMANAC
The Associated Press (AP), Philadelphia, PA, May 17, 1939

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Cobb out of control

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - Baseball superstar Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers got so ticked off at a heckler during a game on this date in 1912 that he charged into the stands after him. Cobb was not known for his gentlemanly demeanor, but this was different. The man he went after, Claude Lueker, was disabled. He'd lost one hand and three fingers on the other in an industrial accident. American League President Ban Johnson came down hard on Cobb by suspending him indefinitely, which ended up being until May 27th, twelve days.

"The Georgia Peach" didn't seem to care that he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. He wasn't afraid to get his spikes in the way of opposing players, was constantly fighting, and considered by many to be a racist. But Cobb could play ball. His numbers are among the best in the history of the game.

Lifetime batting average: .366 (1st)
Batting titles: 11 (1st)
Career hits: 4,189 (2nd)
Runs scored: 2,246 (2nd)
Stolen bases: 892 (4th)

He hit at least .320 for 23 straight seasons. He hit over .400 three times. Several times in his career he reached first and proceeded to steal second, third and home. He was among the first group of players elected into the Hall of Fame in 1936, and it wasn't because he was well liked.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Ty Cobb
BASEBALL GURU
Major League Career Leaders

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Stampede kills fan

PHILADELPIA, PENNSYLVANIA - A section of the stands at Philadelphia's Baker Bowl collapsed on this date in 1927 causing a stampede which killed a fan and injured more than 50. The 50-foot section of the lower deck seats down the first base line gave way during a Philadelphia Phillies - St. Louis Cardinals game throwing some 300 fans out of their seats.

According to newspaper reports at the time, "The collapse threw the crowd into a panic and it swarmed on the field..." (The Charleston Gazette, West Virginia). The game was suspended with the Phillies ahead 12-3.

The ballpark was officially named National League Park, but gained its moniker Baker Bowl or Baker Field as a reference to one-time owner William F. Baker.

Since the ball park had to be squeezed into Philadelphia's street grid there were some interesting dimensions. For example, the right field foul pole was just 275 feet from home plate. Right center was only 300 feet away. These softball-like distances required the erection of a wall 60 feet high in right field. By comparison, the "Green Monster" in Boston is 37 feet high.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCE:
The Charleston Gazette, Philadelhia, PA, May 15,  1927

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