July 29, 1983: Garvey's Iron man Streak Comes To An End

On July 29, 1983, in the first game of a doubleheader against the Braves at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, the National League's Iron Man steak came to an end when Padres first baseman Steve Garvey severely dislocated his thumb in a first inning collision at home plate. The Braves went onto win the game 2-1, however Garvey's injury was the bigger blow to the team. It put him in a cast and when he had to sit out the second game of the doubleheader it put a stop to 1,207 consecutive games played. The streak began on September 3, 1975 when he was a 26 year old up and coming star with the Dodgers, he not only played in every game he established himself as one of the best men in the game. With his first all star appearance coming in 1974, Garvey would get to the mid summer classic for 8 consecutive seasons while he wore the Dodger blue. He left L.A. in the Fall of '82 and joined the Padres where they had high hopes as they added a key piece to the club. He did return to his old form in '84 and led the team all the way to the World Series where they fell to the Tigers. The 1,207 consecutive games played is fourth on the all time list, only Everett Scott, Lou Gehrig, and Cal Ripken Jr. have played in more consecutive games. Each of those players accomplished their streaks in the American League, making  Garvey the National League Iron Man.