May 31, 1938: 2,000 Consecutive Games For The Iron Horse

     On May 31, 1938, Yankees legend Lou Gehrig played in his 2,000th consecutive game. The man known as the "Iron Horse" had began his historic streak on June 1st of 1925, when he pinch hit for Wally Pipp. The next day he was penciled into the starting lineup, and each day that followed those he was penciled into the starting lineup as well. Gehrig came up with an RBI single during the milestone game that saw his Yankees prevail over the visiting Red Sox with more than 40,000 in the seats at Yankee Stadium.

     In good spirits after the game there was talk of the historic streak reaching 2,500 games, as Gehrig laughed at the thought of not playing in a game. However, the streak came to an end much sooner than expected, as that '38 season saw an overnight demise of one of baseball's greatest players. He had still put up solid numbers, but something was not right. Many thought Father Time had paid him a visit, and the once great Gehrig, was now just an aging ballplayer.

     What they did not know was he had been stricken by the disease that now bears his name. He removed himself from the lineup on May 2, 1939, because he was struggling at the plate. The streak was over at 2,130 games. Within a month of his him removing himself from the lineup an official diagnosis that came on his 36th birthday explained why Gehrig had not been the same player he had been for so long. He had ALS, an unforgiving disease that caused a hardening of the spinal cord, before leading to muscle deterioration, and death. Given just three years to live, Gehrig retired from the game, and on July 4th of '39 delivered a tearful speech in front of a large crowd at Yankee Stadium. Although Gehrig knew his time on earth would be over very soon, he still called himself the luckiest man on the planet. He passed away on June 2, 1941, at the age of 37.

     The story of Gehrig is a story of greatness, and of a tragedy that took a man's life way too soon. I love
looking at the lives and careers of all the great athletes that I have gotten to talk about since I started this page. When I sat down to write this I could not help but think to myself how unfair the story of Lou Gehrig is. I told a friend a ballplayer like that should have gotten a chance to sit in a booth at a ballgame, and talk about the old days, while the fans soak in every word. I got to do that just the other day by listening to the great Bob Gibson; it's really something. Fate dealt Gehrig a bad hand. While it might be unfair, it was the hand that was dealt.

     Not too long ago I posted the ad to the right on my Facebook page. It came out of a March of '38 issue of the Sporting News. I was quickly reminded that the ad was printed one year before he was forced to retire. I had not thought about it before I posted it, I just thought it was a great old vintage ad. After the fact I remember making a comment that was along the lines of: when a player leaves a legacy behind like Lou did that player will live forever in the hearts and minds of people like me and you. He will forever be remembered at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and amongst the fans of the great game that is played on a diamond. Lou Gehrig is one of the immortals.

The box score from Gehrig's 2,000th consecutive contest: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS193705311.shtml

Stats of a legend: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gehrilo01.shtml

Gehrig's consecutive games record stood for 56 years before Cal Ripken Jr. surpassed it in 1995. Ripken extended his streak to 2,632 games, and currently owns baseball's Iron Man record.
     

May 30, 1932: Umpire George Moriarty Picks The Wrong Battle

     On May 30, 1932, several members of the White Sox savagely beat umpire George Moriarty, after dropping both games of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians. Throughout each of the contests Moriarty and the White Sox players exchanged words, and by the time the second game was in the books the pot was boiling over. The altercation began when Sox catcher Charlie Berry accused Moriarty of purposefully missing a crucial call in the ninth inning of the second game that led the Clevelanders to victory. The situation escalated quickly, and Berry was joined by his teammates, who Moriarty made that not so wise decision to challenge them each to a fight. Pitcher Milt Gaston chose to be Moriarty's first challenger, which was probably not the wisest decision by him, as the umpire knocked him out cold. The ump suffered a broken hand by punching the pitcher, and he still had a fight on his hands as catcher Frank Grube, joined by skipper Lew Alfonseca, unleashed a merciless beating on the ump that would send him to the hospital.

     Two days after the incident, fines and suspensions were handed out. The Sox skipper, Alfonseca along with Gaston received the harshest penalties, as they both were fined $500 apiece, while Gaston also received a 10 day suspension as well. The catchers,Charlie Berry and Frank Grube received fines of $250 and $100, and coach Johnny Butler was handed a five game suspension for using profane language toward the umpire. The umpire not only walked away with cuts, bruises, and a broken hand, he was also severely reprimanded after the incident. Moriarty was no stranger to a good scrap. During his playing days with the Detroit Tigers it was said that he and the legendary Ty Cobb nearly threw down. When Moriarty handed Cobb a baseball bat so that things could be even, Cobb quickly decided it was a battle that he was not going to fight.

If you would like to learn more about George Moriarty's career in baseball give this a read: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/44c82f26

May 29, 1928: Bill Terry Slams The Cycle

     On May 29, 1928, New York Giants first baseman and future Hall of Famer Bill Terry hit for the cycle as he led the way in a 12-5 victory over the Brooklyn Robins at Ebbets Field in New York. The cycle by Terry was more than the average cycle as he had smashed a seventh inning grand slam that made him the first player in the modern era to add a grand slam to the historic feat.

     Only one other time had it been accomplished in the major leagues, and that came on May 25, 1882, when Curry Foley of the Buffalo Bisons smacked a grand slam on a day that he had a triple, a double, and a single to his credit. Including Curry, only nine men have added a grand slam to the cycle. Only one of those men did it in walkoff fashion, and that was Tony Lazzeri. What makes Lazzeri's day at the dish even more remarkable is his cycle was a natural cycle, that was finished off with a blast that forever cemented him in the history books.

     Terry's seventh inning blast forever marked a page in the history books for him as well. An outstanding hitter, Terry put together nine consecutive seasons where he batted .320 or better, with the pinnacle coming in 1930 when he hit an eye popping .401. He picked up at least 200 hits in six seasons, and parked 154 balls over the wall in a career that spanned 14 years. In 1954, Terry joined the ranks of the immortals in Cooperstown, New York.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO192805290.shtml

May 28, 1956: Dale Long Blasts Eight Home Runs In Eight Games

     On May 28, 1956, Dale Long of the Pittsburgh Pirates blasted a fourth inning solo shot that instantaneously put him in the record books, as it was his eighth blast in his eighth consecutive game. The big blast also tied the contest, and proved to be crucial for the Pirates who would go onto win the game by the score of 3-2 over the Brooklyn Dodgers in Pittsburgh. Long was the first man to hit eight bombs in eight games, and to date only Ken Griffey Jr. and Don Mattingly have joined Long in what is a very exclusive club. Both Long and Griffey, each hit eight bombs during their eight game span, while Mattingly blasted 10 total over his eight games. Long hit a total of 27 dingers during that '56 campaign, which was a career high for the well traveled first baseman.

You can check out the box score here:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT195605280.shtml

You can view Long's career numbers here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/longda02.shtml

May 27, 1937: King Carl Locks Down His 24th Consecutive Win

     On May 27, 1937, New York Giants screwballer Carl Hubbell extended his record setting consecutive winning streak to 24, by firing two scoreless innings during a 3-2 win over the Reds in Cincinnati. Hubbell came into the contest in the eighth with the score knotted at two, and he made quick work of the Reds batters by setting them down 1-2-3. Mel Ott led off the top of the ninth with a big blast that provided Hubbell with all he needed to secure the victory. The man they called "King Carl" matched his eighth inning by retiring the side in quick succession. This was the eighth win of the '37 season for Hubbell who had not lost a game since July of '36. He had recorded only three of the wins in relief, while the other 21 came as a starter. The streak came to an end on May 31st against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Hubbell posted a 22-8 record that season for the pennant winning Giants who fell to the New York Yankees in the Fall Classic. Hubbell's historic streak has yet to be matched.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN193705270.shtml

Stats of a legend: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hubbeca01.shtml

May 26, 1987: Bird Steals The Show

     On May 26, 1987, Larry Bird made a play that will never be forgotten in Boston, as he stole an inbounds pass from Detroit's Isiah Thomas, and fed it to his teammate Dennis Johnson who nailed the game winning basket with just one second left on that clock. The spectacular play led the Celtics to an improbable 108-107 win over Pistons. The victory gave the Celtics a 3-2 edge in the series, and after falling 113-105 in Game 6 in Detroit, the Celtics returned home and took the Conference Title by defeating the Pistons 117-114. The run by the Celtics would end in the Finals, as the Lakers took the crown in six games, however, the road traveled to the Finals would be a road that would not be forgotten.

Watch the epic moment here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNpJXDPnQTE&feature=kp

May 25, 1922: The Babe Flips His Lid

     On May 25, 1922, Babe Ruth went into a full tirade after being called out at second base in the third inning of a contest that had his Yankees facing the Senators in New York. After being called out by Umpire George Hildebrand, the Bambino proceeded to argue, before he picked up a handful of dirt and threw it in Hildebrand's face. The umpire promptly ejected Ruth from the contest, however, the fireworks were far from over. As Ruth was vacating the field, some fans booed and heckled him. Ruth took exception to this, and decided to go after one fan in particular by dashing into the crowd. The fan, whose mouth was bigger than his heart ran away when he realized that Ruth was coming for him. The incident happened after Ruth had served a six-week suspension for barnstorming. After he rejoined the Yankees lineup on May 20th, he was named the team's captain. The title was stripped from him after the incident that happened five days later, and was given to the team's shortstop Everett Scott. Ruth was also fined $200 for the tirade, which would be the equivalent of $2,800 today. Despite the incident, the Yankees still went onto claim a 6-4 victory over the visitors from Washington.