On February 10, 1971, the New York Yankees announced that Bill White would join Phil Rizzuto and Frank Messer on the WPIX broadcast team, becoming the first black to do play-by-play regularly for a major-league baseball team. White called Yankee games from 1971 to 1988 on both radio and television during that time.
While the deal had been struck days earlier, on January 5, 1920, the New York Yankees announced the purchase of Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox. Ruth would eventually become the first man in baseball history to hit 60 home runs in a season, a number that would last until 1961. Ruth also retired with 714 home runs, a mark that would stand until the great Hank Aaron hit his 715th in 1974. With Ruth leading a team of undeniable stars, the Yankees would win seven American League pennants and four World Series. Red Sox fans, meanwhile, would spend the next century cursing Harry Frazee’s name.
The Boston Rustlers (formerly the Doves) were purchased by New York politician James E. Gaffney and former player, now lawyer, John Montgomery Ward on December 13, 1911. The team would be called the Braves because of Gaffney’s Tammany Hall connections, which used an Indian chief as its symbol.
The Chicago White Sox released veteran pitcher Early Wynn on November 15, 1962. Having finished the 1962 season with 299 career wins, Wynn was determined to sign with another team and earn victory number 300. He managed to join the Cleveland Indians in June 1963 and earned his 300th career win on July 13, 1963.
Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig hit the first home run of his major league career on September 27, 1923. The blast came off Red Sox pitcher Bill Piercy in the top of the first inning with one on. New York went on to defeat Boston, 8-3, at Fenway Park.
After second baseman Bobby Lowe broke his ankle, the Chicago Cubs acquired Johnny Evers. The now-famous infield combination of “Tinker to Evers to Chance” first played together on September 13, 1902. The double-play trio would be immortalized in Franklin Pierce Adams’ poem, “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon.”
On August 14, 1932, the Brooklyn Dodgers recorded a 10-inning, 2-1 victory over the Giants at the Polo Grounds. This game made reliever Jack Quinn, at 49, the oldest player to win a major league game up to that time. This record would be broken in 2012 by Rockies pitcher Jamie Moyer.
On July 24, 1926, Lou Gehrig stole home for the second time that season. The feat was accomplished as part of a double steal, with Babe Ruth as the trailing runner. The Iron Horse would steal 102 bases during his career, with 15 of those thefts being of home plate.
Ed Summers of the Detroit Tigers pitched all eighteen innings of a 0-0 tie with the Washington Senators on July 16, 1909. This contest at Bennett Park would be the longest scoreless game in American League history.
In a game against the White Sox on May 28, 1918, Boston pitcher “Bullet” Joe Bush threw a one-hitter and drove in the lone run in the Red Sox’s victory at Fenway Park. Happy Felsch was the only Chicago player to manage a hit off the Boston right-hander.
