On September 19, 1883 at the Bank Street Grounds, the Red Stockings’ John Reilly completed his second cycle in eight days as Cincinnati beat Philadelphia, 12-3, at the Bank Street Grounds. The previous week, the 24-year-old first baseman collected three singles, a double, a triple, and a homer in a 27-5 rout of Pittsburgh Alleghenys.
On July 18, 1927, Athletics outfielder Ty Cobb became the first major leaguer to collect his 4,000th career hit. Cobb hit a double off his former Tigers teammate, Sam Gibson, at Navin Field in Detroit. The hit came in the first inning of a 5-3 loss for the A’s.
Cobb retired after the 1928 season with 4,191 hits, a record that will stand until Pete Rose breaks it in 1985.
After winning seven consecutive starts to kick off the season, A’s right-hander Lefty Grove lost in eleven innings on June 10, 1930 to the White Sox, 7-6. The future Hall of Famer went on to finish the season with a 28-5 record and a 2.54 ERA for Philadelphia.
On April 13, 1926, 38-year-old Walter Johnson struck out a dozen A’s batters on Opening Day. Johnson’s performance led the Senators to a 1-0 victory in 15 innings over Philadelphia’s Eddie Rommel at Griffith Stadium in Washington.
Southpaw pitcher Rube Waddell died of tuberculosis at the age of 37 on April 1, 1914. The Hall of Famer compiled a 193-143 (.574) record and a 2.16 ERA during his 13 seasons with the Colonels, A’s, Pirates, and Browns.
In a trade with the Athletics on October 19, 1949, the Chicago White Sox added second baseman Nellie Fox to their roster, in exchange for catcher Joe Tipton. Fox would go on to lead the league in hits four times, winning the 1959 American League MVP during his fourteen-year tenure with the Sox.
On June 28, 1939, Yankees captain Lou Gehrig brought the lineup card out to the umpires for the second game of a double header at Shibe Park and received a standing ovation from the crowd. Gehrig’s last game had been on April 30th of that year. Making a rare journey out of the dugout, A’s manager Connie Mack joined the group a home plate to shake Gehrig’s hand.
During a spring training game on April 7, 1925, A’s first baseman Joe Hauser shattered his kneecap, an injury that would cause him to miss the entire season. After batting .323 and blasting 27 homers, second only to Babe Ruth’s total (46) during the 1924 season, Hauser would only remain in the majors a few more years, until 1929, eventually returning to the minor leagues. Back in the minors, Hauser became a prodigious home run hitter before a batted ball broke a kneecap again in 1934.
During World War II, Philadelphia Athletics catcher Harry O’Neill was killed by a sniper at Iwo Jima on March 6, 1945. O’Neill had only appeared in one game for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1939. O’Neill and Elmer Gedeon were the only two Major League Baseball players killed during World War II.
On January 21, 1953, Cardinals pitcher Dizzy Dean and A’s outfielder Al Simmons were elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). Notably, Joe DiMaggio, who was in his first year of eligibility, was not elected and would instead have to wait until 1955, his third year on the ballot.
