Aug 27th 1977
Bump Wills and Toby Harrah of the Texas Rangers hit back-to-back inside-the-park home runs on consecutive pitches against the Yankees. Thus ended Yankees manager Billy Martin's brief experimentation with an eight infielder, one outfielder defense.
Aug 26th 1947
Don Bankhead of the Brooklyn Dodgers becomes the first black pitcher in major league history. Batters remarked that Bankhead's curveball had a much funkier break than any they'd seen before.
Aug 25th 1973
Allan Abbott sets a world record by pedaling a bicycle 140.5 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Abbott would have continued on to a higher speed but the inside of his thighs chaffed so badly his legs separated from his torso.
Aug 24th 1985
Don Baylor of the New York Yankees ties a major league record when he is hit by a pitch for the 189th time in his career. The game was halted to honor Baylor for his feat, but mainly to attend to his fractured forearm.
Aug 23rd 1989
Pete Rose agrees to a lifetime ban from baseball after being accused on gambling. Rose agreed to the ban after seeing that Vegas had 20:1 odds that he would not accept a ban.
Aug 22nd 2003
Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals goes 0-for-5 to end a 30-game hit streak. The streak was the longest in major league history by a player over the age of 35.
Dec 31st 1969
Philadelphia pitcher Dan Casey strikes out in the ninth inning of a game against New York, which many believe provided the inspiration for the famous poem "Casey at the Bat." Others believe Casey's whiff provided the inspiration for the lesser-known poem "Dan Casey Fking Sucks."
Aug 20th 1964
Phil Linz of the New York Yankees is fined $200 for playing a harmonica on the team bus after the Yankees had just lost a four-game series to the Chicago White Sox. After hearing about his fine, Linz picked up his trombone and played a single "wa-wah" note.
Aug 19th 1951
St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck sends 3-foot-7 inch midget Eddie Gaedel to the plate in a game against the Detroit Tigers. Gaedel struck out on three-straight pitches when the Tigers called in a 2-foot-1 inch pitcher who could exploit Gaedel's massive strike zone.
Aug 18th 1992
Larry Bird announces his retirement after 13 years with the Boston Celtics. Bird retired to pursue his dream of becoming a model.
