The Highest Scoring Game Ever Played

The Highest Scoring Game Ever Played (1922)

Chicago and Philadelphia met at Cubs Park and combined for 49 runs and 51 hits. The Cubs put up 10 in the second and 14 in the fourth. Then the Phillies scored eight in the eighth and six in the ninth, loaded the bases with two out, and left the tying run on base. Final: 26-23, in three hours flat. A Chicago writer noted fans in the park calling for a touchdown. The record has stood for more than a century.

Cy Rigler Gets a Microphone (1929)

Before this afternoon at the Polo Grounds, umpires announced lineups through a megaphone and hoped the back rows caught it. The Giants installed a public address system and wired the plate umpire into it. Rigler's mask held a microphone, his shoes had metal soles, and a copper plate sat behind the batter's box. Step on the plate, close the circuit, and his voice went out over the loudspeakers. Every ballpark announcement since traces back to a 270-pound man tapping his foot.

Phil Rizzuto Reads His Own Name (1956)

It was Old-Timers' Day, and Rizzuto was on the field taking pictures when a batboy told him Casey Stengel and George Weiss wanted him in the office. The Yankees were adding Enos Slaughter for the pennant drive and needed a roster spot. Weiss handed over the list and asked who could go. Rizzuto, flattered to be consulted, named a pitcher and a catcher, and Weiss explained why the club needed each of them. Then the Scooter worked it out. He was in the broadcast booth the next season and stayed forty years.

The Astros Come Home (1992)

Houston leased the Astrodome to the Republican National Convention, so the club played 26 straight road games over 28 days across eight cities. They finally walked back into their own ballpark on this date, and Andújar Cedeño picked that night to hit for the cycle: triple in the second, homer in the seventh, double in the 11th, single in the 13th. St. Louis won 5-3.