The First Man in the Club

The First Man in the Club (1916)

Wally Schang hit seven home runs in 1916, and that led the entire Philadelphia club, which tells you what kind of year the Athletics were having on their way to 36-117. On September 8 at Shibe Park he homered off right-hander Allan Russell, then homered again off left-hander Slim Love, becoming the first switch hitter in major league history to go deep from both sides of the plate in one game. Plenty of sluggers have joined that club since. A light-hitting catcher on a last-place team got there first.

Twenty Wins at Twenty (1939)

Bob Feller signed with Cleveland off an Iowa farm at seventeen and reached the majors before he finished high school. On this day he beat the Browns 12-1 at Sportsman's Park for his twentieth win, at 20 years and 10 months, the youngest 20-game winner the sport had yet produced. He closed at 24-9 with 246 strikeouts, both league highs. The mark stood forty-six years, until Dwight Gooden broke it in August 1985 by twenty-seven days.

All Nine, and a Collision (1965)

Charlie Finley needed a crowd. His last-place Athletics had the worst attendance in the league, so he built a night around his shortstop and insured him for a million dollars. Bert Campaneris started at short and moved one position an inning, pitching the eighth ambidextrously and catching the ninth. Then Ed Kirkpatrick tried to score on a strikeout and ran him over. Campaneris held the ball for the out, hurt his shoulder and neck, and missed five games. The gimmick was real by then.

Pitch to the Rookie (1979)

Bottom of the ninth in Oakland, tied 1-1, nobody out, runners on the corners. Chicago put Rob Picciolo on intentionally to load the bases and set up a force, the only intentional walk of Picciolo's nine-year career. Up came a rookie named Rickey Henderson. He never took the bat off his shoulder. Ball four, game over, 2-1 Oakland.