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The national pastime's rich history and vast cache of statistics have provided fans and researchers a gold mine of narrative and data since the late 19th century. Many books have been written about Major League Baseball's most famous games. This one takes a different approach, focusing on MLB's most historically significant games.
Some will be familiar to baseball scholars, such as the October afternoon in 1961 when Roger Maris eclipsed Babe Ruth's single-season home run record, or the compelling sixth game of the 1975 World Series. Other fascinating games are less well known: the day at the Polo Grounds in 1921, when a fan named Reuben Berman filed a lawsuit against the New York Giants, winning fans the right to keep balls hit into the stands; the first televised broadcast of an MLB game in 1939; opening night of the Houston Astrodome in 1965, when spectators no longer had to be taken out to the ballgame; or the spectator-less April 2015 Orioles-White Sox game, played in an empty stadium in the wake of the Baltimore riots. Each game is listed in chronological order, with detailed historical background and a box score.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments delete deletevi
Preface delete
The 43 Most Historically Significant MLB Games
April 22, 1876 (First National League Game)
August 17, 1877 (First MLB Game-Fixing Scandal)
September 4, 1884 (Moses Fleetwood Walker's Last MLB Game)
April 19, 1890 (First Players' League Game)
April 27, 1893 (First Game Using the Modern 60'6" Pitching Distance)
April 24, 1901 (First American League Game)
October 1, 1903 (First Modern World Series Game)
September 23, 1908 ("Bonehead" Merkle Game)
October 3, 1915 (Final Federal League Game)
October 1, 1919 (Game One of the 1919 World Series)
April 14, 1920 (Babe Ruth's First Game as a New York Yankee)
August 16, 1920 (Ray Chapman Fatality)
May 16, 1921 (Fans Attain the Right to Keep Balls Batted into the Stands)
August 5, 1921 (First Radio Broadcast of an MLB Game)
July 6, 1933 (First MLB All-Star Game)
May 24, 1935 (First MLB Night Game)
August 26, 1939 (First Televised MLB Game)
April 15, 1947 (Jackie Robinson's MLB Debut)
August 19, 1951 (Eddie Gaedel Comes to Bat)
October 3, 1951 (The Shot Heard Round the World)
April 14, 1953 (First Milwaukee Braves Home Game)
September 24, 1957 (Last Game at Ebbets Field)
October 1, 1961 (Roger Maris's 61st Home Run)
April 12, 1965 (First Regular-Season MLB Indoor Game)
April 14, 1969 (First MLB Game in Canada)
October 13, 1971 (First World Series Night Game)
April 6, 1973 (Debut of the Designated Hitter)
April 8, 1974 (Hank Aaron's 715th Career Home Run)
April 9, 1974 (Debut of the San Diego Chicken)
October 21, 1975 (Game Six of the 1975 World Series)
September 9, 1979 (Bob Montgomery's Final Game)
October 26, 1985 (Game Six of the 1985 World Series)
October 3, 1995 (First Post-Season Game Featuring a Wild-Card Team)
June 12, 1997 (First Interleague Game)
September 8, 1998 (Mark McGwire's 62nd Home Run)
July 9, 2002 (All-Star Game Tie)
October 14, 2003 (Game Six of the 2003 NLCS)
August 7, 2007 (Barry Bonds' 756th Career Home Run)
June 2, 2010 (Jim Joyce's Blown Call)
May 25, 2011 (Buster Posey's Injury)
October 5, 2012 (First Wild-Card Play-In Game)
March 31, 2014 (First Use of the Video-Review Challenge System)
April 29, 2015 (First MLB Game Played with Zero Paid Attendance)
Appendix: Games That Didn't Quite Make the Cut delete
Notes delete
Bibliography delete
Index delete
About the author
John G. Robertson is a private tutor and sports historian who lives in Cambridge, Ontario. He is the author of numerous books on baseball, hockey and boxing history.Andy Saunders is a baseball buff who hosts trivia shows in his hometown. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.
Summary
Baseball's rich history and vast cache of statistics have provided fans and researchers with a gold mine of narrative and data since the late 19th century. Many books have been written about Major League Baseball's most famous games. This one takes a different approach, focusing on MLB's most historically significant games.
