This Week in Yankees History (6/20-6/26)

1908 – Former Yankees infielder Billy Werber (1930-1933) was born. Werber hit .272 in 118 games for the Yankees. In May of 1933, he was sold to the Boston Red Sox. Werber passed away in 2009. He was the last living teammate of Babe Ruth. 

1911 – In a 3-2 win against the Washington Senators, New York Highlanders first baseman Hal Chase makes a MLB record of 21 putouts. 

1913 – After New York wins the opener, by the score of 9-3, Washington Senators starter Bert Gallia hits three of the first four batters he faces in the 1st inning of the nightcap. Three more Yankee batters are plunked, by relievers Joe Engel (2) and Tom Hughes (1), for a record six. The outcome is the same as the opener with New York winning 9-3. Yankees leadoff hitter Bert Daniels puts his name in the AL record book, when he gets hit three times. 

1916 – Tilly Walker’s home run over the left field wall is the only home run the Boston Red Sox will hit at Fenway Park during the 1916 season. It is the lone Boston score as the Yankees win the game by a score of 4-1. Inserted as a defensive replacement late in the game, Red Sox shortstop Everett Scott starts a string of 1,307 consecutive games, all played at that position. He will complete the streak as a Yankee on May 6,1925. It will be the longest streak in MLB history until Lou Gehrig’s 2,130 games in 1939.

1918 – Former Yankees pitcher and coach Ed “Steady Eddie” Lopat (1948-1955) was born. The Yankees obtained Lopat from the Chicago White Sox in February of 1948 for catcher Aaron Robinson and pitchers Fred Bradley and Bill Wight. From 1948 to 1954, Lopat won 113 games for the Yankees as part of the Allie Reynolds, Vic Raschi and Whitey Ford starting rotation that won five straight World Series (1949-1953). Lopat helped Ford with his development, using a 8MM camera to study the pitcher’s movements. 

Lopat known, as “The Junkman” would be started by manager Casey Stengel in-between fastball starters Reynolds and Raschi to throw off the opposition club’s hitters. Some Lopat’s Yankee career highlights are 113 wins with a .657 winning percentage, 20 career shutouts and 91 complete games. His Yankee career ERA was 3.21. In 1951, he was 21-9. He was the Yankee pitching coach in 1960 and would later work for the Kansas City A’s as a manager and general manager.

1928 – Former Yankees pinch runner Arthur “Dutch” Schult was born. He appeared in only seven games as a Yankee, all of them as a pinch runner. He scored three times.

1929 – Former Yankees minor league pitcher Wally Burnette was born. Before the 1948 season, Burnette was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent. He was never called up by New York. On July 11, 1956, Burnette was traded by the Yankees to the Kansas City Athletics for pitcher Tom Lasorda. The Yankees sent Lasorda to the Denver Bears (AAA). Wally pitched for the A’s from 1956 to 1959 posting a 14-21 record in 68 games. 

1934 – The AL-leading Yankees trip the Cleveland Indians twice, by scores of 3-2 and 3-0, at Yankee Stadium. New York ties the first game on Frank Crosetti’s solo home run in the 8th inning off Bob Weiland, then wins it on Gehrig’s 18th round tripped in the ninth. Lefty Gomez, in relief of starter Johnny Broaca, is the winner. In the second game, Hal Trosky Sr.’s single is the only hit off of Yankees starter Red Ruffing, who also knocks in a run. 

1939 – New York Yankees re-obtained veteran hurler Jim DeShong on waivers from the Washington Senators. Jim went 10-8 for the Yankees in 1934-1935. He didn’t appear in any games for the Yankees in 1939, spending the entire season at AAA. 

1940 – The Yankees lose to the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in 11 innings, their sixth straight loss, then protest a catch by Sox outfielder Moose Solters, contending he dropped the ball in the second inning when he was reaching for his cap. Umpire George Quinn apparently missed the error and the protest is upheld. The game will be replayed September 18th.

1946 – A Fortune Magazine story gives some rare details of MLB finances, showing the 1945 Yankees revenue of $1.6 million and profit of $306,000, cut to $201,000 after minor league team losses. Of the gross income, $896,000 is from home ticket sales. 

1946 – New York Yankees purchased outfielder Hal Peck from the Philadelphia A’s for an undisclosed amount of cash. He doesn’t play for the Yankees in 1946. On December 6, 1946, Peck was traded by the Yankees along with hurlers Gene Bearden and Al Gettel to the Cleveland Indians for catcher Sherm Lollar and infielder Ray Mack. 

1956 – At Detroit’s Briggs Stadium, Mickey Mantle blasts two Billy Hoeft pitches into the right field bleachers, something no other player had done since the bleachers were built in the late 1930s. The Yankees win 7-4. 

1963 – In the 1st annual Mayor’s Trophy Game between the New York Yankees and New York Mets. The Mets down the Yankees 6-2, before 52,430 fans at Yankee Stadium. The profits of the game are annually turned over to the sandlot programs of the City of New York. 

1983 – All Star Yankee outfielder Bobby Murcer retires from Major League Baseball (Yankees: 1965-1966, 1969-1974, 1979-1983). Bobby was groomed to be the next Mantle, but it didn’t work out that way. He still had a very good career with the Yankees. He was an All Star from 1971-1974. He won an AL Gold Glove in 1972. His best Yankees season with the bat was in 1971, when he hit .331. In the winter of 1974 he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for NL All Star outfielder Bobby Bonds. Mercer would return to the Yankees in a trade with the Chicago Cubs during the 1979 AL season. After finishing out his Yankees playing career in 1983, Mercer became a Yankees broadcast announcer. 

1984 – At Detroit, Yankees rookie reliever Jose Rijo falls to 1-7 when he serves up a two-out three-run home to Howard Johnson in the 13th. Detroit wins 9-6. Alan Trammell, Lance Parrish and Chet Lemon also hit bombs for the Tigers, who draw their 3rd straight 40,000 plus crowd. 

1989 – The New York Yankees traded Henderson back to the Oakland A’s for journeymen pitchers Eric Plunk and Greg Cadaret and outfielder/designated hitted Luis Polonia.

2001 – Former Yankees minor league pitcher Bob Keegan (1920-2001) passed away. Before the 1946 seaseason, Bob Keegan was signed by New York as an amateur free agent. The Yankees assigned him to the Binghamton Triplets (A) in Eastern League, where he posted a 5-6 record with a 3.87 ERA his first year out. 

Keegan would struggle while in the New York Yankee system (1946-1951) and have only two seasons above .500. Keegan pitched for the White Sox from 1953-1958, posting a 40-36 record in 135 games. In 1957 he pitched a no-hitter against the Washington Senators.

1897 – Former Yankees reserve Spencer Adams was born. Adams hit .120 in 28 games for the 1926 Yankees. 

1906 – Former Yankees P Russell (Russ) “Sheriff” Van Atta (1933-1935) was born. Van Atta went 15-9 for the Yankees from 1933-1935. 

1916 – Rube Foster of the Boston Red Sox no-hits the Yankees for the first no-hitter in Fenway Park, beating New York starter Bob Shawkey 2-0. Harry Hooper leads the Red Sox with three hits. 

1930 – Ruth hits three home runs in one game for the first time in his career, but the Yankees still lose to the Philadelphia A’s 15-7. The Yankees had been leading the game by a score of 6-0, when the A’s scored nine runs in the 7th inning. Ruth’s final home run went out of Shibe Park over the rightfield wall landing a block away. In the second game of the doubleheader, the A’s win again beating the Yankees 4-1. 

1939 – The Yankees announced Gehrig’s retirement, based on the report that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The 36-year-old star will remain with the team for the rest of 1939 season as team captain.

1950 – Joe DiMaggio gets his 2,000th MLB career hit, a 7th-inning single off of Cleveland Indians’ Marino Pieretti, as the Yankees 8-2. DiMaggio joins Luke Appling and Wally Moses as the only active players with 2,000 or more hits. Lopat is the winning pitcher for the Yankees, running his career record against the Indians to 25-6.

1951 – Former Yankees minor league pitcher Bob Polinsky was born. Polinsky was drafted in 1st round of the January 1973 MLB amateur draft (secondary phase) by New York. Polinsky moved up in the Yankees farm system rather quickly – AA in 1974-1975 and AAA in 1976. On April 5, 1977, he was traded by the Yankees along with outfielder/designated hitter Oscar Gamble, minor league pitcher LaMarr Hoyt and $200,000 to the Chicago White Sox for Bucky Dent. Polinsky never pitched in the majors.

1958 – Detroit Tigers starter Frank Lary pitches his third straight shutout, beating Yankees starter Duke Maas 1-0. Tigers rightfielder Al Kaline throws out Maas at home plate and hits his seventh home run to extend his hitting streak to 18 games.

1960 – Ford out-duels Detroit Tigers “Yankee Killer” Frank Lary to give New York a 6-0 win in Detroit. Mantle is 3-for-5 with a pair of home run off Lary.

1964 – The Yankees move into 1st place by 8 percentage points over the Baltimore Orioles, as they out pitch the Chicago White Sox to win a doubleheader by scores of 2-0 and 2-1. Mantle and Elston Howard provide solo home runs for Jim Bouton in the opener against White Sox hurler Juan Pizarro. An error wins the nightcap in the 17th inning. The Yankees sweep four games, giving up just a single run in 41 innings, and take nine games from White Sox in 11 days.

1966 – During the opening game of a twin bill, there are two on and two outs in the ninth inning when Baltimore Orioles outfielder Frank Robinson makes a spectacular catch against New York’s Roy White, diving into the stands over the short rightfield fence and disappearing from view. He emerges with the ball and it is ruled a catch, preserving a 7-5 Orioles victory, rather than 8-7 defeat.

1966 – Minor League Note: Satchel Paige makes his final pro pitching appearance, going the two innings for the Peninsula Grays (Carolina League) against the Greensboro Yankees. Paige gives up two runs. As noted by historian Bill Deane, Peninsula’s regular catcher, Johnny Bench, took the night off.

1967 – In a weird doubleheader spit between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, the Yankees had a 5-2 lead in the 11th inning of the first game, only to lose  6-5. In the 2nd game, the Yankees are trailing in the ninth inning by the score of 3-2. New Yorks scores four runs to win the game 6-3.

1988 – With two outs in the ninth, Trammell blasts a grand slam to give the Tigers, a 7-6 win over the Yankees.

1989 – Chicago White Sox Carlton Fisk surpasses Yankees Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra as the AL leader for career home runs by a catcher. His 307th home run helps beat the Yankees 7-3.

1996 – The Yankees acquired pitcher Billy Brewer, while giving veteran reliever Steve Howe his release. Brewer went 1-0 in four games for the Yankees, after his trade on June 22, 1996 by the Dodgers to the Yankees for pitcher Mike Judd.

2002 – Minor League Note: During the New York-Penn League game between New Jersey Cardinals and Staten Island Yankees, a fan hops a fence goes and goes onto the field to argue an umpire’s call at first. The 38-year-old woman is at the game with her 8-year-old daughter’s Brownie troop.

2005 – After building 10-2 lead at Yankee Stadium, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays lose to the Yankees 20-11, making it the second time in franchise history the team is ahead by eight or more runs and lose by nine or more tallies. No other club history has ever achieved this dubious distinction as the D-Rays with their 1999 defeat to the Indians now have accomplished the feat twice.

1890 – Former Yankees reserve outfielder Mickey Fitzgerald was born. Fitzgerald hit .270 in 19 games during the 1911 season for the Yankees.

1912 – The Red Sox beat the New York 10-3, to complete a five-game sweep, in which they score 55 runs during the series.

1916 – Ruth almost duplicates teammate Foster’s no-hitter, allowing just three singles, two by Frank Gilhooley, in beating the New York Yankees 1-0 victory. The game takes only 78 minutes.

1928 – Journeyman hurler Hank Johnson of the Yankees blanks the star-studded Philadelphia A’s by the score of 4-0. In the game for Connie Mack’s team are Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, Al Simmons, Jimmie Foxx, Eddie Collins, Tris Speaker and Lefty Grove, who were future Hall of Fame players.

1930 – Ruth ties a MLB record by hitting five home runs in two games and six round trippers in three contests The Yankees outfielder hits three home runs in the second game of the June 21 doubleheader, two more during the June 22 opener and another in the nightcap.

1930 – Gehrig hits three home runs in the second game of doubleheader against the Philadelphia A’s. The Yankees sweep the doubleheader beating the A’s 10-1 and 20-13.

1934 – The Detroit Tigers take over 1st place in the AL, beating the Washington Senators by a score of 11-3, dislodging the Yankees, who 4-1 to the Cleveland Indians.

1934 – Former Yankees minor league outfielder Russ Snyder was born. Before the 1953 season, Snyder signed as an amateur free agent with New York. A left hand hitter who attended the University of Nebraska, he began pro ball in the Yankees organization in 1953 hitting an astounding .432 for the McAlester Rockets of the Sooner State League with 240 base hits in 556 at-bats. One would think that this opening performance would get Russ a quick look at the “Show” but it took six more years in the minors before he got inside a MLB park. On April 12,1959, Yankees traded Snyder along with infielder Tommy Carroll to the Kansas City A’s for Mike Baxes and Bob Martyn. After hitting .336 for the Portland Beavers (PCL), Snyder was promoted to the A’s, where he hit .313 in 73 games.

1936 – Former Yankees pitcher Jim Bronstad was born. Bronstad went 0-3 in 16 games with two saves with the Yankees in 1959. In 1963, Washington Senators purchased Jim from the Yankees. He was pitching at Richmond (AAA) at the time of the trade.

1959 – At Kansas City, Mantle drives in six runs with a triple and two home runs to lead the Yankees to a 13-6 victory. Bill “ Moose” Skowron adds his fourth home run in four days to move Yankees within three games of the top of the AL standings.

1961 – Yankees right fielder Roger Maris leads the Yankees on an 8-3 thrashing of the Kansas City A’s by belting his 27th HR of the 1961 season. He adds two doubles and a single. Maris has now, has hit 20 HRs in the past 30 days (May 24th -June 22nd) to tie the MLB mark set by slugger Ralph Kiner in 1947.

1965 – Ray Barker’s MLB-record-tying 2nd consecutive pinch-hit home run is wasted in a a 6-2 Yankees loss to the Kansas City A’s. Mantle adds a home run in the opener, but in the 4-2 nightcap win, he tries to score from 2nd on a wild pitch and snaps a upper-thigh hamstring. He will be out for three weeks. The June 21st Sports Illustrated cover features Mantle with the prescient title “New York Yankees: End of an Era?”

1977 – The Yankees third basebman Graig Nettles three-run homerun and Reggie Jackson’s two-run triple snap the Yankees five-game losing streak and create a come from behind 12-11 victory at Detroit.

1996 – At Cleveland, Ruben Sierra homers from both sides of the plate as the Yankees beat the Indians 11- 9. One of Sierra’s bombs comes in the 9-run, sixth inning by the Yankees. Albert Belle, back from a two-game suspension, is 3-for-5 with a home run, while Eddie Murray adds his 488th MLB career HR for the Tribe

1907 – Former Yankees reserve OF Allen “Dusty” Cooke (1930-1932) was born. Cooke hit .294 in 122 games for the New York Yankees from 1930-1932.

1915 – Former Yankees catcher Aaron Robinson was born. Robinson was the Yankees catcher from 1945-1947, sharing duties with Berra (1947) and Sherman Lollar (1947) before being traded for Lopat in February of 1948. 

1915 – The Yankees a draw a record 16 walks in a game against the Philadelphia A’s pitcher Bruno P. Haas. It was Haas first MLB game, he added three wild pitches to the fire, which lead to a 15-0 defeat of the A’s. 

1917 – The Yankees purchased shortstop Aaron Ward and outfielder Howie Camp from Louisville (Southern League). Ward would play shortstop for the Yankees for 10 seasons, while Camp hit .286 and was released by the team in 1917. 

1924 – Former Yankees P Harry “Lefty” Schaeffer (1952) was born. Schaeffer went 0-1 in 5 games for the Yankees during 1952.

1927 – At Boston, Gehrig leads the Yankees to an 11-4 victory by hitting three home runs, a first at Fenway Park. Gehrig hits a two-run shot in the second inning, adding solo blasts shots in the sixth and eighth innings.

1932 – Gehrig plays his 1,103rd successive game in a New York Yankees uniform, equaling Joe Sewell’s record with one team (Cleveland Indians). 

1935 – The league-leading Yankees (37-22) lose their third game in a row, dropping a 6-5 decision to the second place Cleveland Indians. Yankees third baseman Red Rolfe’s error in the eighth inning allows the Gomez losses two wild pitches in a row in the ninth inning to allow Joe Vosmik to get to third. Abe Wright’s single brings home the winner. Mel Harder, in relief in the ninth inning, wins his 11th game of the 1935 season. 

1957 – Japanese Prime Minister Kishi, wearing a Yankees baseball cap, is one of 63,787 fans at Yankee Stadium to see Yankees split a doubleheader with the Chicago White Sox, winning the fiest game 9-2, and then dropping the nightcap 4-3. Mantle goes 6-for-9 as the Yankees maintained their 1½ game lead over the White Sox. Mantle is leading the AL in hitting, home runs and is a only one RBI behind the Washington Senators’ first baseman Roy Sievers.

1959 – New York employs two-run home runs from Mantle, Hank Bauer and Gil McDougald for a 10-2 win over the Kansas City A’s. Ford throws a complete game victory, giving up only five hits, allowing only two runs with five strikeouts for his seventh victory of the season.

1960 – Former Yankees P Jim Deshaies was born. On June 7, 1982, he was drafted by the New York in the 21st round of the 1982 MLB amateur player draft. Jim went 0-for-1 in two games for the Yankees in 1984. On September 15, 1985, he was traded, along with minor league players to be named later, to the Houston Astros for veteran starter Joe Niekro. The Yankees would send minor league players; Neder Horta on September 24, 1985 and Dody Rather on January 11, 1986 to the Astros to complete the trade. 

1962 – Mantle returns to the Yankees regular lineup and homers against Tigers starter Paul Foytack. But it is not enough as Detroit wins 5-4. 

1963 – A MLB fielding record is set by Red Sox first baseman Richard Stuart, better known as “Dr. Strange Glove,” as he handles three first inning grounders and tosses to pitcher Bob Heffner for putouts. Stuart’s teammates and Fenway Park fans give him a standing ovation. The Yankees beat the Red Sox 8-0, behind a Bouton complete game victory. Bouton wins his 10th game of the 1963 season. While Maris hits his 14th HR of the season.

1964 – Charlie Lau ties a MLB record with two pinch hits in the 8th inning of Baltimore Orioles 9-8 win over the Yankees. The O’s score seven runs in the inning after two outs. Berra, now the New York manager, is criticized by some of his players for lifting starter Roland Sheldon, who was leading 7-2, having allowed just two solo home runs by Boog Powell. Yankees rookie reliever Pete Mikkelsen cannot hold the 7-2 lead as the Orioles move into first place. 

1966 – At Yankees Stadium, Baltimore Orioles hurler Jim Palmer beats the Yankees for a 5-2 victory. Yankees starter Al Downing takes the loss dropping his fifth decision of the season. Mantle and Joe Pepitone, each hit solo home runs off of Palmer.

1967 – Former Yankee Hensley “Bam-Bam” Meulens (1989-1993) was born. In 1985, Hensley Meulens was signed by New York as an amateur free agent. He really didn’t live up to his hype as power hitter. In spring of 1991, he won the James P. Dawson award for best Yankee rookie in spring training camp. After the 1993 season, the Yankees released Hensley. 

  1988 – New York Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner fires Manager Billy Martin for the fifth time, replacing him with former manager Lou Piniella. In 1985, Piniella was fired and replaced by Martin. New York’s 40-28 record is the fourth best in baseball, but the Yankees had just completed a 2-7-road trip.

1989 – Former Yankees pitcher Rick Anderson (1955-1989) passed away (1955-1989). Anderson was 0-0 in one game with the 1979 Yankees. On January 12, 1972, he was drafted by the Yankees in the 1st round (5th pick) of the 1972 MLB amateur player draft (Secondary Phase). On November 1,1979, Anderson was traded by the Yankees along with pitcher Jim Beattie, outfielder Juan Beniquez, and catcher Jerry Narron to the Seattle Mariners for outfielder Ruppert Jones and pitcher Jim Lewis.

1995 – Former Yankees first baseman/outfielder ‘Marvelous Marv’ Marvin Throneberry (1955, 1958-1959), known best by his playing antics with the New York Mets, dies from cancer at age 60. After unable to beat out Bill Skowron at first base, Throneberry was part of the Yankees player package in the Maris trade with Kansas City A’s in December of 1959. He will become the first ex-Yankee to play for the Mets in 1962. During his MLB career, Marv played for the Yankees, the A’s, Orioles before finishing with the Mets in 1963. His older brother Faye also played during the 1950’s. He will later become a minor league team radio announcer. During the 1980’s, Marv did appear in the Miller Beer commercials with other former star MLB players, with a line, “I don’t know, why I am doing here.” 

1996 – The Yankees completed a 4-game sweep of the Indians in Cleveland for the first time since the 1964 AL season. 

1997 – At Detroit, Yankees starter David Cone strikes out 16 Tiger batters, his highest game total in six years, as Cecil Fielder hits a three-run home run as New York wins 5-2. Cone, who had shoulder surgery to repair an aneurysm on May 10, 1996, allows only four Tiger hits, including bombs by Bob Hamelin and Damion Easley, in eight innings of work. 

2001 – The Yankees attempt to shore up their bullpen by getting reliever Jay Witasick from the Padres for minor league prospect D’Angelo Jimenez. The Yankees first choice, Montreal Expos closer Ugueth Urbina, failed to pass a physical and will end up with their AL East rivals, the Boston Red Sox. Witasick was a major disappointment for the Yankees, going 3-0 in 32 games. On December 13, 2001, he was traded by the Yankees to the San Francisco Giant.

1908 – Charging the Highlander owners with refusing to spend money to build a winning team, manager Clark Griffith resigns; Kid Elberfeld replaces him following today’s 6-6 tie game with the Philadelphia A’s. The Highlanders fade fast and finished last in the AL with a club record of 103 losses. 

1930 – The New York Yankees sweep their second consecutive doubleheader from the Philadelphia A’s by scores of 10-6 and 11-1, as Ruth hits two more home runs and sets an MLB record with eight home runs in six game games. 

1934 – After being hit less in his last 21 at bats, Ruth hits a grand slam in a 5-0 Yankee win over the Chicago White Sox. 

1936 – DiMaggio, a rookie, ties three MLB records during a 10-run, fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox. He hit two home runs for eight total bases. With two doubles, he equals the modern MLB record of four extras base hits in a game. 

1950 – Starter Art Houtteman pitches the Detroit Tigers to a 4-1 win over the Yankees. A Berra’s blast is the only New York score, as they lose their fourth straight game and eighth game in 12 appearances. The Tigers now lead the AL by three games. 

1962 – A marathon game between the Tigers and Yankees ends in the 22nd inning at Tiger Stadium when Jack Reed’s home run, his only MLB round tripper, career gives Yankees Bouton a 9-7 victory. Reed had replaced Pepitone in the 13th inning. For the Tigers, Phil Regan takes the loss, while Tigers OF Rocky Colavito has seven hits. Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson ties a mark by going to the plate 11 times. Berra caught the whole game. At an even seven hours, the game is the slowest extra-inning contest in AL history and it is the longest game in innings in New York history. 

1967 – Mantle breaks a 3-3 tie in the ninth inning with a home run off of Detroit Tiger’s reliever Fred Gladding to give the Yankees a 4-3 victory. 

1970 – In a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium, Murcer ties Gehrig’s record of four straight home run

1977 – Before a crowd of 54,940 fans at Yankee Stadium, Roy White launches a dramatic two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Yankees, a 5-5 tie with the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees score in the 10th inning on a Jackson bases-loaded single to win the game by the score of 6-5

1986 – Current Yankees pitcher Philip Hughes was born. Hughes was drafted by New York in the 1st round (23rd pick) of the 2004 MLB amateur player draft. He currently has a lifetime pitching record of 20-11 in 82 games with three saves for the Yankees.

1991 – Minnesota Twin Scott Erickson wins his 12th consecutive decision, tops in MLB, stopping the Yankess 5-0 on two hits. He retires 24 of the final 25 Yankee batters. 

1992 – Steve Howe is permanently banned from MLB by Commissioner Fay Vincent after having pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempting to purchase a gram of cocaine. It is Howe’s seventh ban from the game, as he becomes the firt player ever permanently banned from baseball because of drugs. 

1996 – Howe, released by the team just two days prior, is arrested at Kennedy International Airport for carrying a loaded gun in his luggage. He will plead guilty to a misdemeanor and receive three years probation and 150 hours of community service. 

2007 – Roger Clemens makes his first relief appearance in 22 years, 341 days, a new MLB record. Steve Carlton (15 years, 343 days) had held the record previously. Clemens had not pitched in relief since his rookie season with Boston. He volunteered to fill in when the Yankees had worn out their bullpen in 13 innings a day earlier

2008 – For the first time since Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, the Yankees visit Pittsburgh. After Bill Mazeroski, the hero of that Game 7 throws out the first pitch, the home team pulls off a reenactment of 1960, upsetting New York. The Pirates top the Yankees 12-5, with six Pirate batters getting multiple hits. Ryan Doumit goes 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs and  two RBI. Freddy Sanchez scores three times while Yankee batters Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi go a combined 1-for-12. 

June 25th  

1904 – In Boston, Highlanders starter Jack Chesbro wins his 12th straight game, beating Red Sox starter Cy Young by a score of 5-3. Patsy Dougherty has 3 hits against his former Boston teammates. 

1915 – In Boston, Ruth blasts his third homer of the season off Yankee starter Ray Caldwell, and is the second player to hit a ball into the rightfield seats at Fenway Park. Ruth strikes out eight Yankee batters in pitching a complete game, 9-5 victory. He adds a single off of reliever Bill Donovan, Yankees skipper and his former manager. 

1934 – In an 11-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox, Gehrig hits for the cycle. Although pitcher John Broaca ties a MLB record by striking out five consecutive times, he gets the win for the Yankees. Not until Bernie Williams, on August 21, 1991, will another Yankee fan five times.

1953 – White Sox manager Paul Richards uses five first baseman in beating the Yankees 4-2. He brings in Harry Dorish to face two batters, moving pitcher Billy Pierce to first

1963 – Former Yankees catcher/designated hitter and first baseman Mike Stanley (1992 – 1995, 1997) was born. Stanley was signed as a MLB free agent in 1992. He was the Yankees regular catcher until the arrival of manager Joe Torre, who replaced him with Joe Girardi. Stanley was brought back to the Yankees in on August 13,1997. He was traded by Boston along with Randy Brown to the Yankees for a player to be named later and minor league hurler Tony Armas Jr. The Yankees would later sent pitcher Jim Mecir to the Red Sox to complete the trade. 

1964 – Baltimore Orioles starter Steve Barber’s three-hit, 3-0 win gives the Orioles a three game sweep of the Yankees and 1st place in the AL. 

1984 – At Yankee Stadium, Dave Winfield hits five singles and drives in four runs to lead the Yankees to a 7-3 win over the Detroit. Yankees starter Ron Guidry (6-5) is the beneficiary of Winfield’s hitting. Winfield was hitting .750 against the Tigers that season. and had three five-hit games that month, tying an AL record set by Cobb. 

1985 – Due to a Yankees batboy being hit by a line drive foul ball by Yankees catcher Butch Wynegar. Yankees officials enact a new rule mandating the team’s batboys will wear protective helmets during all games.

1999 – During the Baltimore Orioles’ 9-8 loss to the Yankees, Orioles reliever Jesse Orosco makes his 1,051th MLB relief appearance to break Kent Tekulve’s MLB record. He is succeeded by Mike Tomlin, who takes the loss, when he serves up a ninth inning home run to Shane Spencer. Harold Baines has a pair of home runs for the O’s, while Tino Martinez has four hits for the Yankees.

1912 – New York sends future star hurler Hippo Vaughn (2-8), winner of last year’s opener, to the Washington Senators for the waiver price.

1939 – At Shibe Park in Philadelphia, the Yankees play their first night game in franchise history losing to Mack’s A’s 3-2.

1941 – New York Yankees southpaw ace Marius Russo throws no-hit ball for six-and-a-third innings before future Yankees George Mc Quinn spoils the bid with a home run. It was the only St. Louis Browns hit in a 4-1 Yankee win.

1943 – Former Yankees OF Bill Robinson was born. Bill Robinson was brought to the New York Yankees from the Atlanta Braves in the Clete Boyer trade in the winter of 1966. Bill Robinson struggled in New York, being labeled as the “black” Mickey Mantle. He would later have a successful career in NL with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies. After retiring as a MLB active player, Bill Robinson would later become a successful MLB batting Coach. He passed away in 2007.

1944 – At the Polo Grounds with over 50,000 fans looking on, the three New York teams played against each other in a six-inning, three-team game (a team played consecutive innings against the other two teams then sat out an inning). The contest, which was played to raise money for war bonds ended with the final score of Dodgers 5, Yankees 1, and Giants 0

1961 – The Yankees beat the expansion Angels 8-6 as Berra collects his 2000th career hit. To celebrate the achievement a huge cake is rolled out in Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. 

1962 – The Yankees sell veteran reserve Bob Cerv to the new NL expansion team, the Houston Colt 45.’s. Bob was at the end of his fine MLB career, which included three separate tours with the New York Yankees.

1974 – Current Yankees All Star hortstop and team captain Derek Jeter (1996-Present) was born. Jeter was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 1st round (6th pick) of the 1992 MLB amateur player draft. His current Yankees career BA is .317 with 230 home runs and 1,101 RBI’s. Jeter is a AL shortstop Gold Glove winner in 2004-2006 and 2009. He was a Silver Slugger winner in 2006-2009. Jeter won the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year Award winner. He has been named to the All Star team 10 times. Jeter has appeared in seven World Series, hitting .321 in 28 games with three home runs and nine RBI.

1979 – New York reacquired the popular outfielder Murcer from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for minor league P Paul Small and cash. Murcer will once again thrive playing in Yankee Stadium, hitting .273 with round trippers for the Yankees.

1980 – MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn voids the Yankees’ drafting of highly touted high school shortstop Billy Cannon, Jr. Four MLB teams had complained that Billy Cannon, Sr., college football’s Heisman Trophy winner in 1959, had misled them with telegrams saying that his son would go to college, in the hopes that he would then he would be drafted by the New York Yankees. In a special draft, the Cleveland Indians will pick Cannon but he chooses to attend Texas A & M instead. The young Cannon will be drafted with the top pick in the NFL Daft by the Dallas Cowboys in 1984.

1987 – Although the Red Sox have a 9-0, second inning lead over the Yankees, Clemens is unable to hold the lead with the Yankees winning 12-11 in 10 innings. Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs sees his 25-game hitting streak come to an end.

1991 – Former Yankees pitcher Johnny Johnson passed away. In March of 1940, Johnny was signed as a MLB free agent with the Yankees. Johnson went 0-2 in 22 games for the 1944 Yankees. On December 15, 1944, John was traded by the to the Chicago White Sox for P Jake Wade.

1999 – Former Yankees minor league P Tim Layana passed away (1964-1999). On June 2, 1986, Tim was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 3rd round of the 1986 MLB amateur player draft. On December 4, 1989, he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds from the Yankees in the 1989 MLB Rule 5 player draft from Columbus (AAA). Layana was killed in auto accident in 1999. 

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