Ninety years ago today, Pee-Wee went 0-fer.
Now, he was facing Walter Johnson. Even Babe Ruth didn’t get a hit that day; interestingly enough, Wally Pipp did get a hit.
On June 1, 1925, the New York Yankees’ Paul Louis Wanninger went 0-for-3, so in the eighth inning New York’s manager pinch-hit for the man they called Pee-Wee. Lou Gehrig flew out to left field off Johnson.
And the streak began that day.
See, the next day, manager Miller Huggins benched the first baseman, Pipp, giving Gehrig the start at first. Yes, “The Iron Horse” went on to take Pipp’s job and play in 2,130 consecutive games, a record that lasted until Cal Ripken broke it in 1995. But specifically, the streak started on this date 90 years ago, when Lou pinch-hit for Pee-Wee.
I know a lot of random stuff about baseball, but I’d never heard of Pee-Wee Wanninger until researching Gehrig’s streak. I’d always thought that Pipp getting benched was the streak’s first game.
And check this out: prior to Gehrig’s streak the longest consecutive game streak was 1,307 games by Everett Scott. And that guy was replaced in 1925 at shortstop by … yep, Pee-Wee Wanninger, who has the distinction of ending the longest streak and then being replaced to start the next-longest one of his day.
We are all now that much smarter — and that much nerdier.
Other historic sports things to happen on June 1:
2011: Shaquille O’Neal retired.
2004: Denver native Chauncey Billups and the Detroit Pistons win the Eastern conference finals and advance to the NBA Finals (Chauncey would win NBA Finals MVP).
1975: California’s Nolan Ryan pitched his fourth career no-hitter, a nine-strikeout performance against Baltimore.
1939” First televised heavyweight boxing match, featuring Max Baer vs Lou Nova.
CHEW ON THIS
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- From ESPN: Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still, and his daughter, will be honored with the Jimmy V Perseverance Award on July 15 at The 2015 ESPYS. On June 2, 2014, Still’s world was turned upside down when his four-year-old daughter, Leah, was diagnosed with stage-4 neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer that develops in young children.
- Happy birthday, !
Benjamin Hochman: bhochman@denverpost.com or
