This date in baseball
JUNE 26
1916 The Cleveland Indians wore numbers on their sleeves in a game against the Chicago White Sox. It marked the first time players were identified by numbers corresponding to the scorecard.
1924 New York right-hander Virgil Barnes faced his older sibling, Jesse, marking the first time brothers started against one another in major league history. Jesse got the loss when the Giants beat the Boston Braves 11-7.
1938 Lonny Frey of the Cincinnati Reds had eight hits in a doubleheader split with the Philadelphia Phillies. Frey had three hits in a 10-3 opening-game loss and collected five in the nightcap, which the Reds won 8-5.
1944 In an effort to raise funds for war bonds, the New York Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees played each other in a six-inning game at the Polo Grounds. More than 50,000 fans turned out. Each team played successive innings against the other two teams then would sit out an inning. The final score was Dodgers 5, Yankees 1, Giants 0.
1962 Earl Wilson of the Boston Red Sox pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park. Wilson, the Red Sox’s first black pitcher, also homered in the game.
1968 Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals pitched his fifth consecutive shutout as he blanked Pittsburgh 3-0 in the first game of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium.
1970 Frank Robinson hit two grand slams to power the Baltimore Orioles to a 12-2 victory over the Washington Senators.
1976 Shortstop Toby Harrah played an entire doubleheader for the Texas Rangers without handling a batted ball by the Chicago White Sox.
1983 New York’s Rusty Staub tied a season record with his eighth consecutive pinch hit. Staub equaled the
1958 mark established by Dave Philley of the Phillies when he singled in the ninth inning off reliever Ron Reed in the Mets’ 8-4 loss to Philadelphia at Shea Stadium.
2000 Minor league sensation Alex Cabrera hit a two-run home run in his first major league at-bat for Arizona as the Diamondbacks beat the Houston Astros 6-1.
2006 Oregon State beat North Carolina 3-2 for its first College World Series title.
2019 Vanderbilt defeated Michigan 8-2 to win the College World Series. 2021 The Arizona Diamondbacks ended their record streak of consecutive road losses by defeating the San Diego Padres 10-1.