THIS DATE IN BASEBALL HISTORY

OCT. 8

1908: Later admitting he had nothing on the ball, Christy Mathewson loses to the Cubs 4-2 in the playoff replay of the disputed game on September 23. Three Finger Brown, relieving Jack Pfiester in the first, gets the win.

1915: The Phillies win their first-ever World Series game behind Grover Cleveland Alexander, 3-1. Red Sox rookie Babe Ruth grounds out as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of the opener and will sit out the rest of the Series.

1919: Ed Cicotte pitches Game Seven, and the White Sox play like they mean it. Joe Jackson and Happy Felsch drive in two runs each for a 4-1 win to cut the Reds' lead to four games to three in the best-of-nine Series.

1924: Giants rookie third baseman Fred Lindstrom is 4-for-5 with two RBI against Walter Johnson, and New York hurler Jack Bentley (16-5) clouts a two-run homer and earns the 6-2 win. The Giants hold a 3-2 World Series edge heading back to Washington.

1927: Facing elimination at Yankee Stadium, the Pirates are tied with the Yankees 3-3 in the last of the ninth. Reliever Johnny Miljus strikes out Lou Gehrig and Bob Meusel with the bases loaded, but a two-strike wild pitch to Tony Lazzeri allows Earle Combs to score the winning run and capture the World Series.

1929: Howard Ehmke, a surprise starter for the Philadelphia Athletics, struck out 13 Chicago Cubs to win the opening game of the World Series 3-1.

1930: George Earnshaw finishes off the Cardinals 7-1 to win the World Series for the Athletics. He is clearly the pitching star of the World Series with two wins and a 0.72 ERA.

1940: With only one day's rest, Bobo Newsom comes back for the Tigers and nearly has enough to win Game Seven. Cincinnati's Paul Derringer gives up seven hits in the first six innings but sets the Tigers down in order in the final three frames for the 2-1 win, giving the Reds the Series.

1945: Stan Hack's double takes a tricky bounce over left fielder Hank Greenberg's shoulder with two outs in the 12th inning to score runner Bill Schuster and give the Chicago Cubs an 8-7 win in Game Six to even the World Series with Detroit.

1956: Don Larsen of the New York Yankees pitched the only perfect game in World Series history for a 2-0 triumph over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sal Maglie, the opposing pitcher, gave up five hits.

1958: The Yankees win the World Series on Moose Skowron's three-run home run off Lew Burdette in the eighth inning of Game Seven that puts the game on ice,

6-2. Eddie Mathews strikes out for the 11th time, a record that will stand until l980 when it is broken by Willie Wilson of Kansas City. This is Casey Stengel's seventh championship, tying him with Joe McCarthy.

1959: The Los Angeles Dodgers win 9-3 to take the World Series over the White

Sox. Larry Sherry wins in relief of Johnny Podres in Game Six.