This date in baseball
1869 Henry Chadwick published his first annual baseball handbook. The book eventually evolved into Spalding’s Official Baseball Guide.
1869 The Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first all-professional team, played its first regular season game and beat the Great Westerns of Cincinnati 45-9.
1871 The Fort Wayne Kekiongas beat the Cleveland Forest Citys, 2-0, in the first game played in the National Association. In the 127 games during the 1871 season, there were a total of four shutouts.
1910 The Browns and Cardinals played home games in St. Louis, and President Taft, not wanting to offend either club, saw parts of each game at Robinson Field and Sportsman’s Park.
1939 Boston rookie Ted Williams became the first player to hit a home run that cleared the right field seats at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. It was his first at-bat at Detroit. The Red Sox edged the Tigers 7-6.
1944 Blacks were allowed to buy grandstand seats for the first time in St. Louis history. St. Louis was the last of the major league clubs to integrate seating. Negroes had been restricted to the bleachers.
1966 Willie Mays broke the National League record with the 512th home run of his career in a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Candlestick Park. Mays passed another Giant, breaking the mark established by Mel Ott in 1946.
1969 The Houston Astros set an NL record by turning seven double plays against the San Francisco Giants. First baseman Curt Blefary participated in all seven.
1975 Bob Watson of the Houston Astros, sensing baseball history, raced around the bases on Milt May’s home run and crossed the plate at Candlestick Park in time to score major league baseball’s 1 millionth run, seconds ahead of Dave Concepcion of Cincinnati.
1980 Chicago White Sox first baseman Mike Squires caught the final inning of an 11-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. He was the first left-handed catcher to play in major league baseball since Dale Long in 1958.
1987 Candy Maldonado hit for the cycle to help the San Francisco Giants overcome a six-run deficit and beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-7.