ON THIS DATE: JUNE 21
1916: Rube Foster of the Red Sox pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the New York Yankees. Foster struck out three and walked three and pitched the first no-hitter at Fenway Park.
1938: Pinky Higgins of the Boston Red Sox extended his consecutive hit string to 12, with eight hits in a doubleheader split with the Detroit Tigers. He went 4 for 4 in an 8-3 win in the opener and 4 for 4 in a 5-4 loss in the nightcap. The next day, Higgins struck out against Vern Kennedy in his first at-bat to end the streak.
1939: The New York Yankees announced Lou Gehrig’s retirement, based on the report that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The 36-year-old star remained as the team as captain.
1941: Lefty Grove’s 20-game consecutive win streak at Fenway Park ended with a 13-9 loss to the St. Louis Browns. The streak spanned from May 3, 1938, to May 12, 1941. 1956: In a rare double one-hitter, Chicago’s Jack Harshman outdueled Connie Johnson and George Zuverink of Baltimore as the White Sox won, 1-0.
1964: Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a 6-0 perfect game against the New York Mets in the opener of a Father’s Day doubleheader. Bunning threw 89 pitches and struck out 10, including John Stephenson to end the game. The no-hitter gave Bunning one in each league and Gus Triandos became the first catcher to handle no-hitters in both leagues.
1970: Detroit Tigers shortstop Cesar Gutierrez had seven hits in seven times at bat in a 9-8, 12-inning victory over the Cleveland Indians. Gutierrez had six singles and a double.
1989: Carlton Fisk set an American League record for homers by a catcher and drove in three runs to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 7-3 victory over the New York Yankees. Fisk hit his 307th homer as a catcher to pass the Yankees’ Yogi Berra.