George Selkirk from the Chronology

May 28, 1941 - The New York Yankees edge the Washington Senators‚ 6-5‚ before 25‚000 in the first night game at Griffith Stadium. George Selkirk twinkles with a pinch grand slam‚ and DiMaggio triples against Sid Hudson.

Jul 4, 1939 - In between games with the Senators‚ a tearful Lou Gehrig bids farewell to 61‚808 fans at Yankee Stadium with a short and moving speech.

"Fans‚ for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and I have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure‚ I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also‚ the builder of baseball's greatest empire‚ Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow‚ Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader‚ that smart student of psychology‚ the best manager in baseball today‚ Joe McCarthy? Sure‚ I'm lucky. When the New York Giants‚ a team you would give your right arm to beat‚ and vice versa‚ sends you a gift‚ that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies‚ that's something. When you have a father and mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body‚ it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed‚ that's the finest I know. So I close in saying that I might have had a bad break‚ but I have an awful lot to live for. Thank you."

His teammates give Gehrig a silver trophy with all their signatures on it and inscribed with the following poem by writer John Kieran:
We've been to the wars together;
We took our foes as they came;
And always you were the leader‚
And ever you played the game.
Idol of cheering millions;
Records are yours by the sheaves;
Iron of frame they hailed you‚
Decked you with laurel leaves.
But higher than that we hold you‚
We who have known you best;
Knowing the way you came through
Every human test.
Let this be a silent token
Of lasting friendship's gleam
And all that we've left unspoken.
---Your pals of the Yankee team

Gehrig's uniform number 4 is then retired‚ the first ML player so honored. The Yankees split‚ losing the opener‚ 3-2‚ to Dutch Leonard and taking the nitecap‚ 11-1. George Selkirk homers in both games‚ and adds a triple and single in the nitecap. Sundra wins over Alex Carrasquel.

May 28, 1939 - Robert Joyce‚ who gave up two HRs to New York's George Selkirk yesterday‚ relieves for the A's. Selkirk hits two more HRs off Joyce‚ giving him 4 HRs in 4 at bats against the same pitcher in two successive games. Yankees win‚ 9-5. The Yanks release vet Wes Ferrell‚ who never came back after arm surgery over the winter. Ferrell will appear with the Dodgers in '40 and the Braves in 1941.

Jun 20, 1937 - The Yankees draw a crowd of 68‚939 and sweep a pair from the White Sox‚ 8-4 and 7-4 Lefty Gomez tops Ted Lyons in the opener‚ with George Selkirk providing 2 homers. Monte Pearson is the winner in game 2.

May 10, 1937 - Monte Pearson pitches a one hitter in stopping the White Sox‚ 6-0. Joe DiMaggio hits his 1st 2 homers of the year and George Selkirk his 5th for NY. Chicago's only hit is a one-out first inning single by Larry Rosenthal‚ who was erased on a DP.

Apr 24, 1937 - In Boston's home opener‚ the Yankees tie the Sox on Tony Lazzeri's 8th inning homer‚ then score a pair in the 10th on George Selkirk's triple. Twinkletoes is out trying to swipe home. The Sox come back for a run in the 10th‚ but the Yankees win‚ 6-5.

Sep 30, 1936 - In the WS opener‚ Carl Hubbell outpitches Red Ruffing scattering 7 hits and limiting the Yankees to a solo HR by George Selkirk. The underdog Giants take a decisive 6-1 win.

Jun 7, 1936 - George Selkirk's HR in the 16th gives the Yankees Red Ruffing a 5-4 win over Oral Hildebrand of the Indians. Ruffing has 3 hits‚ including a HR. Both starters finished the game but neither record a strikeout‚ an American League record.

Sep 13, 1935 - Detroit wallops the Yankees‚ 13-5 behind Schoolboy Rowe. Greenberg has 3 hits including a homer to boost his league leading average. George Selkirk hits an inside the park homer and Lou Gehrig hits 2 out to reach 30 homers. He now has 116 RBI‚ 54 coming on homers.

Aug 26, 1935 - In the opener of a twinbill‚ lumbering 1B Zeke Bonura of the White Sox steals home with 2 outs in the 15th inning to beat the Yankees Jimmy DeShong‚ 9-8. New York takes a 7-5 lead in the 13th on a 2-run single by George Selkirk‚ but Selkirk's error following a Luke Appling single and Bonura's double ties the match up. The Yanks go ahead 8-7 in the top of the 15th on Gehrig's 2nd homer of the game‚ off Whit Wyatt. A single by Appling and a walk to Bonura start the 15th; and Zeke surprised everyone by nabbing his 4th career stolen base. New York takes the nitecap‚ 7-5‚ in 7 innings. Gehrig has a 2 homers‚ a double and 3 singles for the afternoon.

Aug 10, 1935 - New York's George Selkirk drives in 8 runs‚ one short of Jimmie Foxx's AL record‚ with 2 HRs-one a grand slam-and a single as the Yankees pummel the A's‚ 18-7. Gehrig has a homer and drives in 5 runs in the game‚ then adds 4 more RBIs in the nitecap 7-2 win.

Jul 1, 1935 - Yankees OF George Selkirk suggests a cinder path‚ 6 feet wide‚ be installed in the outfield so a player knows when he is nearing the wall.

Jun 1, 1935 - At Yankee Stadium‚ the Bombers hit a record 6 solo HRs in beating Boston‚ 7-2. Bill Dickey 2‚ Frank Crosetti‚ Ben Chapman‚ George Selkirk‚ and Red Rolfe are the sluggers. All the Sox scoring comes on a two-run homer by pitcher Mel Almedo.

Sep 23, 1934 - The Yankees keep their mathematical chances alive with a double win over the visiting Red Sox‚ but most of the cheers are for Babe Ruth. The Babe is 0-for-4 with a walk in the opener‚ a 1-0 three hitter spun by Lefty Gomez. Arndt Jorgens knocks in the only run‚ off George Hockette‚ to give Gomez his 26th win. In the nitecap‚ Boston scores 4 in the 5th‚ but the Yankees tie it on Lou Gehrig's 47th homer of the year. In the last of the 9th‚ Ruth emerges from the dugout as a pinch hitter‚ but lines out. New York then scores the winner in the 10th on Chapman's single. Red Ruffing is the starter and winner. George Selkirk has five hits‚ including a homer‚ in the two games.

Jul 24, 1934 - In a 4-2 loss to the Browns‚ Yankee star CF Earle Combs (.319) crashes into the wall at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis and suffers a broken collarbone and a fractured skull. New York calls up George Selkirk but learns he broke his arm today playing for Newark. Combs will announce his retirement on the 28th‚ but come back to play 89 games next season.