» April 14, 1936: At Griffith Stadium, Vice-President James Garner makes the march to the flagpole for the President. Then to a standing ovation from 31,000 Franklin Roosevelt tosses out the first ball in the Senators opener against New York. Nats starter Bobo Newsom pitches a masterful game, surviving a 5th inning beaning when he is hit by a throw to first by 3B Ossie Bluege, to shut out the Yankees, 1–0, on four hits. Lefty Gomez loses his second straight 1–0 Opener. » 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 Joe DiMaggio triples against Sid Hudson.
» May 31, 1942:
Before 22,000 at Griffith Stadium, Satchel Paige pitches five innings to defeat the Dizzy Dean All-Stars, 8–1. Dean pitches just the first inning, giving up three hits and two runs. Private Cecil Travis plays 3B. The game a week earlier, in which Paige won 3–1 at Wrigley Field, drew 29,000. Judge Landis will prohibit a scheduled July 4th matchup because the first two games outdrew ML games.
» May 21, 1943: At Griffith Stadium, the Chicago White Sox top the Washington Senators 1–0 in one hour, 29 minutes, the quickest night game in American League history.
» September 30, 1945:
Hank Greenberg's grand-slam HR in the 9th inning
on the final day of the season beats the St.
Louis Browns 6-3 and clinches the AL pennant
for the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers had been assured
of a tie on September 26 when Newhouser won his 24th
game, an 11-0 shutout of the Indians. There were
3 off days before the season finale today. The
2nd-place Senators had finished the season a
week before, on the 23rd, to make Griffith Stadium
available for pro football.
» May 8, 1946:
At Griffith Stadium, Detroit 2B Eddie Mayo snags a 3rd inning liner off the bat of Gil Torres to start a triple play. The ball was deflected by P Hal Newhouser, but Mayo grabbed it before it hit the ground. It is the 2nd time in a year that Mayo has started a triple play off Torres: in the 2nd inning of a nitecap on July 20, 1945, Mayo grabbed a Torres line drive to start the TP.
» May 8, 1948:
At Griffith Stadium, Larry Doby pounds a 408-foot homer to CF, which hits the loudspeakers 35 high, to help the Indians top the Senators, 6–1. Larry's ball bounces back onto the field and was initially declared in play. The 8th-inning three-run homer is the longest home run in the Stadium since Babe Ruth's shot in 1922, and is the first of Doby's four career inside-the-park homers. World War two veteran Gene Bearden makes his first start, allowing just three Nat hits. He walks four in the 9th inning to allow the lone run, as Washington finally scores after three straight shutouts.
» September 10, 1950: Joe DiMaggio becomes the first player to hit three HRs in one game at spacious Griffith Stadium, as the Yanks beat Washington 8–1. Joe also adds an RBI double, to pass the 100-ribbie mark for the ninth time. The Senators lead the second game 6–2 when rain washes it out in the fourth. New York is now a half-game in back of the leaders with Boston a half game behind the Yankees.
» September 7, 1954: The Senators and Athletics draw just 460 fans to a
game, the smallest crowd in Griffith Stadium
history. The Senators win 5-4.
» August 9, 1956:
The Senators get a license to sell beer at Griffith Stadium.
» August 12, 1961: At Griffith Stadium, Roger Maris belts his 43rd homer, off Dick Donovan, but its New York's only score as they lose, 5–1, the Yanks first loss in 10 games. For Washington it is their first win in eight games. Gene Green's pinch grand slam off Luis Arroyo is the big blow for the Nats.
» April 9, 1962: President John F. Kennedy throws out the first ball to open the 1962 baseball season at new District of Columbia Stadium. Despite rain, a record Washington crowd of 42,143 shows up to see Bennie Daniels stop Detroit with a 5-hit, 4–1 win in the new park. This is a switch for Daniels, who had lost the last games played at both Ebbets Field, in 1957, and Griffith Stadium, last year.
» November 13, 1998: Babe Ruth hits new heights today: $126,500. That is the price paid for the ball he hit in 1923 for the first home run in Yankee Stadium. Mark Scala found the Ruth ball two years ago in the attic of his grandmother's house. The bid was $110,000 and the total price includes the auction house's 15 percent commission. Two year ago, the ball Eddie Murray hit for his 500th home run was sold for what one day could be $500,000. Michael Lasky, the founder of the Psychic Friends Network, paid $280,000 that was put in an annuity to be paid over 20 years. With interest, the annuity will be worth about $500,000, according to a spokesman for Lasky, who also operates as syndicated handicapper Mike Warren. The previous record for an auctioned baseball was $93,500 for the ball that went through Bill Buckner's legs in the 1986 World Series. That ball was bought by actor Charlie Sheen in 1992. Other auctioned items include: the bat Pete Rose used for his 4,191st hit, which tied Ty Cobb's career record, was sold by an unidentified Rose associate for $21,096; an autographed ball from President Franklin Roosevelt that he used to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the 1941 season opener at Griffith Stadium sold for $17,255, and a personal check signed Henry Louis Lou Gehrig sold for $15,306.
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