Books and articles about Cal McLish

"There were eight kids in my family, and I was the only one my father was permitted to name, so I guess he figured he'd make up for the situation." That is how Cal McLish explains his long string of given names. He went right from American Legion ball to the Dodgers at age 18 in talent-scarce 1944, but didn't spent a full season in the majors until 1951. Four years in the Pacific Coast League followed before he found success with the Indians; he went 16-8 in 1958, and 19-8 in 1959. He had a nigsource.htmarish outing on May 21, 1957 at Boston: in one inning, he walked Jackie Jensen and allowed home runs to Gene Mauch, Ted Williams, Dick Gernert, and Frank Malzone. A lifelong friend of Mauch, McLish broke in with him in 1944, pitched for him in Philadelphia until arm trouble hit in 1964, and was Mauch's pitching coach on the Phillies (1965-66) and Expos (1969-75). (NLM)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » May 31, 1944: Cal McLish, 18 years old, picks up his first ML victory in a Dodgers' 8–4 win over the Pirates. » June 18, 1944: Cal McLish is knocked from the mound by a 5-run outburst by the Phillies in the first inning of a Philadelphia 6-2 victory over the Dodgers. The 18-year-old McLish is followed to the mound by Dodgers hurlers Ralph Branca, also 18, and Charlie Osgood, 17, in his only major league appearance. » May 3, 1947: The Dodgers ship pitchers Hank Behrman, Cal McLish and Kirby Higbe, and minor leaguers Gene Mauch and C Dixie Howell to the Pirates for OF Al Gionfriddo and $100,000. Behrman, with no appearances for Brooklyn this year will go 0-2 before the Bucs send him back to Brooklyn on June 14. » December 8, 1948: Pittsburgh trades 2B Frankie Gustine and P Cal McLish to the Cubs for P Cliff Chambers and C Clyde McCullough. » August 1, 1951: The Cubs' Eddie Miksis lines a ball to Willie Mays in CF, which caroms off his head for a double, as the Cubs nip the Giants, 3–2. Cal McLish wins over Larry Jansen. The Giants come back in game two behind the shut out pitching of Al Corwin to top the Cubs, 2–0. Bob Kelly is the losing pitcher, while Al Corwin wins his first ML game. » August 15, 1951: At Crosley, the Reds Ken Raffensberger tops the Cubs, 1–0, on Ted Kluszewski's home run in the 4th off Cal McLish. » August 26, 1951: At the Polo Grounds, Chuck "The Rifleman" Connors clubs his 2nd and last ML homer, a three-run shot off Sal Maglie in the 9th to give the visiting Cubs a temporary 4–4 tie. Wes Westrum then answers with his 2nd homer of the game, off reliever Walt Dubiel, and New York wins, 5–4. New York takes the nitecap, 5–1, to run their victory streak to 14 games. Jim Hearn tops Cal McLish. Mays electrifies the crowd in the 6th by singling, advancing on a balk and a short fly, and stealing home. The Giants trail by six games. » May 22, 1957: The Red Sox set an American League record by smashing four home runs in the 6th inning in an 11–0 win over Cleveland. Gene Mauch, Ted Williams, Dick Gernert, and Frank Malzone do the honors. All of these come on the first 16 pitches from Cal McLish. Williams had set the record with Jimmie Foxx, Joe Cronin, and Jim Tabor in 1940. » December 15, 1959: The Reds send 2B Johnny Temple to the Indians for 2B Billy Martin, P Cal McLish, and 1B Gordy Coleman. » December 15, 1960: The Reds acquire pitchers Joey Jay and Juan Pizarro from the Braves for SS Roy McMillan and a player to be named later. Cincy then trades Pizarro and P Cal McLish to the White Sox for 3B Gene Freese. The two pitchers will win 24 games between them for the Sox in 1961, while Freese will have one good year in Cincy. » July 4, 1961: At Metropolitan Stadium, the Twins sweep a pair from the White Sox, winning the opener 6–4 when Julio Becquer hits a 9th inning grand slam as a pinch hitter. Cal McLish shuts out the Twins in game 2 until the 8th inning when the Twins score 4 runs, 2 on Harmon Killebrew's only career inside-the-park-HR, off McLish. Appropriately, it is the Metro’s first IPHR. The Twins win, 4–2, behind Jack Kralick. » March 24, 1962: The Phillies trade holdout 3B Andy Carey and IF Lou Vassie to the White Sox for P Cal McLish. Chicago then trades Carey to the Dodgers for IF Ramon Conde and Jim Koranda. » April 16, 1962: At Philadelphia, the Cards and Phillies each plate six runs in the first inning, but that's all the scoring for the hosts. The Cards add six more to win, 12–6. Starters Cal McLish and Bob Gibson each last less than an inning. Ernie Broglio earns the win with eight 1/3 innings of shutout ball. » June 6, 1962: Cal McLish and Art Mahaffey pitch Philadelphia to a sweep of the Mets, 2–0 and 2–1, giving New York 17 straight losses. Craig and Jackson are the losing pitchers. » August 26, 1995: Atlanta P Greg Maddux ties a major league record by notching his 16th consecutive road win, a 7-2 victory over his former team, the Cubs. Maddux now shares the record with Denny McLain, Cal McLish, and Rich Dotson.