» April 14, 1935: Cincinnati returns Johnny Mize to St. Louis, getting a $55,000 refund on the provisional purchase.

» July 26, 1936: Before a paid attendance of 41,596 in Boston—the largest crowd in the National League since 1930—the Cards and Bees split. The Bees take the opener, 4–3, on Wally Berger's two run homer in the 8th inning off Jess Haines. The nitecap is knotted at 2–2 in the 7th, when the Cards unload five runs. Joe Medwick leads off the frame with a homer, Johnny Mize doubles, and Virgil Davis homers to knock out Ben Cantwell. After two more reach base, Dizzy Dean drives them both home to ensure his 16th win of the year. Dean a run-scoring triple in the 3rd as well.

» September 27, 1936: When Johnny Mize is thrown out in the 7th inning for arguing, rookie 1B Walt Alston subs. In his only ML game, the future Hall of Fame manager makes one error in 2 chances and is fanned by Lon Warneke in his only at bat.

» May 19, 1937: Dizzy Dean instigates another donnybrook following a number of knockdown pitches in a game with the Giants. The Giants score three runs in the 6th inning after Dean is called for a balk by ump George Barr. Losing 4–1 to Carl Hubbell in the 9th, Dean knocks down Jimmy Ripple with a pitch. Ripple follows with a bunt on the first base side in a effort to make Dean field the ball. The bunt, however, bounces to 2B Jimmy Brown, who prepares to throw to Johnny Mize at 1B. Dean, who had started toward the ball, keeps running and barrels into Ripple. The two benches empty, and when the field is cleared by the umpires and policemen, the batter Ripple, who was never put out at first base, is credited with a single. Catchers Gus Mancuso and Mickey Owen are ejected after staging their own private boxing match. The only player who doesn't leave the bench is Hubbell, who wins his 6th straight game of the year and 22nd regular-season decision in a row. The Cards scoreboard attendant counts pitches in the game: 172 by Dean and 93 by Hubbell (70 strikes, 23 balls). King Carl uses five pitches in both the 1st and 8th.

» July 20, 1938: Johnny Mize of the Cardinals has three HRs in a game for the second time this season, in a game against the Giants.

» August 2, 1938: Larry MacPhail has official baseballs dyed dandelion yellow, and they are used in the first game of a doubleheader between the Dodgers and Cardinals at Ebbets Field. The Dodgers win 6-2, but Johnny Mize hits one of Freddie Fitzsimmons's knuckleballs for the first "yellow" HR.

» July 3, 1939: Johnny Mize equals a NL record with four extra-base hits -- double, triple, and two HRs -- in the Cards' 5-3 win over the Cubs.

» October 17, 1939: Bucky Walters is voted NL MVP by the BBWAA, with Johnny Mize 2nd.

» May 7, 1940: The Dodgers are drubbed by the Cardinals 18–2 when St. Louis totals 49 bases on 20 hits. The Cards have 13 extra base hits, seven of them home runs to set a National League mark for extra bases on long hits (29). Eddie Lake and Johnny Mize each have a pair. Brooklyn then becomes the first NL team to fly, going from St. Louis to Chicago on two planes. The Red Sox flew the same route July 30, 1936, but for reasons of cost and risk, no other teams try the airlines. The Dodgers will fly from New York from Chicago.

» May 13, 1940: In a replay of their washed-out game of April 23rd called on account of darkness, the Reds and the Cards neglect to inform the league office, and no umpires are assigned to Crosley Field. Coach Jimmy Wilson and P Lon Warneke are pressed into service as umpires before umpire Larry Goetz, at home in Cincinnati on a day off, arrives to officiate. Warneke will later become a full-time umpire, while Wilson will return to active duty at the end of the year and star in the World Series. Johnny Mize of the St. Louis Cardinals hits three home runs, and the Reds Bill Werber has five hits and collects four doubles in a 14-inning, 8–8 tie with the Reds. Mize's is his 3rd 3-homer game, breaking the tie for the National League record he shared with George Kelly. After 1910, there will be only five games this century in which active players umpire: Besides today these are: 1912: Ham Hyatt (Pit-N) and Ed Phelps (Bro-N); 1935: Jocko Conlan (Chi-A); 1941: Johnny Cooney (Bos-N) and Freddie Fitzsimmons (Bro-N); and 1978: Don Leppert (coach, Tor-A) and Jerry Zimmerman (coach, Min-A). (as noted by historian Wayne McElreavy)

» May 18, 1940: The Cards collect just seven hits off Hot Potato Luke Hamlin, but all are for extra bases to tie an National League record. The Dodgers lose, 6–2. Five of the hits are home runs -- 2 each by Johnny Mize and Terry Moore. Pee Wee Reese steals his 17th base in 26 games; the Cards have just five stolen bases.

» September 8, 1940: In the opener of a doubleheader, Johnny Mize of the St. Louis Cardinals rips 3 consecutive HRs, his second 3-homer game of the season. For "Big John," it is number 38 through 40 HR of the year. Pittsburgh still sweeps the 2 games.

» October 23, 1940: The MVP in the National League goes to the Reds Frank McCormick, with Reds teammates Bucky Walters and Paul Derringer finishing 3rd and 4th. Cards slugger John Mize is 2nd.

» December 11, 1941: The Giants acquire Johnny Mize from the Cardinals for three players -- Bill Lohrman, Ken O'Dea, and Johnny McCarthy -- and $50,000. Because of injuries, Mize's home run production had fallen from 43 to 16 in 1941, but he will bounce back to lead the National League in 1947-48.

» August 23, 1942: At Ebbets Field, the Dodgers sweep two from their cross-town rivals. In the first game, the Giants took a 4–2 lead in the 10th on Johnny Mize's 2-run home run, only to see Dolf Camilli hit reliever Harry Feldman's 1st pitch for a grand slam and give Dem Bums a 6–4 win. The 2nd game, the Dodgers score two in the 5th to take a 7–5 lead in a game halted by darkness. The Dodgers now lead St. Louis by seven 1/2 games.

» December 11, 1942: Cardinals GM Branch Rickey, possibly motivated by a clause in his contract that gives him 20% of the team's profits, trades slugger John Mize to the Giants for three players and $50,000. Yesterday he sold C/OF Don Padgett to Brooklyn for $30,000. Padgett will enter the Navy without playing a game for the Dodgers, and Brooklyn will try unsuccessfully to get their money back from Rickey.

» April 20, 1943: The season starts, 2 weeks later than customary. Stalwarts such as Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Enos Slaughter and Johnny Mize are gone, among some 60 players who could have been classified as regulars in the 1942 season.

» April 18, 1947: The Giants shell the Dodgers, 10–4, with Jackie Robinson hitting his first home run, off Dave Koslo, in the loss. The Giants counter with six homers—2 apiece by Bobby Thomson and Bill Rigney, and one apiece by Johnny Mize and Willard Marshall. Scout Burt Shotton is the surprise choice to replace Leo Durocher: he watches but does not manage the game.

» April 19, 1947: New skipper Burt Shotton manages the Dodgers from the dugout in street clothes, à la Connie Mack. Johnny Mize and Bill Rigney hit homers to help the Giants edge the Dodgers, 4–3.

» April 24, 1947: Johnny Mize of the New York Giants hits three successive home runs in a 14–5 loss in Boston. It is a record 5th time in his career that Mize has hit three home runs in one game; he will do it a 6th time with the Yankees in 1950.

» April 27, 1947: The Dodgers top the Giants, 9–8, for their 5th straight win. Trailing 8–4 in the 7th, the Brooks score two runs on Carl Furillo's homer, add two more in the 8th on Cookie Lavagetto's pinch homer and Reiser's double, and win it in the 9th on Eddie Stanky's squeeze bunt. Johnny Mize hits his 6th homer for the Giants.

» May 9, 1947: In his first game outside of New York City, Jackie Robinson has two hits and scores twice in the Dodgers 6–5 loss to the Phillies. After the game, the Dodgers give their young first baseman a vote of confidence by selling Howie Schultz, Robby's back up, to the Phils for $50,000. Tomorrow, Branch Rickey announces he's giving up his attempts to pry Johnny Mize away from the Giants.

» May 16, 1947: New York's Johnny Mize scores a run in his 16th straight game, helping his team beat the Cubs 5–3. Mize, who will lead the National League in runs, eclipses the NL mark of Max Carey and Fred Lindstrom. Ted Kluszewski will better the league mark seven years later.

» May 23, 1947: At Boston, John Mize hits his 7th career grand slam in New York's 6-run 3rd inning to lead the Giants to an 8–1 win. The victory moves the Giants into 1st place ahead of the idle Cubs.

» July 23, 1947: Ralph Kiner hits HRs 24 and 25, breaking the Pirate record of 23 by Johnny Rizzo in 1938 and tied by rookie Kiner last year. Behind HR king Johnny Mize 14 to 3 at the end of May, Kiner will have 25 to Mize's 31 by the end of July.

» September 1, 1947: Jack Lohrke hits a homer off the Braves, number 183 for the season for the Giants, breaking the 1936 team record held by the Yankees. Mel Ott's club had hit 5 HRs in a doubleheader against the Cubs August 24 to break Chicago's 1929 NL record. The Giants will finish with 221 HRs, led by Johnny Mize, Walker Cooper, Willard Marshall, and rookie Bobby Thomson.

» September 12, 1947: Ralph Kiner hits his record 8th HR in 4 games to pass Johnny Mize in the HR race as Pittsburgh tops the Boston Braves 4-3. The rain of HRs exceeds the 7 in 4 games hit by Tony Lazzeri in 1936. On the 18th Kiner will again pass Mize in the homer derby by belting his 50th of the season. Mize will get his 50th two days later. Kiner will get number 51 on September 23 against Jim Hearn of the Cards, and Mize will tie it up 2 days later off Johnny Sain of Boston. Both players have until the season finales on September 28 to break the tie, but neither will succeed.

» May 9, 1948: In the 2nd game of the Sunday doubleheader between the Pirates and the Dodgers, the umpire continues the game through a seven P.M. curfew because he believes Pittsburgh to be stalling with a 5–4 lead. The Dodgers pass the Pirates for a 7–5 score, but Ralph Kiner hits a 3-run home run to carry Pittsburgh to a 10–8 victory. The Pirates are fined $100 for violating the curfew and Kiner will end up tying Johnny Mize with 40 home runs.

» June 20, 1948: Johnny Mize, Willard Marshall, and Sid Gordon of the Giants hit HRs in the eighth inning in a 6-4 win against Murry Dickson of the Cardinals.

» July 23, 1948: Larry Jansen's 5-hitter gives the Giants a 5–0 win over the Cubs. John Mize's first inning homer off Russ Meyer provides all the scoring the Giants need.

» August 18, 1948: The Giants crush the first-place Braves, 8–2, behind Sheldon Jones. Sid Gordon hits his 24th and John Mize his 29th, both off Vern Bickford, to pace the New Yorkers. The Braves lead Brooklyn by a game.

» October 3, 1948: Johnny Mize hits his 40th HR of the year to again tie Ralph Kiner for the NL lead, as was the case in 1947. Kiner had hit his final 1948 HR on September 26. In 1946 rookie Kiner led with 23 to the 22 of Mize, who missed 50 games because of injury.

» May 5, 1949: At the Polo Grounds, Johnny Mize pounds a 10th-inning homer and the Giants beat the Pirates 3–2 to sweep their three-game series. The homer, off Murry Dickson, is Big John's 300th. Reliever Hank Behrman, in for Sheldon Jones, pitches out of tight jams in the 9th and 10th to win. Wally Westlake is stranded in the 10th after reaching Behrman for a leadoff triple.

» August 22, 1949: The Giants sell veteran Johnny Mize to the Yankees for $40,000.

» June 16, 1950: The Yankees recall Johnny Mize from Kansas City. He proceeds to wallop 25 home runs and drive in 72 runs in 90 games.

» July 2, 1950: The Yankees gain a split of their 4-game series in Boston by trouncing the Red Sox 15–9. Big John Mize plays first and contributes a home run and a single.

» September 15, 1950: For a ML-record sixth time, Johnny Mize hits three HRs in one game, but the Yankees lose 9–7 at Detroit. Mize matches Ruth's mark of doing it in both leagues, but the Babe only had two three-homer games. With the victory, the Tigers recapture first place from New York.

» September 7, 1952: The Yankees' Johnny Mize's pinch-hit grand slam gives the Yanks a 5-1 win at Washington. He has now homered in each one of the 15 ML parks, including Sportsman's Park in St. Louis while in each league.

» October 4, 1952: The Yankees draw even at home 2-0 behind the shutout pitching of Allie Reynolds. Johnny Mize, inserted at 1B, clubs a HR, single, double, and walk in 4 at bats.

» October 6, 1952: At Ebbets Field, the Yankees even it up for the 3rd time, as Raschi and Reynolds combine for a 3-2 win in Brooklyn. RF Carl Furillo robs Johnny Mize of a HR in the 9th.

» May 22, 1953: Yanks OF Irv Noren ends the game by lining back to P Bob Porterfield, who starts a triple play, as the Senators beat the Yankees 12–4. The Nats score five in the 1st inning off Allie Reynolds. Washington tallies 18 hits including a 3-run homer and 2-run double by Clyde Vollmer. Johnny Mize hits pinch single in the 9th, his 5th pinch single in a row, breaking a mark set by Cleveland's Les Fleming in 1947. Mize has had a walk and been hit by a pitch in his last seven pinch appearances.

» June 15, 1953: Duane Pillette of the Browns ends the Yankee win streak at 18 and the Browns team record 14-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over New York in Yankee Stadium. Johnny Mize becomes the 93rd player in baseball history to get 2,000 hits when he singles in the Yankee run in the fifth.

» October 2, 1965: Willie Mays sets a Giants record with his 52nd home run, as Ron Herbel beats the Reds 3–2. Johnny Mize had hit 51 for the Giants in 1947.

» March 11, 1981: Johnny Mize and Rube Foster are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. Mize hit .312 with 359 home runs in 15 ML seasons for the Cardinals and Giants, while Foster was a star Negro League pitcher, manager, and Negro League organizer in the first quarter of the 20th century.

» April 16, 1984: Dave Kingman hits three home runs—including his 12th career grand slam—and drives in eight runs in the A's 9–6 win over the Mariners. It is Kingman's 5th career 3-HR game, one shy of the major-league record held by Johnny Mize.

» August 6, 1996: Darryl Strawberry strokes three home runs off Kevin Tapani in the Yankees 9-2 victory over the White Sox. In doing so, he becomes just the 8th player to hit three in a game in both leagues. The others to do it were Babe Ruth, Johnny Mize, Dave Kingman, Cory Snyder, Darnell Coles, Claudell Washington, and Larry Parrish.

» July 20, 1998: Mark McGwire hits his 43rd homer in the Cards 13–1 drubbing of the Padres. His homer ties the club record set by Johnny Mize in 1940.

» June 9, 1999: Houston defeats the White Sox, 13-4, as 1B Jeff Bagwell hits three home runs and drives home six runs for the Astros. In doing so, Bagwell joins Johnny Mize and Ralph Kiner as the only players in history to hit three homers in a game twice in the same city in the same season. Bagwell is the 1st to perform the feat in a city on the road.

» August 16, 2001: OF Barry Bonds strokes two home runs to lead the Giants to a 5–3 win over the Marlins. The homers give Bonds 53 for the year, setting a new league record for home runs in a season by a lefthanded hitter. Johnny Mize of the Giants held the previous mark with 52 in 1947.