» April 23, 1910: At Boston, CF Tris Speaker pulls off his 2nd unassisted DP, the gem occurring in the 2nd inning against the Athletics. Speaker snares a low line drive and beats baserunner Harry Davis back to 2B. The game goes 11 innings with the A's prevailing 53. Eddie Plank is the starter and winner over Eddie Cicotte.
» October 12, 1910: With the AL season ending a week earlier than the NL, the champion A's tune up with a 5-game series against an AL all-star team, which includes Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Doc White, Ed Walsh, and Walter Johnson. The A's drop four out of five to the all-stars, but Connie Mack will later state, "Those games, more than anything else, put the Athletics in a condition to outclass the National League champions."
» May 27, 1911:
At Washington, the Nationals knock Ray Collins out of the box and beat Boston, 94, behind Long Tom Hughes. Tris Speaker, batting for Ed Cicotte in the 9th, has the longest hit of the day, a triple.
» June 9, 1912: In St. Louis, Red Sox rookie Hugh Bedient coasts to a 92 win over the Browns. Tris Speaker, the AL's leading hitter, is 4-for-5 off Roy Mitchell hitting for the cycle to pace the Boston attack.
» August 14, 1912:
Tris Speaker runs his hit streak to 20 straight games, lining a hit in game one of today's twinbill with the Browns. This is Speaker's 3rd long streak of the season; earlier he had streaks of 20 games and 30 games, the only player in history to do so. In the nitecap, Smoky Joe Wood wins his 25th, beating the Browns, 80. He allows four hits and strikes out 9.
» September 6, 1912:
In one of the more dramatic matchups in history, Walter Johnson, who had won 16 straight games before losing two games, takes the mound in a doubleheader nightcap against Joe Wood, who is seeking his 14th straight win. Wood strikes out nine and beats the visiting Senators 10 for his 30th win. Boston's lone run comes in the 6th on back to back doubles by Tris Speaker and Duffy Lewis. Speaker's double would normally be an easy fly out, but the ball drops into the overflow crowd cordoned off by ropes.
» October 9, 1912: Three errors by Giants SS Art Fletcher help put Christy Mathewson behind 42 until the team rallies for three in the 8th when Duffy Lewis muffs a fly ball by Fred Snodgrass. Boston ties it in the last of the 8th. The Giants push across a run in the 10th off reliever "Sea Lion" Hall, but Tris Speaker blasts a triple to deep center. Apparently out at home trying to stretch it into a home run, he is safe when C Art Wilson, who has just entered the game, drops the throw for New York's 5th error. Darkness ends the game at 66 after 11 innings.
» October 15, 1912: In game seven on a cold day in Boston, the Giants catch up with Joe Wood's smoke, teeing off for six runs on seven hits before the 32,694 fans have settled down. Jeff Tesreau wobbles to an 114 win and the Series is tied at three all. The only Boston bright spot is Tris Speaker's unassisted double play in the 8th, the only one by an outfielder in World Series play.
» October 16, 1912: In the Series finale, Christy Mathewson squares off against Hugh Bedient in quest of his first win of the Series. He takes a 10 lead into the 7th, but with one out, Boston manager Jake Stahl hits a pop-up to short LF. The ball drops among Art Fletcher, Josh Devore, and Fred Snodgrass. Heinie Wagner walks, and with two outs, pinch hitter Olaf Henriksen doubles home the tying run. Smoky Joe Wood relieves Bedient, and the two aces match zeroes until Red Murray doubles and Fred Merkle singles in the 10th to give New York a 21 lead. In the last of the 10th, pinch hitter Clyde Engle lifts a can of corn to CF Snodgrass, who drops the ball. Snodgrass then makes a great catch of a long drive by Harry Hooper. Steve Yerkes walks, bringing up Tris Speaker, who pops a high foul along the 1B line. C Chief Meyers chases it, but it drops a few feet from 1B Merkle, who could have taken it easily. Reprieved, Speaker then singles in the tying run and sends Yerkes to 3B. After Duffy Lewis is walked intentionally, 3B Larry Gardner hits a long sac fly to a retreating Devore that scores Yerkes with the winning run. This World Series was the most butterfingered in history, with thirty-one errors recorded, seventeen for The Giants. The Red Sox earn $4,024.68 each; the Giants' share is $2,566.47 each.
» May 28, 1914: Boston's Harry Hooper leads a successful triple steal against Cleveland that results in three players getting thrown out of the game. With Rip Hagerman on the mound in the 3rd inning, Dode Birmingham, Fred Carisch and Ivy Olson get tossed for protesting too vigorously. Tris Speaker, on the back end of the triple swipe today will be on the front end of another Red Sox triple steal.
» July 27, 1914: Red Sox ace Dutch Leonard shuts out Cleveland, 30. He is helped by Tris Speaker, who has 2 singles and a triple. Speaker also makes 8 put outs in CF, on his way to a record 423 for the year.
» August 8, 1914: At Boston, center fielder Tris Speaker pulls off his 2nd unassisted DP of the year, this one coming against Detroit. Tiger runner Harry Heilmann is doubled off 2nd in the fourth inning when a hit-and-run play becomes a line drive to Speaker. Boston wins 52. Speaker had another unassisted DP on April 21 against the A's.
» October 7, 1914: The Senators and the Red Sox wind up the season in a meaningless game in Boston. Washington manager Clark Griffith, 45, makes his final mound appearance, while Boston's star outfielder Tris Speaker does the only pitching of his career, giving up a run in an inning. Babe Ruth, in relief of starter Hugh Bedient, pitches three innings for Boston.
» June 29, 1915: Led by Tris Speaker's 5-for-5, the Red Sox trip the Yankees, 43, in 10 innings. Babe Ruth gets the win, going all the way before Sheriff Gainer hits for him in the 10th.
» March 25, 1916: An unsigned Tris Speaker arrives at the Red Sox training camp in Hot Springs in time for an exhibition game. Tris goes 4-for-4 with a homer and triple.
» April 8, 1916: Tris Speaker is still a holdout as a reaction to Boston owner Joseph Lannin's proposal to cut his salary from $11,000 to $9,000. Speaker wants $15,000. The Red Sox, in anticipation of resolving the contract dispute by trading Speaker, purchase the hard-throwing OF Tilly Walker from the Browns.
» April 12, 1916:
The Red Sox trade star outfielder Tris Speaker, who did not take to the notion of his salary being cut, to Cleveland for two players -- Sam Jones and Fred Thomas -- and $50,000. Speaker will hold out for $10,000 of the purchase price: Ban Johnson will finally intervene and Speaker will collect. A few days earlier, the Yankees had turned down the offer of Speaker for cash and Fritz Maisel.
» April 16, 1916: Now with Cleveland, Boston's Tris Speaker doubles against the Tigers Hooks Dauss, the first of 41 that will tie him with teammate Jack Graney for the American League lead, and one of an all-time career high of 792. The Indians top Detroit, 43.
» May 9, 1916:
The Red Sox and Dutch Leonard stop the Indians, 51, ending the first-place Tribe's 8-game win streak. The game marks Tris Speaker's return to Boston, and 15,000 cheer his every move. After one inning Speaker inadvertently heads into the Sox dugout, much to the crowd's delight.
» May 10, 1916: Led by Tris Speaker's two hits and three runs, Cleveland tops the Red Sox and Babe Ruth, 62.
» June 3, 1916:
In Cleveland, Tris Speaker drives in five runs with two triples and a single to lead the first-place Indians to an 112 win over the Red Sox.
» July 25, 1916: Tris Speaker has three hits against lefty Babe Ruth to finally drive him from the mound in the 8th inning. Reliever Rube Foster wild pitches home a run and Braggo Roth's 2nd double gives Cleveland a 53 lead. The Tribe wins it 54, with Ruth the loser. Ruth is 2-for-4 with a two run single.
» September 21, 1916: Rookie Tris Speaker goes 4-for-6 and drives in a run as Cleveland edges Washington and Walter Johnson, 32.
» September 30, 1916:
Red Sox CF Tilly Walker, imitating Tris Speaker, his predecessor, dashes in for a low line drive and beats the runner back to 2B for an unassisted DP. It is an important play, as Dutch Leonard defeats Nick Cullop of the Yankees 10 in the 10th on Harry Hooper's sacrifice fly. The win clinches a tie for the pennant for Boston. Cleveland will beat Chicago tomorrow to give the flag to Boston.
» May 25, 1917: Down 50 in the 9th, Tris Speaker of the Indians ignites a rally by stealing home against the Yankees. Five more runs follow and they win 65.
» September 1, 1917:
In the bottom of the 1st inning at Cleveland, Tris Speaker tries to steal home with Joe Evans batting (as noted by Retrosheet). Evans swings and lines the ball into Speaker's face. Tiger manager Hugh Jennings allows a courtesy fielder Elmer Smith to play CF in the 2nd frame while Speaker has his face stitched. Speaker then returns to CF in the 3rd.
» January 22, 1918: The Yankees trade P Nick Cullop, P Urban Shocker, C Les Nunamaker, 3B Fritz Maisel, and infielder Joe Gedeon to the Browns for P Eddie Plank and 2B Del Pratt. Plank, a 300-game winner, retires, but Pratt gives New York three good years at 2B. Shocker is the gem, posting four straight seasons of 20 or more wins in St. Louis. Maisel, who the Yankees refused to trade in early 1916 for either Boston's Tris Speaker (and cash) or Chicago's Joe Jackson, will hit just .232 in 90 games and be gone.
» August 28, 1918:
Tris Speaker is suspended for the remainder of the season because of his assault on umpire Tom Connolly following a dispute at home plate in a game in Philadelphia.
» July 10, 1919:
After PH Joe Harris triples with three on base to give Cleveland a 7-3 lead in the last of the eighth,
reliever Elmer Myers gives up a run, then loads the bases on walks. In comes little-used lefty Fritz Coumbe. Up steps Babe Ruth who hit his second HR of the day for an 8-7 Red Sox win. Out goes Indians' manager Lee Fohl, fired for the move. In comes CF Tris Speaker to manage the Tribe. He will bring them home in second place and stay as skipper for seven years.
» August 11, 1919:
Cleveland's Tris Speaker ties an AL record, scoring 5 runs in a 15-9 win at New York.
» July 10, 1920:
After banging out 11 straight hits, Tris Speaker is stopped by Tom Zachary of Washington. It's the record until Pinky Higgins of the Red Sox racks up 12 in a row in 1938. Speaker will hit .388 for the
season.
» September 2, 1920: Jim Bagby wins his 31st game, clinching the pennant for the Indians with a 101 win over the Tigers. Tris Speaker contributes three hits to finish the year at .388, 2nd to George Sisler's .407. The Sox 107 victory over the Browns is not needed by the Indians. The Indians' victory is due primarily to a .303 team BA (the Browns lead the league at .308) and the pitching of Jim Bagby, 31-12, Stan Coveleski, 24-14, and Ray Caldwell, 20-10. A big boost came from Duster Mails, brought up from the Pacific Coast League at the end of August, who won seven without a loss on a 1.85 ERA. Despite the heavy hitting in the American League, there are ten 20-game winners; the White Sox have four of themRed Faber, Eddie Cicotte, Dickie Kerr, and Lefty Williams.
» September 7, 1920: Two Brooklyn runs in the first lead to a quick exit for Cleveland starter Ray Caldwell (20-10). John "Duster" Mails and George Uhle shut down the Robins, but southpaw Sherry Smith (11-9) gives up three hits; the visitors' only run results from an error by Zack Wheat on Tris Speaker's double. It's a 21 win, and 21 Series lead for Brooklyn.
» September 11, 1920: In game 6, Brooklyn's P Sherry Smith gives up a 6th-inning single to Tris Speaker and double to George Burns. That's all the scoring for the day, as Brooklyn reject Duster Mails yields three hits for a 10 win and 42 lead for Cleveland in the best-of-9 series.
» September 27, 1920: The Indians continue on their warpath by topping the Browns, 84. Duster Mails wins his 6th straight and Tris Speaker breaks out of a slump by collecting two hits. He had been 1-for-19. Charlie Jamieson adds four hits.
» October 7, 1920:
Two Brooklyn runs in the first lead to a quick
exit for Cleveland starter Ray Caldwell (20-10). John
"Duster" Mails and George Uhle shut down the Robins,
but southpaw Sherry Smith (11-9) gives up 3 hits;
the visitors' only run results from an error by Zack
Wheat on Tris Speaker's double. It's a 2-1 win,
and 2-1 Series lead for Brooklyn.
» October 11, 1920:
In game 6, Brooklyn's P Sherry Smith gives up a
6th-inning single to Tris Speaker and double to George
Burns. That's all the scoring for the day, as Duster
Mails yields 3 hits for a 1-0 win and 42
lead for Cleveland in the best-of-9 series.
» May 20, 1922:
The Indians, behind Tris Speaker's first grand slam, beat the Red Sox 52. The reinstated Bill Piercy is the losing pitcher.
» August 8, 1922: The Red Sox collect 21 hits against Cleveland at Fenway. Cleveland manager Tris Speaker retaliates by hitting two homers over the RF wall.
» October 4, 1923: Cleveland's Tris Speaker connects against the Browns for his 57th double as the visiting Tribe win, 51. His final total of 59 is a record that will be beaten in 1931 by Earl Webb (67), but his career-high 793 (later revised down to 792) is still tops.
» May 17, 1925:
Washington's lefty Tom Zachary throws the pitch that Cleveland's Tris Speaker socks for his 3,000th hit. Zachary still is victorious today, 21, over George Uhle.
» May 20, 1925:
The Indians score six runs in the last of the 9th to beat the Yankees, 109. Tris Speaker scores the winning run from 1B on a single.
» June 6, 1926:
Player-manager Tris Speaker, 38, of the Indians, sporting a lifetime .350 BA, startles players and fans alike when he directs P George Uhle to pinch-
hit for him in a close contest with the Yankees. Uhle is a good-hitting hurler, but he flies out.
» August 11, 1926:
Tris Speaker hits the 700th double of his career, as the Indians lose to the White Sox 7-2.
» September 11, 1926: Cleveland sweeps two from the Nationals, winning 81 and 32. In the opener, Walter Johnson serves a two-run homer to Tris Speaker in the opening inning.
» October 13, 1926: Cleveland 1B George Burns is voted American League MVP. Hitting .358, Burns makes 64 doubles, topping Tris Speaker's 59. It'll be the record until Earl Webb's 67 in 1931.
» November 29, 1926: Tris Speaker resigns as Indians manager. Stories of a thrown game and betting on games by Ty Cobb and Speaker gain momentum when Judge Landis holds a secret hearing with the two stars and former pitcher-OF Joe Wood. The story and testimony will not be released until December 21st. Former Tiger P Dutch Leonard wrote to Harry Heilmann that he had turned over letters written to him by Joe Wood and Ty Cobb to American League president Ban Johnson, implicating Wood and Cobb in betting on a Tiger-Cleveland game played in Detroit, September 25, 1919. He charged that Cobb and Speaker conspired to let Detroit win to help them gain 3rd-place money. At a secret meeting of AL directors, it was decided to let Cobb and Speaker resign with no publicity. But, as rumors spread, Judge Landis takes charge of the matter and holds the hearings, at which Leonard refuses to appear. Cobb and Wood admit to the letters, but say it was a horse racing bet, and contend Leonard is angry for having been released to the Pacific Coast League by Cobb. Speaker, not named in the letters, denies everything. Public sympathy is with the stars, but the matter will remain unresolved until January of next year.
» January 27, 1927: Citing accuser Dutch Leonard's refusal to appear at the hearings of January 5th, Judge Landis issues a lengthy decision clearing Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker of any wrongdoing and ordering them reinstated by their teams. Both are then made free agents. Connie Mack will sign Cobb on February 8th. Speaker will sign with Washington on January 31st for a reported $35,000. The Tribe has already chosen Jack McAllister as manager.
» May 28, 1927: In his first starting assignment, New York's Wilcy Moore loses a heartbreaker to the Senators, 32, in the nitecap of a twinbill. Lou Gehrig is spiked at 1B by Bucky Harris as Firpo Marberry scores the winning run. The Yanks win the opener, 82, as Ruth corks his 12th homer of the year, a 3-run shot. Tris Speaker plays most of Game One despite fracturing his left thumb in batting practice.
» January 25, 1928: Tris Speaker, released by Washington, will sign up with the A's.
» June 22, 1928:
Journeyman hurler Hank Johnson of the Yankees blanks the star-studded Athletics 4-0. In the game for Connie Mack's team are Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, Al Simmons, Jimmie Foxx, Eddie Collins, Tris Speaker, and Lefty Grove.
» January 19, 1937: Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker, and Cy Young are voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the BBWAA.
» June 12, 1939:
The greatest gathering of members and future inductees of the Baseball Hall of Fame assembles in Cooperstown, NY, for the dedication of the museum. A six-inning game at Doubleday Field presents lineups studded with players who will be elected in the future, as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, Grover Alexander, Nap Lajoie, George Sisler, Eddie Collins, Tris Speaker, Cy Young, and Connie Mack accept their plaques.
» November 19, 1939: The National Professional Indoor Baseball League, headed by league president Tris Speaker, begins play. The league has 10 clubs, one in each then major-league city except Washington. Alas, it disappears within a month.
» April 11, 1950: The Texas League opener between Dallas and Tulsa is staged in the Cotton Bowl. The Dallas starters taking the field include Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, Tris Speaker, Dizzy Dean, Travis Jackson, Frank Baker, Charlie Gehringer as well as Duffy Lewis and Dallas manager, Charlie Grimm, the two non-Hall of Famers. After Dean throws one pitch, the squad is replaced by the regular Dallas Eagles team. 53,578 fans, the largest paid crowd (since surpassed) in minor-league history, cheer.
» September 2, 1962: Stan Musial's 3,516th hit jumps him over Tris Speaker and into 2nd place behind Ty Cobb, but the Mets beat the Cards 43. Although The Man will continue on to 3,630 hits, he cannot overtake Cobb and, in time, Pete Rose and Hank Aaron will surpass him as well.
» September 23, 1998: McGwire goes homerless in the Cards, 71 loss to the Astros as Randy Johnson clips the Birds for his 10th win. He strikes out eight in eight innings. Craig Biggio is 3for5 and swipes #50 to become the only player besides Tris Speaker in 1912, to have 50 doubles and 50 steals in a year.
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