» March 30, 1946: A holdout from the Browns, SS Vern Stephens signs a 5-year deal with the Pasquel brothers to play in Mexico. The Giants dismiss Roy Zimmerman, George Hausmann, and P Sal Maglie for dickering with the Pasquels, and the trio departs for Mexico. One day later Mickey Owen of the Dodgers signs to manage the Mexican club in Torreσn. Stephens will play a couple of games in Mexico, then jump back. Owen announces he will return and then changes his mind again.

» April 27, 1947: The White Sox lose the first game to the Browns, 4–2. Al Zarilla snaps a tie with a 2-run homer in the 8th. Vern Stephens wins the nitecap, 4–3, by belting a three-run homer in the 8th. In the opener, the Browns have runners on 1B (Judnich) and 3B (Witte) when the Sox turn a Berardino grounder into an unusual triple play—all three runners being retired on rundowns. Witte is caught between 3B and home, Judnich between 2B and 3B, and Berardino between 1B and 2B.

» November 17, 1947: In a major deal that helps the Red Sox, Boston ships Roy Partee, Jim Wilson, Al Widmar, Eddie Pellagrini, Pete Layden and Joe Owstrowski and $310,000 to the Browns for Jack Kramer and Vern Stephens. Stephens will lead the AL in RBI in 2 of the next 3 seasons while averaging 33 HRs each year.

» November 18, 1947: The Red Sox acquire All-Star SS Vern Stephens and pitchers Jack Kramer and Ellis Kinder from the Browns in exchange for 10 players and $375,000.

» May 5, 1948: Against the Tigers, Red Sox P Mel Parnell has two balks called on successive pitches. He scatters 10 hits and gets no decision as reliever Ellis Kinder is the 4–3 winner. SS Vern Stephens participates in five DPs with Boston getting another going Ted Williams to Birdie Tebbetts.

» June 6, 1948: Ted Williams, Stan Spence, and Vern Stephens hit successive HRs for the Red Sox against Fred Hutchinson of the Tigers. It is the second 3-straight-HR game by the BoSox during the season, with Spence, Stephens, and Bobby Doerr having accomplished the feat off Phil Marchildon of the A's on April 19.

» July 10, 1948: For the 6th time this year, Vern Stephens and Bobby Doerr of the Red Sox hit back-to-back homers as Boston beats the 2nd-place A's, 4–0. Jack Kramer scatters nine hits in the shutout to win his 7th straight. Ted Williams sits out the game with a damaged ligament, the result of being hit in the ribs while playfully sparring with Sam Mele on the train down from Boston yesterday.

» July 22, 1948: Denny Galehouse returns to the Red Sox lineup and stops Chicago, 3–0. Vern Stephens clouts a 2-run homer. In the 2nd game, a 5–3 win, Stephens adds a homer to take over the American League RBI lead with 83. The winner is Ellis Kinder, the first of 18-straight wins over Chicago (through June 1, 1952).

» August 3, 1948: Jack Kramer leaves in the 3rd inning with a sore shoulder but still is credited with his 11th straight win as the Red Sox (58-40) pound the Browns, 15–8. Williams hits his 19th home run and Vern Stephens drives in three runs.

» August 24, 1948: At Fenway, with the Red Sox trailing Cleveland 8–7, Vern Stephens crashes a 2-run homer to give the Sox an 9–8 win and move them into first place. This is Stephen's 15th game-winning hit of the year.

» August 28, 1948: Vern Stephens is 4-for-4 with two doubles to pace the Red Sox to a 6–2 decision over Chicago. Ellis Kinder (6–7) is the only starter not to collect a hit for the first-place Sox.

» April 18, 1950: At Fenway, Happy Chandler gives Ted Williams his MVP Award, and then Governor Paul Dever tosses out the first ball. To the delight of 31,822 fans, Boston rips starter Allie Reynolds with a five-run 4th inning to drive the Chief from the game and take a 9–0 over the Yankees. But the Yanks score four in the 6th off Mel Parnell and then, down 10–4, New York unloads for nine runs in the 8th. 2B Billy Martin (2-for-2) becomes the first player in history to get two base hits in one inning in his first ML game. He doubles against Mel Parnell on his first at bat in the 8th inning, and singles off Al Papai. Walt Masterson gives up Tommy Henrich's 2nd triple of the game before giving way to four more Sox hurlers. Boo Ferriss, pitching in his last game, allows the last two runs in the 9th inning as the Yanks chalk up a 15–10 win, the biggest blown lead the Sox have ever had at Fenway (June 4, 1989, they'll blow a 10-run lad at home). DiMaggio, Berra, Vern Stephens, and Doerr each have three hits. Don Johnson is the winner, his last one for New York, with Joe Page pitching a perfect 8th and 9th in relief.

» April 21, 1950: Boston's Vern Stephens slugs a 9th-inning grand slam off the A's Harry Byrd to lead the Red Sox to an 8–2 romp. It was the first of 33 American League grand slams in 1950. The ML season total of 68 is a record up to this point. In 1995, the number will exceed 100 slams for the first time.

» April 30, 1950: The A's are pummeled by the Red Sox in a doubleheader, 19–0 and 6–5. First-game highlights are an 11-run 4th inning and a 17-hit barrage, which includes home runs by Ted Williams (2), Vern Stephens, and Bobby Doerr. A's pitcher Bobby Shantz ends the slaughter with 4-plus innings of relief, as Joe Dobson is the winner for Boston.

» June 7, 1950: Junior Stephens and Clyde Vollmer each have two home runs and five RBI for the Red Sox, as they trounce the lowly Browns, 20–4, at Fenway. The Bosox tally five homers and 23 hits in their total. Joe Dobson is the winner.

» July 14, 1950: The Red Sox produce a second 11-run inning of the year, as they score 11 in the 2nd inning against the White Sox to win at home, 13–1. Vern Stephens hits his 19th homer and now leads the AL in RBI with 84, one ahead of teammates Dropo and Williams.

» July 19, 1950: At Fenway, Vern Stephens crashes a 3-run home run, his 200th career homer, in the first off Fred Hutchinson. Detroit wins 9–5 with a little help in the 9th from ump Boyer. Boyer calls time just before pinch-hitter Tom Wright triples to CF. In his do-over, Wright grounds out. Stephens joins five other active players with more than 200 homers: DiMaggio, Mize, Williams, Gordon, and Nicholson.

» August 24, 1950: Boston SS Vern Stephens ninth inning grand slam against the Browns gives the Red Sox a 6–2. win. The Sox have now won nine straight. The Sox have whipped the Browns 18 times in 19 games this year.

» October 2, 1950: Dom DiMaggio of the Red Sox is the AL leader in steals with 15, the lowest figure ever recorded and a reflection of the emphasis on heavy hitting throughout the season. The younger DiMag made his contribution there as well, batting a career-high .328, tying for the lead with 11 triples, and leading the AL with 131 runs. His brother Joe led with a .585 slugging percentage despite his August slump. For the second straight year, two Red Sox tie for the top spot in RBIs, as Vern Stephens and Walt Dropo drive in 144 apiece. Last year, Stephens tied with Williams for the lead at 159. Dropo drives in his 144 in just 136 games, the first player to top 100 with more ribbies than games played.

» May 23, 1951: Mel Parnell gives up four hits in shutting out the Browns, while stroking four hits himself. Ted Williams walks five times in the 12–0 win. Vern Stephens sets an assist record for third baseman, with an assist from SS Johnny Pesky. On the last out of the game, a grounder to Pesky, he flips to Stephens, who fires to 1B to set the record at 10 assists. Frank Malzone will equal the record in 1957 and Ken McMullen will top it in 1966.

» May 30, 1951: In a doubleheader loss with Boston, Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle strikes out three times in the opener, and twice more to start the 2nd game: Casey Stengel lifts the slugger in the middle of the game for Cliff Mapes. In the opener, Ted Williams scores from 2B on a sacrifice bunt, and then ties the game with a home run. Vern Stephens 15th inning homer off Spec Shea wins it for Boston, 11–10. Williams then ties the nitecap with a double and Stephens' single drives him home with the game winner as Boston triumphs, 9–4. Ray Scarborough and Bill Wight are today's winners. The loss drops the Yanks into 2nd place, where they'll stay for a month.

» July 13, 1951: The Red Sox and White Sox play 19 innings under the lights, tying a major-league record. Mickey McDermott pitches the first 17 innings for Boston, as Chicago wins this marathon, 5–4. Clyde Vollmer has a homer and two singles for the Bosox and 3B Vern Stephens plays the entire game (18 1/3 innings) without a put out. Boston scores twice in the top of the 19th, but the Sox strike back with three runs. For the second night in a row, the two teams set a record for the longest night game. Tomorrow the Sox will set a major-league mark when they pull off their 14th DP in four games.

» February 10, 1953: The White Sox send pitchers Marv Grissom, Bill Kennedy and Hal Brown to the Red Sox for 33-year-old infielder Vern Stephens. A perennial All-Star in the 1940s, Stephens' best years are behind him.

» May 16, 1953: At Yankee Stadium, White Sox lefty pitcher Tommy Byrne pinch-hits for slugger Vern Stephens and hits a grand slam off Yankees reliever Ewell Blackwell to climax a 5-run 9th inning and give Chicago the 5–3 win. Stephens has 10 career grand slams: Byrne now has two.

» April 15, 1954: The Orioles Clint Courtney hits the first home run in Memorial Stadium. Following a 90-minute parade, they draw an Opening Day record crowd of 46,354 in a 3–1 afternoon win against the White Sox. Bob Turley strikes out nine in besting Virgil Trucks. Vern Stephens and Clint Courtney homer for the O's.

» June 14, 1963: Cleveland wins a 19-inning, 3–2 game two win over the Senators as Willie Kirkland blast two extra-inning homers. in the 11th and 19th. He matches Vern Stephens' major-league record as the second ML player to accomplish the feat. The 19 innings matches the longest game ever played in Cleveland.

» August 12, 1966: At Crosley Field, long-ball lovers enjoy 11 home runs in one game, tying the most in any contest and setting a major-league record for an extra-inning contest. Art Shamsky hits three for Cincinnati, including two in extra innings. But Pittsburgh prevails 13–11, scoring three in the 13th inning. Shamsky, who did not enter the game until the 8th, when he hits a 2-run homer to put the Reds up 8–7. His solo homer in the 9th ties the score at 9-9, as does his 2-run homer in the 11th. Shamsky's pair of extra-inning homers is a first in the National League, and just the 3rd time ever in the Majors (Vern Stephens, 1943: Willie Kirkland, 1963). Also going deep are Rose, Deron Johnson, Bob Bailey (2), Clemente, Jesse Gonder, and Jerry Lynch. For Lynch, it is his 18th pinch-hit home run, a ML record.