» June 30, 1924: 2B Max Bishop and 3B Sammy Hale, the first 2 men in the A's batting order, draw 8 of the 9 walks issued by New York pitchers in the A's 10-3 win. A .271 hitter for 12 years, "Camera Eye" Bishop will draw 1,153 bases on balls, giving him a walk percentage of .204, which is higher than Ruth's and just behind Ted Williams's .207.

» December 7, 1937: The Red Sox acquire the contract of 19-year-old Ted Williams from San Diego (PCL), but he will not report to Boston until 1939.

» April 20, 1939: The Red Sox show off their prize rookie Ted Williams before 30,278 in the opener in New York, delayed two days because of rain. After striking out twice, Williams collects a double off Red Ruffing, who wins 2–0. Gehrig makes an error, goes hitless, and lines into two double plays in the only game featuring the two great sluggers. Other notables in what will become a historic box score include Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Jimmie Foxx, Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Red Rolfe, and losing pitcher Lefty Grove. The Yanks score their first run on a homer by Dickey and their 2nd tally on an error by Jimmy Foxx. Boston has baserunners in each inning, but Ruffing tosses just the 2nd opening day shut out in Yankee history. Four umpires work the game including 3B ump George Pipgras, the starting pitcher for the Yankees in the 1929 Opener; his opponent for the Red Sox that day was Red Ruffing.

» April 21, 1939: Ted Williams plays his first game at Fenway, scoring the first run for Boston against the A's on a Frankie Hayes passed ball. The Sox roll to a 9–2 win.

» April 23, 1939: Against the A's Bud Thomas, Ted Williams connects for his first ML home run while going 4-for-5. The A's win 12–8, but Thomas will be waived to the Senators in a week.

» May 4, 1939: In Detroit, Ted Williams belts two homers for the first time in his career to lead the Red Sox to a 7–6 win over the Tigers. Off Bob Harris, Williams thumps one homer over the right-field roof, the first ever hit out over the double deck at Briggs Stadium.

» May 30, 1939: At Boston, the Red Sox and Yankees split a Memorial Day doubleheader. The Sox double the Yanks, 8–4 in the opener, before the New Yorkers roar back to win the nitecap, 17–9. Ted Williams hits a long home run off Red Ruffing, that after retirement he says it is hardest hit ball he ever had.

» September 19, 1939: Ted Williams hits a HR off Thornton Lee, one of 31 HRs he will hit in his rookie season. Williams will homer off Thornton's son, Ron Lee, 21 years later.

» May 21, 1940: Jimmie Foxx hits a grand-slam home run for the 2nd day in a row against Detroit in an 11–8 Red Sox win. Only Babe Ruth, twice, and Bill Dickey have slammed in consecutive days in the American League. Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, and Doc Cramer also homer for Boston. Hank Greenberg and Rudy York homer for the Bengals, while Wally Moses has a pair of triples and two singles.

» June 2, 1940: The Red and White Sox split a doubleheader in Boston. Ted Lyons wins the opener, 6–0, for his 225th career victory. It is his 4th win this season. The Red Sox come back in the nitecap, 10–8, when Jimmie Foxx cracks his 13th homer of the year in the 9th inning into the LF screen with Ted Williams on base. Boston stays two games ahead of Cleveland, which split today with the A's.

» June 11, 1940: In Boston, the Indians chase Bob Feller, 9–2, on homers by Ted Williams and Joe Cronin. Williams adds a triple, while Finney has four hits including a pair of doubles. During the game, Tribe manager Oscar Vitt openly criticizes Feller, saying "Look at him. He's supposed to be my ace. How am I supposed to win a pennant with that kind of pitching." The Boston win keeps the Sox a game ahead of Detroit and Cleveland.

» June 13, 1940: At Cooperstown, Ted Williams hits two homers against the Cubs, but Chicago counters with four round trippers to win the 7-inning exhibition, 10–9.

» June 16, 1940: Ted Williams cracks a 12th inning home run to give Boston a 4–3 win over the White Sox in game 1. Ted thumps another in the 14–5 nitecap win. Winning P Jack Wilson clubs a pair of homers, as does Joe Cronin. Jimmie Foxx homers as well as the Sox collect 20 hits.

» June 23, 1940: In Cleveland, 56,659 watch the Indians split with Boston. Cleveland wins the opener 4–1 for their 8th win in a row, then Boston wins the nitecap 2–0 on two Jim Tabor home runs. In game 1, Ted Williams and Doc Cramer collide chasing a fly ball. Williams is knocked unconscious and the ball goes for an inside-the-park home run.

» July 30, 1940: Veteran Lou Finney hits so well for the Red Sox early in the season that manager Joe Cronin must make a place for him in the lineup. With rookie Dom DiMaggio joining Ted Williams and Doc Cramer in the OF, Cronin puts Finney at 1B when Jimmie Foxx volunteers to catch. The experiment lasts but a few games.

» August 2, 1940: In Detroit, the Red Sox pound 14 hits in beating the Tigers, 12–9. Shortstop Joe Cronin is 4-for-5 and hits for the cycle, the 5th cycle in Sox history. Cronin cycled in 1929, not the first player to cycle twice, but the first to do it a decade apart. His 8th inning homer, off Archie McKain, follows a Doc Cramer triple and ices it for the Sox. Boston also gets homers from Dom DiMaggio and catcher Jimmie Foxx, his 23rd. Ted Williams, pinch hitting in the 4th, draws a walk. Jack Wilson beats Tom Seats, with both pitching in relief.

» August 24, 1940: At Fenway, LF Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox pitches the last two innings in a 12–1 loss to the Detroit Tigers and Tommy Bridges. Williams allows three hits and one run scores when 3B Charlie Gelbert juggles a DP grounder. On three pitches Williams strikes out Tiger slugger Rudy York, who had driven in five Detroit runs. Joe Glenn, who caught Babe Ruth's last pitching appearance in 1933, is Williams' catcher. Pitcher Jim Bagby plays the OF for the Sox.

» December 10, 1940: The sac fly rule, reinstituted last year, is eliminated for the 1941 season. Though he would .400 without the rule change, Ted Williams will have six flies that score runners from 3B in 1941.

» January 8, 1941: The BBWAA in TSN poll names the 1940 All Star team: Hank Greenberg, LF; Joe DiMaggio, CF; Ted Williams, RF; Frank McCormick, 1B; Joe Gordon, 2B; Luke Appling, SS; Stan Hack, 3B; Harry Danning, C. The pitchers are Bob Feller, Bucky Walters, and Paul Derringer.

» May 25, 1941: Ted Williams raises his batting average over .400 for the first time during the season. His run to be the first since Bill Terry in 1930 to exceed the magic number will be marked in newspapers throughout the season, although it will often give way to the batting streak by Joe DiMaggio. DiMag singles today, off Boston's Lefty Grove. Grove thus joins two of baseball's most famous streaks—Joe's current hitting streak and Ruth's 60 homers in 1927. Lefty served up a gopher on September 27, 1927.

» May 30, 1941: The Red Sox and Yanks split, New York winning the opener and Boston trouncing New York in the nitecap, 13–0. The Sox cap it off with a triple steal. Ted Williams laces six hits in the doubleheader, while Joe DiMaggio hits in both games to run his streak to 16. It is not a good day for the DiMag, suffering from a cold, as he commits an error in the opener and three more in the nitecap.

» July 8, 1941: At the All-Star Game at Briggs Stadium, Ted Williams, hitting .405 at the break, homers off Chicago Cubs P Claude Passeau with two out and two on in the ninth inning to give the AL a dramatic 7-5 victory. Williams's 4 RBI are matched by NL SS Arky Vaughan, who hits HRs in the seventh and eighth.

» September 27, 1941: Ted Williams starts the day with a .401 batting average and refuses Boston manager Joe Cronin's suggestion that he sit out the season to preserve his average. Against the A's he hits one single in 4 at bats to drop his average to .3995.

» September 28, 1941: Ted Williams collects 4 hits in 5 at bats in the 12-11 first-game victory in Philadelphia to bring his average to .404. He goes 2-for-3 in game 2 against rookie Fred Caligiuri, who beats Lefty Grove 7-1. Williams will finish the season with a .406 batting average.

» September 29, 1941: Overshadowed by the .406 mark of Ted Williams and the hitting streak of Joe DiMaggio, Jeff Heath of the Indians hits over 20 doubles, triples, and HRs during the season. The Canadian muscleman will finish with 32 doubles, 20 triples, and 24 HRs. It will be 38 years before George Brett will duplicate the feat in the AL.

» November 27, 1941: Joe DiMaggio is named AL MVP. His 56-game hitting streak edges out Ted Williams and his .406 batting average for the award (291 votes for DiMaggio and 254 for Williams).

» April 14, 1942: Ted Williams opens the season with a 3-run first-inning homer at Fenway Park. He adds 2 other hits and 5 RBI, as the Red Sox beat the A's 8-3.

» May 2, 1942: At Fenway, Ted Williams cracks a 9th-inning home run off Eldon Auker to give the Red Sox an 10-10 tie with the Browns, and Bobby Doerr's RBI double wins it, 11–10. Johnny Pesky pulls off a hidden ball trick in the 9th, but it is for naught as Doerr, unaware of the play, calls time out before the play. Auker goes the distance allowing 17 hits in the loss.

» June 2, 1942: Red Sox star Ted Williams enlists as a Navy aviator. He will finish the season with his team as will many other players who enlist or await draft, which moves slowly despite the early discouragements of the war. Among AL regulars of 1941 who are now in the service: Johnny Rigney, Joe Grace, Johnny Berardino, Cecil Travis, Bob Feller, Pat Mullin, Buddy Lewis, Sam Chapman, Johnny Sturm.

» June 2, 1942: Ted Williams hits five HRs in a week, but players are bemoaning a low-voltage ball. HRs will be down for the season by more than 25 percent, and the NL will average less than four runs a game per team for the first time since 1920.

» July 17, 1942: The Browns, under Luke Sewell, achieve an 8-game win streak with doubleheader victories 4-2 and 11-1 over the A's. Chet Laabs blasts HRs in both games. During the eight game streak, Laabs hits eight HRs. He will finish second to Ted Williams in the AL with 27 HRs.

» August 2, 1942: At Detroit, the Tigers sweep a pair from the Red Sox, 8–4 and 6–2, to knock Boston out of 2nd place. Dizzy Trout wins the opener, helping himself with a 3-run home run. Virgil Trucks wins the nitecap, giving up a 9th inning home run to Ted Williams. Along with Jim Tabor, CF Dom DiMaggio has a homer in the opener, then adds an unassisted DP in the nitecap.

» August 15, 1942: At Fenway the Sox sweep a pair from the Senators, winning each by one run. In the opening 2–1 win, Ted Williams 2-run homer backs Tex Hughson's 9th straight win and 15th overall. The 7–6 nitecap win goes the Broadway Charlie Wagner, whose last six wins, since June 7, have all been by one run, including a pair of 1–0 wins. Lou Finney drives in the tying and winning runs with a triple.

» November 3, 1942: Ted Williams is the ML Triple Crown winner, but the writers select 2B Joe Gordon by 21 votes as AL MVP. Gordon of the New York Yankees leads the AL with 95 strikeouts, the most ground balls hit into double plays (22), and the most errors at his position (28). P Mort Cooper gets the MVP honor in the NL.

» 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.

» July 12, 1943: In Boston, a team of Armed Forces all-stars managed by Babe Ruth and featuring Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams plays the Braves in a fund-raising effort. Ruth pinch-hits in the eighth and flies out to right. The all-stars win 9-8 on a Williams HR.

» February 25, 1946: Ted Williams, back from the service, hits the first spring training pitch he sees for a home run.

» May 2, 1946: Ailing Ted Williams hits his 2nd homer of the year, a 10th inning blow that gives the Sox a 5–4 win over the Tigers. It is the Red Sox' 7th straight win and keeps them two games ahead of the Yankees.

» May 4, 1946: Jim Bagby beats the Indians' Bob Feller, 6–2, as the Red Sox have now won nine straight. Ted Williams drives in three runs on a double and home run.

» May 6, 1946: The Red Sox sweep two games from the Browns in a postponed twinbill, with Boo Ferriss winning the opener 7–5 behind Ted Williams three RBIs. In the 8th inning of the opener, with George Metkovich on first, Johnny Pesky grounds out on a hit-and-run. He had hit safely 11 times up, one shy of Pinky Higgins major-league record hitting streak. Manager Joe Cronin said Pesky had called the play on his own, and he would have had him hitting away. In the nitecap, Williams scores the winning run in the 9th on Dom DiMaggio's RBI single, and the Sox Joe Dobson comes away with a 5–4 win. Dom will drive in a record-tying 84 runs hitting in the leadoff spot (87 altogether). The Sox have now won 11 in a row and are three games in front of the Yankees.

» May 18, 1946: The Red Sox coast to an 18–8 win over the Browns as Mickey Harris wins his 7th straight. Ted Williams has a grand slam for Boston.

» July 9, 1946: With seven Red Sox teammates on the AL squad, Ted Williams stages a power show with two HRs, two singles, a walk, 4 runs scored, and 4 RBI to lead the AL to a 12-0 laugher over the NL at Fenway Park. The highlight of the All-Star Game is Williams's HR off a Rip Sewell blooper pitch.

» July 14, 1946: Player-manager Lou Boudreau of Cleveland hits four doubles and one HR, but Ted Williams wallops three HRs and drives in eight runs, as the Boston Red Sox top the Indians 11-10. In the Sox second-game win, the famous Boudreau Shift is born. Boudreau shifts all his players, except the 3B and LF, to the right side of the diamond in an effort to stop Williams. Ted grounds out and walks twice while ignoring the shift.

» September 13, 1946: The Boston Red Sox clinch the AL pennant, edging the Cleveland Indians 1-0 on Ted Williams's inside-the-park HR, the only one of his career. Williams punches the ball over the shift when LF Pat Seerey pulls in behind the SS position. The Boston margin at the season's end will be 12 games.

» October 1, 1946: While waiting for the NL playoff to be completed, the Red Sox tune up by playing a team of American League All Stars. In the 5th, Senator P Mickey Haefner accidentally hits Ted Williams on the right elbow with a pitch. The injury will affect Williams' play in the World Series.

» October 15, 1946: Enos Slaughter sprints all the way from 1B and slides into home with the winning run in the 8th inning on Harry Walker's double, as the Cardinals edge the Boston Red Sox 4–3, giving St. Louis the World Series four games to 3. Harry Brecheen wins three games for the Cardinals, including Games six and 7, the only pitcher ever to win those. Billed as the duel between the two best hitters in baseball, the Series sees Stan Musial go 6-for-27 and Ted Williams 5-for-25. With the Series held in two small ballparks and the broadcast fees now aimed at a player pension fund, the Cardinal share of $3,748 and the Red Sox portion of $2,140 is the smallest Series payoff since 1918.

» November 15, 1946: Ted Williams is picked as the AL MVP. A week later the NL names Stan Musial for the honor.

» May 13, 1947: Ted Williams hits two home runs to LF, the first to that pasture in his career at Fenway Park, as the Red Sox wallop the White Sox 19–6. Earlier in the day, Williams had promised a boy in the Malden hospital that he would hit a homer for him. Bobby Doerr cycles for the 2nd time in his career, the first Sox to do that, and has a double and single in the 9-run 8th to complete his cycle. Bill Zuber is the winner over Earl Harrist.

» July 18, 1947: The first 5-for-5 game of his career moves Ted Williams among the top hitters in the AL.

» November 27, 1947: Setting off a storm of controversy, Joe DiMaggio is named American League MVP by a single point over Ted Williams. Williams, the Triple Crown winner, receives 201 points, and is completely left off one writer's ballot. A 10th-place vote would have given Williams the needed 2 points. Williams is selected The Sporting News Player of the Year.

» April 19, 1948: Rookie LH Lou Brissie defeats the Red Sox at Fenway 4-2 in the 2nd game of a doubleheader. Wounded in W W II, Brissie, who has a metal plate in one leg and wears a shinguard as protection, is hit on the shin by a Ted Williams line drive.

» 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.

» May 9, 1948: The Indians sweep a pair at Fenway, beating the Red Sox, 4–1 in 10 innings, and 9–5. A Ted Williams homer in the opener is the only Sox score, while Ken Keltner belts a pair of homers. They both add another in the nitecap, but Doby clouts a monstrous 2-run shot to dead center for the Tribe. He'll add another in a win tomorrow as Cleveland stays percentage points ahead of the A's.

» 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 4, 1948: Ted Williams faces three pitchers in the 7th inning, a first in American League history, as Boston snaps a 5–5 tie by scoring 14 runs on 14 RBIs to beat the visiting Philadelphia Athletics, 20–8. A's pitcher Charlie Harris retires one batter in 14 and cough up 12 runs, before Bill McCahan takes over. Williams, who makes the final out in the inning, and Bobby Doerr tie records by drawing two walks apiece. Pitcher Ellis Kinder has two hits, off Harris and McCahan. The 14 runs in one inning is a record, but five years later they will do even better with 17 in one inning.

» July 5, 1948: Despite a hitless day by Ted Williams, the Red Sox sweep the Yankees, winning 6–5 and 8–7. Denny Galehouse wins the opener, then saves the win in game 2. But his 9th inning sac bunt results in his tripping over 1B and he will be out of action for three weeks.

» 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 13, 1948: Vic Raschi of the Yankees drives in the winning runs with a bases-loaded single in the 4th inning and is the winning pitcher as the American League again tops the National League 5–2 in the All-Star Game at Sportsman's Park. Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, George Kell, and Hal Newhouser miss places in the lineup due to injuries.

» July 23, 1948: After missing 15 games with a torn rib cartilage, Ted Williams is 2-for-4 to help the Red Sox down the White Sox, 13–1. Bobby Doerr collects his 18th homer and adds a double and single to back Mickey Harris. Boston has now won nine straight to pull within a game-and a half of the first-place Indians.

» August 31, 1948: The Red Sox keep their precarious hold on 1st place with an 8–4 win over the Tigers. Mel Parnell is the complete game winner. Ted Williams has two hits, scores two runs and steals a base.

» May 5, 1949: At Cleveland, Bob Feller, making his first start since pitching two innings in the season opener and coming up with a sore shoulder, beats the Red Sox, 7–3. The Tribe scores six in the 2nd inning, including Ken Keltner's three run homer off Jack Kramer. On the next pitch, Minnie Minoso making his second start, hits his first major-league homer. Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr hit 8th-inning homers for Boston, while Joe Gordon adds a homer in the 5th for Cleveland.

» September 25, 1949: Despite 71 injuries that kept players out of games, Casey Stengel and his Yankees have been in first place all season. But today the Red Sox move into a tie for first place with a 4-1 victory over Allie Reynolds. Ted Williams hits his 43rd HR, and Mel Parnell wins his 25th game of the season. The lefty is 16-3 at Fenway this year. Joe DiMaggio listens to the game from a hospital, bedridden with pneumonia. The Yankees return to New York and are greeted at Grand Central Station by a huge crowd of fans, including Mrs. Babe Ruth, who predicts, "Whoever wins tomorrow should go all the way."

» November 25, 1949: Ted Williams, who lost the Triple Crown when his batting average was .0002 below that of George Kell, wins the MVP vote in a landslide. Phil Rizzuto and Joe Page finish 2nd and 3rd in the voting.

» February 7, 1950: Red Sox slugger Ted Williams becomes the highest paid player in history, by signing for $125,000.

» 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 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.

» May 12, 1950: Red Sox star Ted Williams apologizes to the hometown fans for "insulting gestures" he made in response to catcalls prompted by his two errors in a doubleheader loss (13–4 and 5–3) to Detroit yesterday. Williams' 2nd bobble allowed the Tigers' eventual winning run to score.

» June 8, 1950: In the most lopsided score in history, the Boston Red Sox annihilate the St. Louis Browns at Fenway Park, 29–4. Bobby Doerr has three home runs and eight RBI; Walt Dropo, two home runs and seven RBI, and Ted Williams, two home runs and five RBI, all collecting a round tripper in the 8th inning. Pitcher Chuck Stobbs walks four times in four innings, Al Zarilla adds four doubles, including two in one inning, and a single—with no ribbies—as the Sox set a major-league record with 58 total bases. Another mark is set of most extra bases on long hits (32) in a game, and the most extra bases on long hits in consecutive games (51). The Red Sox have 28 hits, with four players collecting four hits apiece, to total a record 51 for two days against the woeful Browns. Leadoff batter Clyde Vollmer goes to the plate eight times in eight innings, the only time this has happened in history. Boston has now scored 104 runs in their last seven games and a record 49 in two straight games.

» June 29, 1950: In what looks like a football score, the Red Sox overpower the A's 22–14 in Philadelphia, the 3rd time this month they've scored 20 or more runs. The 36 runs establishes an AL mark for runs scored by two teams. Both teams match a major-league record they set in 1901 for most players scoring two or more runs (Boston, 9: Phila, 4). Overall, pitchers gave up 21 walks in the debacle. Despite the high score, only one home run was hit—by Ted Williams in a game one newspaper calls "a two hour and 50 minute marathon." The previous record of 35 runs was set by the same two clubs in 1901: Boston 23, A's 12. The ML mark is 49 by the Cubs and Phillies on August 25, 1922.

» July 11, 1950: Making a leaping, off-the-wall catch of a Ralph Kiner drive in the first inning, Ted Williams fractures his left elbow in the All-Star game at Chicago. Remaining in the game, he puts the AL ahead, 3–2, with an RBI single. Kiner's 9th-inning home run ties the game, and Red Schoendienst's blast in the 14th wins it. Williams later states he was never the same after this injury.

» July 13, 1950: Doctors remove seven bone fragments from Ted Williams' elbow in a 75-minute operation. He will be sidelined until mid-September. But he will go on to hit .350 for the rest of 1950 and .336 throughout the rest of his career, including .388 and .328 to lead the AL in 1957 and 1958 respectively.

» September 14, 1950: The Browns stretch their win streak to eight games by beating the Red Sox, 6–3, for their second win over the Millionaires in 20 games. Brown wins his fourth straight. The eight game streak is the longest since 1944. The defeat drops the Bosox two games behind the Yanks. His fractured elbow now healed, Ted Williams pinch hits in the eighth a doubles.

» September 15, 1950: Ted Williams returns to the Red Sox lineup and raps a HR and three singles in a 12–9 defeat of the Browns. The Red Sox will come within two games of the first place Yankees this week, but will end up in third place, behind both New York and Detroit.

» October 1, 1950: Ted Williams has four hits to lead the Red Sox to a 7–3, win over the Series-bound Yankees. Williams has three RBIs to finish with 97 in 89 games. With many regulars sitting out, rookie Ernie Nevel gives up four runs in three innings to take the loss. Lou Burdette gives a run in the 4th before Lopat and Eddie (not Whitey yet) Ford also appear. Buddy Rosar's two-run homer, off Ford, completes Boston's scoring. Harry Taylor goes the distance for his 2nd win.

» May 15, 1951: The game that followed the ceremony featured dramatic home runs as Ted Williams hits the 300th of his career in the 4th inning against Chicago's Howie Judson. With Williams up in the 8th inning, White Sox manager Paul Richards moves reliever Harry Dorish to 3B and brings in Billy Pierce to pitch to Ted. Williams pops up against the lefty, and Dorish then returns to the mound. Boston ties the game against Dorish at 7–7, but little Nellie Fox, playing in his 6th season, cracks his first major league homer in the 11th to give Dorish a 9–7 victory. Ray Scarborough is the loser. The Sox will win their next 13 games.

» 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.

» August 14, 1951: Ted Williams hits two home runs to take the American League lead, and the Red Sox pull off a triple play to beat the A's, 7–4. With his 25th home run, Ted reaches 100 RBIs.

» September 14, 1951: Browns rookie Bob Nieman hits two home runs in his first two ML at bats, a record unequaled. They come against Mickey McDermott of the Red Sox, but Boston still wins 9–6. Boston has homers by Dom DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Walt Dropo.

» September 28, 1951: Allie Reynolds pitches his 2nd no-hitter of the season, defeating the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium 8–0. It is his 7th shutout of the year. With two outs in the 9th, Ted Williams hits a foul pop that catcher Yogi Berra drops. Williams then hits another foul fly that Berra grabs for the last out. The Chief is the first American League hurler with two no-hitters in a season; Vander Meer's pair in 1938 is the only other time a pitcher has thrown two in a season. In the 2nd game, the Yankees clinch their 3rd straight pennant under Casey Stengel as Vic Raschi wins 11–3 for his 21st victory. Mickey Mantle drives home three runs with a pair of doubles and Joe DiMaggio belts the final homer of his career—a three run shot. The Yankees are three 1/2 games ahead of slumping Cleveland with two to play.

» January 9, 1952: As the Korean War drags on, the marines give notice that they will recall Ted Williams to active duty. He'll be recalled on May 1st.

» April 30, 1952: Before 24,767 at Ted Williams Day at Fenway Park, the Red Sox slugger plays in his final game before going to Korea as a marine fighter pilot. In his last at bat, Williams hits a game-winning 2-run HR against Detroit's Dizzy Trout to give the Red Sox a 5-3 win.

» February 16, 1953: Ted Williams safely crash-lands his damaged Panther jet after flying a combat mission in Korea. The plane was hit by enemy fire.

» August 6, 1953: Ted Williams is back in a Red Sox uniform after military duty in Korea. He will finish with 13 HRs and a .407 mark.

» March 1, 1954: In his first spring practice, Red Sox slugger Ted Williams breaks his collarbone and will be out until May 15th. The injury occurs when Williams dives for a line drive.

» May 15, 1954: With a pin in his shoulder, Ted Williams returns to action after breaking his collarbone in spring training and is hitless in two at bats against Baltimore. The O's win, 2–1, behind Joe Coleman.

» May 16, 1954: Ted Williams is back, though grimacing with each swing, and goes 8-for-9 with two home runs and seven RBI in a doubleheader against the Tigers. Williams has three hits in game one, a 7–6 loss. He goes 5-for-5 in the nightcap, including both home runs, but Boston loses 9–8 in 14 innings.

» June 5, 1954: Ted Williams catches pneumonia, sidelining him for three weeks.

» September 3, 1954: Ted Williams of the Red Sox hits his 362nd HR to put him in 5th place on the all-time list.

» May 26, 1955: Despite a single by Ted Williams in his first appearance of the season, Boston loses to the Senators, 5–3. The Senators score five in the 6th when Mickey McDermott starts the scoring with a home run.

» May 28, 1955: After starting the season on the retired list, Ted Williams of the Red Sox becomes "unretired." He joins the team and collects a single in his first at bat, but the Red Sox bow to the Senators, 5–3. Camilo Pascual is the starter, but receives a warning from the ump when the Cuban Cutie twice hits Sammy White with pitches. His replacement, Maury McDermott, ignites a 5-run 6th with a home run.

» August 11, 1955: Ted Williams gets his 2,000th hit in a 5-3 Red Sox loss to the Yanks.

» September 2, 1955: Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle celebrate Billy Martin's return from the army; Ford throws 6 innings of no-hit ball against Washington before Carlos Paula spoils it in the 7th with Washington's only hit. The Yanks win 4-2 as Mantle hits his 36th HR, a 3-run shot. Mantle is 10 HRs ahead of rivals Al Kaline and Ted Williams. New York stays a half game behind the White Sox, who beat the 3rd-place Indians. Billy Martin will hit .300 in September, and New York will go on a 17-6 tear to win the pennant by 3 games.

» September 26, 1955: The Red Sox beat the Yankees 8-1 as Ted Williams goes 1-for-20. Williams finishes the season at .356, well ahead of Kaline's .340, but does not have enough at bats to win the batting title. The same thing happened in 1954. Williams was walked 136 times in 1954 and 71 times (an AL-leading 17 were intentional) this year. A rule change will be made to recognize plate appearances, not times at bat.

» July 8, 1956: Boston's Ted Williams becomes the 12th player to drive in 1,500 runs when he hits a single in the 2nd game of a doubleheader against the Orioles. The Red Sox sweep, winning 9-0 and 8­4.

» July 10, 1956: In the All-Star Game, Ken Boyer of the Cardinals makes 3 sparkling plays at 3B and gets 3 hits as the NL defeats the AL 7-3. Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, and Stan Musial all homer. Mays's pinch-hit 2-run HR off of Whitey Ford is his 7th straight hit against the Yankee lefty.

» August 7, 1956: The Boston Red Sox fine Ted Williams $5,000 for spitting at Boston fans, as the Red Sox edge the Yanks in 11 innings on Williams's bases-loaded walk. It is Williams's third spitting incident in three weeks. The spitting started after the crowd of 36,350, a record for night games at Fenway Park, started booing the Splendid Splinter for muffing Mickey Mantle's windblown fly in the 11th. Before the game, RF Jackie Jensen had to be restrained by teammates from going into the stands after a heckler. The previous year Jensen had challenged a fan to come out of the stands.

» September 21, 1956: 1B Bill Skowron has 5 hits, but the Yankees strand a record 20 base runners in losing to the Red Sox in Boston, 13-9. Mickey Mantle sends a 480-foot HR into the CF bleachers that lands a foot from the top. His 3 hits raise his average to .352, 4 points behind Ted Williams.

» September 25, 1956: In the wake of the Ted Williams spitting incident, the Massachusetts State Legislature passes a bill to fine fans for profanity during a game. The bill is later killed.

» September 29, 1956: Mickey Mantle has only one hit against Boston pitching, but it is his 52nd HR. In the 2 late-season series against Boston, Mantle has 7 hits in 14 at bats, while Ted Williams has just 3 hits in 20 at bats. Mantle wins the Triple Crown with a .353 batting average, 52 HRs, and 130 RBI. The Yanks and the Red Sox use a record 44 players in the game. The 26 used by New York set a new ML mark.

» February 15, 1957: A Boston newspaper claims that Ted Williams never paid his $5,000 fine for spitting at the crowd. It refers to him mockingly as the "Splendid Spitter."

» April 23, 1957: At Fenway Park, Ted Williams belts a CF homer and a single to drive in 2 runs as the Red Sox beat the Orioles, 3–1. Frank Sullivan allows 4 hits in winning. The Sox Gene Mauch hits into an unusual DP with Dick Gernert on 3B. Mauch grounds to 1B George Kell, who steps on 1B and throws home. Mauch throws up his hands and deflects the throw. Gernert is ruled out on the interference call.

» May 8, 1957: At Comiskey, Boston slugger Ted Williams hits three home runs, all off Bob Keegan, and drives in all the runs as the Red Sox stop Chicago, 4–1.

» May 15, 1957: When Ted Williams comes up to bat for the Red Sox, manager Paul Richards moves White Sox P Harry Dorish to 3B. After reliever Billy Pierce retires the slugger, Dorish returns to the mound to relieve himself, and goes on to finish the game for a 9–7 win in 11 innings.

» 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.

» June 13, 1957: For the second time this year, the Red Sox Ted Williams hits three HRs in a game, a 9-2 win over the Indians. Williams is the first to do this in the AL.

» August 11, 1957: P Dick Hyde intentionally walks Ted Williams, the 27th time this year the slugger has been handed a free base. Williams will be intentionally walked 33 times this year, the highest AL total since the league started compiling this statistic in 1955.

» August 13, 1957: Mickey Mantle goes 3-for-3 and drives in three runs as the Yankees edge the Red Sox 3-2. Mantle improves his average to .384 while Ted Williams, with 1-for-2, is at .388. A week later Mantle will injure himself when he angrily swings a golf club at a branch and gouges his shinbone. This will effectively take him out of the running for a second-straight triple crown.

» September 22, 1957: Ted Williams hits his 4th consecutive HR, a grand slam, in 4 official at bats over 4 games, as he is walked 11 times. He ends his HR streak with a single.

» September 24, 1957: Hal Griggs of the Senators gets Ted Williams to ground out, breaking the Red Sox slugger's streak of reaching first base 16 consecutive times. Williams later homers to win the game 2-1.

» November 22, 1957: Mickey Mantle edges Ted Williams 233 to 209 votes to win the American League MVP. Williams, at 39 years of age, led the league in hitting with a .388 average, hit 38 home runs, and compiled a slugging average of .731. Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey brands the voting "incompetent and unqualified," noting that two Chicago writers listed Williams in the 9th and 10th places on their ballots.

» February 6, 1958: Ted Williams signs with the Red Sox for $135,000, making him the highest paid player in ML history.

» April 30, 1958: Ted Williams becomes the 10th ML player to get 1,000 extra-base hits. The A's beat Boston 10-4.

» May 18, 1958: The Indians' Carroll Hardy pinch-hits for Roger Maris and smacks a 3-run home run off Billy Pierce to pace the Tribe's 7–4 win. Hardy will pinch-hit for Ted Williams in 1960.

» May 22, 1958: Ted Williams hits his 16th career grand slam to provide the Red Sox with the margin in an 8–5 win over the A's. Ted's 4th inning blast, off Jack Urban, tied him with Babe Ruth for 2nd place on the career slam list.

» July 19, 1958: The Red Sox beat the Tigers 7-6 in 12 innings at Fenway Park on a Ted Williams HR.

» July 24, 1958: Ted Williams is fined $250 for spitting at the Boston fans again.

» July 29, 1958: Ted Williams hits his 17th career grand slam, tying him for 2nd place with Babe Ruth, and behind Lou Gehrig, who had 23. Williams also added a 3-run HR, as Boston beats Detroit 11-8.

» September 21, 1958: At Fenway Park, the Red Sox complete a three game sweep of the Senators, all by 2–0 shut outs. The Boston winning pitchers were Tom Brewer, Frank Sullivan and Ike Delock. Today's win was marred when Ted Williams, in a fit of anger, flings his bat into the stands striking Joe Cronin's housekeeper, Gladys Heffernan, in the face. She is not badly hurt, and Williams is very apologetic. But American League President Will Harridge will fine Williams for a bat-throwing incident

» September 26, 1958: After today's doubleheader sweep of the Senators, Red Sox teammates Ted Williams and Pete Runnels are exactly tied for the American League batting leadership at .32258. Williams is 130-for-403, while Runnels is 180-for-558. Williams is 2-for-3 in the opener, with a home run, then sits in game 2. Runnels is 2-for-9 on the afternoon. The Nats lose, 6–4 and 3–1, to run their loss streak to 11.

» September 27, 1958: The Red Sox drill a 9–5 win over Washington as Pete Runnels and Ted Williams each have three hits, but Ted has two less at bats to move ahead in the bat race. The two sluggers hit back-to-back home runs in the 4th, off John Romonosky.

» September 28, 1958: In a 6–4 Boston win over Washington, Ted Williams wins the American League batting title with a .328 mark, edging out teammate Pete Runnels by six points. Williams goes 2-for-4 against Washington with a home run and 2B against Pedro Ramos while Runnels is hitless. Williams hit .403 in his last 55 games. The Nationals finish the season with 13 straight losses.

» May 12, 1959: Ted Williams plays his first game after being sidelined since March with neck and shoulder trouble. He is 0-for-5 in Boston's 4–3 loss to Chicago in 12 innings.

» May 30, 1959: Ted Williams celebrates his 20th season by clouting a dramatic home run in an 8–3 Boston win in a doubleheader nitecap against Baltimore. The Sox were trailing 3–2 in the 7th when the Splinter connects for his 1st homer this year. The Sox take the opener, 5–4, after spotting the O's a 4–1 lead.

» June 2, 1959: In a 5–3 loss to Kansas City, Boston's Ted Williams records his 2,500th career hit, a double.

» June 14, 1959: Boston manager Pinky Higgins benches Ted Williams in a scheduled doubleheader with Kansas City. The Splinter, hitting just .175, has been slowed by injuries. Williams will pinch hit in the next two games. The Sox win 6–1 with cold and rain postponing game 2.

» July 13, 1959: The Red Sox sweep their 5-game series with New York with a 13–3 rout featuring a big 6th inning. Gene Stephens pinch runs for Ted Williams and, when the Sox bat around, Stephens then hits a grand slam.

» December 17, 1959: In a child-payment hearing related to his divorce, Ted Williams alleges the Red Sox paid him $60,000, not the reported $100,000. He claims his entire yearly income was $83,000.

» April 18, 1960: In the American League opener at Washington, a week later than the National League start, President Dwight D. Eisenhower throws out the first ball, then watches Camilo Pascual strike out 15 batters to tie Walter Johnson's record. Boston's only run in a 10–1 loss is a Ted Williams home run.

» May 19, 1960: The Yankees send SS Andy Carey to the A's for slugger Bob Cerv. Cerv had been with the Yanks for five years before going to KC where he banged 38 home runs in 1958 and was chosen as the American League left fielder over Ted Williams. Cerv will be claimed in the expansion draft in 1960 and the Yanks will again reacquire him.

» June 13, 1960: Bunning strikes out 13 in seven innings, but gives up a home run to Ted Williams, #498, and is losing before Norm Cash bats for him and hits a 2-run homer. Detroit beats Boston, 2–1.

» June 13, 1960: The Indians trade C Russ Nixon and OF Carroll Hardy to the Red Sox for Marty Keough and P Ted Bowsfield. Nixon had been traded in March to the Red Sox for Sammy White, but the deal fell through when White refused to report. Hardy once pinch hit for Roger Maris in Cleveland, and will do the same for Ted Williams this year, the only time Williams will ever have a pinch hitter.

» June 17, 1960: A 2-run home run off Wynn Hawkins at Cleveland Municipal Stadium makes Ted Williams the 4th player in ML history to hit 500 home runs. The Red Sox win 3–1 behind Frank Sullivan's 12 strikeouts.

» June 21, 1960: Despite two home runs and a single by Ted Williams, driving in four runs, the Red Sox lose to KC, 11–7. Jerry Casale puts the Sox in the hole by giving up hits to the first six batters.

» June 30, 1960: At Fenway, SS Don Buddin pulls some fancy footwork to lead the Bosox to a win against the Tigers. With the score tied in the 8th, Buddin is caught in a rundown between 3B and home, but he eludes Detroit catcher Red Wilson to score. Wilson argues that Buddin left the baseline, and earns a rejection by Red Flaherty for his views. The Red Sox score three more runs and win, 11–7. Ted Williams has a home run, off Bunning, and Colavito answers with two homers.

» July 22, 1960: At Fenway the Red Sox down the Indians 6–4. Vic Wertz has a 3-run homer and four RBIs. Ted Williams also homers and, in the 7th inning, steals 2B. Williams sets a major-league record as the only player to steal bases in four consecutive decades: he'll be match by Rickey Henderson in 2000. Jimmy Piersall homers twice, both off winner