From Unions to Royals (SABR 26, 1996)

100 Dates in Kansas City Baseball History

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This article was written by Roger Erickson - W. Lloyd Johnson

This article was published in From Unions to Royals: The Story of Professional Baseball in Kansas City (SABR 26, 1996)

  1. February 12, 1885—The Western League was organized at Indianapolis, with Indianapolis, Kansas City, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Toledo and Omaha the original clubs.
  2. June 6, 1888—Henry Porter, with the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association, tossed a 4-0 no-hitter versus Baltimore.
  3. May 1, 1895—The new Western League season opened. At Milwaukee, Minneapolis defeated the home team before over 5,000 people by a score of 4-3. St. Paul, managed by Charles “The Old Roman” Comiskey, defeated Kansas City, in the Missouri city, 4-3. Veteran pitcher, Tony Mullane, played first base for St. Paul. Comiskey left the Cincinnati to take over the St. Paul club.
  4. June 22, 1896—St. Paul registered 35 hits and scored in every inning to take a 34-21 slugfest from Kansas City in the Western League game. George slammed two home runs in the Saints’ nine-run sixth, but Kansas City talled 13 runs in the bottom of the inning, the two clubs scoring a total of 22 runs in that frame. George, Glasscock and Mullane each collected five hits for St. Paul.
  5. August 6, 1897—The first three minor league players to hit home runs in succession, in the same inning, were Harry Steinfeldt (later the first baseman to Tinker, Evers and Chance of the immortal Chicago Cub infield), Davis and Macauley of Detroit against Kansas City’s Abbey in a Western League game.
  6. May 9, 1900—John Ganzel and William Coughlin, Kansas City, American League, each batted eight times in a nine-inning game.
  7. December 30, 1901—American Association met at Kansas City and perfected the circuit, by awarding the Omaha franchise to Frank W. Bondle.
  8. June 4, 1904—Toledo, American Association, hit into two triple plays in one game at Kansas City. Blues’ Loewe and Ryan turned the first triple killing while Loewe and Sullivan did the second.
  9. August 31, 1905—At Kansas City, eight Kansas City players were injured in a collision between their coach and a trolley car.
  10. September 22, 1905—Nine Louisville players injured in a trolley wreck at Kansas City sued the Metropolitan Traction Company of that city for damages aggregating $39,500.
  11. May 11, 1911—Homer Smoot, Kansas City made six hits in six trips versus St. Paul.
  12. September 22, 1912—Association Park, the home of the Kansas City baseball team, was destroyed by fire.
  13. June 26, 1913—The outlaw Federal League, formerly the Columbia League, switched its Covington, Kentucky franchise to Kansas City.
  14. September 12, 1915—Dave Danforth, Louisville, whiffed 18 Kansas City batters to set a new American Association record. In his next game, September 15, Danforth struck out 16 St. Paul Saints for a total 34 in two consecutive games, 49 in three consecutive tilts and a total of 59 over a four-game stretch. He whiffed 130 in a 101-inning stretch.
  15. July 18, 1917—Kansas City set a new American Association record by winning its 15th straight game in the first game of a double-header with St. Paul. The Saints won the second game to end the streak.
  16. February 13, 1920—The first stable black league — the Negro National League — was organized in Kansas City, Missouri, by Andrew “Rube” Foster. Representatives from seven clubs met at the Paseo YMCA to draw up a constitution and by-laws for the National Association of Professional Colored Baseball Teams. The next day the same group drew up the charter for the Negro National League.
  17. July 13, 1921—Outfielder Jim Thorpe, the famed Indian athlete, smashed three home runs as Toledo whipped Milwaukee, 17-4. In the same circuit, Bunny Brief of Kansas City made three homers against Columbus.
  18. August 14, 1921—First baseman Bunny Brief, Kansas City was stopped by pitcher Grover Lowdermilk of Minneapolis after batting safely in 31 consecutive games.
  19. September 14, 1921—Bunny Brief, Kansas City hit his 36th homer of the season against Minneapolis, breaking the league record.
  20. September 10, 1922—Beals Becker, Kansas City made eight hits in eight consecutive times at-bat in a double-header against Minneapolis.
  21. September 2, 1923—After playing 238 games without being shutout, Kansas City was whitewashed by Milwaukee slabster Nelson Potts, 5-0. The string tied the American Association record of 238 games that was set by Minneapolis from September 1920 to June 1922.
  22. October 25, 1923—The Kansas City Blues, American Association, defeated Baltimore, International League, 5-2, in the ninth and final game of the Little World Series, to capture the set five games to four.
  23. July 9, 1925—James Kernan, Kansas City held Indianapolis without a hit, but lost in 10 inings, 2-1, on two errors and a hit in the extra frame.
  24. August 28, 1927—An American Association game at Kansas City drew 28,973.
  25. October 13, 1929—Kansas City, American Association, won the Little World Series, 5 games to 3, plus one tie, defeating Rochester, International League, in the final game, 6-5, in 11 innings.
  26. April 28, 1930—The first regularly scheduled night game in Organized Ball took place in Independence, Kansas, between the local Western Association club and Muskogee in front of 1,000 fans. Independence dropped the contest 13-3. The game was played under temporary lights provided by T.L. Wilkinson, owner of the Kansas City Monarchs.
  27. May 2, 1930—Des Moines, Western League, inaugurated night baseball. It marked the occasion with the first national radio hookup for a broadcast of a nocturnal contest. The idea was conceived by E. Lee Keyser, president and business manager of the Des Moines club. The night game was the first in Organized Ball history played under permanent light standards.
  28. August 3, 1930—In a Negro National League game at Kansas City between the Monarchs and Homestead Grays of Pittsburgh, Smoky Joe Williams of the Grays beat Chet Brewer, 1-0, in 12 innings. Williams gave up only one hit and fanned 27. His catcher was Josh Gibson and Oscar Charleston scored the winning run at Kansas City.
  29. September 19, 1931—Eddie Pick, Kansas City went 6-for-6 in a game. For the season he hit 58 doubles.
  30. May 18, 1932—Bryan “Slim” Harris, St. Paul held Kansas City without a safety in a nine-inning game. The next day Russ Van Atta of the Saints pitched hitless ball for 7 2/3 frames, as the Blues went without a safety 16 2/3 innings. Van Atta pitched a one-hitter.
  31. June 14, 1935—Dale Alexander, Kansas City set a new loop record with four successive home runs in one game. Alexander batted six times. Steve Sundra, Minneapolis moundsman on option from Cleveland, was the main victim. The Blues pounded out 22 hits to crush the Millers, 15-2, at Minneapolis.
  32. October 8, 1938—Kansas City, American Association, defeated Newark, International League — both Yankee farms — in the Little World Series, four games to three.
  33. April 19, 1939—A low-attendance record was set at Columbus, when only 39 paid customers saw Kansas City defeat the Red Birds, 5-3, in near-freezing weather.
  34. May 9, 1939—Johnny Sturm had six hits in six at-bats for the Kansas City Blues.
  35. August 4, 1939—The largest night crowd in Kansas City history — 24, 894 — saw the Blues defeat Minneapolis as Vince DiMaggio swatted his 37th and 38th home run.
  36. July 9-12, 1940—Stanley “Frenchy” Bordagaray, playing with the Kansas City Blues, hit safely 13 consecutive times to set an American Association record.
  37. September 4, 1945—Scoring 11 times in the fourth inning, the Kansas City Blues romped to a 17-7 win over the champion Milwaukee Brewers. A free-for-all occurred in the fifth inning when Mel Serafini slid into Brewer catcher Lou Stephenson with spikes high and when the battle ceased, manager Casey Stengel was discovered under the heap of players. The contest was called after the seventh inning.
  38. October 23, 1945—Jackie Robinson, former UCLA football star, who played shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs, Negro American League, signed a contract to play for Montreal of the International League, a Brooklyn farm club, thus breaking the so-called “color line” which had existed in Organized Ball since the 1880s.
  39. June 11, 1946—Kansas City-Milwaukee game at Milwaukee was delayed 35 minutes by fog.
  40. August 6, 1946—Louisville made 26 assists in a nine-inning game against Kansas City, setting a new American Association mark.
  41. June 26, 1947—Carl DeRose, Kansas City righthander who hadn’t hurled for a month and was suffering from a sore arm which pained him with every pitch, tossed a perfect game against Minneapolis at Blues Stadium, Kansas City. Facing only 27 batters, DeRose threw 93 pitches in his 5-0 victory, for first perfect game in American Association history. DeRose was able to make only two other mound appearances the remainder of the season.
  42. July 8, 1951—Floods in Kansas virtually put the Western Association out of business. Parks at Topeka and Salina were under 10 feet of water. Some of the teams were marooned and unable to get to their destinations for games in Hutchinson and Fort Smith.
  43. July 1, 1952—Kansas City Blues, who belted 10 home runs in one game two days previously, smashed out eight more in one game at Nicollet Park to trim Minneapolis, 16-11.
  44. August 29, 1952—Four singles and an error in the same inning failed to net St. Paul a run in the fifth frame in Saints game with Kansas City. One Saint was thrown out trying to stretch a single, while two others were pegged out at home plate.
  45. November 4, 1954—Arnold Johnson purchased Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s stock for $604,000.
  46. November 30, 1954—American Association drafted Denver from Western League to replace Kansas City. St. Louis Cardinals shifted their American Association franchise from Columbus to Omaha.
  47. April 12, 1955—In their first game, the Kansas City Athletics, before 32,844 fans — the largest crowd ever to witness a sporting event in Kansas City — beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-2, behind the pitching of Alex Kellner and Ewell Blackwell.
  48. April 23, 1955—The White Sox pounded out an unmerciful 29-6 win. The game featured a 16-year-old pitcher, Jim Derrington, for the White Sox.
  49. April 29, 1955—The largest crowd in A’s history, 33,271, saw a night game against the Yankees.
  50. June 15, 1956—The Athletics honored 13 Hall of Fame members before a game with Baltimore.
  51. April 25, 1958—The only time in the history of the Mutual Game of the Day Series the game was broadcast from Municipal Stadium. The Athletics played Detroit that day.
  52. July 11, 1960—The All-Star Game was held at Municipal Stadium. The National League won 5-3.
  53. December 19, 1960—The heirs of Arnold Johnson sold the Athletics to Charlie Finley for $1,975,000.
  54. June 18, 1961—18-year-old Lew Krausse, in his debut, pitched a three-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels.
  55. July 30, 1962—Buck O’Neil became the first African-American to coach in the major league All-Star Game.
  56. July 4, 1964—Manny Jimenez, of the Athletics, hit three homers at Baltimore.
  57. July 23, 1964—Campy Campaneris hit a home run in his first major league at-bat in Minnesota.
  58. May 13, 1965—Pitcher Catfish Hunter made his major league debut against the Chicago White Sox, losing the decision, giving up three hits in two innings of work.
  59. September 8, 1965—Campy Campaneris played all nine positions in a game against the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels won 5-3 in the 12th inning.
  60. September 23, 1965—The Athletics drew only 690 fans in a contest against the Washington Senators.
  61. September 26, 1965—Kansas City resident Satchel Paige, at the age of 59, pitched three shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox.
  62. June 9, 1966—Minnesota hit five home runs in one inning for a major league record against the Athletics. The hitters were Rich Rollins, Zolio Versalles, and Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, and Don Mincher. The last three hitters, the dingers in succession.
  63. August 18, 1967—Charlie Finley fined pitcher Lew Krausse $500 for rowdyism on a flight from Boston to Kansas City on August 3.
  64. August 19, 1967—The A’s team members issued a statement criticizing the fine and accused Finley of using informers and said Finley should give manager Alvin Dark and his coaches more authority.
  65. August 21, 1967—Finley released first baseman Ken Harrelson, who was quoted as saying, “Finley is a menace to baseball.”
  66. September 27, 1967—In what proved to be their last games in Kansas City, the Athletics knocked the White Sox out of the pennant race with a 5-2 and 4-0 doubleheader sweep. Kansas City native Chuck Dobson and Catfish Hunter were the two winners.
  67. January 11, 1968—In an American League meeting in Kansas City, Joe Cronin announced a Kansas City franchise would be activated in 1969. The winning applicant was 51-year-old Ewing Kauffman.
  68. April 8, 1969—The Kansas City Royals won their first home game, beating Minnesota 4-3 in 12 innings on a Joe Keough single.
  69. April 9, 1969—The Kansas City Royals made it two in a row by winning in 17 innings over Minnesota.
  70. May 4, 1969—Bob Oliver went six-for-six in a game against California.
  71. September 23, 1969—The Royals used a major-league record 27 players in one game against Minnesota.
  72. October 4, 1972—The Royals won the last game played at Municipal Stadium 4-0 against Texas.
  73. April 10, 1973—The Kansas City Royals open the new Royals Stadium with a 12-1 win over the Texas Rangers. Whitey Herzog, a future Royals manager, was the skipper of the Rangers.
  74. April 27, 1973—Pitcher Steve Busby threw a no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium in his 10th career major league appearance.
  75. August 2, 1973—George Brett played his first game on the Kansas City Royals team. The club was in Chicago.
  76. June 19, 1974—Pitcher Steve Busby tossed another no-hitter. The victory at Milwaukee made him the first pitcher ever to throw no-hitters in their first two major league seasons.
  77. October 1, 1976—The Kansas City Royals clinched the American League West for the first time.
  78. October 3, 1976—George Brett won the American League batting duel after a tight race with teammate Hal McRae and Minnesota’s Rod Carew. Brett won the batting title after Minnesota outfielder Steve Brye misjudged a flyball.
  79. May 14, 1977—Pitcher Jim Colborn threw a no-hitter for Kansas City against Minnesota. It was the first no-hitter thrown by a Kansas City hurler in O.B. before a home crowd since Carl DeRose’s perfect game for the Kansas City Blues in 1947.
  80. October 6, 1978—George Brett hit three homers in a 6-5 win in Game Three of the American League playoffs.
  81. August 17, 1980—George Brett’s four-for-four day put him over .400.
  82. August 19, 1980—Brett’s 30-game hitting streak came to an end. He batted .467 with seven game-winning RBI before being stopped by Jon Matlack.
  83. October 10, 1980—George Brett’s three-run homer off Goose Gossage gave the Kansas City Royals the American League Championship.
  84. October 16, 1980—Brett had minor surgery for hemorrhoids between Games Two and Three of the World Series.
  85. October 17, 1980—Willie Aikens’ 10-inning single gave the Royals a 4-3 win in Game Three for Kansas City’s first World Series triumph in franchise history.
  86. October 18, 1980—Willie Aikens hit two home runs as the Royals tied the Series at two games apiece.
  87. July 24, 1983—George Brett’s home run off Goose Gossage, New York Yankees, was disallowed because pine tar was discovered beyond the legal limit on his bat. The Royals saw a victory turn into a loss. Kansas City played the rest of the game under protest.
  88. August 18, 1983—The protest of the Kansas City Roylas was allowed and 1,245 fans saw Hal McRae strike out and pitcher Dan Quisenberry retired the Yankees in order in 1-2-3 fashion. The Kansas City Royals won the pine tar replay 5-4.
  89. October 14, 1983—Kansas City Royals’ players Willie Wilson, Willie Aikens and Jerry Martin pleaded guilty of one count of conspiring to attempt to possess of cocaine.
  90. December 15, 1983—Aiken, Wilson, and Martin along with Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Steve Howe were suspended for one year by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.
  91. September 12, 1984—Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 and Dan Quisenberry — saving the game for Bud Black — became the first pitcher to record 40 saves in two consecutive seasons.
  92. October 13, 1985—Pitcher Danny Jackson of the Royals shut out the Toronto Blue Jays on eight hits in the ALCS.
  93. October 15, 1985—Brett tied the ALCS with another home run off Alexander as the Kansas City Royals won 5-3.
  94. October 26, 1985—Royals’ Dane Iorg, batting for Dan Quisenberry, lined a two-run single in the ninth inning as Kansas City evened the series at three game apiece.
  95. October 27, 1985—THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS WON THE WORLD SERIES, 11-0, OVER THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS.
  96. April 12, 1986—Pitcher Dennis Leonard threw a three-hit shutout against Toronto after three years of inactivity due to surgery.
  97. September 14, 1986—The Royals’ Bo Jackson hit his first major-league home run, a 475-foot blast off Seattle’s Mike Moore in a 10-3 win.
  98. July 11, 1989—Royals’ Bo Jackson was voted the Most Valuable Player in the All-Star Game at Anaheim, California.
  99. August 26, 1991—Royals’ Bret Saberhagen threw a no-hitter against Chicago at Royals Stadium.
  100. September 30, 1992—George Brett’s four-for-four performance included his 3,000th major-league hit off Angels’ Julio Valero.
  101. August 7, 1994—The Kansas City Royals’ 14-game winning streak is halted by the Seattle Mariners in a game moved to Royals Stadium, on short notice, due to structural damage at the Kingdome.

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