April 11, 1963: Tom Cheney’s one-hitter, Don Leppert’s three home runs lead Senators over Red Sox

The 1963 baseball season was underway. On April 8 the Washington Senators – starting their third season as an expansion franchise – hosted the Baltimore Orioles on Opening Day before 43,022 fans.1 After an off-day the Senators and Orioles met again in Baltimore, with a crowd of 26,859 turning out for the Orioles’ home opener. Baltimore won both games.

On April 11 winless Washington was back at D.C. Stadium, playing its first night game of the season. Enthusiasm had already waned; only 4,939 attended. The Boston Red Sox were visiting for three games after splitting two road contests against the Los Angeles Angels. The Senators hoped to continue their 1962 success against the Red Sox. Despite Washington’s last-place finish and 101 losses, it had a winning record against one team – a 9-8 mark against seventh-place Boston.

Washington’s Tom Cheney was tapped for his first pitching assignment of 1963. After years of struggling to maintain a toehold in the major leagues because of erratic control, Cheney, age 28, was a vital part of the rotation.  

Cheney first reached the majors at 22 with the St. Louis Cardinals, appearing in four games in 1957 before being drafted into the U.S. Army. Upon discharge in 1959 he pitched in 11 more games for the Cardinals. After the season he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and began 1960 with Columbus, the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate in the International League. Called up to Pittsburgh in June, Cheney pitched well enough to make the Pirates’ World Series roster. He appeared in three Series games in relief, throwing four innings in the Fall Classic, which Pittsburgh won in seven games.2

In 1961 Cheney pitched just once for Pittsburgh, facing six batters, and surrendering five runs on four walks, an error, and a home run. He was returned to Columbus, then was traded to Washington on June 29. In 10 appearances for the first-year Senators, Cheney pitched poorly, logging a 1-3 mark with an 8.80 ERA and more walks than strikeouts.

Cheney remained with Washington the entire 1962 season, appearing in 37 games, making 23 starts, and posting a 7-9 record with three shutouts. His 3.17 ERA led the Senators, as did his 147 strikeouts (7.6 per nine innings – second in the AL).3 He was still hampered by poor control, issuing a team-leading 97 walks (5.0 per nine innings). On September 12 Cheney threw a 16-inning 2-1 win over the Orioles in which he struck out 21 batters – more strikeouts than any other major-league pitcher had recorded in one game.4

Opposing Cheney was 33-year-old right-hander Ike Delock, beginning his 11th season with Boston, and nearing the end of his career. He owned an 82-70 record with the Red Sox and had his best season (14-8) in 1958.5 In 1962 he finished 4-5, although he threw two shutouts. He would be released by Boston on June 9, signed with Baltimore the same day, and pitched his final big-league game at D.C. Stadium on July 13 for the Orioles.

In the first inning Cheney was at the top of his game, striking out Chuck Schilling,  Eddie Bressoud, and Carl Yastrzemski.6 Delock also threw a 1-2-3 first: Marv Breeding popped to shortstop Bressoud, Chuck Hinton flied to Lou Clinton in right, and Minnie Miñoso, a recent roster addition after an injury-plagued season in St. Louis, watched strike three go by.

Clean-up hitter Dick Stuart was Cheney’s fourth consecutive strikeout victim to start the second. Stuart, headed for an AL leading 118 RBIs, told reporters afterward, “His fastball is alive, and he throws everything well, including a knuckler.”7 Román Mejías finally put a ball in play, grounding out to Breeding at second. Cheney chalked up his fifth strikeout when Clinton swung and missed at strike three.

In the bottom of the second Don Lock doubled, and Bobo Osborne walked.  Don Leppert hit a grounder down the line that three-time Gold Glove winner Frank Malzone misplayed for an error, allowing Lock to score. The unearned run put Washington ahead, 1-0.

Neither team had a baserunner in the third. Cheney struck out two more; Boston’s first nine hitters produced seven strikeouts.8

With one out in the fourth, Bressoud got what proved to be Boston’s only hit. His hard-hit ball scooted toward left. Shortstop Ed Brinkman, a fine defender and future Gold Glover, went to his right, gloved the ball, whirled, and fired to first, pulling rookie Tom Brown off the bag. Bressoud had it beat, and Brinkman made a fine play just to field the ball.9 It was scored a single, and after the game Cheney said Bressoud hit a slider “right down the pipe.”10

With Bressoud on first, Yastrzemski backed Lock against the center-field wall with a flyout,11 and Stuart forced Bressoud.

In the bottom of the fourth, 31-year-old Leppert batted for the second time. Washington had sent $40,000 and a minor leaguer to Pittsburgh in December to acquire the solidly built Leppert because he “offered excellent defense and long-ball power.”12 He won the starting catcher’s job in spring training, and caught both Baltimore games. He later lost his starting role.

Leppert was 2-for-8 on the season when he came up in the fourth. Displaying the power the Senators had hoped for, Leppert slammed a pitch into the upper stands in left, making it 2-0.

In the top of the sixth Cheney walked Bob Tillman, but two strikeouts, and a pop fly grabbed by shortstop Brinkman in foul territory, prevented a Red Sox rally. In the bottom of the inning, with Jack Lamabe pitching for Boston, Washington erupted.  Hinton singled, stole second, and went to third on a wild pitch. Miñoso, reportedly nearing age 40, singled Hinton home, giving the Senators a three-run lead.13 Miñoso stole second, and he was singled to third by Lock.

With runners at the corners and no outs, Chet Nichols relieved Lamabe. Osborne grounded to second baseman Schilling, who hesitated, then threw home too late to get Miñoso.14

That brought up Leppert with two on. He was swinging a 31-ounce bat, three ounces lighter than usual due to a shipping error.15 He swung, hitting his second home run, a three-run bomb into the bullpen in left, making it 7-0.

The seventh inning began with a great play by right fielder Hinton – a diving, rolling, catch of Yastrzemski’s liner.16 A groundout, and a flyball caught by Miñoso against the left-field screen, ended the inning.17

Leppert got one more swing in the eighth. With Nichols still on the mound, Leppert hit his third home run of the evening – a long drive over the fence just to the left of the 410 marker18 in dead center field, making it 8-0. No Washington player had hit three home runs in a game since Jim Lemon of the original Nationals smacked three off Whitey Ford on August 31, 1956.

In the top of the ninth center fielder Lock made a spectacular catch19 on pinch-hitter Gary Geiger‘s long flyball. Schilling popped to short, and Bressoud popped to second. Cheney had won his first start of the season in grand fashion, retiring the last 12 batters. He threw a one-hit shutout, striking out 10, walking one, and facing just 29 hitters.

His batterymate Leppert, like everyone else, was impressed. “Tonight he was the best pitcher I ever caught,” Leppert said. “He had three great pitches, a fastball, slider, and knuckler.”20 Henry McKenna of the Boston Herald called Cheney “as good a pitcher as there is in baseball when he has his control.”21 On this night he had control, needing only 89 pitches to finish the job, and starting many hitters with a 0-and-2 count.22

Boston manager Johnny Pesky had never seen Cheney pitch and was surprised by his performance. Pesky defended his team, pointing out how tired it was after an all-day flight from Los Angeles, but he admitted, “They probably wouldn’t have hit him anyway.”23

Leppert shrugged off his home run barrage, insisting that only one of the three would have left Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, his previous home park.24 This turned out to be the only multi-home run game of Leppert’s four-season career, and his five RBIs were a career best.25

For Cheney this was the first of three consecutive low-hit games, all at home. He surrendered just four hits and one unearned run to the Angels on April 22 and shut out the Kansas City Athletics on three hits in the second game of an April 26 doubleheader. In April, Cheney was 3-0; he pitched 27 innings, allowed no earned runs on eight hits, struck out 26, and walked two.

Cheney was 8-9 with a 2.88 ERA when something snapped in his elbow on July 11. The injury effectively ended his career. He pitched just nine more innings in 1963, and fewer than 50 innings in 1964, going 1-3. Cheney sat out 1965 and appeared in three games in 1966, his final season. His modest career record of 19-29 includes eight shutouts.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Ray Danner and copy-edited by Keith Thursby.

Photo credit: Tom Cheney, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for play-by-play, and for pertinent statistical information. The author reviewed game coverage in the Boston Herald and Washington Evening Star, and Worcester Telegram, and reviewed SABR BioProject biographies for several players participating in the game.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WS2/WS2196304110.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1963B04110WS21963.htm  

Notes

1 Among those attending was President John F. Kennedy, who threw out a ceremonial ball from the stands.

2 Cheney was voted a full World Series share by his Pittsburgh teammates.

3 Cheney was edged out by Juan Pizzaro of the Chicago White Sox, 7.657 to 7.633.

4 As of 2026 Cheney’s 21 strikeouts in a game were unmatched.

5 Baseball-Reference calculated his WAR for 1958 at 2.7, the best of his career.

6 Yastrzemski led the AL in hits, doubles, walks, batting average, and on-base percentage in 1963.

7 Henry McKenna, “Cheney Victor; Leppert Hits 3,” Boston Herald, April 12, 1963: 33.

8 Boston finished the season with 954 strikeouts, third highest total in the AL.

9 Merrell Whittlesey, “One-hit Hurler Hails 3 Homers,” Washington Evening Star, April 12,1963: D1.

10 Whittlesey.

11 Roy Mumpton, “Cheney Allows Sox One Hit; Leppert Poles Three, Worcester (MA) Telegram, April 12, 1963: 20.

12 Shirley Povich, “Only Four Nats Dodge Broom in House-Cleaning,” The Sporting News, December 29, 1962: 31.

13 Miñoso’s birthyear has never been verified.

14 Mumpton.

15 Herb Ralby, “Cheney’s Win 3d Over Red Sox,” Boston Globe, April 12, 1963: 29.

16 Whittlesey.

17 Mumpton.

18 McKenna.

19 Whittlesey.

20 Whittlesey.

21 McKenna.

22 Whittlesey.

23 McKenna. The Red Sox were scoreless in their last 15 innings.

24 Whittlesey.

25 Leppert hit four of his six Pittsburgh home runs at Forbes Field. His career consisted of 190 games with Pittsburgh and Washington from 1961-64, and he totaled 15 home runs. He was a major-league coach with Pittsburgh (1968-76), Toronto (1977-79), and Houston (1980-85). He also served in the front office for the Minnesota Twins.