August 1, 1918: Boston Braves’ Art Nehf blanks Pirates for 20 innings, loses shutout and game in 21st

When it comes to hard-luck losses, the textbook example is Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates dropping a 1-0 decision after his perfect game was snapped in the 13th inning of a 1959 contest. Cincinnati Reds fans of a certain vintage could never forget Jim Maloney getting saddled with the loss after his no-hitter was broken up in the 11th inning of a June 1965 game.

But based on the Bill James Game Score metric,1 no National or American League hurler between 1901 and 2022 pitched better in a losing effort than Art Nehf of the Boston Braves in his marathon 21-inning start against the Pirates on August 1, 1918.2

Nehf was coming off a 17-win season in 1917, a breakout performance that made him one of the National League’s top pitchers. He went into his clash with the Pirates sporting a 13-11 record and a 2.99 ERA. The just-turned-26-year-old southpaw had become the workhorse on the pitching staff of the seventh-place Braves. Nehf was riding a streak of 17 consecutive complete games, and he finished the season having gone the distance a league-leading 28 times in 31 starts.

The Pirates were just treading water in their first season since 1899 without the incomparable Honus Wagner. They lost 12 of 14 games between June 4 and 19 to fall out of the pennant race, and they hadn’t been able to get back in it ever since. Pittsburgh sat in third place, 11½ games behind the league-leading Chicago Cubs.

The Pirates were running out of time in the abbreviated regular season, which was ending one month earlier than usual because of World War I. A work-or-fight order had been enacted by US Secretary of War Newton D. Baker in July, and baseball was considered nonessential work. Major leaguers were expected to enlist or take a war-related job.3

Manager Hugo Bezdek tapped 28-year-old righty Erskine Mayer to start for the Pirates. Mayer had been outstanding since being acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in a June 20 trade, going 6-0 with a 2.65 ERA. But his local draft board had ordered him to join the war effort, so he hadn’t appeared in a game since July 20.4 Mayer was on furlough from his new job at Hog Island in Philadelphia,5 where he was working as a bolter-up in the shipyard alongside fellow big leaguer Charles Bender.6

The work-or-fight order – combined with the voluntary enlistments − resulted in some makeshift lineups over the last two months of the 1918 season. In this game, the Braves were missing five of their eight starting position players because of the war,7 including star shortstop Rabbit Maranville; the Pirates were without four of their eight regulars.8

A depleted roster had forced Pittsburgh to purchase the contract of two minor-league outfielders, 40-year-old Tommy Leach in late June9 and 25-year-old sensation Billy Southworth in early July.10 Leach, a star with the Pirates from 1900 to 1912, was a pale imitation of his former self. Southworth, on the other hand, was proving to be a significant upgrade in right field over Casey Stengel,11 who was busy leading the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s baseball team.12

A rusty Mayer loaded the bases in the bottom of the first before an out was made. He escaped the jam by retiring Al Wickland on a fly ball to left fielder Carson Bigbee and inducing the normally reliable Red Smith to hit into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

A lack of clutch hitting was the recurring theme for the Braves in this game. Boston put at least one baserunner in scoring position in 9 of the first 10 innings, but Mayer wiggled out of trouble each time. The Braves went 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position, with the only hit coming in the first inning on a bunt single by Red Massey to load the bases.13 They stranded 19 baserunners in the contest.

Nehf scattered three hits and three walks in his first nine innings on the hill; he allowed Pittsburgh baserunners to advance as far as second base in only three of those frames.

The indefatigable hurler nearly started a game-winning rally when he led off the bottom of the ninth. Nehf pulled a low liner to right field that had the earmarks of at least a triple until Southworth sprinted back and made a spectacular leaping grab near the foul line.14 The game-saving catch helped send the contest into extra innings.15

Both teams came close to breaking the scoreless deadlock on squeeze bunts in the 12th inning. Pittsburgh first baseman Fritz Mollwitz laid one down with Southworth on third base and one out in the top of the inning; Nehf fielded the bunt in “a flash” and threw home to nail the speedy Southworth.16

Boston had runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the 12th when Smith popped up his squeeze attempt and got entangled with catcher Walter Schmidt, who would have had plenty of time to make the catch. Umpire Ernie Quigley called Smith out for interference and sent the potential winning run back to third base. The game went to the 13th.

Nehf got his second wind, retiring 14 consecutive batters from the 13th inning to the 18th.

After complaining of a sore arm,17 Mayer was replaced by lefty Wilbur Cooper with one out in the 16th.

The Pirates finally broke through against Nehf in the 21st inning. With two outs and Cooper on second,18 Leach tapped an infield single, advancing Cooper to third. The Braves considered intentionally walking Max Carey to get to the red-hot Southworth before deciding against it.19 Carey lined a single into left field and an exuberant Cooper crossed the plate with “a hop, skip, and jump.”20 Southworth followed with a double to center that scored the soon-to-be grandfather Leach on a close play at the plate, giving Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead.21

Cooper retired the Braves in order in the bottom of the inning, ending the protracted affair just 40 minutes before sunset.22

At the time, the game was tied for the third longest in the majors since 1901, three innings shy of the 24 played by the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Americans on September 1, 1906.23 As of 2022, the record for the most innings played in a National or American League game was 26 by the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers on May 1, 1920.24 That game too was played at Braves Field.

Nehf was the only starting pitcher in the National or American League between 1901 and 2022 to take a shutout past the 18th inning – and his lasted until there were two out in the 21st.25

He had given up only eight hits and five walks through the first 20 innings before getting touched for four hits in the decisive frame. It was the only inning in which Nehf gave up more than one hit. “I guess you’d have to say I weakened,” he quipped 40 years after his historic outing.26

The day after his 21-inning performance, Nehf agreed to work in a munitions factory and play in the Triangle Factory League in Dayton, Ohio, at the completion of the National League’s regular season.27

An exhausted Nehf had eight days of rest before his next start. In the second game of an August 10 doubleheader against the New York Giants, he was lifted for a pinch-hitter with the Braves down a run in the top of the ninth. Boston rallied to tie the game, forcing the Giants to bat in the bottom of the inning and ending Nehf’s string of 18 consecutive complete games.

Once the season ended, Nehf joined St. Louis Browns pitcher Allen Sothoron on the Delco White Sox of the Triangle Factory League.28 The pair helped the semipro team come within one game of the pennant, which was decided on September 28.29

Meanwhile, the last Allied offensive of World War I had begun. On November 11 one of the deadliest global conflicts in history finally ended after more than four years of fighting.30

Exactly one year after his 21-inning outing, Nehf was traded to the Giants for $55,000 and four marginal players – a deal the New York Evening World categorized as a “baseball coup” by Giants manager John McGraw.31 Nehf went on to have great success in New York, especially in the World Series.32

He continued to befuddle the Pirates during his nearly seven-year stint with the Giants. Nehf won 12 consecutive starts against Pittsburgh between 1920 and 1922 and all 12 victories were complete games. His perfect 7-0 record against the Pirates in 1921 was one of the biggest reasons why New York was able to finish four games ahead of second-place Pittsburgh.

Nehf earned the reputation as a “money pitcher” on McGraw’s club, picking up the victory in the deciding game of both the 1921 and 1922 World Series.33 He held the mighty New York Yankees to a combined nine hits and three runs in the clinchers, and, of course, both were complete games.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kevin Larkin and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org. Unless otherwise noted, all detailed play-by-play information for this game was taken from the article “Corsairs Triumph in Thrilling Game Lasting 21 Innings” on page 10 of the August 2, 1918, edition of the Pittsburgh Post.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BSN/BSN191808010.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1918/B08010BSN1918.htm

Notes

1 Bill James introduced the Game Score metric in 1988. It is referenced in this article because of its widespread acceptance in the early part of the twenty-first century. The author acknowledges that it may not be the most accurate performance measurement for starting pitchers. Jeff Angus, “Does ‘Game Score’ Still Work in Today’s High-Offense Game?” Baseball Research Journal (Summer 2010), https://sabr.org/journal/article/does-game-score-still-work-in-todays-high-offense-game/, accessed July 15, 2022; J.T. Grossmith, “Game Score vs Starter Score,” Baseball Research Journal (Fall 2013), https://sabr.org/journal/article/game-score-vs-starter-score/, accessed December 6, 2022; Tom Tango, “Game Score Version 2.0,” Fangraphs, https://blogs.fangraphs.com/instagraphs/game-score-v2-0/, accessed December 6, 2022.

2 Nehf posted a Bill James Game Score of 118 in this game. He went 21 innings, giving up 12 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 5 walks, and 8 strikeouts. The next highest Game Score for a pitcher who took the loss was 117 by Babe Adams of the Pittsburgh Pirate on July 17, 1914, against the New York Giants. Adams went 21 innings, giving up 12 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, 0 walks, and 6 strikeouts.

3 Mike Lynch, “August 24, 1918: Cubs Clinch Fifth National League Pennant in 13 Years with Doubleheader Sweep,” SABR Games Project, https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/august-24-1918-cubs-clinch-fifth-national-league-pennant-in-13-years-with-doubleheader-sweep/, accessed December 6, 2022.

4 “Pirates May Lose Mayer’s Services,” Pittsburgh Press, July 25, 1918: 28.

5 James C. O’Leary, “In a Battle of 21 Innings,” Boston Globe, August 2, 1918: 5; “Pirates May Lose Mayer’s Services.”

6 “Mayer Goes to Work at Hog Island,” Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Courier, July 28, 1918: 2.

7 Catcher Hank Gowdy was the first active major leaguer to enlist; he missed most of the 1917 season and all of the 1918 season to military service. Shortstop Rabbit Maranville played in only 11 games in 1918 because he had enlisted in the Navy. Outfielders Joe Kelly, Ray Powell, and Wally Rehg all joined the Navy and played their last game of the 1918 season for the Braves in early July. Carol McMains and Frank Ceresi, “Hank Gowdy,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Hank-Gowdy/, accessed December 6, 2022; Dick Leyden, “Rabbit Maranville,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Rabbit-Maranville/, accessed December 6, 2022; “Home Run by Rehg Defeats Cleveland,” Boston Globe, July 8, 1918: 5.

8 In late July shortstop Howdy Caton was drafted into the military; his last game of the 1918 season with the Pirates was on July 25. Right fielder Casey Stengel played his last game of the 1918 season with the Pirates on July 25 after enlisting in the military. Third baseman Tony Boeckel had enlisted in the Navy and missed the entire 1918 season. Left fielder Lee King enlisted in the Navy and played his last game of the 1918 season for Pittsburgh on June 19. “Caton Called,” Pittsburgh Post, July 26, 1918: 10; Bill Bishop, “Casey Stengel,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Casey-Stengel/, accessed December 7, 2022; Steve Hatcher, “Tony Boeckel,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/tony-boeckel/, accessed December 7, 2022; “Lee King Quits Game,” Pittsburgh Post, June 21, 1918: 10.

9 Leach’s contract was purchased from Chattanooga of the Class A Southern Association. He hadn’t played in the big leagues since he suited up for the 1915 Cincinnati Reds. Ed F. Balinger, “Buccaneers Play Ball More Like Real Team as Warmer Days Arrive,” Pittsburgh Post, June 30, 1918: 19.

10 Southworth’s contract was purchased from Birmingham of the Class A Southern Association. After the 1920 season he was traded to the Boston Braves along with two other players and cash in return for Rabbit Maranville. He went on to become a Hall of Fame manager with the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves. Ralph S. Davis, “Buccaneers Still Trying for Berth in First Division,” Pittsburgh Press, July 2, 1918: 24.

11 “Giants Fear Buccaneers,” Pittsburgh Press, July 30, 1918: 20.

12 Bishop, “Casey Stengel.”

13 Roy “Red” Massey played his last game with the Braves – and in the big leagues – two days later. The 27-year-old returned to his home in Tennessee because of the work-or-fight order and his wife’s illness. He hit .291 in 66 career big-league games. Burt Whitman, “Double-Plays Enable Pittsburgh to Win, 4-3,” Boston Sunday Herald, August 4, 1918: 12.

14 Braves Field was designed to facilitate inside-the-park home runs. Its dimensions in 1918 were 369 feet down the right-field line, 400 feet down the left-field line, 461 feet to straightaway center field, and 542 feet to right-center field. Bob Ruzzo, “Braves Field: An Imperfect History of the Perfect Ballpark,” Baseball Research Journal (Fall 2012), https://sabr.org/journal/article/braves-field-an-imperfect-history-of-the-perfect-ballpark/, accessed December 7, 2022; “Braves Field,” Seamheads Ballpark Database, https://www.seamheads.com/ballparks/ballpark.php?parkID=BOS08, accessed December 7, 2022.

15 Buck Herzog was the second batter of the inning. He singled to left field, but the Braves failed to score in the inning.

16 Burt Whitman, “Braves Bow to Pirates After 21 Long Innings,” Boston Herald and Boston Journal, August 2, 1918: 4.

17 “Boston Fans Admit Buccaneers Are Real Ball Club,” Pittsburgh Press, August 2, 1918: 24.

18 Cooper had reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a hit-and-run on Roy Ellam’s groundout.

19 O’Leary, “In a Battle of 21 Innings.”

20 Ed McGrath, “Braves Blanked by Pirates 2-0,” Boston Post, August 2, 1918: 7; Whitman, “Braves Bow to Pirates After 21 Long Innings.”

21 Whitman, “Braves Bow to Pirates After 21 Long Innings.”

22 On August 1 the sun sets in Boston just past 8 o’clock. The game started at 3:15 P.M. and ended at 7:23 P.M. Whitman, “Braves Bow to Pirates After 21 Long Innings.”

23 “Team Pitching Game Stats Finder,” StatHead.com, https://stathead.com/tiny/6Mmxt, accessed December 7, 2022.

24 “Team Pitching Game Stats Finder,” StatHead.com, https://stathead.com/tiny/XEiHH, accessed December 7, 2022.

25 Between 1901 and 2022, the next longest single-game shutout streak by a starting pitcher was 18 innings by three hurlers: Ed Summers of the Detroit Tigers on July 16, 1909, Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators on May 15, 1918, and Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants in the first game of a twin bill on July 2, 1933.

26 Harold Kaese, “Even Ruth Had Trouble Batting Against Nehf,” Boston Globe, December 21, 1960: 33.

27 “Big Leaguers Flock to Dayton Factory League,” Boston Globe, August 3, 1918: 4.

28 Sothoron finished fourth in the American League with a 1.94 ERA in 1918. “Sothoron or Nehf Will Face Johnson or Lewis,” Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, September 13, 1918: 27.

29 Jerry, “D.W.A. Braves Cinch Pennant, Walloping Delco Sox, 10 to 0,” Dayton Daily News, September 29, 1918: 29.

30 “The Meuse-Argonne Offensive,” National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww1/meuse-argonne, accessed December 7, 2022; “How Many People Died in WW1? A Look at the Numbers,” History on the Net, https://www.historyonthenet.com/how-many-people-died-in-ww1, accessed December 7, 2022.

31 The $55,000 price tag was worth over $1 million in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars. None of the players acquired by the Braves in the Nehf deal amassed more than 4.0 in career Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement (bWAR). “Pitcher Nehf of Braves Comes to Giants in Trade,” New York Evening World, August 2, 1919: 7.

32 Nehf went 107-60 with a 3.45 ERA in 226 regular-season appearances with the Giants. He went 4-4 with a 1.96 ERA in 10 World Series appearances for New York.

33 Gregory H. Wolf, “Art Nehf,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Art-Nehf/, accessed December 7, 2022.