August 13, 1950: Tom Poholsky, Andy Tomasic pitch complete games in 22-inning showdown in Rochester

With a score of 2-2 after two innings, the August 13, 1950, game between the Rochester Red Wings and Jersey City Giants of the Triple-A International League wasn’t shaping up as much of a pitchers’ duel.

Then the game’s starters took control. Rochester’s Tom Poholsky, a 20-year-old prospect, and Jersey City’s Andy Tomasic, a 32-year-old veteran, exchanged 19 innings’ worth of zeroes, with only occasional offensive threats from either side.

A pair of hits sandwiched around a balk in the bottom of the 22nd finally gave the Red Wings a 3-2 victory – with both Poholsky and Tomasic going the route. The game ranked as the IL’s longest for 30 seasons.

The Sunday game at Rochester’s Red Wing Stadium brought together two consistently strong IL competitors. In 1949 Rochester had finished second with an 85-67 record,1 four games behind the Buffalo Bisons, while Jersey City finished fourth at 83-71, seven games behind. Both teams lost in the first round of the IL’s Shaughnessy-style four-team playoffs.

Entering the August 13 game, the 1950 edition of the Giants had won 12 of their 21 games against the Red Wings.2 But manager Johnny Keane’s Wings, a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate, had the upper hand in the standings. They held first place with a 74-48 record, 4½ games ahead of the Montreal Royals. Joe Becker’s Giants again stood in fourth place at 63-55, nine games out.3

Rochester had won the previous night’s matchup of the two teams, 13-3, behind a complete game by Eddie Yuhas.4 Keane reportedly told Yuhas and Poholsky that they would each start every fourth day until the Red Wings clinched the pennant – a commitment soon to be derailed by events.5

Poholsky, a right-hander from Detroit, was already in his fifth season as a pro, having broken in with the Class C Durham Bulls at age 15 in the war-depleted season of 1945.6 He’d shown promise at each step of the minors, winning a combined 27 games at Class A in 1947-48 and another 14 with Rochester in 1949.

Poholsky made the big-league Cardinals in 1950, pitching four games in relief in April and early May before being sent back to Rochester. He’d compiled a 15-4 record entering the August 13 game7 and was well on his way to earning that season’s IL Most Valuable Player Award.8

While Poholsky was filling a roster spot as a World War II stopgap player, Tomasic was serving in the US Army. He reportedly pitched against Dom DiMaggio and Joe Garagiola on service teams.9 A native of the Allentown, Pennsylvania, area, Tomasic starred in football and baseball at Temple University in Philadelphia. He’d played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League in 1942 and 1946 and had an NFL punt-return touchdown to his credit.10

Breaking into pro baseball as a 28-year-old rookie in 1946,11 Tomasic won 18 games for Class B Trenton in 1947, then won a combined 25 games with Jersey City in 1948 and 1949. He rated his curve as his best pitch and also threw fastballs and knuckleballs.12 The big-league Giants gave Tomasic two cups of coffee in 1949. The 31-year-old pitched in one game on April 28 and another in the second game of a doubleheader on September 22. That was his only major-league action, and he posted an 0-1 record and an 18.00 ERA. He entered the August 13 start with a 10-8 mark.13

The teams settled in for battle at 2:30 P.M., and the Red Wings struck quickly in the bottom of the first inning. Shortstop and leadoff hitter Dick Cole tripled, and right fielder Larry Ciaffone, hitting third, singled him home for a 1-0 Rochester lead.14 Ciaffone didn’t hang around for the rest of the game. On a subsequent force play at second, he suffered a badly wrenched ankle and was carried off on a stretcher.15 Ed Mierkowicz replaced him.

Jersey City responded with two runs in the second, driven in by their seventh- and eighth-place hitters, third baseman Stan Jok and shortstop Ziggy Jasinski.16 Chet Laabs singled and first baseman Fred Gerken drew a walk. Jok’s single drove in Laabs, and Jasinski’s grounder scored Gerken.17 It was reportedly the only inning in which Poholsky surrendered more than one hit.18

Red Wings left fielder Russ Derry led the IL in 1950 with 30 home runs, and Tomasic – perhaps working carefully – walked him in the bottom of the second. The next batter, center fielder Roy Broome, made Tomasic pay with a run-scoring double to knot the score at 2-2.

And there things stayed, for 19 innings, as Poholsky and Tomasic pitched the equivalents of two back-to-back shutouts apiece – and then kept going. (Notice should also be taken of the catchers, Neal Watlington of Jersey City and Del Wilber of Rochester, who caught the entire game. Watlington went 0-for-9, Wilber 0-for-7.)19

Asked about the duel years later, Poholsky’s explanation was simple: “Andy and I struggled a bit early on, and then we found our control. Both of us were getting ahead on the counts, and you saw a lot of guys coming up there swinging at the first or second pitches. The game really zipped along.”20

That said, Tomasic’s control was not razor-sharp. He “pitched his way out of numerous tight spots,” a New Jersey paper reported, giving up 13 hits and 10 walks.21 In the ninth and 12th innings, Tomasic allowed a Rochester runner to second base with one out, then issued an intentional walk to set up double-play possibilities. He escaped both jams – one on a double-play grounder, the other on a fly ball and strikeout.22

A similarly tight spot arose in the 17th inning. With one out, Red Wings third baseman Don Richmond singled to center field. Mierkowicz knocked a potential double-play grounder to Jok at third, who made a good throw to second baseman Pete Pavlick. But Pavlick dropped it for Jersey City’s only error, putting runners at first and second.

Don Bollweg, a lefty swinger who hit 17 homers that year, was next. He hit a hard grounder to Gerken, who made the play at first for the second out. Home-run leader Derry was next. After a long conversation with manager Becker, Tomasic struck him out.

Mixing curves, fastballs, and changeups, Poholsky “had rather easy goings during the major share of the battle,” the Bayonne Times reported.23 He gave up only 10 hits and five walks, and retired 18 straight hitters between the 14th and 20th innings.

Broome gave him a hand in the 12th, firing to second base to catch Jasinski trying to stretch a single into a double. Second baseman Lou Ortiz came up big the next inning, knocking down Laabs’ hard grounder and feeding Cole for an inning-ending force with runners on first and third.24 Mierkowicz and Watlington also received credit for strong defensive play.

Keane, worried about straining Poholsky’s arm, asked Rochester sportswriter George Beahon to arrange a phone connection so Keane could talk to Cardinals farm director Walter Shannon during the game. Shannon told Keane to use his best judgment, and the manager stuck with Poholsky, inning after inning.25 Beahon also recalled that fans enjoyed three seventh-inning stretches – in the seventh, 14th, and 21st innings.26

The setting sun briefly became an issue in the 19th inning, when Tomasic complained about distracting light streaming in through an exit ramp. An usher agreed to stand in the entrance to block the light, and the game continued. The ballpark lights were turned on at the start of the 22nd inning, at about 7:35 P.M., roughly five hours after the game began.

Only about 15 minutes later, the Red Wings’ hitters turned them off. Cole, who’d led off the bottom of the first with a triple, began the bottom of the 22nd with a single – his fourth hit of the day. Tomasic, concerned about a steal, moved to make a pickoff throw to Gerken, not realizing that Gerken had left first base and moved forward to field a potential bunt.27 Tomasic was called for his first balk of the season, moving the runner to second.

Lefty-swinging Richmond, who led qualifying IL batters with a .333 batting average that season, was next. He’d already touched Tomasic for three hits; this time, he smoked a knuckleball past first base and into the right-field corner. Cole easily came around to score, giving Rochester a 3-2 victory in 5 hours and 15 minutes.

The remaining fans from the original crowd of 5,863 gave a generous ovation to both pitchers.28 Rochester manager Keane sought out Tomasic to congratulate him – a gesture that meant much to the pitcher, who said his own skipper didn’t acknowledge his effort.29 Poholsky later said he had enough energy left to go to a party that night, while Tomasic suffered a leg cramp and had to stand up for most of the train ride back to Jersey City.30 Poholsky was given five days’ rest, two more than usual, before his next start, on August 19.31 Tomasic got his usual three days’ rest and pitched again on August 17.32

The Red Wings ended the regular season in first place with a 92-59 record; Jersey City finished fourth at 81-70, 11 games back. The Red Wings lost the finals of the Governors’ Cup playoffs to the Baltimore Orioles, while the Giants were eliminated in the first round.33

Poholsky went 31-52 in 159 major-league games over six seasons, leaving pro baseball after the 1959 season.34 Tomasic’s pro career ended in 1953. The former rivals met several times on friendly terms – once as guests of honor on Polish Night at Red Wing Stadium in August 1962, another for a Polish organization’s sports night in Rochester in November 1980.35

News stories from the latter year mentioned that Tomasic and Poholsky’s duel was still tied with two other games for the longest game in IL history.36 That record lasted only until April 1981, when the Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox hooked up in a 33-inning game that had to be suspended and completed in June.37

Author’s note and acknowledgments

While 22 innings is impressive, other professional pitchers have gone even longer. On May 1, 1920, the Boston Braves’ Joe Oeschger and the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Leon Cadore both pitched 26-inning complete games in a 1-1 tie at Braves Field in Boston.

In researching this story, the author found several claims that Poholsky and Tomasic jointly held the IL record for innings pitched in a game. He was unable to confirm this. However, since the length of a pitcher’s outing is measured in innings completed, the record would appear to belong solely to Poholsky, if it belongs to either pitcher. Poholsky completed a full 22 innings, while Tomasic faced only two men in the 22nd and retired neither.

This story was fact-checked by Ray Danner and copy-edited by Len Levin. The author thanks Amanda Dominguez of the Jersey City, New Jersey, Public Library for research assistance.

Sources and photo credit

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for general player, team, and season data.

Neither Baseball-Reference nor Retrosheet provides box scores of minor-league games, but the August 14, 1950, editions of the Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle and the Jersey Journal (Jersey City, New Jersey) published box scores.

Image of 1955 Bowman card #76 downloaded from the Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 And one tie.

2 George Beahon, “Yuhas Pitches Red Wings to 13-3 Win over Jersey Giants in Wild Battle,” Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle, August 13, 1950: 1D. The teams had also tied one game, according to “Jerseys Back Home after Marathon Contest with Rochester Red Wings,” Jersey Journal (Jersey City, New Jersey), August 14, 1950: 9.

3 “Major, Minor Baseball,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, August 13, 1950: 1D.

4 Beahon, “Yuhas Pitches Red Wings to 13-3 Win over Jersey Giants in Wild Battle.”

5 “Wing Aces” (photo and caption), Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, August 13, 1950: 1D.

6 At the time Poholsky joined the Durham team in July 1945, the average age of the entire roster was 18, as many older and more experienced ballplayers were in military service. The team also had three 16-year-olds and five 17-year-olds. Jack Horner, “Bulls Are Youngest Ever to Play Here!,” Durham Herald-Sun, July 15, 1945: IV:1.

7 George Beahon, “Poholsky Nips Jersey in 22 Innings, Sets Loop Record,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, August 14, 1950: 22.

8 Associated Press, “Poholsky Most Valuable Player in International,” Boston Globe, September 1, 1950: 23.

9 “Andy Tomasic Still Pitching in Southwest Pacific Combat Area,” Allentown (Pennsylvania) Morning Call, May 29, 1945: 13; “Andy Tomasic Best ‘Little’ Back,” Pittsburgh Press, September 5, 1946: 30.

10 “Andy Tomasic Still Pitching in Southwest Pacific Combat Area”; “Andy Tomasic, Pro-Football-Reference.com, accessed July 2024, https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TomaAn20.htm. The punt-return touchdown occurred on November 29, 1942, in a game at Forbes Field between the Steelers and an NFL team called the Brooklyn Dodgers. The game summary, via Pro-Football-Reference: “Brooklyn Dodgers at Pittsburgh Steelers, November 29, 1942,” Pro-Football-Reference.com, accessed July 2024, https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194211290pit.htm.

11 Tomasic appears to have shaved two years off his age, which no doubt helped him get an opportunity. His Sporting News contract card gives his birthdate as December 10, 1919, whereas Baseball-Reference and Retrosheet listed it as December 10, 1917, as of July 2024. Tomasic is described as 30 years old in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle’s coverage of the game, cited elsewhere in these notes; he was actually 32. Sporting News contract card for Andy Tomasic, accessed July 2024, https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/125040/rec/1.

12 “Andy Tomasic Best ‘Little’ Back”; Beahon, “Poholsky Nips Jersey in 22 Innings, Sets Loop Record.”

13 “Ciaffone Suffers Wrenched Ankle; Keane Congratulates Tony [sic] Tomasic,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, August 14, 1950: 22.

14 Unless otherwise specified, all game action is taken from Beahon, “Poholsky Nips Jersey in 22 Innings, Sets Loop Record.”

15 “Wing Injured” (photo and caption), Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, August 14, 1950: 22.

16 The box score in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle lists the game’s five RBIs in chronological order.

17 “Jerseys Back Home after Marathon Contest with Rochester Red Wings.”

18 Beahon, “Poholsky Nips Jersey in 22 Innings, Sets Loop Record.” The box score indicates that Bollweg made Rochester’s only error.

19 The umpires – all of whom later worked in the majors – were Grover Froese, Larry Napp, and Frank Tabacchi. The box score does not specify which one was behind the plate.

20 Scott Pitoniak and Jim Mandelaro, “Poholsky Went the Distance – 22 Full Innings,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, June 14, 1995: 6D. In several interviews, Poholsky also credited both pitchers’ stamina to low humidity, which made it a comfortable day to pitch.

21 KAP, “Rochester Wins 22-Inning Game,” Bayonne (New Jersey) Times, August 14, 1950: 7.

22 “Jerseys Back Home after Marathon Contest with Rochester Red Wings.”

23 Beahon, “Poholsky Nips Jersey in 22 Innings, Sets Loop Record”; “Rochester Wins 22-Inning Game.”

24 “Jerseys Back Home after Marathon Contest with Rochester Red Wings.”

25 George Beahon, “The Babe Was a Hit During Visit to Silver,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, November 29, 1992: 10A.

26 Bob Matthews, “This Is a Tale of Two Pitchers,” Rochester (New York) Times-Union, August 9, 1980: 12.

27 Tomasic recalled the play this way many decades later in Terry Larimer, “Tomasic Faced Robinson and Didn’t Flinch,” Allentown Morning Call, April 17, 1997: C1. The Sporting News’ article about the game echoes Tomasic’s description of events, noting that Tomasic “forgot his first baseman was moving in for a possible bunt.” Al Weber, “Poholsky and Tomasic Set Int Distance Mark in 22-Round Duel,” The Sporting News, August 23, 1950: 27.

28 Weber, “Poholsky and Tomasic Set Int Distance Mark in 22-Round Duel.”

29 Greg Boeck, “Marathon Pitchers Meet Again,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, November 16, 1980: 1E.

30 Boeck.

31 “Poholsky Gets First Start Since 22-Inning Classic,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, August 19, 1950: 16.

32 KAP, “Tomasic to Hurl Finale Tonight,” Bayonne Times, August 17, 1950: 16.

33 “Governors’ Cup,” B-R Bullpen, accessed July 2024, https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Governors%27_Cup.

34 Poholsky was inducted into the Red Wings Hall of Fame in 1990, part of the second group of Red Wings players and supporters to be chosen. Other members of the Class of 1990 included Richmond, who drove in the game-winning run, and Beahon, who covered the game and helped preserve its lore. Russ Derry, who also played in the game, had been inducted as part of the inaugural group in 1989. “Hall of Fame,” Rochester Red Wings website, accessed July 2024, https://www.milb.com/rochester/team/rochester-red-wings-hall-of-fame.

35 Joe Alli, “Single by Easter Beats Bisons, 7 to 5,” Buffalo Courier-Express, August 29, 1962: 33; Boeck, “Marathon Pitchers Meet Again.”

36 Matthews, “This Is a Tale of Two Pitchers.”

37 As of this writing in July 2024, the 33-inning Pawtucket-Rochester game of 1981 remained the longest game in not only the IL, but all of professional baseball.