September 30, 1964: The Phillie Phlop Is Completed

Unused game program from the 1964 World Series,

which was to be sold at Connie Mack Stadium,

with the other flag blank, since the opponent was yet to be determined.

September 30, 1964, 60 years ago: The Philadelphia Phillies complete what remains the most stunning regular-season collapse in Major League Baseball history, losing their 10th straight game, 8-5 to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. 

Going into the games of September 21, the Phillies led the National League by 6 1/2 games. There were 12 games left. Their Magic Number to clinch the Pennant was 6: All they had to do was win half of their remaining games, 6 out of 12, and it wouldn't have mattered what any other team did. The Phils would have won the Pennant.

Unused 1964 World Series press pin for the Phillies

Instead, the following happened:

* 1. September 21, at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia: Cincinnati Reds 1, Phillies 0. The only run came in the top of the 6th inning, when Hiraldo "Chico" Ruiz stole home plate, while Frank Robinson, the greatest power hitter the Reds franchise has ever had, was at the plate. It would have been an incredibly dumb move had it failed. But it worked. "The Chico Ruiz Game" has haunted Phillies fans ever since.

* 2. September 22, at Connie Mack Stadium: Reds 9, Phillies 2. This time, Robinson did hit a home run, and Chris Short, 17-7 going into the game, didn't get out of the 5th inning.

* 3. September 23, at Connie Mack Stadium: Reds 6, Phillies 4. This time, it was Ruiz hitting a home run, and Vada Pinson 2 of them.

* 4. September 24, at Connie Mack Stadium: Milwaukee Braves 5, Phillies 3. Jim Bunning came into the game 18-5, but lost.

* 5. September 25, at Connie Mack Stadium: Braves 7, Phillies 5. Manager Gene Mauch seemed to have pushed the right buttons all season long, until now. In this game, he started Short on just 2 days' rest, and he pitched 6 shutout innings, but allowed 2 runs in the 7th and 1 in the 8th. Johnny Callison homered for the Phils in the bottom of the 8th, momentarily saving them.

Both teams scored 2 runs in the 10th, the Braves on a home run by Joe Torre, the Phils on an inside-the-park home run by eventual NL Rookie of the Year Richie Allen (who hadn't yet begun to insist upon being called "Dick Allen"). But a bad throw by catcher Clay Dalrymple on a stolen base by Gene Oliver allowed the Braves to win it the 12th.

* 6. September 26, at Connie Mack Stadium: Braves 6, Phillies 4. The Phils led 4-0 after 2 innings, and 4-3 going into the 9th, with Art Mahaffey putting in a good start on full rest. But Bobby Shantz, the former Philadelphia Athletics ace back in his hometown, couldn't hold the lead, due in part to an error by 2nd baseman Tony Taylor, and Rico Carty hit a bases-loaded triple. It was Shantz's 39th birthday, and he made only 1 more big-league appearance, 3 days later. Hank Aaron went 2-for-5. Joe Torre went 3-for-4.

* 7. September 27, at Connie Mack Stadium: Braves 14, Phillies 8. Callison hit 3 home runs, helping to cement his case as the NL Most Valuable Player, should the Phils win the Pennant. But Bunning, sent out by Mauch on 2 days' rest, didn't get out of the 4th inning. He and his replacement 7 allowed straight hits, and allowed runs to score on 6 straight plays. Torre hit a home run (although not in the 4th).

There was a small omen for the Phillies: The pitcher who relieved Bunning would go on to become one of the most important figures in team history. He was a 20-year-old righthander from nearby Newport, Delaware. His name was Dallas Green.

* 8. September 28, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis: Cardinals 5, Phillies 1. Again, Mauch sent Short out on 2 days' rest, against Bob Gibson. Future Yankee broadcaster and NL President Bill White went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Future Cardinal broadcaster Mike Shannon went 1-for-3 with 3 RBIs.

* 9. September 29, at Busch Stadium: Cardinals 4, Phillies 2. Dennis Bennett was fully-rested, but didn't get out of the 2nd inning. For the Cards, Ray Sadecki got his 20th win of the season.

* 10. September 30, at Busch Stadium: Cardinals 8, Phillies 5. Tim McCarver hits a home run for the Cards, while Alex Johnson hits one for the Phils. Ironically, the winning pitcher for the Cards is Curt Simmons, whose drafting into the Korean War in 1950 cost him the chance to pitch for the Phils in their last World Series to this point, in 1950. Simmons also turned out to be the last surviving player from those 1950 Phillies "Whiz Kids."

None of it would have mattered if the Reds hadn't won 9 straight from September 20 to 27 (3 of them over the Phillies); and the Cardinals hadn't won 8 straight from September 24 to 30 (the last 3 over the Phillies). The Cards' Ken Boyer ended up winning the MVP.

Now, despite a Rookie of the Year season from Allen, a near-MVP season from Callison, and a near-Cy Young Award season from Bunning, they are 2 1/2 behind the Cardinals, while the Cincinnati Reds are 1 game back. The Phils have 2 games left, the Cards 3, the Reds 4. The Phils could still win the Pennant if they win their last 2 games, although a 3-way tie for the Pennant is still possible.

It was not to be. And, for those people in the Delaware Valley old enough to remember the Phillie Phlop of '64, not even the World Series wins of 1980 and 2008 could erase the scar on their hearts with "1964" branded onto it.

*

September 30, 1964 was a Wednesday. These other baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees swept a doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. This was crucial, because the American League race was also coming down to the wire with multiple teams still in it. The Yankees would end up winning the Pennant by just 1 game over Chicago and 2 over Baltimore.

The Yankees won the opener, 7-6. Mickey Mantle and Joe Pepitone hit home runs for the Yankees, Al Kaline for the Tigers. Ralph Terry was the winning pitcher, in relief of Al Downing. The Yankees won the nightcap, 11-8. Kaline homered for the Tigers again, and Bill Roman also hit one. But Tom Tresh hit one for the Pinstripes. Jim Bouton, later the author of Ball Four, started and won.

* The New York Mets lost to the Milwaukee Braves, 6-5 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Denis Menke won the game with a home run off Willard Hunter in the bottom of the 12th inning. Hank Fischer started, Warren Spahn pitched the 9th and 10th innings in relief, and Clay Carroll, later a bullpen mainstay of the Cincinnati Big Red Machine, was the winning pitcher. Hank Aaron went 0-for-4, but he did draw 2 walks. Joe Torre went 1-for-6 with an RBI. Jim Hickman went 5-for-6 with an RBI for the Mets, and Charley Smith went 3-for-6 with 2 RBIs, but it wasn't enough.

* The Cleveland Indians shut the Boston Red Sox out for the entirety of a doubleheader at Fenway Park, 5-0 and 3-0. A young Luis Tiant, later to pitch so well for the Red Sox, allowed them just 4 hits in the 1st game, 2 of them by Félix Mantilla.

Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4 in the 1st game, and didn't play in the 2nd; while Tony Conigliaro, just 19 years old, didn't play in the 1st game, and went 2-for-4 in the 2nd. But the rest of the Red Sox only got 5 hits off Sam McDowell in that 2nd game.

* A doubleheader was split at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, but the 2 teams then in the Chesapeake region. The Baltimore Orioles won the 1st game, 8-4, with Jerry Adair hitting 2 homers. The Washington Senators won the 2nd game, 6-3. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-4 in each game, and had an RBI in the 1st one.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 1-0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Jerry May singled home future Met World Series hero Donn Clendenon with the winning run -- in the top of the 16th inning. Roberto Clemente did not play. Nor did Willie Stargell. Jerry May got 3 hits, the entire rest of the Pirates only 2 -- in 16 innings. Chico Ruiz went 4-for-8, but the rest of the Reds lineup got only 5 hits. Pete Rose went 0-for-7. Frank Robinson went 1-for-4, and drew 3 walks.

The Reds' Jim Maloney, who would go on to take 2 no-hitters into the 10th inning the next season, keeping 1 but losing the other game in the 11th inning, here went 11 innings allowing no runs on 3 hits. The Pirates' Bob Veale went 12 1/3rd, allowing no runs on 7 hits. Veale struck out 16 batters, Maloney 13. The winning pitcher was Al McBean, the losing pitcher Lou Tsitouris.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Athletics, 6-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-4, but Jimmie Hall and Don Mincher homered for the Twins.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. A 2-hit shutout was pitched by -- no, not Sandy Koufax, and not Don Drysdale, but John Purdin. It was his 1st major league win. There would be only 5 more. Both Cub hits were by catcher Dick Bertell.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Colt .45s, 2-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Houston 3rd baseman Bob Aspromonte made an error on Jim Davenport's grounder in the bottom of the 11th, allowing Tom Haller, who had homered earlier, to score the winning run. Willie Mays went 0-for-4, but did draw a walk. The next season, the Colt .45s would rename themselves the Houston Astros.

* And the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels were not scheduled for this day. The White Sox won their last 9 to finish within 1 of the Yankees, but it wasn't enough.

And in one of the best things that could have happened on any day, Italian actress Monica Bellucci was born.

September 29, 1954: Willie Mays Makes The Catch

September 29, 1954, 70 years ago: Willie Mays makes the most famous defensive play in the history of sports, remembered as simply The Catch -- Capital T, Capital C.

It was Game 1 of the World Series. The New York Giants had won the National League Pennant, beating out their crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Cleveland Indians had won the American League Pennant, winning League record 111 games to beat out the Yankees, who had won the last 5 World Series. Indeed, the last 8 AL Pennants had been won by the Indians (1948 & '54) and the Yankees (1947, '49, '50, '51, '52 & '53).

Game 1 was played at the Polo Grounds in New York. The game was tied 2-2 in the top of the 8th, but the Indians got Larry Doby on 2nd base and Al Rosen on 1st with nobody out. Giant manager Leo Durocher pulled starting pitcher Sal Maglie, and brought in Don Liddle, a lefthander, to face the lefty slugger Vic Wertz, and only Wertz.

Liddle pitched, and Wertz swung, and drove the ball out to center field. The Polo Grounds was shaped more like a football stadium, so its foul poles were incredibly close: 279 feet to left field and 257 to right. In addition, the upper deck overhung the field a little, so the distances were actually even closer. But if you didn't pull the ball, it was going to stay in play. Most of the center field fence was 425 feet from home plate. A recess in center field, leading to a blockhouse that served as both teams' clubhouses -- why they were in center field, instead of under the stands, connected to the dugouts, is a mystery a long-dead architect will have to answer -- was 483 feet away.

Mays, at this point in his career, was already a big star. Just 23 years old, he had won that season's NL batting title. He had been NL Rookie of the Year in 1951, but had missed most of the 1952 season and all of 1953 serving in the U.S. Army, having been drafted into service in the Korean War. He had become known for playing stickball in the streets of Harlem with local boys in the morning, and then going off to the Polo Grounds to play real baseball in the afternoon. This raised his profile, and made him an accessible figure to City kids. His cap flying off as he ran around the bases, his defensive wizardry, and his yelling of, "Say hey!" endeared him to Giant fans.

While he made the "basket catch" nationally popular, he didn't invent it. In fact, he wasn't even the 1st Giant to use it, as 3rd baseman Bill Rigney, who would succeed Durocher as manager in 1956, was using it in the 1940s.

Even so, the days when the Giants were the team in New York sports were long gone, this week's events notwithstanding. At this moment, Mays was, in the public consciousness, where Babe Ruth was in May 1920, where Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams were in May 1941, where Mickey Mantle was in May 1956, where Reggie Jackson was in September 1977, where Roger Clemens was in April 1986, where Derek Jeter was in September 1996, where David Ortiz was in September 2004: A star, well-known and popular, but not yet a legend.

Mays ran back to try to catch the ball. In mid-stride, he thumped his fist into his mitt. His teammates, who had seen this gesture before, knew that this meant that he thought he would catch it. But most fans, who didn't watch him every day, didn't know this. Watching on television (NBC, Channel 4 in New York), they figured the ball would go over his head, scoring Doby and Rosen, and that Wertz, not exactly fleet of foot, had a chance at a triple, or even an inside-the-park home run.

Willie has said many times that he was already thinking of the throw back to the infield, hoping to hold Doby to only 3rd base. With his back to the ball all the way, he caught the ball over his head, stopped, pivoted, and threw the ball back to the infield. Doby did get only to 3rd.

The announcers were Jack Brickhouse, who normally did the home games for both of Chicago's teams, the Cubs and the White Sox, but was the lead announcer for NBC in this Series; and Russ Hodges, the usual Giants announcer, made nationally famous 3 years earlier when Bobby Thomson's home run made him yell, "The Giants win the Pennant!" over and over again.

Brickhouse: "There's a long drive, way back in center field, way back, back, it is... Oh, what a catch by Mays! The runner on second, Doby, is able to tag and go to third. Willie Mays just brought this crowd to its feet with a catch which must have been an optical illusion to a lot of people. Boy! See where that 483-foot mark is in center field? The ball itself... Russ, you know this ballpark better than anyone else I know. Had to go about 460, didn't it?"

Hodges: "It certainly did, and I don't know how Willie did it, but he's been doing it all year."

It has been argued by many, including Bob Feller, the pitching legend sitting on the Indians' bench that day, that the reason so much is made of this catch is that it was in New York, it was in the World Series, and it was on television. "It was far from the best catch I've ever seen," Feller said. Mays himself would say he'd made better catches. But none more consequential.

Durocher yanked Liddle, and brought in Marv Grissom. Upon reaching the Giant dugout, Liddle told his teammates, "Well, I got my man." Yeah, Don. You got him. As Jim Bouton, then a 15-year-old Giant fan who'd recently moved from Rochelle Park, Bergen County, New Jersey to the Chicago suburb of Chicago Heights, Illinois, would later say, "Yeah, surrrre!"

Grissom walked Dale Mitchell to load the bases with only 1 out. But he struck out Dave Pope, and got Jim Hegan to fly out, to end the threat. When the Giants got back to the dugout, they told Willie what a hard catch it was. He said, "You kiddin'? I had that one all the way."

The game went to extra innings. Future Hall-of-Famer Bob Lemon went the distance for the Tribe, but in the bottom of the 10th, he walked Mays, who stole 2nd. Then he intentionally walked Hank Thompson to set up an inning-ending double play. It didn't happen: Durocher sent Dusty Rhodes up to pinch-hit for left fielder Monte Irvin, and Rhodes hit the ball down the right-field line. It just sort of squeaked into the stands.

On the film, it looks a little like a fan reached out, and it bounced off his hand. A proto-Jeffrey Maier? To this day, no one has seriously argued that the call should be overturned.

The game was over: Giants 5, Indians 2. The Indians, heavily favored to win the Series, never recovered, and the Giants swept. The Series ended on October 2, tied with 1932 for the 2nd-earliest end to a World Series. (In 1918, the season was shortened due to World War I, and ended on September 11.)

Victor Woodrow Wertz, a native of Reading, Pennsylvania, was a right fielder and 1st baseman. He made his name with the Detroit Tigers, hit 266 home runs in his career, had 5 100-plus RBI seasons, and made 4 All-Star Teams. He went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs in this game. He should be remembered as more than a man who hit a 460-foot (or so) drive that was caught, while another guy in the same game hit a 260-foot drive that won the game as a home run. He died in 1983, aged only 58.

Willie Howard Mays Jr., a native of Fairfield, Alabama, outside Birmingham, became one of baseball's greatest legends. He hit 660 home runs, collected 3,283 hits, made 24 All-Star Games (there were 2 every season from 1959 to 1962), won a Gold Glove the 1st 12 seasons it was given out (1957 to 1968), won the 1954 and 1965 NL Most Valuable Player awards, and played on 4 Pennant winners -- but 1954 would be his only title.

The Giants, with whom he moved to San Francisco in 1958, retired his Number 24, dedicated a statue to him outside AT&T Park, and made its official address 24 Willie Mays Plaza. He played with the Giants until 1972, when he was traded to the Mets, going back to New York at age 41. He retired in 1973, and the Mets have rarely given out Number 24 since.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in his 1st year of eligibility, 1979. In 1999, he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, and The Sporting News put him at Number 2 on its list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players -- 2nd only to the long-dead Babe Ruth, so Willie was tops among living players. No player has since come along to suggest otherwise -- not later Giant Barry Bonds, not Derek Jeter.

Willie Mays was the last living player from this game, 70 years later. He didn't quite make it to the anniversary, dying on June 18, 2024, at the age of 93.

One other historical note: This was also the day on which the Judy Garland version of the film A Star Is Born premiered. It had previously been filmed in 1937 with Janet Gaynor; and has since been filmed in 1976 with Barbra Streisand and 2018 with Lady Gaga. 

For September 27: Baseball's Division Champions, 1969-2024

For this list, I am counting, even if Major League Baseball does not do so officially, Division titles from 1969 onward, the split-season Divisional Champions of 1981, and the teams that were in first place when the Strike of 1994 hit. It does not, however, include Pennants and World Series won by Wild Card teams.

All ties in this ranking are broken by most recent finish, then by most recent Pennant. This season's Division winners in bold.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers, 24: 1974, '77, '78, '80, '81 (1st-half and overall winners), '83, '85, '88, '94 (led when strike hit), '95, 2004, '08, '09, '13, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '20, '22, '23, '24. Over that stretch, this has resulted in 8 Pennants and 3 World Series wins.

2. Atlanta Braves, 23: 1969, '82, '91, '92, '93, '95, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '13, '18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23. 4 Pennants, 2 World Championships.

3. New York Yankees, 22: 1976, '77, '78, '80, '81 (1st-half and overall winners), '94 (led when strike hit), '96, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '09, '11, '12, '19, '22, '24. 11 Pennants, 7 World Championships.

4. Oakland Athletics, 17: 1971, '72, '73, '74, '75, '81 (1st-half and overall winners), '88, '89, '90, '92, 2000, '02, '03, '06, '12, '13, '20. 6 Pennants, 4 World Championships.

5. St. Louis Cardinals, 16: 1982, '85, '87, '96, 2000, '01, '02, '04, '05, '06, '09, '13, '14, '15, '19, '22. 6 Pennants, 3 World Championships.

6. Houston Astros, 14: 1980, '81 (2nd-half winners), '86, '97, '98, '99, 2001, '17, '18, '19, '21, '22, '23, '24. 3 Pennants, 2 World Championships.

7. Philadelphia Phillies, 13: 1976, '77, '78, '80, '81 (1st-half), '83, '93, 2007, '08, '09, '10, '11, '24. 6 Pennants (including through the Wild Card in 2022), 2 World Championships.

8. Minnesota Twins, 13: 1969, '70, '87, '91, 2002, '03, '04, '06, '09, '10, '19, '20, '23. 2 Pennants, 2 World Championships.

9. Cleveland Guardians, 12: 1995, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2001, '07, '16, '17, '18, '22, '24. 3 Pennants, no World Series wins.

10. Cincinnati Reds, 12: 1970, '72, '73, '75, '76, '79, '90, '94 (led when strike hit), '95, 2010, '12, '13. 5 Pennants, 3 World Championships.

11. Boston Red Sox, 10: 1975, '86, '88, '90, '95, 2007, '13, '16, '17, '18. 4 Pennants (including through the Wild Card in 2004), 4 World Championships.

12. Baltimore Orioles, 10: 1969, '70, '71, '73, '74, '79, '83, '97, 2014, '23. 5 Pennants, 2 World Championships.

13. San Francisco Giants, 9: 1971, '87, '89, '97, 2000, '03, '10, '12, '21. 5 Pennants (including through the Wild Card in 2002 and 2014), 3 World Championships.

14. Kansas City Royals, 9: 1976, '77, '78, '80, '81 (2nd-half winners), '84, '85, 2014, '15. 4 Pennants, 2 World Championships.

15. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 9: 1979, '82, '86, '95, 2004, '05, '07, '08, '09, '14. 1 Pennant (through the Wild Card in 2002), 1 World Championship.

16. Pittsburgh Pirates, 9: 1970, '71, '72, '74, '75, '79, '90, '91, '92. 2 Pennants, 2 World Championships.

17. Texas Rangers, 8: 1994 (led when strike hit), '96, '98, '99, 2010, '11, '15, '16. 3 Pennants (including through the Wild Card in 2023), 1 World Championship.

18. Chicago Cubs, 8: 1984, '89, 2003, '07, '08, '16, '17, '20. 1 Pennant, 1 World Championships.

19. Detroit Tigers, 7: 1972, '84, '87, 2011, '12, '13, '14. 3 Pennants (including through the Wild Card in 2006), 1 World Championship.

20. New York Mets, 6: 1969, '73, '86, '88, 2006, '15. 5 Pennants (including through the Wild Card in 2000), 2 World Championships.

21. Chicago White Sox, 7: 1983, '93, '94 (led when strike hit), 2000, '05, '08, '21. 1 Pennant, 1 World Championship.

22. Milwaukee Brewers, 7: 1981 (2nd-half winners), '82, 2011, '18, '21, '23, '24. 1 Pennant.

23. San Diego Padres, 6: 1984, '96, '98, 2005, '06, '07. 2 Pennants.

24. Toronto Blue Jays, 6: 1985, '89, '91, '92, '93, 2015. 2 Pennants, 2 World Championships.

25. Arizona Diamondbacks, 5: 1999, 2001, '02, '07, '11. 2 Pennants (including through the Wild Card in 2023), 1 World Championship.

26. Washington Nationals, 4: 2012, '14, '16, '17. 1 Pennant (through the Wild Card in 2019), 1 World Championship.

27. Tampa Bay Rays, 4: 2008, '11, '20, '21. 2 Pennants.

28. Seattle Mariners, 3: 1995, '97, 2001. No Pennants.

29. Colorado Rockies, 0: 5 Playoff appearances, all via the Wild Card, 1 Pennant.

30. Miami Marlins, 0: 4 Playoff appearances, all via the Wild Card. 2 Pennants, 2 World Championships.

Leading their respective Divisions are: In the American League, the Yankees, the Minnesota Twins, and the Oakland, soon to be Sacramento, and eventually Las Vegas Athletics; in the National League, the Atlanta Braves, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

September 28, 2014: Derek Jeter's Last Major League Game

 

Left to right: Jim Rice, Mookie Betts,

David Ortiz, Derek Jeter and Carl Yastrzemski

September 28, 2014, 10 years ago: The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-5 at Fenway Park. Michael Pineda outpitches Clay Buchholz. With the game scoreless in the top of the 3rd, Francisco Cervelli leads off with a walk. Chris Young strikes out, but Jose Pirela singles, and Buchholz moves the runners over with a wild pitch. Ichiro Suzuki triples the runners home.

Derek Jeter, the designated hitter on this day -- Stephen Drew is the shortstop -- hits a ground ball to 3rd base. Garin Cecchini fields it, but Jeter beats the throw, and Ichiro scores, to make it 3-0 Yankees.
It is Jeter's 3,465th career hit (which included 544 doubles, 66 triples and 260 home runs), and his 1,311st run batted in. Only Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Tris Speaker have more -- meaning Jeter had more hits than all but 2 living people (Rose and the since-deceased Aaron), and more hits than anyone born after April 14, 1941 (when Rose was born).

Girardi sends Brian McCann -- perhaps the slowest runner on the team, but whose bat will fill the DH slot -- in to pinch-run, and the Fenway crowd, which despises the Yankees and has long maintained that Jeter and his teammates "suck," gives him a standing ovation as he leaves a major league field for the last time. It is 46 years to the day after Mickey Mantle played his last game for the Yankees, also at Fenway.

Mantle had played in more games, 2,401, and in more seasons, 18, than anyone in Yankee history. Jeter broke both of those records: 2,747 games and 20 seasons. I didn't get to see Mantle play, but I saw Jeter play many times. I even got to see him hit a home run at Fenway Park, in a 13-3 Yankee demolition of the Red Sox on July 30, 1999. Great memory.

My in-person memories of Mantle are limited to Old-Timers Days, and an appearance (in a suit rather than a uniform) on Phil Rizzuto Day. And while I saw Joe DiMaggio a few times at Yankee Stadium, it was only in a suit, never a uniform, although his 1995 Opening Day first ball ceremony meant that, at the least, I got to see Joe DiMaggio throw a baseball. Which is more than I can say for Mantle. And I never got to see Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig, who died long before I was born.

But I've seen plenty of legends in person, at various ballparks and at the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. So I've had some luck -- if not, as Gehrig would say, become the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.

Elsewhere on this day, the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins, 1-0 at Nationals Park in Washington. Jordan Zimmerman pitched a no-hitter, coming within a 5th-inning walk of Justin Bour, and a 7th-inning dropped 3rd strike on a strikeout of Garrett Jones, of pitching a perfect game. He struck out 10.

In the NFL, the Jets lost to the Detroit Lions, 24-17 at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands. The preceding Thursday, the Giants beat the Washington Redskins, 45-14 at FedEx Field (now Commanders Field) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

Yankees Clinch Hard-Won Division Title

The Yankees had 3 home games against the Baltimore Orioles, the team chasing them for the American league Eastern Division title.

The Yankees only had to win one of them to clinch that title. They did. 

The games they lost, they looked pretty bad. The game they won, they looked like a team worthy of the Division title, and plenty more.

On Tuesday night, the Yankees found out that Nestor Cortés was injured, and would be out for at least the rest of the regular season. Clarke Schmidt started that night, and didn't pitch well. Aaron Judge hit his 56th home run, but the Yankees lost, 5-3.

Wednesday night was worse. Marcus Stroman got shelled, and didn't get out of the 4th inning. It didn't help that, after he loaded the bases with nobody out in the 1st inning, Jasson Domínguez misplayed a fly ball that cleared the bases. A 9th-inning comeback, including Judge's 57th homer, wasn't enough, as the Yankees lost, 9-7.

At this point, with 1 win still needed to clinch, and with the last team we have to face in the regular season, the Pittsburgh Pirates, having improved pitching, a Yankee Fan could be excused for thinking, "Uh-oh... "

And for 5 innings last night, each team's ace, Gerrit Cole and Corbin Burnes, pitched really well. The only run came on a home run by Giancarlo Stanton in the 2nd inning. But after 5 innings and only 69 pitches, Oriole manager Brandon Hyde took Burns out. Why? To save him for the postseason? (The Orioles have clinched a Wild Card berth.)

Big mistake, and the Yankees took advantage of it. They scored 6 runs in the 6th inning, to put the game away. Later, Aaron Judge hit his 58th homer, and Alex Verdugo added one. Yankees 10, Orioles 1.

As John Sterling would say, "Ballgame over! American League Eastern Division over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!"

With all the crap we've been through, yes, this title is worth celebrating. For one day. Then, we move on.

And so, with 93 wins, and 3 games left, the Yankees need to win only 1 to clinch the top seed in the American League Playoffs, as we own the tiebreaker over the Cleveland Guardians. The Los Angeles Dodgers have won 95, and the Philadelphia Phillies have won 94: If we win the Pennant, and play either of those teams in the World Series, they'll have home-field advantage. Any other National League team, and it would be us.

Division Title 22 (21, really, because MLB doesn't count being in 1st place when the 1994 season ended) is in the books. Pennant 41 and Title 28 remain to be won.

The Coolest Generation?

I'm starting to see memes saying, "Your grandparents were cooler than you will ever be." One showed people on line for Star Wars in the Summer of 1977.

It's a message to today's young people, the ones who would have included my children, if I'd had any, about my parents' generation. A 16-year-old on that line would now be 63.

Well, the heck with the premise: I was 7, and I was on one of those lines.

*

What is it with Baby Boomers, especially the early ones, born between 1946 and 1954, and their never-ending need to be seen as The Coolest Generation? Is it because they feared early death, due to being of draft age during the Vietnam War?

It seemed to start even before they fully came of age. American Graffiti came out in 1973, and was set in 1962, just 11 years earlier, yet, already, it leaned into nostalgia.

People wanted to forget Vietnam. They wanted to forget Watergate. They wanted to forget race riots. They wanted to go back to the era when Dwight D. Eisenhower was America's grandpa, or at least to the era when John F. Kennedy was America's big brother. When the biggest thing they had to worry about was whether they had a dime for the jukebox at the malt shop after school.

Hey, I get it. But 2024 - 11 = 2013. I don't see too many people holding up Barack Obama as a figure of nostalgia. Of course, unlike Ike in 1973, he is still around. As is Bill Clinton, who was President at a comparatively better time. (Update this for after his speech at the Democratic Convention.)

But you don't see people looking back fondly on the cars of 2013. Or the music. Okay, the most popular singer now is Taylor Swift, and she was the most popular singer then. But, in spite of her own naming of her current tour as "The Eras Tour," nobody looks at her as a relic of a bygone, better age. 

Elvis Presley, the Baby Boomers' 1st big non-sports hero, died on August 16, 1977, while Star Wars was still in theaters. The day Elvis died was the day that the Baby Boomers realized that they weren't kids anymore. The day Yankee legend Mickey Mantle, the biggest baseball star of the Baby Boom era, died, August 13, 1995, 18 years later to the week, was the day the Boomers had to accept that they were now old.

At least they had great music. But "old people music" is going to get worse. Nursing homes play the music the residents heard growing up. Well, guess what: If a person was 13 when Elvis debuted nationally in 1956, they're now 81; and if they were 13 when The Beatles came to America in 1964, they're now 73. So we're getting rock and roll in nursing homes now. But in a few years, we'll be getting disco. By the time I'm old enough to live in one, we'll be getting the early MTV stuff. I lived through that garbage once, in my adolescence. I don't need to hear it when I'm old and my wheelchair's motor isn't fast enough to get me away from it!

Yanks Return From Coast On Edge of Clinch

Between the dynasties, from 1982 to 1995, the Yankees tended to go out to the Pacific Coast, to play the teams then named the California Angels in Anaheim, the Oakland Athletics, and the Seattle Mariners, and fall apart. It always seemed to happen in August. And, as a Star Trek fan, I began to retroactively call these "Borg roadtrips": We would lose seven of nine, and resistance was futile.

The roadtrip that just ended would not be such a trip. For one thing, we didn't play the Anaheim team, now named the Los Angeles Angels, even though they're not in the County of Los Angeles, let alone the City of Los Angeles.

Last Tuesday night, the Yankees went into T-Mobile Park, formerly Safeco Field, in Seattle. Luis Gil started the series opener, and after 5 innings, he had allowed just 1 run. Tim Mayza pitched a hitless 6 innings, and Marcus Stroman, not happy about being taken out of the starting rotation, pitched 3 innings, allowing 1 run. Julio Rodríguez, the Mariners' All-Star center fielder, got 4 of his team's 9 hits.

Good pitching like that deserves lots of support, and it came. Juan Soto hit his 40th home run of the season. Jasson Domínguez, having been hurt and then kept in the minor leagues for reasons known only to Brian Cashman, hit his 1st. Aaron Judge went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs, and Gleyber Torres, who has been a lot better since being put in the leadoff spot in the order, went 3-for-4. The Yankees won the game, 11-2.

Nestor Cortés started on Wednesday night, and pitched 6 shutout innings. But the Yankees didn't hit, and Clay Holmes blew the save in the 8th inning. It was his 13th blown save of the season, 1 shot of Bruce Sutter's 1976 record. But Anthony Rizzo led off the top of the 10th inning with a double, which drove in Domínguez as the "ghost runner." The Yankees won, 2-1.

I suppose it was too much to ask to sweep the series, especially with a dreaded DGANG: Day Game After Night Game. Clarke Schmidt pitched okay for innings 2 through 5, but he loaded the bases with 1 out in the 1st, and an error by Domínguez in left field made the difference in the game, as the Mariners won, 3-2. Jazz Chisholm hit a home run to account for the Yankee runs.

*

And so, the Yankees went down the Coast, to play the A's in Oakland, almost certainly for the last time. The team's owner, John Fisher, chairman of The Gap clothing stores and son of their founding couple, was part of the ownership group that saved the San Francisco Giants from moving to Tampa Bay for the 1993 season, and he also owns MLS' San Jose Earthquakes.

In 2005, he sold his share of the Giants to buy the A's, but was unsuccessful in getting a new ballpark built to replace the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, currently MLB's 5th-oldest stadium and, in terms of player and fan conditions, usually considered the worst. It's not just a question of using his $2.4 billion personal fortune to pay for the park himself, as there were legal and logistical issues involved.

So the current plan is for the team to move 85 miles northeast, to Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California, just across Tower Bridge and the Sacramento River from the State capital. Built in 2000 as Raley Field, it has been the home of the Sacramento River Cats of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. It seats only 14,014, but then, the A's are averaging just 10,381 fans per home game, and they're 67-89: A bad record, but not 2023 A's bad (50-112), or 1979 A's bad (54-108), or 1916 Philadelphia Athletics bad (36-117).

They will not take on Sacramento as a team identifier, and will be known as simply "The Athletics" while they play in West Sacramento in the 2025, 2026 and 2027 seasons, and possibly also 2028. The plan is to then move to a new ballpark in Las Vegas for the 2028 or 2029 season, at which point they will, like the former Oakland football team, the Raiders, take on "Las Vegas" as an identifier.

Oakland had the NHL's Seals from 1967 to 1976. It had the NBA's Golden State Warriors from 1971 to 2019, when they moved back across the Bay to San Francisco. It had the NFL's Raiders from 1962 to 1981, when they moved to Los Angeles, and again from 1995 to 2019, when they moved to Las Vegas. And they had the A's from 1968 to 2024. Despite nearly moving to Seattle for 1976, to Denver for 1978, New Orleans for 1979, and Denver again for 1980, and threatening to move to nearby San Jose, or possible to Sacramento or Vegas for years, they're finally getting out.

Just as Oakland may be seeing a native, Kamala Harris, be elected President, they are losing their last team.

On Friday night, the Yankees again wasted a nice pitching performance. This time, Gerrit Cole was allowed to go a full 9 innings, since he only threw a total of 99 pitches: 1 run on 2 hits and 1 walk, with 7 strikeouts. But, for the A's, J.T. Ginn (5 innings) and 4 relievers were nearly as sensational, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk, striking out 8.

In the top of the 10th, with Domínguez as the ghost runner, Rizzo singled him over to 3rd. Soto suffered a minor injury in the previous game, and did not start this one, but Aaron Boone sent him up to pinch-hit for Trent Grisham. T.J. McFarland threw a breaking ball that broke too much, and A's catcher Shea Langeliers couldn't handle it. It went for a passed ball, and Domínguez scored. Soto then doubled Rizzo home, and Anthony Volpe singled Soto home.

Luke Weaver ran into a little trouble in the bottom of the 10th, allowing a run, but allowed the A's to get no further. The Yankees won, 4-2.

Saturday night was as good a game as the Yankees have played all season. Carlos Rodón pitched 5-hit shutout ball for 6 innings. Home runs were hit by Aaron Judge, his 54th of the season; Giancarlo Stanton, 26; and Volpe, his 12th. The Yankees won, 10-0.

Yesterday was, unless some miracle keeps the A's in Oakland, the Yankees' last game there. Gil had a bad start. But the Yankees unloaded the lumber again: Judge hit his 55th homer, Torres his 15th, and Domínguez his 2nd. The Yankees completed the sweep, 7-4.

*

So there is one week left in the regular season. The Yankees are 92-64. They have clinched a Playoff spot. They are 6 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Eastern Division, with 6 games to go, meaning the Magic Number to clinch the Division is 1. And, after a day off today, the next 3 games are at home against the Orioles, so the clincher will happen at home.

If the current standings hold for 6 more days, the Yankees will have the top seed in the AL Playoffs, the AL Central Champion Cleveland Guardians 2nd, the soon-to-be AL West Champion Houston Astros 3rd. The Orioles have the 4th seed. There are 4 teams competing for the last 2 seeds, with the Kansas City Royals and the surging Detroit Tigers 1 game ahead of the slumping Minnesota Twins, and 2 ahead of the Seattle Mariners.

So, if those standings hold, the Yankees and Guardians would get 1st-round byes, and have to worry about going stale while waiting for someone to qualify to play them; Houston would have home-field advantage over Kansas City; and Baltimore would have it over Detroit.

In the National League, the byes would go to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies; the Milwaukee Brewers would have home-field over the Mets; and the San Diego Padres would have home-field over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Also: I looked at the numbers Judge has for batting average, doubles, home runs, RBIs, walks and stolen bases this season. Only twice has a Yankee ever matched or topped that performance in all categories: Babe Ruth in 1920 and 1921.

Lou Gehrig topped out at 47 home runs; Joe DiMaggio, 46; Reggie Jackson, 47 overall, 41 as a Yankee. Mickey Mantle topped out at 54 homers. Judge now has 55. Until yesterday, Mantle could match him in each category, but not all in the same season. That's the level that Judge is on right now.

To make the Hall of Fame, Judge needs to keep this up for maybe 4 more years. But to be a Yankee Legend, he needs one more thing: Win a World Series.

For tomorrow night's potential clincher, Schmidt starts against Dean Kremer. Come on you Pinstripes!

September 23, 1944: President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Fala Speech"

September 23, 1944, 80 years ago: The President of the United States, running for re-election, makes his dog an issue in the campaign. Why not? They started it.

On April 7, 1940, a litter of Scottish terrier puppies was born at Wilderstein, in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York. This mansion was the home of, among others, Margaret Suckley. Known as Daisy, she lived 10 miles up the Hudson River from Springwood, the Hyde Park home of her 6th cousin, the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Whose wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, was a 5th cousin, and a niece of a previous President, Theodore Roosevelt. (FDR's own parents, James Roosevelt and Sara Delano, were 6th cousins. The Hudson Valley of the time saw quite a bit of inbreeding, often closer than that.)

Among the puppies was one that Daisy named Big Boy, although Scottish terriers, a.k.a. "Scotties," are not very big. She trained the dog to sit, roll over, and jump. She was closer to FDR than their blood relationship would suggest, although their physical distance wasn't much. (It was rumored that they were, how shall I put this, a little too close, but this has never been proven.) As a Christmas present, she gave the dog to FDR.

FDR, like many members of old, established New York State families, had (and many of those those who didn't, claimed) patrilineal Dutch descent. But he also had Scottish descent, with a grandfather named John Aspinwall, and the Scottie reminded him of an ancestor, known as Murray the Outlaw of Falahill. This became the dog's formal name with the American Kennel Club. FDR called him "Fala" for short, and took him back with him to the White House, to which he had just been elected to an unprecedented 3rd term.

Within a few weeks, Fala was taken to a veterinary hospital. As it turned out, he had figured out how to reach the kitchen, and was being overfed. FDR gave orders to everyone, from kitchen staff to West Wing employees: No one but the President was to feed Fala.

In his 2nd campaign for President, in 1936, the Republicans relentlessly attacked FDR. They also attacked Eleanor, for various reasons. They even printed campaign buttons reading, "And that goes for Eleanor, too!" These attacks got harsher in 1940.

As America entered World War II, FDR's sons entered military service. Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. served in the U.S. Navy, where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, served in combat, commanded the destroyer USS Ulvert M. Moore, and earned the Silver Star (for exposing himself under fire to carry a critically wounded sailor to safety), the Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart, and the nickname "Big Moose." FDR Jr. was a legitimate war hero.

Elliott Roosevelt, named for Eleanor's father and TR's brother, was also genuinely heroic in The War. (As my grandmother, who lived through it, explained, "It was always Capital T, Capital W.") He was classified 4-F, unfit for service, due to poor eyesight. He asked his father, as Commander-in-Chief, to overrule this so he could serve. He was given a Captain's commission in the U.S. Army Air Forces, and flew 89 combat missions, earning the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He later became, like actor and hero pilot Jimmy Stewart, a Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

James Roosevelt, named for FDR's father, was already a military aide to his father before the attack on Pearl Harbor got America into The War, a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in combat in the Makin Raid (at what's now named Butaritari, in the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati) of August 17, 1942, received the Navy Cross (then as now, the Marines were part of the Department of the Navy), was promoted to full Colonel, and became a postwar Brigadier General in the Marine Corps Reserve.

Youngest son John Aspinwall Roosevelt was talked out of seeking conscientious objector status. He received an Ensign's commission in the Navy, and, according to brother James, "John was the only one of us who had no opportunity to lead a fighting unit, yet he, too, served under fire." He received the Bronze Star, and reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander. (Franklin and Eleanor also had a daughter, Anna, and a son, the 1st Franklin Jr., who died as an infant.)

Any or all of the 4 Roosevelt sons could have taken the easy way out. They could have gotten out of serving, by taking necessary (or "necessary") government jobs. They could have been given military posts that would have kept them stateside, or even in either the European or the Pacific Theater of Operations, but away from combat. Indeed, James already had a stateside, non-combat post. But they all served in combat, all were legitimately decorated, Franklin Jr. was wounded, and all but John were awarded commands.

Still, as FDR ran for a 4th term, the Republicans, who had nominated Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York for President and Governor John Bricker of Ohio for Vice President (with the slogan, "Win the war quicker with Dewey and Bricker"), noted that all 4 sons started out as officers, not enlisted men working their way up. Which, as college graduates (except for Elliott: He refused to attend college, but the other 3 graduated from Harvard like their father), they were qualified to do, if not entitled.

Noting that all but John had received commands, and that any Naval officer who commands any unit is addressed by his crew as "Captain," regardless of his actual rank, the GOP made campaign buttons reading, "I wanna be a Cap'n too!" Never mind that Elliott and James weren't even in the Navy.

It got worse. There was a "whispering campaign" that FDR was dying. As it turned out, he was: The stress of The War, and his incessant smoking, had given him heart disease and very high blood pressure. But the details were kept out of reach of the media.

The GOP even spread a rumor that, while on an inspection tour of a base in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, FDR had left Fala behind, and had, at significant cost to U.S. taxpayers, ordered a destroyer to get Fala and bring him back to the mainland. The story spoke to both corruption and a sense of entitlement on the Roosevelts' part.

The story was a total lie, as Republican rumors about the Democrats tend to be. FDR was angry. But Orson Welles, a great actor and director but not really known for comedy, suggested to the President that he use comedy on the Republicans.

In those days, before Primaries became deciding factors, and before "exploratory committees" became vital, Presidential campaigns didn't start nearly 2 years before the election. Sometimes, candidates didn't launch their official campaigns until after their nominating conventions. FDR not only could do this in 1944, but, given The War, he pretty much had to.

And so, his 1st campaign speech took place on September 23, in Washington, at a dinner of the International Teamsters Union, to emphasize his long connection with the labor unions. It lasted half an hour, and was broadcast by all American radio networks. He made the audience laugh, both in the room and in the living rooms:

Well, here we are, together again, after four years. And what years they have been!

You know, I am actually four years older, which is a fact that seems to annoy some people. In fact, in the mathematical field, there are millions of Americans who are more than eleven years older than when we started in to clear up the mess that was dumped in our laps in 1933.

We all know that certain people who make it a practice to depreciate the accomplishments of labor – who even attack labor as unpatriotic – they keep this up usually for three years and six months in a row. But then, for some strange reason, they change their tune, every four years, just before Election Day. When votes are at stake, they suddenly discover that they really love labor, and that they are anxious to protect labor from its old friends...

The whole purpose of Republican oratory these days seems to be to switch labels. The object is to persuade the American people that the Democratic Party was responsible for the 1929 crash and the Depression, and that the Republican Party was responsible for all social progress under the New Deal.

Now, imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but I am afraid that, in this case, it is the most obvious common or garden variety of fraud!...

Can the Old Guard pass itself off as the New Deal? I think not. We have all seen many marvelous stunts in the circus, but no performing elephant could turn a handspring without falling flat on his back.

He moved on to foreign policy, and the conduct of The War:

There are some politicians who kept their heads buried deep in the sand while the storms of Europe and Asia were headed our way, who said that the Lend-Lease bill "would bring an end to free government in the United States," and who said, "only hysteria entertains the idea that Germany, Italy, or Japan contemplates war on us."

These very men are now asking the American people to entrust to them the conduct of our foreign policy and our military policy. What the Republican leaders are now saying in effect is this: "Oh, just forget what we used to say. We have changed our minds now. We have been reading the public opinion polls about these things, and now we know what the American people want."

And if that wasn't enough, he addressed the rumor about his dog:

These Republican leaders have not been content with attacks on me, or my wife, or on my sons. No, not content with that, they now include my little dog, Fala!

Well, of course, I don't resent attacks, and my family don't resent attacks, but Fala does resent them!

FDR waited for the laughter to subside, to provide the full effect for the radio audience, and continued:

You know, Fala is Scotch, and, being a Scottie, as soon as he learned that the Republican fiction writers -- in Congress, and out -- had concocted a story that I'd left him behind on an Aleutian Island, and had sent a destroyer back to find him, at a cost to the taxpayers of two, or three, or eight, or twenty million dollars... his Scotch soul was furious. He has not been the same dog since.

The next line wasn't funny in the slightest, but it still drew laughter from the room:

I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself. But I think I have a right to resent, to object, to libelous statements about my dog!

After that, Dewey's only chance was if FDR had died before the election. He did not. But he did die on April 12, 1945, less than 3 months into his 4th and final term.

After his death, Eleanor took Fala home with her to Val-Kill, her home in Hyde Park. (She and Franklin each had separate "retreats" away from the main Hudsonside mansion, Springwood. His was called Top Cottage.) Once, in her nationally-syndicated newspaper column, My Day, she wrote, "Fala accepted me after my husband's death, but I was just someone to put up with until the master should return."

Eleanor and Fala, 1951

In 1952, Fala's health began to fail. He was euthanized on April 5, 2 days before his 12th birthday, and was laid to rest on the grounds of Springwood, next to a previous Roosevelt dog, Chief, not far from where Franklin was buried, and where Eleanor would follow in 1962. Statues of Fala were placed at the entrance to the visitor's center at the FDR Library on the Springwood grounds, and at the FDR Memorial in Washington.

The FDR Memorial

Fala remains the most famous Presidential pet, though not for a lack of trying. On September 23, 1952, 8 years to the day after the Fala Speech, when his integrity was challenged, Richard Nixon, then the Republican nominee for Vice President, mentioned a gift he'd received from a supporter: A cocker spaniel that his daughter, Tricia, had named Checkers. The intention was to remind people of Fala, thinking it would annoy Democrats and thrill Republicans. Checkers lived until 1964, not making it into the White House when Nixon was eventually elected President in 1968.

Both George Bushes had dogs, and when the father's dog (actually, his wife Barbara's dog) Millie had puppies, the father said, "Those puppy pictures saved my first hundred days!" One of those puppies was adopted by the son, who named it Ranger after the baseball team he owned. By the time George W. became President, he had his own Scottish terrier, named Barney.

September 22, 1964: "Fiddler On the Roof" Premieres

September 22, 1964, 60 years ago: Fiddler On the Roof premieres at the Imperial Theatre in New York. It becomes the longest-running musical in Broadway history, a record long since broken.

Jerry Bock wrote the music, and Sheldon Harnick wrote the lyrics. They had previously collaborated on the 1959 musical Fiorello! about former New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Joseph Stein wrote the "book," based on Tevye and His Daughters, a 1905 collection of short stories by Ukrainian-born Jewish writer Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, who wrote under the pen name Sholem Aleichem.

The story takes place in Anatevka, a shtetl (a Yiddish word for a small town made up mostly of Jews) in the Russian Empire in 1905, a year of a failed revolution. The narrator is Tevye, a middle-aged milkman with a wife and 5 daughters, but no sons. This is key, because, traditionally -- and not just in Judaism -- it is the father of the bride who pays for a wedding. And, as Tevye says, "I realize, of course, that it's no shame to be poor. But it's no great honor either."

He begins the play with talk of tradition, and a song titled "Tradition," and says that, for the people there, in their poverty, where they have little freedom due to the impressive regime of Czar Nicholas II, their lives are as precarious as the perch of a fiddler on a roof. Someone asks the local rabbi if there is a blessing for the Czar. He says, "May the Lord bless and keep the Czar... far away from us!"

Like everyone else in Anatevka, Teyve is poor. How poor is he? He has to deliver milk himself, since he can't afford to replace his lame horse. He begins the song "If I Were a Rich Man" in a good mood, imagining what it would be like, but ends it in sadness, asking God if it would "spoil some vast eternal plan."

One of his daughters is supposed to marry the richest man in town ("rich" being relative there), a butcher who is even older than Tevye. But she loves a tailor instead, and the tailor talks Tevye into allowing their marriage. But another daughter loves a Christian boy who had protected her from his people, and Tevye refuses to cross the line of allowing his daughter an interfaith marriage, so they run off and elope.

Finally, a constable arrives, and tells the town that it must be abandoned in 3 days, so that native Russians can take it over. Tevye decides to take his wife and remaining daughters to America, while the married ones and their husbands go to Poland, then also still under Russian control. The fiddler plays one last song, and then leaves the stage as well.

In the original production, Tevye was played by Brooklyn-born Jewish comedian Samuel Joel "Zero" Mostel, a triumph for him after having been blacklisted during the Red Scare of the 1950s. Calling his former film studio "18th Century Fox," he said, "What did they think I was going to do, sell acting secrets to the Russians?" Maria Karnilova played Tevye's wife Goldie. Beatrice Arthur and future game show host Bert Convy were also in the original cast.

Mostel also played Tevye in a 1976 Broadway revival. When the musical first played in the West End, London's version of Broadway, in 1967, Tevye was played by Israel-born actor Chaim Topol. He would also star in the 1971 film version, revivals in the West End in 1983 and 1994, and a Broadway revival in 1990. Herschel Bernardi starred in a 1981 Broadway revival. The most recent Broadway revival, in 2015, starred Danny Burstein.

A 2004 Broadway revival starred Alfred Molina, who would play Tevye by night, and, by day, still in New York, would film scenes as the villainous Dr. Otto Octavius, a.k.a. Doctor Octopus, a.k.a. Doc Ock, for the film Spider-Man 2. He even filmed a scene of himself in costume as Doc Ock, singing "If I Were a Rich Man," resulting in the character's mechanical arms dancing along with him.

He was succeeded the following year by Harvey Fierstein, better known as a playwright. He told an interviewer that someone asked him how, as one of America's most prominent openly gay men, he could play the role of a husband and father. His response was that, when he was cast as Edna Turnblad in the musical version of Hairspray, he had never been, or played, a woman before. In contrast, Tevye was a Jewish man, and he had been a Jewish man his whole life. Of course, his famously gravelly voice wasn't made for singing on Broadway. But it worked just fine for the scatting in "If I Were a Rich Man."

Mostel died in 1977, Karnilova in 2001, Bock and Stein in 2010. As of September 22, 2022, Harnick is still alive. (UPDATE: Harnick died on June 23, 2023, 10 months short of what would have been his 100th birthday.)

The Imperial Theatre is still in operation, at 249 West 45th Street, between 8th Avenue and Broadway. Among the other shows that have premiered there are Babes in Toyland in 1930, On Your Toes in 1936, Annie Get Your Gun in 1946, Call Me Madam in 1950, The Most Happy Fella in 1956, Oliver! in 1963, Pippin in 1972, They're Playing Our Song in 1979, and Dreamgirls in 1981.

One day, when I was about 12 or so, the film version of Fiddler On the Roof was on TV, and my parents told me that this was my heritage. I had grown up with the idea that my father's ancestors were Polish and from a city like Warsaw, while my mother's ancestors were Jewish and from a little shtetl in the Russian Empire, like Anatevka.

It was many years before I found out that the truth was the other way around: My mother's ancestors came from a good-sized city, Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania (although also controlled by Russia at the time), while my father's ancestors came from Borki Wielkie, in northeastern Poland, barely more than a village. Oh well.

September 19, 1934: Hank Greenberg Does Not Play On Yom Kippur

September 19, 1934, 90 years ago: The Detroit Tigers take the field at their home ballpark of Navin Field. They do so against what is, aside from themselves, the best team in the American League, the New York Yankees. What's more, they do so without their best player, 1st baseman Hank Greenberg.

The Tigers went into the game 7 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees, 8 in the loss column, with 11 games left for them and 10 left for the Yankees. No one thought in terms of a "magic number" to clinch in those days, but the Tigers' was 4: Any number of Tiger wins and Yankee losses the rest of the way, adding up to 4, and the Tigers would win the AL Pennant.

But they hadn't wrapped it up yet. There hadn't yet been a team with a significant lead in September that ended up blowing it. This was before the 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers, the 1964 Philadelphia Phillies, the 1969 Chicago Cubs, the 1978 Boston Red Sox, the 1987 Toronto Blue Jays, the 1995 California Angels, and the 2007 New York Mets. (Indeed, the Jays, the Angels and the Mets didn't even exist yet.)

But the New York Giants, winners of the previous year's World Series, had led the National League by 7 games as late as September 6, and now led the St. Louis Cardinals by only 3 1/2 games, and did end up blowing it in the last 2 days of the regular season. So such a collapse was already considered possible.

And the idea that Greenberg might not play in this game worried Tiger fans. But, as a series of TV commercials for Hebrew National Kosher hot dogs would say, decades later, he answered to a higher authority.

Henry Benjamin Greenberg was born on January 1, 1911 in Manhattan. He grew up in The Bronx, attended James Monroe High School, and became the Tigers' starting 1st baseman in 1933. Henry Aaron was born on February 5, 1934, and would go on to become baseball's all-time home run leader. But his nickname, "Hammerin' Hank," was first given to Hank Greenberg.

On September 18, 1934, Greenberg hit a home run, his 25th of the season, off fellow future Hall-of-Famer Red Ruffing, and the Tigers beat the Yankees, 2-0, as Lynwood "Schoolboy" Rowe pitched a 6-hit shutout.

But, in 1934, from sunset on September 18 to sunset on September 19, was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, the conclusion of Judaism's "high holy days" that begins with the start of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.

And Greenberg was Jewish. Rosh Hashanah fell on September 10 and 11 that year, and Greenberg did play on the afternoon of the 11th. (The Tigers' ballpark wouldn't get lights until 1948, making it the last in the AL to do so.) The Tigers lost that game to the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 in 11 innings, as Hall-of-Famer Lefty Grove pitched 3 innings of scoreless relief for the win, and Greenberg went 0-for-3, although he did walk twice and was driven in both times.

Some Jewish people suggested that the defeat, and Greenberg's hitless performance -- few people thought in terms of on-base percentage in those days -- was God's punishment for playing on the holy day. So, with Yom Kippur coming up, he was facing pressure from both sides: Tiger fans who wanted him to play on September 19, and Jews who didn't want him to play.

He announced that he would not play. On the morning of the 19th, he attended a service at a synagogue: Congregation Shaarey Zedek, whose name translates to "Gates of Righteousness." It was located at 2900 Chicago Avenue. Clinton Street Greater Bethlehem Temple Church occupies the site now. In 1962, Shaarey Zedek moved to their current location, is now in suburban Southfield, Michigan, at 27375 Bell Road.

And when the Tigers took the field against the Yankees, their 1st baseman was Frank Doljack. He did reach base twice, with a single and a walk. It was the Tigers' other stars who fell short that day. Between them, Greenberg, 2nd baseman Charlie Gehringer, and left fielder Leon "Goose" Goslin were known as the "G-Men," in this year that was the 1st of big publicity for the FBI, whose agents were also called that (the G standing for "Government men"). Goslin went 0-for-4. Gehringer went 0-for-3 with a walk. And Mickey Cochrane, both the Tigers' manager and their catcher, only appeared as a pinch-hitter, although he had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

So they had 3 future Hall-of-Famers in their lineup, instead of the usual 4. That, along with their other regulars, should have been enough to help them win. Especially since the Yankees did not have Babe Ruth in this game. (It would be his last season with them.)

But the Yankees did have Lou Gehrig, on his way to becoming the 1st Yankee ever to win the Triple Crown. (In spite of this, Cochrane would be named the AL's Most Valuable Player.) Gehrig went 0-for-3. But they had another Hall-of-Famer, Tony Lazzeri, and his 2-run double in the 6th inning made the difference, and the Yankees won, 5-2.

All over America, Jews celebrated Greenberg for sacrificing an important game for the sake of his faith. Tiger fans? Their concerns faded, and a doubleheader sweep of the Chicago White Sox on September 26 gave the Tigers their 1st Pennant in 25 years. Greenberg became a hero to anyone who wasn't an anti-Semite.

The Tigers lost the World Series to the Cardinals. The next season, they won the Pennant again, with Greenberg being named AL MVP, and won the World Series against the Chicago Cubs, the 1st World Championship for a Detroit baseball team since the 1887 Wolverines, 48 years earlier.

Greenberg would have 184 RBIs in 1937, falling 1 short of Gehrig's AL record. In 1938, he hit 58 home runs, falling 2 short of Ruth's major league record. In 1940, he led the Tigers to another Pennant, having been moved from 1st base to left field, and becoming the 1st player ever to be named MVP at 2 different positions. But he got hurt in the World Series, and they lost to the Cincinnati Reds.

In 1941, he became the 1st major league player to enlist in the U.S. Army, as World War II threatened to drag America into it. He was discharged in 1945, between V-E Day and V-J Day, and returned to the Tigers to hit a grand slam on the last day of the season, to clinch their 4th Pennant with him, and beat the Cubs to win another World Series.

A bad back convinced Greenberg to retire after the 1946 season, but the Pittsburgh Pirates asked him to come back, so he could tutor their young slugger Ralph Kiner. They offered him baseball's 1st $100,000-a-year salary. (With inflation, it would be worth $1.33 million in 2022.) He took it on the condition that it be his last season. Kiner never forgot Greenberg's kindness.

Nor did Jackie Robinson, whose 1st season was Greenberg's last. Facing anti-Semitism on a greater scale than any player ever had, Greenberg was the one player who could, and did, truthfully say to modern baseball's 1st black player, "I know what you're going through."

On May 17, 1947, when the Pirates played the Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson laid down a bunt, and, in his effort to reach 1st base, collided with Greenberg. Neither man was hurt. Later in the game, Greenberg walked, and, as Robinson was also playing 1st that season (moving to 2nd the next year), they had a chance to talk:

Greenberg, then: "Don't pay attention to these guys who are trying to make it hard for you. Stick in there... I hope you and I can get together for a talk. There are a few things I've learned down through the years that might help you and make it easier."

Robinson, to the press after the game: "Class tells. It sticks out all over Mr. Greenberg."

Despite being just short of 37 years old, due to his injury, Greenberg did indeed retire after the 1947 season. Lifetime batting average: .331. OPS+: 158. Hits: 1,628, including 379 doubles (including 63, 4 off the all-time record, in 1934) and 331 home runs (including the 58 in 1938). RBIs: 1,276 (including the 184 in 1937). All this in what amounted to just 10 full seasons. If he'd been exempt from military service and had been able to play until he was 40, he would have had about 600 home runs, might have collected 3,000 hits, and perhaps joined Ruth and Aaron, Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols as the only men with 2,000 RBIs.

In 1999, The Sporting News placed him at Number 37 on its list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, in spite of his abbreviated career. In his book Ted Williams' Hit List, Williams named his Top 20 Hitters, and he put Greenberg at Number 11. Whether he was ranked that high (ahead of Tris Speaker and Mickey Mantle) due to peak value or to their friendship, I don't know. But Ted always said Hank was a wonderful guy.

Bill Veeck, owner of the Cleveland Indians, offered him a front-office position, and together they helped make the Indians the 1948 World Champions. Greenberg tutored another young slugger, a Jewish one like himself, third baseman Al Rosen. When Veeck sold the team, the new owners kept Greenberg, promoting him to general manager, and another Pennant-winner was built in 1954. When Veeck bought the Chicago White Sox, he brought in Greenberg as a part-owner, and another Pennant-winner was built in 1959.

That was Greenberg's last job in organized baseball, although his son Steve later played in the minors, not making it to the majors due to injury. Steve later founded Classic Sports Network, bought by ESPN and turned into ESPN Classic, one of the great treasures of American broadcasting.

In one of the weirdest occurrences in baseball history, Hank Greenberg, Ralph Kiner and Al Rosen all retired sooner than they could have due to bad backs. It didn't keep Greenberg out of the Hall of Fame: He was elected in 1956. It almost kept Kiner out: He was elected in 1975, his 15th and last year of eligibility under the baseball writers' vote. It has, thus far, kept Rosen out, although he later went on to become, like Greenberg, one of baseball's finest executives, building postseason teams in New York (the 1978 World Champion Yankees), Houston (the 1986 National League Western Division Champion Astros) and San Francisco (the 1989 NL Champion Giants).

Greenberg never hesitated to speak of his admiration for his heroes, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, his teammate and manager in Detroit Mickey Cochrane, and, even though he was several years younger, Jackie Robinson. As Jackie said, class tells: Men such as Robinson, Williams, Kiner and Rosen spent the rest of their lives telling of Greenberg's hitting talent and his great decency. Greenberg died on September 4, 1986, at the age of 75.

Tigers principal owner Frank Navin died on November 19, 1935. This made Walter Briggs the team's sole owner. In the 1937-38 off-season, Briggs expanded the ballpark into what became its familiar configuration, and renamed it Briggs Stadium. He died in 1952, and his son Walter Jr., a.k.a. Spike Briggs, inherited the team. In 1956, Spike sold the Tigers to a group led by John Fetzer. In 1961, Fetzer renamed the ballpark Tiger Stadium. The Tigers remained there until the 1999 season, and then moved into their current home, Comerica Park.

In 1965, Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers, then the best pitcher in baseball, refused to start Game 1 of the World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. The Dodgers lost to the Minnesota Twins, and when manager Walter Alston came to take their other Hall of Fame pitcher, Don Drysdale, out of the game, Drysdale said, "I bet you wish I was Jewish, too!"

To make matters worse, Koufax lost Game 2. But the Dodgers came back, and Koufax pitched shutouts in Games 5 and 7 to win the Series. The fact that Koufax took a bigger risk, and the fact that, unlike Greenberg, a star of radio and black & white newsreels, his sacrifice took place in the era of TV and color film, made Koufax an even bigger legend than Greenberg.

But Greenberg did it first. As with anything else, the first one to do something will always be special.

September 19, 1934 was a Wednesday. Yom Kippur does not prohibit the birth of Jewish babies, and, in Liverpool, England, Brian Epstein, the man who would go on to manage The Beatles, was born on this day.