Friday-Sunday, June 2-4, 2006

The rarest of all single game records in baseball is conquered by the "Iron Horse"...

If you think it's harder to hit for the cycle (single, double, triple, home run), pitch a no-hitter or perfect game than it is to hit 4 home runs in one game, then you would be wrong, wrong and wrong. In the history of baseball, the ranking and number of times those milestones were reached is this: 1) No-hitters [56], 2) Hitting for the cycle [36], 3) Perfect games [17], 4) Hitting 4 home runs in one game [15]. I'll throw one more stat at you: 5) Hitting 4 consecutive home runs in a game [6]. That's 6...

When Lou Gehrig hit 4 consecutive home runs against the Philadelphia A's on June 3, 1932, he became only the second player in history to do so. Bobby Lowe hammered a quartet of home runs back in 1894. In effect, Gehrig would become the 1st player in the modern era of baseball to hit 4, back-to-back-to-back-to back in one game. By the way, in that game, Tony Lazzeri of the Yankees hit for the cycle (the final score of that game was New York 20 Philadelphia 13 (who missed the extra point ?)...

Sadly, Gehrig's name will come up in our June 2nd timeline as he passed away on that date in 1941...

In my commentary I will list the 6 players who hit 4 consecutive home runs in one game...

June 2 Memories...

1851] Maine becomes the 1st state to enact a law prohibiting alcohol (those downeasterners really know how to have fun, don't they ?)...

1886] President Grover Cleveland becomes the 1st president to marry at the White House. His bride was Frances Folsom (no relation to the prison)...

1896] Guglielmo Marconi's radio is patented (how would you like to get your hands on that baby ?)...

1897] Responding to rumors of his death, 61-year old Mark Twain (no relation to Shania) is quoted by the New York Journal as saying, "the report of my death was an exaggeration"...

1928] Kraft creates Velveeta Cheese (does anybody out there know what the devil kind of cheese that is ?)...

1935] 40-year old Babe Ruth (batting .181) is released by the Boston Braves. The Bambino then announces his retirement (I did that at one of my jobs). He ends his career with a .342 batting average and 714 home runs. And oh, by the way, his pitching record was 94-46 which included a run of scoreless innings in the World Series (29.2) that stood for 43 years...

1941] Lou Gehrig dies in New York of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (which will become "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). His death at 37 was 16 years to the date he replaced Wally Pipp at 1st base for the Yankees...

1958] Alan Freed joins WABC radio (I remember sending out the memo from the mailroom that announced his signing. In that memo it was made clear that Freed would not be referred to as "the King of Rock 'n' Roll" nor was there to be any reference to Freed's name in connection with "rock 'n' roll" (ABC was running scared over impending payola hearings at the time). Freed had a weekly TV show with performing rock acts while he had his radio show at WABC...

1964] The Rolling Stones make their U.S. debut at the Manning Bowl in Lynn, MA...

1966] Surveyor I, a U.S. space probe, lands on the moon and sends photos back to earth. It's the 1st soft landing on the moon (all in preparation for the moon landing in 1969)...

1972] Dion & the Belmonts reunite for their 1st performance together in 13 years, at Madison Square Garden...

1974] Chris Evert wins her 1st major international tennis tournament by defeating Martina Navratilova in the Italian Open (Chrissie will capture at least one Grand Slam singles title in each of the next 13 years)...

1975] John Denver is #1 with "Thank God I'm a Country Boy"...

1985] Tears For Fears are #1 with "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"...

1987] President Ronald Reagan nominates economist Alan Greenspan to succeed Paul Volcker as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board...

1989] "Dead Poets Society" starring Robin Williams premieres...

1997] Timothy McVeigh is convicted of murder and conspiracy in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that took 168 lives...

2003] Federal regulators vote to allow companies to buy more television stations and newspaper-broadcasting combinations in the same city...

[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...

Commentary...

There are only 2 active players of the 6 who've hit 4 consecutive home runs in one game. Those players names will be listed in italics: Bobby Lowe, Lou Gehrig, Rocky Colavito, Mike Schmidt, Mike Cameron and Carlos Delgado...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday"...

1936] Sally Kellerman...

1941] Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones)...

1941] Stacy Keach (Warden Pope on "Prison Break")...

1943] Charles Haid (Andy Renko on "Hill Street Blues")...

1944] Marvin Hamlisch...

1948] Jerry ("The Beave") Mathers...

1955] Dennis Haysbert ("24", "The Unit")...

1955] Dana Carvey...

[Today is the 153rd day of 2006 with 212 days remaining in the year and 32 days until July 4)

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Saturday, June 3, 2006...

June 3 Memories...

1621] The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherlands, which is now, New York City...

1800] John Adams becomes the 1st President to live in what would later become the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C. (the 1st capital was New York City)...

1851] The New York Knickerbockers (a baseball team back then) become the 1st baseball team to wear uniforms (they previously played in their bvd's ?)...

1932] Lou Gehrig hits 4 consecutive home runs in one game (feature story)...

1937] The Duke of Windsor marries American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson (no relation to Homer) in Monts, France (interesting to note that the Duke who abdicated the British throne, got married in France !)...

1964] "The Hollywood Palace" hosts the 1st TV appearance of the Rolling Stones...

1965] Astronaut Edward White becomes the 1st American to walk in space during the flight of Gemini 4...

1967] The Doors release "Light My Fire"...

1968] Aretha Franklin has her 1st #1 hit, "Respect"...

1968] Andy Warhol is shot and critically wounded in his New York City film studio by actress Valerie Solanas (Warhol recovers)...

1972] The Eagles release "Take It Easy"...

1972] The Rolling Stones begin their "Exile on Main Street" tour...

1975] Ozzie Nelson dies of cancer at 68...

1981] Pope John Paul II leaves a Rome hospital 3 weeks after an attempt on his life...

1988] Margo Adams files a palimony suit against Wade Boggs after their 4-year relationship breaks up. The married Boggs and Adams will eventually settle out of court (Boggs, then with the Red Sox was hitting .310 when the incident was made public but the affair obviously didn't affect him as he would finish the season at .380 and he would win his 5th batting championship)...

1989] Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini dies...

2001] Mel Brooks' musical comedy "The Producers" wins a record 12 Tony Awards...

2003] The Cubs' Sammy Sosa breaks a bat filled with cork and suddently forgets how to speak English...

2004] The Braves' Julio Franco (now with the Mets) at 45 becomes the oldest player to hit a grand slam...

[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday"...

1925] Tony Curtis...

1926] "Yakety Sax" player Boots Randolph...

1929] Chuck Barris ("The Gong Show")...

1939] Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople)...

1950] Suzi Quatro...

1951] Deniece Williams...

1954] Dan Hill...

[Today is the 154th day of 2006 with 211 days remaining in the year and 31 days until July 4th)

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Sunday, June 4, 2006...

June 4 Memories...

1674] Horse racing is prohibited in Massachusetts (I guess they had to figure out how to tax it first)...

1896] Henry Ford makes a successful pre-dawn test run of his horseless carriage through the streets of Detroit...

1935] "Invisible" glass is patented by Gerald Brown and Edward Pollard (both inventors suffer severe cuts while testing the glass as they both accidently try to walk through it. Both receive multiple invisible gashes and stitches as they bleed invisible blood profusely until rushed to the invisible hospital where they are treated by an invisible Doctor who will send them a real bill)...

1939] The 1st shopping cart introduced by Sylvan Goldman of Oklahoma City rolls out (it's a folding chair with wheels)...

1942] Glenn Wallichs of Capitol Records comes up with the idea of sending out "promo" copies of records to radio stations (he also spends countless hours drilling tiny holes in each record in his basement)...

1947] The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approves the Taft-Hartley Act which allows the president to intervene in labor disputes (YESSSSSS !)...

1974] The Cleveland Indians hold "Ten Cent Beer Night" but wind up forfeiting the game to Texas because of drunk and unruly fans carrying on (now how could you expect that to happen ?)...

1984] Bruce Springsteen releases his "Born in the U.S.A." LP...

1989] Chinese Army Troops storm Tiananmen Square in Beijing to crush the pro-democracy movement (hundreds, possibly thousands die)...

1992] The U.S. Postal Service announces that the "younger Elvis" was chosen by a nationwide vote to be used on a commemorative Elvis stamp...

1998] Terry Nicholas is sentenced by a federal judge to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing...

2000] Julius "Dr. J" Erving reports that his 19-year old son Cory is missing (his body will be found on July 6, 2000)...

2003] Martha Stewart steps down as head of her media empire, hours after federal prosecutors charge her with obstruction of justice, conspiracy, securities fraud and lying to investigators (but they did enjoy the cheesecake she baked for them)...

[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday"...

1919] Gene Barry...

1928] Dr. Ruth Westheimer...

1936] Bruce Dern...

1938] Freddy Fender...

1945] Gordon Waller (Peter and Gordon)...

1971] Noah Wyle...

1974] SNL's Horatio Saenz...

1975] Angelina Jolie (Shiloh's Mommy)...

[Today is the 155th day of 2006 with 210 days remaining in the year and 30 days until July 4th]

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