He Threw a Curve Into Yankees’ Plans

For dramatics, few moments in 20th century major league baseball have approached it.

Game 7, Yankee Stadium, 1926 World Series. St. Louis Cardinals vs. the New York Yankees. Bases loaded for the Yankees with two out in the seventh inning and St. Louis leading, 3-2.

The Cardinal manager, Rogers Hornsby, heads for the pitcher’s mound. His starter, Jesse Haines, was struggling. He had just walked Lou Gehrig to load the bases.

Whom to bring in to face Tony Lazzeri?

Surely not 39-year-old Grover Cleveland Alexander, who had gone the distance the previous day and beaten the Yankees, 10-2.

But there he was, throwing in the bullpen.

It was an overcast day--it had rained hard that morning and only 38,093 had shown up. Yet all looked toward the bullpen.

And there, out of the shadows, came Alexander, weary from his battles with alcoholism and the strain of 16 big league seasons. Those who were there that day spoke often of how slowly Alexander walked in from the bullpen, wearing his baggy Cardinal sweater.

It was a magical moment--an old pitcher on his way to the Hall of Fame and a 22-year-old rookie who had driven in 118 runs. Two future Hall of Famers, squaring off with a World Series hanging in the balance.

His first pitch was a curve outside. Then Lazzeri took a similar pitch on the corner for a strike. Lazzeri fouled off another outside pitch.

Alexander, noting Lazzeri was biting on the outside curves, showed him one that came in very low, and Lazzeri swung and missed.

The Yankees went down in order in the eighth, and Alexander retired the first two in the ninth. Then he was looking at Babe Ruth, who had hit four home runs in the series. He walked.

As Alexander prepared to pitch to Bob Meusel, Ruth shocked everyone by trying to steal second. He was thrown out, and Alexander was mobbed by teammates.

Footnote: Alexander, who retired in 1930 with 373 wins, was enshrined at Cooperstown in 1938. Lazzeri was inducted posthumously in 1991. Alexander was 63 when he died in 1950. Lazzeri, who played 12 seasons with the Yankee before playing two limited seasons with the Cubs, Dodgers and Giants, died in 1946 at 42.

Also on this date: In 1920, in Game 5 of the Brooklyn-Cleveland World Series, Indian second baseman Bill Wambsganss executed the only unassisted triple play in Series history. In the same game, the Indians’ Elmer Smith hit the first grand slam in a World Series, and Jim Bagby became the first pitcher to hit a World Series home run.