DiMaggio: 56 Other DiMaggio: 34 Landreaux: 31 Wait… what? From 1941 through 1980, the three longest hitting streaks in the American League belonged to Joe DiMaggio (56 in 1941) , Don DiMaggio (34 in 1949) and Ken Landreaux. The two DiMaggio brothers are household names, but Landreaux, not so much. Ken Landreaux was selected by …
“Green’s Phillies Win Brawl Game” read one headline. “Phillies Wrestle First Place Away From Bucs” read another. On May 26th, 1980, the Pittsburgh Pirates came to Veterans Stadium for an NL East showdown. Philadelphia had won four straight to cut Pittsburgh’s lead in the division to just a half game and the four-game series was …
Quick: Name the American League Pitcher of the Month in May 1980. Steve Stone won the Cy Young award, though a legit argument could be made for Oakland’s Mike Norris. But neither of them were pitcher of the month in May. Stone won in June and Norris never won the honor, despite finishing the season with …
Before there was Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd there was Ozzie Smith. While there may be no truth to the rumor that the hit TV show was based on the exploits of the future Hall-of-Fame shortstop, it is indeed a fact that in the summer of 1980, Ozzie Smith was looking for a second gig. …
Reggie Jackson may have been the straw that stirred the drink, but it took a few years after his arrival in New York for the drink to be served. By 1980, Billy Martin was gone, as was Chris Chambliss, Mickey Rivers and, tragically, Thurman Munson. The Yankees were finally Reggie’s team and Jerry Koosman may …
Sometimes you witness history and don’t even know it. That was the case for the 18,622 people in attendance for the Giants/Expos game in Montreal on May 3rd, 1980. At the time, Willie McCovey was in the twilight of what would become a Hall of Fame career. McCovey was born on January 10th, 1938 in Mobile …
