The Daily Dose/July 1, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
PLAY BALL: Recall last week we noted in an On This Date item that Wiley Piatt, in 1903, became the only 20th-century pitcher to pitch to lose two complete games in a doubleheader.
Here We Go: Every item we read about this specified it was a record for the 20th century, and regular readers of this crap will not be surprised to find out we got curious about how many times it happened in the 19th century. So we looked into it and, in what must be considered a mild upset, we were unable to find out, and we noted in the item that research into this matter had been inconclusive.
Dry, Technical Matter: We would’ve sworn one of our two major league record books would have listed this, but no. Both our Elias Book of Baseball Records and our Sporting News Complete Baseball Record Book had listings for pitchers who had two complete game victories in a doubleheader from 1876 – the National League’s first year – on, but neither had a listing for those who lost two complete games at any time, including Piatt’s accomplishment.
Onward!: This wasn’t the end of the road, though. We have access to a site that has 19th-century box scores; however, they do not have them going back to 1876. Some cursory searching was done (no examples were found) before we determined that searching an incomplete site for inconclusive results would not be productive.
The Bottom Line: Look, we’re not any happier about this than you are. Now, if we had unlimited time, we could’ve cross-referenced scores with newspaper accounts, but we don’t have unlimited time. And this isn’t the first time a big league record book hasn’t had a record we were looking for…(Most runs, season, pinch-runner, comes to mind.)…But it’s not all glamor in the History racket; sometimes, you have to take the good with the bad. Know, though, that we gave finding out a good go for you.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow declines to argue about the thermostat. Today’s Diary.
She put it back to 68°, and we chose not to fight it; we know when a broad’s mind is made up, and further resistance is futile…
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1770 – Lexell’s Comet makes the closest approach to Earth by a comet in recorded history, coming within 1.4 million miles. The comet was discovered a couple of weeks earlier by French astronomer Charles Messier and was named after the man who first computed its orbit, Anders Lexell, a Finnish-Swedish astronomer. The comet would last be observed in October and has not been seen since, with scientists concluding a close encounter with Jupiter in 1779 knocked it off its orbit.
In 1904 – The St Louis Summer Olympics open, with a gymnastics competition at the Olympic Stadium, now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University. The Games were part of an event celebrating the centennial of the Lewis & Clark Expedition and didn’t end until the final soccer competition on November 23. It was the first of nine Olympics either held in or scheduled for the US and the first one where gold, silver, and bronze medals were issued.
In 1967 – Jack Greene is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot Country Singles chart – for the third of five consecutive weeks with All The Time. It was the second of nine Top 10 country hits for Greene and his second of five #1s. The song also peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under The Hot 100 chart and in 1959 a version by Kitty Wells went #18 country. Mel Tillis and Wayne P Walker wrote the song.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
That’s easy to say for people that are sitting on their sofas and riding in their carriages… – George
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Harriet Beacher Stowe
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Forbes Field in Pittsburgh yielded an average of 1.13 triples per game, the major league record. The current stadium yielding the most is Coors Field in Denver, with .68 triples per game. So far in 2024, major league games are producing an average of .15 triples a game.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was Jack Greene’s nickname in country music? – Answer next time!
