Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

It was indeed, as Cronin had expected, the Yankees, and not the A's, who represented the Senators' main adversary in 1933, and the rivalry was exacerbated by the unforgotten incident involving the departed Carl Reynolds and Bill Dickey the previous year. The Yankees leapt out of the starting gate and won their first seven in a row before coming to Washington. Things got hot when Joe Cronin challenged Babe Ruth to a fight after Ruth came into him hard while Cronin was covering third. But all hell broke loose at Griffith Stadium a few days later, on April 25, when outfielder Ben Chapman of the Yankees, who ran the bases like a wild goose, came in with spikes high on Buddy Myer at second in order to break up a double play. Myer, who the Yankees were accusing of having spiked Lou Gehrig on a play at the first base bag, bounced right back to his feet and began kicking Chapman -- some onlookers estimated Chapman might have absorbed as many as a dozen kicks. The benches emptied and some fans came out of the stands to attack the Yankees as well.

Yankees ace Lefty Gomez brandished a bat and waved it around, reportedly striking a policeman. Dixie Walker, a rookie outfielder with New York who would later star in the National League, as would his younger brother Harry, managed to reach Myer, jumped him, and began punching him repeatedly as Myer lay on the ground. Someone decked Yankees manager Joe McCarthy. Police had to be called in to bring some order to the proceedings, and arrested five fans who had gotten involved.

Myer, Walker, and Chapman were thrown out of the game, but Chapman's woes weren't over. On the way to the dressing room, he had to pass by the Senators' dugout, where the belligerent Earl Whitehill began berating him. Chapman, who would in the future, on two occasions, join the Senators, took a swing that connected with Whitehill's left eye, knocking Washington's ace pitcher back. More Senators players and the police stepped in. Perhaps what infuriated the Nats most in this game was the final score: 16-0 Yankees.

Lost in the shuffle was the performance of New York's Russ Van Atta, who gave up just five hits in posting a shutout in his big-league debut. A few days later, Clark Griffith was angered again when suspensions were announced by league president Will Harridge. Both Myer and Whitehill drew five-day suspensions and $100 fines, while only Chapman of the Yankees incurred the same fate. Dixie Walker got nothing.

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