Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

Thanks, Val. Great stuff!

Bill Terry grounded out to start the second (inning) and would leave the game in the sixth inning. By then, the Senators had a 1-0 lead thanks to their peerless leader, Harris, who hit a home run off screwballer Virgil Barnes for the Nats first hit, in the fourth inning. This was Bucky's second homer of the Series; it doubled his total for the season. In a 12-year career, Bucky would hit just nine regular-season home dingers. Hack Wilson, who had fallen clumsily into the temporary bleachers in left in an attempt at snaring Harris's homer, made a sensational belly slide moments later as he grabbed a sinking liner off the bat of Sam Rice.

Mogridge had been sailing along, with Lindstrom's double over Tommy Taylor's head in the fifth the only serious blow, until he got into big trouble in the sixth. Youngs walked to open the inning, and Kelly singled him to third. It was at this point that Tery was taken out of the game in favor of the righthander, Irish Meusel. Harris countered with the big, scowling righty, Fred Marberry.

Called" Firpo" (a nickname he hated) because of his resemblance to Luis Firpo, a boxer who had once knocked Jack Dempsey out of the ring, Marberry was himself knocked back by the Giants. President Coolidge had led a standing ovation as Marberry made the trek from the bullpen to the mound. Seconds later, there were more cheers for a player who was smiling and waving back at the crowd -- it was Walter Johnson, and he had left the dugout and was making his way to the bullpen.

Marberry gave up a long fly to pinch hitter Meusel to bring in the tying run. Hack Wilson then singled to send Kelly all the way to third. Then, two straight muffs in the field -- one by the excellent fielder Judge at first, and the other by the displaced Bluege at short -- brought in a second run. Judge bobbled Travis Jackson's hard grounder as he tried to hurry a throw home in a hopeless attempt to get Kelly. He couldn't decide what to do with the ball, and Wison and Jackson were both safe. Then Bluege let Hank Gowdy's roller right through the wickets, an error he would later refer to as the worst of his entire life. This scored Wilson, and pitcher Barnes then lofted a long fly to score a third run.

After Barnes retired the Nats again in the bottom of the sixth, Bucky Harris had been the only one of 19 batters to face him to even reach base. Could it be that Harris's carefully conceived plan had somehow backfired? In the seventh, the Nats' fielding showed a resurgence. Catcher Ruel reached far into the crowd to pluck out a Frankie Frisch foul. Tommy Taylor then made a great play, cutting in front of Bluege on a slow bouncer to just edge George Kelly at first. Marberry fielded a roller by Irish Meusel and applied the tag himself. The crowd was coming back to life.

Harris scores crucial run in Game 7:

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1681722545