While it doesn’t rank near the game’s well-known achievements, being the last player to wear the uniform of a relocated (and sometimes renamed) team has given 11 men since 1953 a certain claim to fame. A single at-bat at the end of the1956 season, for example, made Bob Aspromonte the last man to have played … Continue reading A near claim to fame for Sievers and Roseboro
Author: Andrew C. Sharp
I'm a retired daily newspaper journalist and life-long baseball fan. I blog about D.C. baseball at washingtonbaseballhistory.com
Why doesn’t Tom Cheney have a ’63 Topps card?
The 1963 Topps baseball card set has 576 cards, but famously not one is of the reigning National League MVP, Maury Wills. The story is that in the spring of 1959, Wills wasn’t offered $5 to sign the standard Topps contract to put his image on a card because he wasn’t a good enough prospect. … Continue reading Why doesn’t Tom Cheney have a ’63 Topps card?
Griffith Stadium in 1956 became the last A.L. ball park to sell beer
Beer sales weren’t allowed in Washington’s Griffith Stadium until August 10, 1956. That left only Forbes Field in Pittsburgh and Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia as the only major league ball parks where, thanks to Pennsylvania law, fans couldn’t buy beer.* Washington’s longtime owner Clark Griffith had died in October 1955. A teetotaler, he favored … Continue reading Griffith Stadium in 1956 became the last A.L. ball park to sell beer
August 29, 1963: Twins hit record 8 homers against Senators in D.C.
updated August 2025 At D.C. Stadium on August 29, 1963, the Minnesota Twins tied the then-major-league record for home runs in a game by one team with eight. Harmon Killebrew had two round-trippers. Bob Allison had one. Both had been sluggers with the old Senators. A future expansion Nat, Bernie Allen, hit one. The eight … Continue reading August 29, 1963: Twins hit record 8 homers against Senators in D.C.
2023 Nats snap a record streak of not sweeping a series
On July 23, 2023, the Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-1, in Washington. Led by a young core of Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, Lane Thomas, CJ Abrams, Keibert Ruiz, and Luis Garcia, with veteran contributions from Jeimer Candelario and Dom Smith, the Nationals took all three games in the series from the contending … Continue reading 2023 Nats snap a record streak of not sweeping a series
A pitcher wearing number 1? It’s happened before
It's rare but not unique. Five pitchers in MLB history had worn uniform number 1 before MacKenzie Gore of the Nationals began wearing it in 2023. Gore became the first Nationals’ pitcher to wear a single-digit number, let alone number 1. He also became the first MLB pitcher to wear it for more than one … Continue reading A pitcher wearing number 1? It’s happened before
One-year (D.C.) wonder: Soriano’s 2006 season
The initial excitement over baseball's return to D.C. in 2005 and the unexpected thrill of a team in first place in July had faded a bit by that December. The Nationals second-half collapse had focused attention on the transplanted team’s lack of ownership. On December 8, however, hopes for the 2006 season were instantly raised … Continue reading One-year (D.C.) wonder: Soriano’s 2006 season
Four pitchers in Nats’ games got a triple play from the first batter they faced
Lefty Sammy Solis faced a daunting task when he came in the eighth inning on July 29, 2016, in San Francisco against the Giants. Two other Nats relievers had loaded the bases without retiring a batter. Max Scherzer had left after seven solid innings with a 4-1 lead. Oliver Perez started the inning by giving … Continue reading Four pitchers in Nats’ games got a triple play from the first batter they faced
June 18, 1961: Devastating loss sends expansion Nats into downward spiral
The expansion Senators, surprisingly, split their inaugural season’s first 60 games. After beating the Orioles on June 15, the Nats stood 30-30 in fifth place in the 10-team league when they arrived in Boston to begin a four-game series. The Red Sox were two games under .500 in sixth place. After blowing a 6-0 lead Friday … Continue reading June 18, 1961: Devastating loss sends expansion Nats into downward spiral
Senators’ Alyea, Nationals’ Milone homer on first pitch they see
Outfielder Brant Alyea was a September call-up for the expansion Senators in 1965. Manager Gil Hodges sent him up as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning against the Angels in D.C. on September 12. He hit lefty Rudy May’s first pitch over the left-field fence. The three-run homer put the Nats up 6-0 on the … Continue reading Senators’ Alyea, Nationals’ Milone homer on first pitch they see
1949 Nats set record, winning nine in a row but finishing last
Until 1949, no Washington team since Clark Griffith’s arrival in 1912 had ever lost 100 games. Managed by Joe Kuhel, the '49 Senators[1] finished at 50-104, despite being in fourth place, a game over .500 on June 12. A May 1949 winning streak also would become, at season's end, the record for consecutive wins by … Continue reading 1949 Nats set record, winning nine in a row but finishing last
‘Baseball Bill’ helped stop Bob Short from coming back to D.C.
“Baseball Bill” Holdforth was a longtime bartender and voracious beer drinker who also was a rabid Washington Senators’ fan. He was an usher at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium before the team moved to Texas. In 1978, Holdforth earned himself a place in Washington baseball history through his determination to ensure that Robert Short paid a … Continue reading ‘Baseball Bill’ helped stop Bob Short from coming back to D.C.
April 18, 1960: Pascual strikes out 15, an opening-day record that still stands
Even as work was about to begin on a new stadium, the fate of the Washington Senators in D.C. remained uncertain as the 1960 season began. Owner Calvin Griffith had tried and then abandoned an earlier effort to move the team, yet he had just made a major trade with the White Sox that would … Continue reading April 18, 1960: Pascual strikes out 15, an opening-day record that still stands
Is Walter Johnson the all-time greatest pitcher?
April 14 is the anniversary of two of the best games Washington’s Walter Johnson pitched in his magnificent career. On that date in 1926, at age 39, he went 15 innings to beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 1-0. He allowed six hits and let no runner advance beyond first base. Johnson himself considered this his masterpiece, … Continue reading Is Walter Johnson the all-time greatest pitcher?
Presidential openers and D.C.
During his long tenure in Washington, Clark Griffith cultivated relationships with every U.S. President from William Howard Taft to Dwight Eisenhower. The Nats’ owner helped keep baseball going during World War I and again in World War II. See my SABR team ownership history (or on this site) of the original Senators for more about … Continue reading Presidential openers and D.C.
Aug. 7, 1915: Sam Rice debuts on the mound as the Big Train starts in right
Washington Manager Clark Griffith acquired Edger Rice, known as “Sam,” as payment for a $300 debt owed by the owner of Rice’s Virginia State League team. It’s hard to imagine a better bargain for a future Hall of Famer. Rice joined Griffith’s squad in Washington on July 30, 1915, in the midst of a long … Continue reading Aug. 7, 1915: Sam Rice debuts on the mound as the Big Train starts in right
July 19, 1915: Nats credited with a record 8 steals in an inning
(updated April 20, 2025) The record for the most stolen bases in an inning was set by the Senators against Cleveland on July 19, 1915, but the total hardly stands up to scrutiny. In the top of the first inning of the game at League Park, the official scorer credited the Nats with eight steals, … Continue reading July 19, 1915: Nats credited with a record 8 steals in an inning
The University of Maryland, the Nats and MLB
College Park, home of the University of Maryland’s main campus, is just eight miles by car outside of Washington, D.C. The proximity came into play during World War II when travel restrictions forced major league teams to find spring training sites nearer their home cities. In 1943, ’44 and ’45, the Senators arranged to train … Continue reading The University of Maryland, the Nats and MLB
Lefler’s key pinch hits in September 1924
In the heat of the 1924 pennant race, the Senators acquired veteran minor leaguer Wade Lefler to provide what the team hoped would be a potent bat off the bench. The left-hand hitter did not disappoint. In four pinch-hit at-bats, Lefler drove in six runs with two doubles and a single. His first hit drove … Continue reading Lefler’s key pinch hits in September 1924
Minnie Minoso, the only expansion Senator in the Hall of Fame
Orestes “Minnie” Minoso, inducted in 2022, is the only member of the Hall of Fame to have played for the expansion Washington Senators. He did so during that franchise’s worst season, 1963, when he was 39 years old. It was the last time he played on semi-regular basis, appearing 109 games and getting up 363 … Continue reading Minnie Minoso, the only expansion Senator in the Hall of Fame
Washington baseball history 