S&H Farm Supply brings you "On this Day in History" July 24, presented by Hiland Dairy, Great Southern Bank and Chevy Dealers of the Ozarks

In 1941, Joe DiMaggio is at Yankee Stadium vs Cleveland and he goes 1-3 with a walk, and has now hit safely in 63 of 64 games and is hitting .375.  Meanwhile at Fenway, Ted Williams is 2 for 5 in an 11-1 victory over the White Sox, he's now at .397.

At Sportsman Park in St. Louis, the Cardinals, who have yet to call up Musial, win 3-2 over the New York Giants behind 2 hits from Creepy Crespi

Frank Angelo Joseph "Creepy" Crespi (February 16, 1918 – March 1, 1990) was a Major League Baseball player who played infielder from 1938-1942 for the St. Louis Cardinals. He made his major league debut on 14 September 1938 playing second base for the Cardinals.

In 1951, longtime Cardinals star shortstop Marty Marion praised Crespi as the best defensive second baseman he'd ever played with. "For one year—1941—Crespi was the best second baseman I ever saw. He did everything, and sensationally." ^[1]

Frank Crespi's nickname, 'Creepy', is widely considered one of the more colorful and unusual names in baseball history. In a 1977 radio interview with future hall-of-fame broadcaster Jack Buck, Creepy was asked if people still called him by his nickname (answer was yes). Jack followed up with, "Why do they call you that?" Crespi replied, "Well, it's an involved thing...I used to hear a lot of different stories. But I think the best one is (from) some sportswriter. He said the way I creep up on a ball, because I run low to the ground after a ground ball." ^[2]

Although Crespi lost the starting second base job for the Cardinals in 1942 to Jimmy Brown, he still appeared in 93 games that season. The Cardinals won the National League pennant and played the New York Yankees in the 1942 World Series. Crespi played in one game in the World Series, serving as a pinch runner in game 1, and scoring a run. The Cardinals won the series, four games to one.

Crespi was drafted into the army in early 1943. Though he qualified for a deferment as the sole supporter of his elderly mother, he refused, claiming, "I don't think I'm too good to fight for the things I've always enjoyed." ^[4]

During an Army baseball game in Kansas, he suffered a compound fracture of his left leg while turning a double play.^[4] Soon afterwards, he broke the same leg during a training accident, and later he broke it a third time during an impromptu wheelchair race while in the hospital.^[5]

While he was recuperating at the hospital, a nurse accidentally applied 100 times the appropriate quantity of boric acid to his bandages, causing severe burns on Crespi's leg and leaving him with a permanent limp.^[4][6]

According to Marty Marion, a total of 23 operations were performed on Crespi's leg.^[1]

After the war[edit]

In an attempt to qualify for the major league pension plan, Crespi applied various times as coach. Unable to obtain the position, he became a budget analyst for McDonnell Douglas, where he worked for 20 years.^[4]

After his retirement from McDonnell Douglas, Crespi discovered that he had not been retired from baseball, but rather had been on the disabled list, when the major league had first implemented its pension plan during the 1940s. This discovery entitled Crespi to his major league pension.^[4]

Crespi died of a heart attack on 1 March 1990 in Florissant, Missouri.^[4]

The 1st Base umpire in this game was George Magerkuth, interesting story here:

• 1908 John Hayes wins 4th olympics marathon (2:55:18.4 world record)
• 1909 Bkln Dodger Nap Rucker strikes out 16 Pittsburgh Pirates
• 1921 15th Tour de France won by Leon Scieur of Belgium
• 1941 Red Sox Lefty Grove, 41, wins his 300th game
• 1946 9 Spokane baseball players (Western League) die in a bus crash
• 1949 Inidian pitcher Bob Lemon hits 2 HRs to beat Senators, 7-5
• 1949 Stan Musial hits for the cycle in Brooklyn 
• 1952 Emile Zatopek runs Olympic record 5K (14:06.6)
• 1955 Betty Jameson/Mary Faulk wins Virg Hot Springs 4-Ball Golf Tournament
• 1956 Dodgers lose to the Reds, 2-1, playing in Jersey City
• 1958: Ted Williams is fined $250 for spitting at Boston Fans again
• 1961: Roger Maris hits 4 homeruns in a doubleheader giving him 40 on the season, pushing him past Mickey Mantle at 38
• 1965 Casey Stengel resigns as manager of NY Mets
• 1966 48th PGA Championship: Al Geiberger shoots a 280 at Firestone CC Akron
• 1966 Gloria Ehret/Judy Kimball wins LPGA Yankee Women's Golf Open
• 1967 49th PGA Championship: Don January shoots a 281 at Columbine CC Colo
• 1967 Race riots in Detroit force postponement of Tigers-Orioles game
• 1969 Hoyt Wilhelm pitches in a record 907th major league game
• 1970 International Law Tennis Association institutes 9 point tie break rule
• 1973 44th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 7-1 at Royals Stadium, KC
• 1973 All star MVP: Bobby Bonds (SF Giants)
• 1977 32nd US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Hollis Stacy

1977: Pete Rose passes Frankie Frisch as switch-hit leader with 3881

1979: Carl Yastrzemski hits 400th homerun

S&H Farm Supply presents "On this Day in History" July 20th sponsored by Hiland Dairy, Rib Crib and Chevy Dealers of the Ozarks

• 1859 - At a racetrack on Long Island, about 1,500 fans become the first ever to pay to see a baseball game. The spectators spend fifty cents to watch New York defeat Brooklyn, 22-18.
• 1876 - First US intercollegiate track meet is held, in Saratoga, New York; Princeton wins.
• 1906 - Brooklyn Dodgers' Mal Eason no-hits Saint Louis Cardinals, 2-0.
• 1912 - Philadelphia Phillies' Sherry Magee steals home twice in one game.
• 1923 - New York Yankees hit into a triple-play but beat Philadelphia Athletics 9-2.
• 1938 - Finland is awarded 1940 Olympic games after Japan withdraws.
• 1941 - New York Yankees beat Detroit Tigers 12-6 in 17 innings.
• 1954 - Tennis champ Maureen Connolly's right leg is crushed in an accident.
• 1956 - New York Yankees' pitcher Whitey Ford ties American League record of six straight strike-outs.
• 1970 - Los Angeles Angels' Bill Singer no-hits Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0.
• 1976 - Hank Aaron hits his last big league homer, his 755th and establishes the all-time major league record for career home runs.
• 1984 - Uwe Hohn of German Democratic Republic throws javelin a record 104.8 metres.
• 1987 - New York Yankees' Don Mattingly ties first base majors fielding record (Hal Chase, 1906) with 22 put-outs.
• 2006 - At Coney Island, New York, a New York-Penn League game between the Oneonta Tigers and the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Tigers win by 6-1 after 26 innings, lasting 6 hours 40 minutes. This is the third longest game by innings in professional baseball history.
• 2010 - The New Jersey Devils and Russian left-winger Ilya Kovalchuk officially agree to a landmark 17-year, US$102-million contract, but the NHL rejects the deal a few hours later, saying it circumvents the $6 million per year salary cap by paying more in early years and less in later years.
• 1969 At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at home: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.
• On this day in 1944, Hitler cheats death as a bomb planted in a briefcase goes off, but fails to kill him.
• 1941 Ted Williams pinch hits in the top of the 9th in St. Louis and hits a 3 run home run.  He is now batting .396
• 1941 Joe DiMaggio gets 4 hits and 3 rbi's in 9 plate appearences in a 17 inning game in Detroit, Yankees win 12-6.  DiMaggio is batting .375

S&H Farm Supply, "On this Date in History" presented by Legends of Golf, HIland Dairy, Rib Crib and Great Southern Bank

On July 19 in ...

1877 - The final match of the first tennis tournament at Wimbledon is held. W. Spencer Gore defeats William Marshall 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in 48 minutes. 1909 - First baseman Neil Ball turns unassisted triple-play. 1927 - Ty Cobb gets his 4,000th Major League Baseball hit. 1952 - (to August 3) The Games of the XV Olympiad are held in Helsinki, Finland. 1957 - Don Bowden becomes first American to break 4 minute mile (3:58.7). 1960 - San Francisco Giants' Juan Marichal debuts, with a one hitter against Philadelphia Phillies. 1963 - Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Siever hits home run number 300. 1973 - Willie Mays named to National League all star team for 24th time (ties Stan Musial). 1974 - Cleveland Indians' Dick Bosman no-hits Oakland Athletics, 4-0. 1977 - National League beats American League 7-5 in 48th All Star Game (Yankee Stadium, New York). 1980 - (to August 3) The Games of the XXII Olympiad are held in Moscow, USSR. USA and other countries boycott the games due to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. 1986 - Cleveland Indians' pitcher Phil Niekro wins his 307th game. 1990 - Cincinnati Reds' player Pete Rose is sentence to five months for tax evasion. 1991 - With New York Yankees victory, 10 of 14 American League teams are at .500 or better. 1994 - Four 26-pound ceiling tiles fall from the roof of the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington, just hours before a scheduled Seattle Mariners game. 1996 - (to August 4) Games of the XXVI Olympiad are held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. 1799 - Rosetta Stone Found 1941- Joe DiMaggio goes 3 for 9 in a double header at Briggs Stadium, Detroit. He has hit Safely in 76 of 88 games this season and is batting .372. Remarkably between May 15 and August 4 DiMaggio will hit safely in 72 of 73 games.  Ted Williams will pinch hit in the first game of a double header at Sportsmans Park III in St. Louis, he is 0 for 1 off of starter Johnny Allen, Red Sox lose 9-3, He pinch Hits in the second game and walks Red Sox lose 4-3. Williams now hitting a season low .393 Johnny Allen Born in Lenoir, North Carolina, Allen spent part of his youth in the Baptist orphanage in Thomasville, North Carolina, and he attended Thomasville High School. Allen reached the Yankees in an unusual way. While working as a bellhop in a hotel, he was told to take some fans to the room of Yankee scout Paul Krichell. Allen told Krichell that he was a pitcher, and the scout arranged a tryout. Allen was an immediate success for the Yankees, debuting in 1932 with a 17–4 record and a 3.70 ERA for the world champions. He was less stellar in that year's World Series, starting Game 4 and leaving after giving up three runs off five hits in just two-thirds of an inning. He continued to post decent records for the Yankees, but a sore arm and his constant demands for more money threatened his career. For these reasons, he was dealt to the Indians before the 1936 season.[1] Allen turned things around in Cleveland, going 20–10 with a 3.44 ERA in 1936 and following that up by winning his first fifteen decisions of 1937, one short of the record held by Walter Johnson. He lost his next start 1–0 on an unearned run, but his 15–1 mark that year set a winning percentage record that lasted until Roy Face bettered it with an 18–1 record in 1959. In 1938, he won his first twelve decisions and made his only All-Star team. During the All-Star break, he suffered an unknown injury, some claim he slipped on a bar of soap in the shower, and never did approach his earlier success again, finally retiring in 1944 after six mediocre campaigns. He became a minor league umpire after retiring, eventually becoming the umpire-in-chief of the Carolina League. He died at age 54 in St. Petersburg, Florida.[1] Baseball Hall of Fame member Al Simmons named Allen the toughest pitcher for him to hit[2] and Hall of Fame slugger Hank Greenberg named him among the five toughest pitchers he faced in his career.[3]

On this Day in Sports History, presented by S&H Farm Supply, Chevy Dealers of the Ozarks and Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge

• 1916 - Saint Louis Browns' Ernie Koob pitches all 17 innings in a 0-0 tie versus Boston Red Sox.
• 1934 - New York Times (erronously) declares Babe Ruth 700 home run record to stand for all time.
• 1934 - Philadelphia Phillies score 11 runs in an inning, beat Cincinnati Reds 18-0.
• 1946 - Cleveland Indians' Lou Boudreau hits four doubles and home run but Boston Red Sox win 11-10 on Ted Williams' 3 homeruns with 8 RBIs.
• 1951 - First color telecast of a sporting event (CBS, horse race).
• 1951 - Citation becomes first horse to win $1,000,000 in races.
• 1953 - National League beats American League 5-1 in 20th All Star Game (Crosley Field, Cincinnati, Ohio).
• 1955 - Two killed, many dazed when lightning strikes Ascott racetrack, England.
• 1956 - Boston Red Sox' pitcher Mel Parnell no-hits Chicago White Sox, 4-0.
• 1967 - Houston Astros' Eddie Matthews hits his 500th home run off San Francisco Giants' Juan Marichal.
• 1968 - Atlanta Braves' Hank Aaron hits his 500th home run off San Francisco Giants' Mike McCormick.
• 1968 - Houston Astros' Don Wilson strikes-out 18, beats Cincinnati Reds 6-1.
• 1969 - "Futbol War" between El Salvador and Honduras begins.
• 1970 - National League wins 8th straight All Star Game, 5-4 in 12 innings (Riverfront, Cincinnati).
• 1985 - Kathy Baker beats Judy Clark to win golf's US Women's Open.
• 1985 - Last USFL game-Baltimore Stars defeats Oakland Invaders, 28-24.
• 1986 - Jane Geddes beats Sally Little to win golf's US Women's Open.
• 1987 - National League defeats American League, 2-0 in 13, in 58th All-Star Game in Oakland, California.
• 1988 - Mike Schmidt passes Mickey Mantle with his 537th home run into 7th place.

1941, Ted Williams is forced to sit another game with a swollen ankle as the Red Sox lose to the Indians and Bob Feller 4-1, Feller is now 18-4 on the the Season. 

In Chicago at Comiskey Park, Joe DiMaggio extends his streak to 54 games going 1 for 3 with a walk, but the Yankees lose 7-1 complete game by Johnny Rigney. 

John Dungan Rigney (October 28, 1914 – October 21, 1984) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox (from 1937 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1947). Listed at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 190 pounds (86 kg), Rigney batted and threw right-handed. A native of River Forest, Illinois, he was signed out of the University of St. Thomas.

Rigney was one of the Chicago White Sox top pitchers in the years prior to World War II. His most productive season came in 1939, when he won a career-high 15 games, including the first win for a pitcher during the first night game ever played at Comiskey Park (August 14). In 1940, he recorded 14 wins with a career-high 3.11 ERA, pitching an 11-inning, 1–0 shutoutagainst the visitors New York Yankees (June 20). It was the first time since 1919 that the Yankees had been shut out in extra innings by one pitcher. After that, he won 13 games in 1941 and was 3–3 before joining the United States Navy in May 1942. After being discharged in 1945, he returned to Chicago, but his playing time was limited by arm injuries. He retired after the 1947 season.

In an eight-season career, Rigney posted a 63–64 record with 605 strikeouts and a 3.59 ERA in 197 appearances, including 132 starts, 66 complete games, 10 shutouts, five saves, and 1186 ⅓ innings of work.

Rigney married Dorothy Comiskey, granddaughter of Charles Comiskey, founding owner of the White Sox, and daughter of J. Louis Comiskey, another former club president. Following his playing retirement, Rigney took a position in the White Sox front office. In 1956, he became the club's co-general manager along with Chuck Comiskey in replacement of Frank Lane.

Rigney died in Wheaton, Illinois, seven days shy of his 70th birthday.

 One of the Yankee hurlers that day was a native of Rolla Missouri, Marv Breuer. 

Born April 29, 1914 in Rolla, Missouri

Marvin Howard "Baby Face" Breuer (April 29, 1914 – January 17, 1991) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the New York Yankees from 1939 to 1943.^[1]

In the 1941 World Series, Breuer came on as a reliever in the fifth inning of Game 4 to relieve Atley Donald, with the Yankees losing 4-3. Breuer pitched three scoreless innings, which enabled the Yankees to ultimately win the game on a passed ball by Mickey Owen^[2] Breuer also pitched in the 1942 World Series, which the Yankees lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.

After Breuer's playing career ended, he spent 31 years working for the United States Geological Survey until his retirement in 1976. He was survived by his wife, Dorothy, two children, three grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.^[2]

S&H Farm Supply, "On This Day in History" presented by Legends of Golf and Big Cedar Lodge.

Today In Sports History

• 1896 - Ed Delahanty becomes second major league player to hit four home runs in a game.
• 1900 - Philadelphia Phillies beat Pittsburgh Pirates 23-8.
• 1934 - Babe Ruth hits home run number 700 against Detroit Tigers.
• 1943 - First All Star night game (American League beats National League 5-4 at Shribe Park, Philadelphia).
• 1948 - American League beats National League 5-2 in 15th All Star Game (Sportsman Park, Saint Louis).
• 1954 - Pitcher Dean Stone gets credit for American League win, although he didn't retire a batter; he threw out Shoendienst trying to steal home. American League beats National League 11-9 in 21st All Star Game.
• 1961 - National League beats American League 5-4 (10 innings) in 30th All Star Game (San Francisco, Candlestick Park).
• 1963 - Early Wynn wins his 300th and last game at age 43.
• 1965 - National League beats American League 6-5 in 36th All Star Game (Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis).
• 1971 - American League beats National League 6-4 in 42nd All Star Game (Tiger Stadium, Detroit).
• 1972 - Los Angeles Rams (Irsay) and Baltimore Colts (Rosenbloom) swap owners.
• 1973 - Bobby Murcer's three homers account for all RBIs, beating Kansas City Royals 5-0.
• 1976 - National League beats American League 7-1 in 47th All Star Game (Veteran's Stadium, Philadelphia).
• 1982 - In the first All-Star game played outside the United States, the National League records its 11th straight win beating American League at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, 4-1.
• 1984 - The New York Yankees retires Roger Maris (number 9) and Elston Howard (number 32) uniform numbers. The team also erects plaques in their honor to pay tribute to their achievements.
• 1984 - Sergei Bubka of USSR pole-vaults a record 5.89 metres.
• 2001 - Beijing wins the bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.
• 2007 - The 15th Pan Am Games opens in Rio de Janeiro.
• 2010 - The 81st All Star game of Major League Baseball is played at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, with the National League defeating the American League 3-1 for the first time since 1996.
• 2010 - George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees owner (1973-), dies at age 80 in Tampa, Florida, after a heart attack.

1941, Ted Williams on July 12 in Detroit while scrambling back to the bag at first on a pick off attempt, Williams rolled his ankle on the rain soaked infield at Briggs Stadium. It will be the 22nd before he returns to the line up other than a few PH appearances.  He is batting .397, Red Sox are in Cleveland and fall in the 1st game 9-6, and lose the second game 2-1.  Joe DiMaggio and the Yankees play a double header at Comiskey and Joe goes 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored in 5 plate appearances, Yankees 8, White Sox 1, Spud Chandler with the win. 

Chandler was born in Commerce, Georgia to Leonard Ferdinand Chandler (1871–1942) and Olivia Catherine Hix (1872–1957),^[1] and attended the University of Georgia. He played football as a halfback, throwing a touchdown pass to help defeat Yale in a 1929 game dedicating a new stadium. He also pitched for the baseball team and competed on the trackteam. He was a brother of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and graduated with a degree in agriculture. He spent five seasons in the Yankees organization after signing with the team, his favorite since boyhood. Chandler finally made his major league debut at age 29 on May 6, 1937, and went 7-4 that season with a 2.84 ERA and six complete games (including two shutouts). The following year, he was 14-5, and in 1939 he was 3-0 in 11 relief appearances. Although the Yankees won the World Series in each of those years, Chandler did not appear in the postseason. Bothered by injuries during his early career, after records of 8-7 and 10-4 in 1940 and 1941 he improved further to 16-5 in 1942, finishing third in the AL with a 2.38 ERA and earning his first of four All-Star selections. He was the All-Star Game's winning pitcher in 1942. Chandler had one start in the World Series each year, but lost both times, as the Yankees won in 1941 and lost in 1942.

His greatest year came in 1943. In addition to his outstanding ERA, he led the league with 20 wins in 30 starts, as well as 20 complete games and five shutouts. In 253 innings pitched, he gave up 46 earned runs, allowing only five home runs. Chandler's 134 strikeouts were third in the league, and equalled his combined total of the previous two seasons. He made the AL All-Star team for the second time. Chandler finally had a successful World Series, pitching two complete game victories, including a shutout in the final Game 5, as the Yankees defeated the St. Louis Cardinals. Winning the MVP award, he beat out Luke Appling of the Chicago White Sox. Chandler remains the only Yankee pitcher to win the Most Valuable Player award.

Game 2 in Chicago, DiMaggio goes 1 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to 53 games and Red Ruffing gets the complete game shutout over the White Sox 1-0.   DiMaggio is now hitting .369.

Charles Herbert "Red" Ruffing (May 3, 1905 – February 17, 1986) was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1924 through 1947. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Chicago White Sox. Ruffing is most remembered for his time with the highly successful Yankees teams of the 1930s and 1940s.

Ruffing dropped out of school as a child to work in a coal mine in his native Illinois. He played for the mine's company baseball team as an outfielder and first baseman. After he lost four toes from his left foot in a mining accident, he became unable to run in the field, and switched to pitching. He played in minor league baseball in 1923 and 1924 before making his MLB debut with the Red Sox. After struggling with Boston, pitching to a 36–93 win–loss record, the Red Sox traded Ruffing to the Yankees, where he became successful, pitching as the Yankees' ace through 1946. After one season with the White Sox, Ruffing retired from pitching to work in coaching. He served as a bullpen coach for the White Sox, a pitching coach for the New York Mets, and a scout and minor league instructor for the Cleveland Indians.

Ruffing was a member of six World Series championship teams with the Yankees. He also appeared in six MLB All-Star Games. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967. The Yankees dedicated a plaque to Ruffing in Monument Park in 2004.

S&H Farm Supply presents, "On this Day in History" July 12, brought to you by Chevy Dealers of the Ozarks, First Independent Bank of Aurora and Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf and Big Cedar Lodge

Today in Sports History

• 1914 - Babe Ruth makes his baseball debut, pitching for the Boston Red Sox.
• 1928 - First televised tennis match.
• 1931 - Chicago Cubs and Saint Louis Cardinals hit a record 23 doubles in a game (second game of designated hitter).
• 1946 - Vance Dinges hits the only Philadelphia Phillies' pinch hit inside-the-park home run.
• 1949 - American League beats National League 11-7 in 16th All Star Game, National League makes a record five errors.
• 1949 - Baseball owners agree to erect warning paths before each fence.
• 1950 - ILTF re-admits Germany and Japan in Davis Cup, Poland and Hungary withdraw.
• 1951 - New York Yankees' Allie Reynolds no-hits Cleveland Indians, 8-0.
• 1954 - Major League Baseball Players Association founded.
• 1955 - National League beats American League 6-5 (12 innings) in 22nd All Star Game (Milwaukee).
• 1966 - National League beats American League 2-1 (10 innings) in 37th All Star Game (Busch, Saint Louis).
• 1967 - 5th Mayor's Trophy Game, New York Mets beat New York Yankees 4-0.
• 1979 - A Disco Demolition Night publicity stunt goes awry at Comiskey Park, forcing the Chicago White Sox to forfeit their game against the Detroit Tigers.
• 1987 - Philadelphia Phillies' Kent Tekulve pitches his 900th game in relief.
• 1989 - New York Yankees' pitching great Ron Guidry retires (170-91 .651, 3.29 ERA).
• 1990 - Chicago White Sox player Melido Perez no-hits the New York Yankees 8-0 in a rain.
• 1998 - France defeats Brazil 3-0 to win the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

In History:

1861 Wild Bill Hickok begins to establish his reputation as a gunfighter after he coolly shoots three men during a shootout in Nebraska.

Born in Homer (later called Troy Grove), Illinois, James Butler Hickok moved to Kansas in 1855 at the age of 18. There he filed a homestead claim, took odd jobs, and began calling himself by his father’s name, Bill. A skilled marksman, Hickok honed his abilities as a gunslinger. Though Hickok was not looking for trouble, he liked to be ready to defend himself, and his ability with a pistol soon proved useful.

By the summer of 1861, Hickok was working as a stock tender at a stage depot in Nebraska called Rock Creek Station. Across the creek lived Dave McCanles, a mean-spirited man who disliked Hickok for some reason. McCanles enjoyed insulting the young stockman, calling him Duck Bill and claiming he was a hermaphrodite. Hickok took his revenge by secretly romancing McCanles’ mistress, Sarah Shull.

On this day in 1861, the tension between Hickok and McCanles came to a head. McCanles may have learned about the affair between Shull and Hickok, though his motivations are not clear. He arrived at the station with two other men and his 12-year-old-son and exchanged angry words with the station manager. Then McCanles spotted Hickok standing behind a curtain partition. He threatened to drag “Duck Bill” outside and give him a thrashing. Demonstrating remarkable coolness for a 24-year-old who had never been involved in a gunfight, Hickok replied, “There will be one less son-of-a-bitch when you try that.”

McCanles ignored the warning. When he approached the curtain, Hickok shot him in the chest. McCanles staggered out of the building and died in the arms of his son. Hearing the shots, the two other gunmen ran in. Hickok shot one of them twice and winged the other. The other workers at the station finished them off.

The story of Hickok’s first gunfight spread quickly, establishing his reputation as a skilled gunman. In 1867, Harper’s New Monthly Magazinepublished a highly exaggerated account of the shoot-out which claimed Hickok had single-handedly killed nine men. The article quoted Hickok as saying, “I was wild and I struck savage blows.” Thus began the legendary career of “Wild Bill.”

For the next 15 years, Hickok would further embellish his reputation with genuine acts of daring, though the popular accounts continued to exceed the reality. He died in 1876 at the age of 39, shot in the back of the head by a young would-be gunfighter looking for fame.

Meanwhile in 1941 Joe DiMaggio extends his hitting streak to 51 games going 2 for 5 with 1 rbi in a win over the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park III in St. Louis.  His batting average in now up to .365. Elden Auker was the loosing pitcher that day as New York wins 7-5. 

Auker was born and raised in Norcatur, Kansas, the son of Fred and Florence Auker. He attended college at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, where he was a brother of Phi Sigma Kappa. Called by former Kansas State University President James McCain, "the greatest all-around athlete in Kansas State history," Auker won nine varsity letters – three each in baseball, basketball and football during his college career from 1929–1932.^[1] He was first-team All-American in baseball and All-Big Six Conference in baseball, football, and basketball.^[1] In football, Auker starred at quarterback, was named second team All-American by Grantland Rice and was offered a $6,000 contract by the Chicago Bears. The Bears sent Bronko Nagurski to Manhattan to try to convince him to join the team.^{[citation needed]} Auker turned down the Bears, however, to pitch for the Detroit Tigers.

During his ten-year Major League career, Auker played with the Tigers, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Browns. The first batter Auken faced was Babe Ruth, whom he struck out on four pitches. Auker was the last living pitcher to have faced Ruth.^[2] While with Detroit, Auker went to consecutive World Series, in 1934 and 1935. In the 1934 Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Auker was the winning pitcher in Game 4, but the loser to Dizzy Dean in the decisive Game 7. The next season, Auker led the American League in winning percentagewith an 18–7 record. In the 1935 Series against the Chicago Cubs, Auker started Game 3, which Detroit won in extra innings, and the Tigers went on to win the Series four games to two.

During the 1935 World Series, Auker was interviewed by a young Cubs broadcaster, Ronald Reagan. When they met after Reagan had been elected governor of California, Reagan told him, "You probably won't remember me, but I'll remember you as long as I live." The radio interview, Reagan said, "was my first big break."^[2]

At Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Ted Williams is 0 for 2 with 3 Bases on Balls in a Red Sox 7-5 win over Detroit in the First game of a double header, Williams would not play in game 2 that day. 

July 10, A Little "On this Day in History" Presented by S&H Farm Supply, Great Southern Bank and Nathan Dixon Farmers Insurance

On this day in Sports

• 1910 - Chicago's Comiskey Park opens, visiting Saint Louis Browns win 2-0 over Chicago White Sox.
• 1914 - Boston Red Sox purchases Babe Ruth from the Baltimore Orioles.
• 1929 - In game between Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies, 9 home runs are hit, one in each inning.
• 1932 - Jack Burnett gets 9 hits, Eddie Rommel relieves in second and continues to 18-17 victory in 18 as his Philadelphia Athletics beat Cleveland Indians in longest relief job.
• 1934 - Carl Hubbell strikes out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Jimmie Foxx in the All-Star game.
• 1934 - American League beats National League 9-7 in second All-Star Game (Polo Grounds, New York).
• 1936 - Philadelphia Phillies' Chuck Klein becomes fourth to hit four home runs in a game.
• 1947 - Cleveland Indians' Don Black no-hits Philadelphia Athletics, 3-0.
• 1951 - National League beats American League 8-3 in 18th All Star Game (Briggs Stadium, Detroit, USA).
• 1956 - National League beats American League 7-3 in 23rd All Star Game (Griffith Stad, Washington).
• 1962 - National League beats American League 3-1 in 32nd All Star Game (DC Stadium, Washington).
• 1969 - National League votes to split into two divisions.
• 1982 - Miguel Vasquez makes first public quadruple somersault on trapeze.
• 1990 - American League beats National League 2-0 in 61st All Star Game at Wrigley Field, Chicago.
• 2007 - 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Francisco, California (American League 5, National League 4).

• 1888 - Birth of Graham McNamee; sportscaster (first Rose Bowl).
• 1921 - Birth of Jake LaMotta in the Bronx, New York, USA; middleweight boxing champion (1949-51) (Raging Bull).

World History

1940 - The Battle of Britain Begins

1943 - the Allies land on Sicily

On this day in 1941

Joe DiMaggio streak reaches 49  but just barely as the Yankees are playing at Sportsman's Park III in St. Louis, and in begins to rain. DiMaggio singles in the first inning, now batting .358 on the season, a game that would only go 5 innings, he singles off Browns pitcher Johnny Niggeling.

John Arnold Niggeling (July 10, 1903 – September 16, 1963) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was a knuckleball specialist who pitched for nine seasons (1938–1946) with the Boston Bees/Braves, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators.

Born in Remsen, Iowa, Niggeling broke into the majors at the age of 35. He won a career-high 15 games with the Browns before joining the wartime Senators, who fielded a starting rotation featuring four knuckleballers. He finished in the top ten in league earned run average three times, and twice in strikeouts. His career record was 64-69 with a 3.22 ERA.

In later years, Niggeling worked as a barber in Le Mars, Iowa.

Niggeling died at age 60 in LeMars, having committed suicide by hanging himself in his hotel room. He had been suffering from back pain the last few years of his life and had recently divorced from his wife.

Ted Williams and the Red Sox have not played since July 6, and are off again today.  They will play tomorrow and Williams is currently batting .405, but apparently the time off has not been good for the Splendid Splinter, his batting average will drop 12 points over the next week as he will go 2 for 11 over the next 4 games. 

Here's a little "On This Day in History" brought to you by S&H Farm Supply, Great Southern Bank and Hiland Dairy.

On this day in Sports History

1933 - The first All-Star baseball game was held in Chicago. The American League beat the National League 4-2. 

1957 - Althea Gibson won the Wimbledon women’s singles tennis title. She was the first black athlete to win the event. 

1983 - Fred Lynn of the California Angels hit the first grand slam in an All-Star game. The American League defeated the National League 13-3.

1985 - Martina Navratilova won her 4th consecutive Wimbledon singles title. 

1995 - In Los Angeles, the prosecution rested at the O.J. Simpson murder trial. 

1996 - Steffi Graf won her seventh Wimbledon title. 

2000 - In Orlando, FL, the body of Cory Erving was found in his vehicle in a pond near his family's home. Julius "Dr. J" Erving had reported his son missing on June 4, 2000. 

2000 - A jury awarded former NHL player Tony Twist $24 million for the unconsented use of his name in the comic book Spawn and the HBO cartoon series. Co-defendant HBO settled with Twist out of court for an undisclosed amount. 

2010 - It was reported that GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, would be renamed Rogers Arena. 

On this date in 1941, 

Ted Williams went 0-4 against Tiger pitcher Bobo Newsom (7-11) dropping his average to .398. 

Bobo Newsome, Born in Hartsville, South Carolina, Newsom was known as a somewhat eccentric and emotional personality, typically referring to everyone in the third person, including referring to himself as "Bobo".

Newsom pitched valiantly in a losing cause in Game Seven of the 1940 World Serieswith the Detroit Tigers, two days after pitching a shutout in honor of his father, who had died while visiting from South Carolina and watching his son win the opener. Bobo had said before pitching Game Five, "I'll win this one for my daddy." When manager Del Baker named Newsom to take the mound for Game Seven, Bobo was asked by reporters, "will you win this one for your daddy too?" "Why, no", Newsom said, "I think I'll win this one for old Bobo."^[1][2]

Newsom's performance in 1941 was a disappointment, as he lost 20 games, winning only 12. When Tigers' general manager Jack Zeller negotiated a contract with Newsom, he said, "You'll have to take a salary cut, Newsom, since you lost 20 games last season." The plain-spoken Bobo, remembering what Commissioner Landis had done to release players on minor-league teams that were under major-league teams' control, snapped, "Hell, you lost ninety-one of Briggs' [the team owner] ball players last year, and I don't see you taking no cut." Zeller was not amused and traded Newsom to the Washington Senators.

Although Newsom pitched poorly in Game 3, allowing five runs in less than two innings, he garnered a Series ring while with the New York Yankees in 1947.

In a 20-season career, Newsom posted a 211–222 record with 2082 strikeouts and a 3.98 ERA in 3759.3 innings pitched. He also made the American League All-Starteam from 1938–1940 and in 1944. With 211 wins, he is one of the 100 winningest pitchers of all time. His 222 losses also make him one of only two major league pitchers to win 200 games and still have a sub .500 career winning percentage, the other being Jack Powell. Upon his retirement in 1953, he was the last major leaguer to have played in the 1920s to still be active. Newsom is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in Major League games in four decades.

Al Benton is the only major-league pitcher to have faced both Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle.^[3] Newsom was the only other pitcher whose career spanned that of both hitters. He did face Ruth in 1934; however, in 1951, Mantle's first year, Newsom was out of the majors, and in 1952, Newsom never faced the Yankees—and the one time he faced them in 1953, Mantle was out of the lineup with an injury.

July 7th, 1941 was an off Day for Joe DiMaggio and the Yankees, having played a double header the day before in Philadelphia winning 8-4, 3-1. DiMaggio was 4 for 5 in game one with a double and 2 RBI's and in game 2 he went 2 for 4 with a triple and 2 RBI's. It was his 45th and 46th consecutive games with at least 1 hit.  He is now batting .357 for the season. 

Meanwhile Stan Musial while playing for the Springfield Cardinals was leading the league in hitting at .379 and would be promoted to the Rochester Redwings of the International Leauge before making his major league debut on September 17th, 1941 at Sportsmans Park.