George Selkirk, the Canadian, hit a home run in his first World Series game. Actually, that 4 bagger was in George's first plate appearance in the Fall Classic. It was an example of one George replacing another, as well.
As the replacement of Babe Ruth in 1935, Selkirk had big shoes to fill. His first World Series was the next year. It was the Yankees vs. the Giants. Another Subway Series.
And Ruth's real first name was actually George. How would the new George actually fair? Would Selkirk have any of Babe Ruth's attributes in the Fall Classic? The flair for the dramatic?
It was Carl Hubbell on the hill for the Giants. The same Hubbell who fanned 5 straight Hall Of Famers in th 1934 All-Star Game. That included Ruth, and Lou Gehrig. Hubbell was in fine form in game 1 of the 1936.
Hubbell got the side to groundout in the top of the 1st. Even the great DiMaggio could not get the ball out of the infield. Amazingly enough, the first two men in the top of the 2nd inning, also grounded out. The Yankees got a hit that inning, but nothing else. The game was scoreless.
Selkirk led off the 3rd and took Hubbell deep to right for a home run! What a first plate appearance! Not quite what Jose Canseco would do 52 years later, but it gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead. I guess George Herman Ruth would not be missed around this time, after all! But that home run would also prove to be the only run New York scored. At least, the only run the American League New York team would score on this day.
The Yankees were still leading 1-0 in the top of the 4th when Selkirk came up again. Following a failed double-steal, there was a man on second and two outs. Selkirk fanned.
In the bottom of the 6th, the Giants finally got a run home on a single by Gus Mancuso. It looked like this was going to be a real close one. But the Giants had other ideas later in the game. In the meantime, Hubbell had kept the Yankees' vaulted offence to just 1 run.
Jake Powell hit a leadoff single in the top of the 7th. After Tony Lazerri fanned, it was George who forced Powell at second. Red Ruffling, the Yankees' starting pitcher, ended the inning by going down on strikes. That gave Hubbell 8 K's in only 7 innings. Ruffling, though was still in the thick of a 1-1 tie with Hubbell. He too, had a fine game. At least until the 8th inning, that is!
The Yankees had a chance to retake the lead in the top of the 8th, as they put runners on the corners with nobody out. Joe DiMaggio, of all the players, lined into a double play.
In the bottom of the frame, the Giants erupted for 5 runs. Hubbell himself drove in the 4th run of the inning. Another run scored on the play on an error. It was 6-1, Giants.
Hubbell took the hill in the 9th and got all three men to ground out. Selkirk himself was the last out.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
As the replacement of Babe Ruth in 1935, Selkirk had big shoes to fill. His first World Series was the next year. It was the Yankees vs. the Giants. Another Subway Series.
And Ruth's real first name was actually George. How would the new George actually fair? Would Selkirk have any of Babe Ruth's attributes in the Fall Classic? The flair for the dramatic?
It was Carl Hubbell on the hill for the Giants. The same Hubbell who fanned 5 straight Hall Of Famers in th 1934 All-Star Game. That included Ruth, and Lou Gehrig. Hubbell was in fine form in game 1 of the 1936.
Hubbell got the side to groundout in the top of the 1st. Even the great DiMaggio could not get the ball out of the infield. Amazingly enough, the first two men in the top of the 2nd inning, also grounded out. The Yankees got a hit that inning, but nothing else. The game was scoreless.
Selkirk led off the 3rd and took Hubbell deep to right for a home run! What a first plate appearance! Not quite what Jose Canseco would do 52 years later, but it gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead. I guess George Herman Ruth would not be missed around this time, after all! But that home run would also prove to be the only run New York scored. At least, the only run the American League New York team would score on this day.
The Yankees were still leading 1-0 in the top of the 4th when Selkirk came up again. Following a failed double-steal, there was a man on second and two outs. Selkirk fanned.
In the bottom of the 6th, the Giants finally got a run home on a single by Gus Mancuso. It looked like this was going to be a real close one. But the Giants had other ideas later in the game. In the meantime, Hubbell had kept the Yankees' vaulted offence to just 1 run.
Jake Powell hit a leadoff single in the top of the 7th. After Tony Lazerri fanned, it was George who forced Powell at second. Red Ruffling, the Yankees' starting pitcher, ended the inning by going down on strikes. That gave Hubbell 8 K's in only 7 innings. Ruffling, though was still in the thick of a 1-1 tie with Hubbell. He too, had a fine game. At least until the 8th inning, that is!
The Yankees had a chance to retake the lead in the top of the 8th, as they put runners on the corners with nobody out. Joe DiMaggio, of all the players, lined into a double play.
In the bottom of the frame, the Giants erupted for 5 runs. Hubbell himself drove in the 4th run of the inning. Another run scored on the play on an error. It was 6-1, Giants.
Hubbell took the hill in the 9th and got all three men to ground out. Selkirk himself was the last out.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
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