Games That Changed Baseball

John G. Robertson is a private tutor and sports historian who lives in Cambridge, Ontario. He is the author of numerous books on baseball, hockey and boxing history. Andy Saunders is a baseball buff who hosts trivia shows in his hometown. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments delete deleteviPreface deleteThe 43 Most Historically Significant MLB GamesApril 22, 1876 (First National League Game)August 17, 1877 (First MLB ­Game-Fixing Scandal)September 4, 1884 (Moses Fleetwood Walker’s Last MLB Game)April 19, 1890 (First Players’ League Game)April 27, 1893 (First Game Using the Modern 6­0'6" Pitching Distance)April 24, 1901 (First American League Game)October 1, 1903 (First Modern World Series Game)September 23, 1908 (“Bonehead” Merkle Game)October 3, 1915 (Final Federal League Game)October 1, 1919 (Game One of the 1919 World Series)April 14, 1920 (Babe Ruth’s First Game as a New York Yankee)August 16, 1920 (Ray Chapman Fatality)May 16, 1921 (Fans Attain the Right to Keep Balls Batted into the Stands)August 5, 1921 (First Radio Broadcast of an MLB Game)July 6, 1933 (First MLB ­All-Star Game)May 24, 1935 (First MLB Night Game)August 26, 1939 (First Televised MLB Game)April 15, 1947 (Jackie Robinson’s MLB Debut)August 19, 1951 (Eddie Gaedel Comes to Bat)October 3, 1951 (The Shot Heard Round the World)April 14, 1953 (First Milwaukee Braves Home Game)September 24, 1957 (Last Game at Ebbets Field)October 1, 1961 (Roger Maris’s 61st Home Run)April 12, 1965 (First ­Regular-Season MLB Indoor Game)April 14, 1969 (First MLB Game in Canada)October 13, 1971 (First World Series Night Game)April 6, 1973 (Debut of the Designated Hitter)April 8, 1974 (Hank Aaron’s 715th Career Home Run)April 9, 1974 (Debut of the San Diego Chicken)October 21, 1975 (Game Six of the 1975 World Series)September 9, 1979 (Bob Montgomery’s Final Game)October 26, 1985 (Game Six of the 1985 World Series)October 3, 1995 (First ­Post-Season Game Featuring a ­Wild-Card Team)June 12, 1997 (First Interleague Game)September 8, 1998 (Mark McGwire’s 62nd Home Run)July 9, 2002 (All-Star Game Tie)October 14, 2003 (Game Six of the 2003 NLCS)August 7, 2007 (Barry Bonds’ 756th Career Home Run)June 2, 2010 (Jim Joyce’s Blown Call)May 25, 2011 (Buster Posey’s Injury)October 5, 2012 (First ­Wild-Card ­Play-In Game)March 31, 2014 (First Use of the ­Video-Review Challenge System)April 29, 2015 (First MLB Game Played with Zero Paid Attendance)Appendix: Games That Didn’t Quite Make the Cut deleteNotes deleteBibliography deleteIndex delete

“The Games That Changed Baseball is a reference that every scholar who studies sport history should read. Craftily assembled so the reader can read cover to cover or use the table of contents to skip around and read about his or her favorite teams, Robertson and Saunders are to be applauded for their narrative”—Journal of Sport History