|
5/5
the baseball times
Monday, May 5th, 1958
BREAKING NEWS: RUSSELL MAKES HISTORY AT HOME, SHUTS DOWN IRISH
Lone Star Stadium was filled with 16,819 people, with many more on TV, who didn't know that they would witness history tonight. And no, it's not a 4-homer game, it's a no-hitter.
It has only been 1 month and 1 day since the season started. The no-hitter was thrown by Mike Russell of the Houston Blackhawks against the New York Irish, the final being 1-0.
Russell saw the scoreboard in the 9th. He knew already that he needed one more out. It was Santiago Martinez that he needed to get out. He threw a 1-1 pitch that didn't look good. Instead of a hit, it was a popup to second baseman Ross Hilliard. He waved everyone off and made the catch. Immediately, Russell flew into the arms of catcher Nick Yarbrough. Soon enough, the fans started swarming the field, celebrating. The celebration lasted over 4 minutes, at which point security asked everyone except the players to leave the field.
In a post-game interview, Russell stated that, "I still can't believe I just did that! I'm so happy," before getting a pie in the face. After that, he looked like a mime.
Houston had one error in the game, by Sam Salamone in the 2nd. They are now 15-15 on the year, 2nd in the ABC Central behind Cleveland. New York is now 18-12, still tied with Philadelphia for 1st in the ABC East.
__________________
|