The 100 Most Significant Dates in Modern Orioles History

[Frobby]

Maybe it’s the way I’m wired, but I don’t see a World Series loss as being more significant in team history than a WS victory.    I’d certainly agree that of our three WS losses, the one to the Mets was the most significant.     But to me, the 1970 and 1983 WS victories outrank the 1969 defeat, shocking as it was.   

[OFFNY]

7 hours ago, SteveA said:

o

 

It's 6 days until pitches and catchers report.   Here's the 6th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

 

#6) October 16, 1969

 

The 1969 Orioles were probably the best baseball team of a generation.  No team had won more than their 109 games since 19554, and no team would surpass that figure until 1998.  There's little doubt they were one of the best defensive teams ever, and they had plenty of pitching and hitting too.

The Orioles won the brand new AL Eastern Division by 19 games over the 90-win Detroit Tigers.  They swept the Minnesota Twins in 3 games in the very first American League Championship Series, and faced the New York Mets in the World Series.

The Mets had some great starting pitching, including Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and a young Nolan Ryan.  They had a young lineup with very few houshold names:  C Jerry Grote, 1B Ed Kranepool, 2B Ken Boswell, SS Bud Harrellson, 3B Wayne Garrett, LF CLeon Jones, CF Tommie Agee, and RF Ron Swoboda.  All were between 21 and 26 years old, and none were superstars.  Those 9 no-name players would combine to go to a total of 8 All Star Games in their career, and only 2 of them ever finished higher than 20th in the All Star voting.

Meanwhile, the Orioles also had great pitching, and had a far better lineup.  Hendricks/Powell/Johnson/Belanger/Brooks/Buford/Blair/Robinson would 39 All Star Games in their career, win 31 Gold Gloves, and 4 MVP Awards, with 12 other finishes in the top 5 of the MVP voting

This appeared to be a mismatch of the highest proportion.  The Orioles were historically good and expected to win their 2nd World Championship in 4 years, in their first full season under new manager Earl Weaver.

The Series began in Baltimore, with Mike Cuellar facing Tom Seaver.  Don Buford hit Seaver's 2nd pitch for a home run.  The Orioles added 3 more in the 4th on RBIs by Belanger, Cuellar, and Buford, and coasted to a 4-1 victory.

In the 2nd game, lefties McNally and Koosman squared off.  Koosman took a no hitter and a 1-0 lead into the 7th, when Paul Blair broke up the no-no with a single, stole 2nd, and scored on a Brooks Robinson single to tie the game.  But McNally would give up a run on 3 straight singles in the top of the 9th and the Mets would even the series with a 2-1 win.

The Series moved to New York, with Jim Palmer facing Gary Gentry, a rookie who had won 13 games.  Tommie Agee led off the bottom of the first with a home run off Palmer, and would save, by most accounts, at least 5 runs in the game wish his spectacular defense.  He made a running backhanded catch of what would have been a 2-run double by Elrod Hendricks, and a headfirst diving grab of a bases loaded line drive off the bat of Paul Blair.  Gentry would hit a 2-run double of his own, and pitch 6.2 shutout innings. Young Nolan Ryan would pitch the last 2.1 innings for a save in what would turn out to be the only World Series appearance of his 27 year Hall of Fame career.

In Game 4, Tom Seaver put up zeroes against the Orioles.  Meanwhile, a Donn Clendennon homer gave New York a 1-0 lead in the 2nd.  In the 3rd, Earl Weaver argued balls and strikes and became the first manager thrown out of a World Series game since 1935.  Seaver took a 1-0 lead into the 9th.  Frank Robinson and Boog Powell had back to back singles with one out.  Brooks hit a sinking line drive to right.  RF Ron Swoboda made a fantastic diving catch... it still went for a game tying sac fly but not the hit that would have put the Orioles ahead.  In the bottom of the 10th, after a bloop double by Grote and an intentional walk, JC Martin came on to pinch hit for Seaver, who had pitched 10 6-hit innings.  Martin bunted; Oriole reliever Pete Richert fielded it and his throw hit Martin running to first.  A pinch runner came around to score the winning run.  Replays indicated that Martin ran inside the baseline and should have been out for interference (and the ball dead) but the umps ruled he did not interfere.  The Mets won 2-1 and had a 3-1 lead.

Dave McNally took the mound in Game 5, on Octoer 16, 1969, hoping to send the season back to Baltimore.  He hit a home run, as did Frank Robinson, and cruised into the 6th with a 3-0 lead.  In the top of the 6th Frank Robinson was hit by a pitch, but the ump ruled it hit his bat.  (Replays later showed it bounced off his hip first and hten hit his bat).  So the Orioles lost a chance at a baserunner.  In the bottom of the inning, McNally bounced a pitch that appeared to hit Cleon Jones on the foot and then bounced into the Mets dugout.  Mets manager Gil Hodges "proved" that the ball hit Jones by showing the up a spot of shoe polish on the ball, and Jones was awarded first base.   Clendenon hit a 2-run homer to make it 3-2.

In 2009, Jerry Koosman stated in interviews that Hodges had instructed him to rub the ball on his shoe after he picked it up in the Mets dugout, and he did.

In the 7th inning, light hitting Al Weis homered to tie the game.   He only had 7 home runs in his career.

The Mets came up with 2 in the 8th to put away the game and the series.  Ron Swoboda doubled in a run and another run scored on a Boog Powell error.

The New York Mets had broken Baltimore's heart and won the 1969 World Series 4-1.  The 1969 Orioles are very possibly the best team in baseball history that didn't win the World Series.  And it ended a year of sorrow for Baltimore fans at the hands of New York teams.  The previous January, the New York Jets, heavy underdogs, defeated the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl.  And in the spring, the New York Knicks had eliminated the Baltimore Bullets from the NBA playoffs, a feat they would repeat in 1970 as well.

 

o

 

I have a very vague memory of the final out of the 1969 World Series, when I was only 4 years-old.

My sister was punching on her thighs in our living room in Brewster NY, saying, "Come on Jones, catch it !!!" as he waited for the ball to come down with both of his hands in the air.

 

o

[SteveA]

It's 5 days until pitches and catchers report.   Here's the 5th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

 

The Orioles won between 86 and 97 games five times from 1960-1965, but that was not enough to put them over the top in the pre-division era where you had to be the best in your league or you waent home for the winter.

What would it take to put the Orioles over the top?  They had excellent starting pitching, and star players like Brooks Robinson, Boog POwell, Luis Aparicio, and Paul Blair.

On December 9, 1965, Orioles general manager Harry Dalton pulled off the greatest trade in Baltimore Orioles history.  He sent three players to the Cincinnati Reds.   The headliner was 26 year old starting pitcher Milt Pappas, who had won 110 games for the Orioles in the past 18 years, finishing with ERAs between 2.60 and 3.37 in 6 of hose years.  

Also going to the Reds were journeyman pitcher Jack Baldschun (whom the Orioles had acquired from Philly a few days earlier for veteran outfielder Jackie Brandt and young lefty pitcher Darold Knowles) and young outfielder Dick Simpson.  Simpson and Baldschun never amounted to much for the Reds; Pappas was a solid member of their rotaiton for the next two and a half years and would later win 17 games twice for the Cubs.

Knowles would also have a good career as a reliever for the Phillies.

But in return, the Orioles got a legend.   Frank Robinson had been the NL Rookie of the Year in 1956, and NL MVP in 1961.  He had a Gold Glove, 5 All Star Game appearances, and 5 other appearances in the NL MVP Top 10 voting.   The power hitting right fielder had put up an OPS+ between 133 and 153 in 9 of his 10 years in the majors, only falling short at 118 at age 22.

Robinson hadn't always gotten along with Reds management, and Reds GM Bill DeWitt tried to justify the deal by saying Robinson was "an old 30".

Frank Robinson was the final puzzle piece to lift the Orioles from perennial contender to champion.  In his first year in the American League, all he did was become a team leader in the clubhouse, hit the ball completely out of Memorial Stadium, and was the first person in a decade to win the Triple Crown.  Frank's relentless "National League" style of ball energized the Orioles and served as an example.  He famously founded the Kangaroo Court where players were fined for not hustling and making other baseball mistakes.

And he led the Orioles to the 1966 World Championship.   And to 3 other World Series.

Frank was only an Oriole for 6 seasons but he is one of the greatest players to ever put on the uniform, and is enshrined in the pantheon of Oriole greats along with Weaver, Palmer, Ripken, Brooks Robinson, and Murray, all of whom were Orioles for significantly longer.  This list has highlighted several other historic trades, but none was as great, or as impactful, as the deal that put Frank Robinson in Baltimore's #20 uniform, where he taught the Orioles how to win.

 

[Frobby]

I was wondering where you’d rank this one.  It’s very deserving of this spot IMO.

I love that article at the bottom of your post.    The writing style is really homey.    I love the fact that they caught up with “Robby” just before he was going out bowling.   

[Moose Milligan]

I think it's deserving of this spot, too.  One of the more lopsided baseball deals of all time.  

[SteveA]

It's 4 days until pitches and catchers report.   Here's the 4th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#4 April 6, 1992

The first regular season game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards was played on April 8, 1992.

It was a long time coming.  Memorial Stadium had been decaying for years, and the loss of the Colts to Indianapolis had left the city of Baltimore with just one major league sports team.  And many fans feared we could lose the Orioles as well.  Owner Edward Bennett Williams made no bones about his desire for a new stadium.

Bennett-Williams and the Maryland Stadium Authority negotiated a deal to put a stadium in downtown Baltimore, announcing the deal in 1988.  

The new ballpark would be unique in many ways, and different than almost every new ballpark that had been built in many decades.

EBW's righthand man, Larry Lucchino, oversaw the design of the new stadium, even after the owner passed away in August 1988.  Chief architect Janet Marie Smith implemented a vision that became a blueprint that would influence almost every ballpark since.

The previous decades had seen a boom of circular, multi=purpose stadiums that hosted both football and baseball, inevitably shortchanging baseball by putting a large number of seats in the outfield.  Many of them were in suburban or edge-of-city locations surrounded by gigantic parking lots.

Oriole Park was just the opposite.   Its steel girder construction with brick exterior was unique.  Like old-time ballparks, it fit into the city neighborhood where it was built, even keeping the long brick warehouse that dated back to the 1800s.  It was smaller, as a baseball park does not need the 50,000 to 75,000 seat capacity that football requires.

New Oriole owner Eli Jacobs requested some features that reminded him of his childhood favorite ballpark, Ebbets Field, and they were included.  The seats were all molded plastic, and an elegant green.  There was a tall wall with a scoreboard in right field.   There were advertisements on the outfield walls, a throwback to the 1930s.

Oriole Park was unique, but it didn't stay that way long.  There are 19 ballparks built after Oriole Park that clearly incorporated design elements that were pioneered in Baltimore.

There was a sellout crowd on April 6, 1992.  Taking the mound for Baltimore was tall veteran Rick Sutcliffe, a free agent signing who had been recruited to sign by manager Johnny Oates at least partially with a promise that he would start the first game at the new ballpark.  Sutcliffe came through with a gem, a 2-0 shutout, as the Orioles defeated the Cleveland Indians.   A new era in Baltimore baseball, and a new era in MLB stadiums, had begun.

[bobmc]

[OFFNY]

5 hours ago, SteveA said:

 

#4) April 8, 1992

The first regular season game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards was played on April 8, 1992.

 

o

 

April 6th.

I once won a Nick Markakis-signed baseball with an answer to a trivia question in regard to that game at Fan-Fest in 2009 ....... of which I received free tickets to in the first place (along with free season tickets) for being "Fan of the Game" on the final weekend of the season in a game against the Blue Jays the season before.

He asked who the Orioles' pitcher was who pitched a complete-game shutout for the first-ever game at OPACY. Everybody screamed, "Rick Sutcliffe." But then he said, "I wasn't finished with the question. What was the exact date of this game?" I raised my hand, and he called on me, I then said, "April 6th, 1992."

 

o

[SteveA]

It's 3 days until Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.   Here is the 3rd most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#3  September 28, 1953

In the 1800s there were several baseball leagues that competed for the title of being considered "major league", but by the turn of the century, the National League, and the rival upstart American League, pretty much owned that that distinction to themselves, except for a brief effort in 1913-15 by the players to form their own league (the Federal League, which included the Baltimore Terrapins).   For over 50 years, the AL and NL had a stable configuration, 8 teams in each league, in 11 major US cities, all but St Louis east of the Mississippi.   Although the leagues were often bitter rivals, they were ruled by a major league commissioner and there was great stability.

That 50 years of stability finally ended in the spring of 1953, when the Boston Braves, in Florida for spring training, announced that they would move to Milwaukee THAT SEASON (three weeks away!) and were leaving Boston.  The departure was inevitable as they had fallen well behind the Red Sox in fan support, but no one expected it would happen that soon.

The St Louis Browns were in a similar situation.  They were perennial losers, and clearly second in the hears of St Louisans.   They averaged about 4000 fans per game their last 7 years in St. Louis.   Owner Bill Veeck tried anything to bring in fans, from bringing a midget to the plate to giving away free beer.  It wasn't working.   In the spring of 1953, at the same time that the Braves were bolting for Milwaukee, Veeck reached an agreement to move the Browns to Baltimore.   But the AL owners did not approve the move of the Browns.   They voted 5-3 against it, claiming that Veeck's debt situation was an issue (and the staid baseball owners weren't fond of some of Veeck's antics either).   The NL owners approved the Brave move without rancor shortly thereafter, and it appeared that maybe Baltimore's chances of returning to the majors was dead.

But Baltimore mayor Tommy D'Alesandro would not be deterred.  He correctly reasoned that Veeck's finances and personality were what killed the deal, so he lined up a group of Baltimore investors that would buy some or all of the team and figured that would gain AL approval.   He and prominent Baltimore attorney Clarence Miles lined up a group that included the chairmen of Baltimore's two competing brewing companies, Zanvyl Krieger of Gunther Brewing and Jerry Hoffberger of National Brewing; investment specialist Joseph Iglehart; and real estate executive James Keelty.  Memorial Stadium had been expanded and had successfully lured the Colts.  Baltimore was clearly the best destination for the Browns. 

But when D'Alesandro and Miles arrived at the owners meeting in September, there were 6 other cities there making presentations, including LA and San Francisco.  The owners were naturally interested in those huge new markets.  Finally, a vote was taken to approve the sale and move of the Browns to Baltimore... this time it was 4-4 instead of 5-3 against, but still not good enough.   The move hadn't been approved and the bid appeared again to be dead.

With two days left in the owners' meeting, D'Alesandro and Miles lobbied the owners; they threatened to use their connections to fight baseball's antitrust exemption and D'Alesandro mentioned his personal acquaintance with President Eisenhower.   They also got some of the investors to up their contribution so that they could buy Veeck out entirely, knowing that the owners weren't fond of Veeck.  They got Hoffberger to have his brewery become an official sponsor of the Washington Senators, and they made concessions and payments to the Senators for infringing on their territory, so that Senator owner Clark Griffith would change his vote to yes. 

On Sunday, September 27, the St Louis Browns played their last game ever, a 2-1 loss to the White Sox in front of 3154 fans.

On Monday,  September 28, 1953, the Browns were sold to the ownership group from Baltimore and the AL owners approved the move.  (As so often happens in politics, once there were enough votes all the owners bowed to the inevitable and the vote was unanimous)  After decades, the city of Baltimore, which had been home to the storied National League Orioles in the 1890s, would once again be a major league baseball city.

 

[Moose Milligan]

Tommy D'Alesandro sounds like a get $%*! done kinda guy.  You don't mess with a guy named Tommy D'Alesandro. 

[SteveA]

18 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Tommy D'Alesandro sounds like a get $%*! done kinda guy.  You don't mess with a guy named Tommy D'Alesandro. 

His son Tommy the 3rd later served as Baltimore mayor too in the late 60s/early 70s and his daughter Nancy was Speaker of the House of Representatives and is now House Minority Leader.

[OFFNY]

4 hours ago, SteveA said:

o

 

It's 3 days until Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota. Here is the 3rd most significant date in modern Orioles history:

 

#3) September 28, 1953

 

In the 1800s there were several baseball leagues that competed for the title of being considered "major league", but by the turn of the century, the National League, and the rival upstart American League, pretty much owned that that distinction to themselves, except for a brief effort in 1913-15 by the players to form their own league (the Federal League, which included the Baltimore Terrapins).   For over 50 years, the AL and NL had a stable configuration, 8 teams in each league, in 11 major US cities, all but St Louis east of the Mississippi.   Although the leagues were often bitter rivals, they were ruled by a major league commissioner and there was great stability.

That 50 years of stability finally ended in the spring of 1953, when the Boston Braves, in Florida for spring training, announced that they would move to Milwaukee THAT SEASON (three weeks away!) and were leaving Boston.  The departure was inevitable as they had fallen well behind the Red Sox in fan support, but no one expected it would happen that soon.

The St Louis Browns were in a similar situation.  They were perennial losers, and clearly second in the hears of St Louisans.   They averaged about 4000 fans per game their last 7 years in St. Louis.   Owner Bill Veeck tried anything to bring in fans, from bringing a midget to the plate to giving away free beer.  It wasn't working.   In the spring of 1953, at the same time that the Braves were bolting for Milwaukee, Veeck reached an agreement to move the Browns to Baltimore.   But the AL owners did not approve the move of the Browns.   They voted 5-3 against it, claiming that Veeck's debt situation was an issue (and the staid baseball owners weren't fond of some of Veeck's antics either).   The NL owners approved the Brave move without rancor shortly thereafter, and it appeared that maybe Baltimore's chances of returning to the majors was dead.

But Baltimore mayor Tommy D'Alesandro would not be deterred.  He correctly reasoned that Veeck's finances and personality were what killed the deal, so he lined up a group of Baltimore investors that would buy some or all of the team and figured that would gain AL approval.   He and prominent Baltimore attorney Clarence Miles lined up a group that included the chairmen of Baltimore's two competing brewing companies, Zanvyl Krieger of Gunther Brewing and Jerry Hoffberger of National Brewing; investment specialist Joseph Iglehart; and real estate executive James Keelty.  Memorial Stadium had been expanded and had successfully lured the Colts.  Baltimore was clearly the best destination for the Browns. 

But when D'Alesandro and Miles arrived at the owners meeting in September, there were 6 other cities there making presentations, including LA and San Francisco.  The owners were naturally interested in those huge new markets.  Finally, a vote was taken to approve the sale and move of the Browns to Baltimore... this time it was 4-4 instead of 5-3 against, but still not good enough.   The move hadn't been approved and the bid appeared again to be dead.

With two days left in the owners' meeting, D'Alesandro and Miles lobbied the owners; they threatened to use their connections to fight baseball's antitrust exemption and D'Alesandro mentioned his personal acquaintance with President Eisenhower.   They also got some of the investors to up their contribution so that they could buy Veeck out entirely, knowing that the owners weren't fond of Veeck.  They got Hoffberger to have his brewery become an official sponsor of the Washington Senators, and they made concessions and payments to the Senators for infringing on their territory, so that Senator owner Clark Griffith would change his vote to yes. 

On Sunday, September 27, the St Louis Browns played their last game ever, a 2-1 loss to the White Sox in front of 3154 fans.

On Monday,  September 28, 1953, the Browns were sold to the ownership group from Baltimore and the AL owners approved the move.  (As so often happens in politics, once there were enough votes all the owners bowed to the inevitable and the vote was unanimous)  After decades, the city of Baltimore, which had been home to the storied National League Orioles in the 1890s, would once again be a major league baseball city.

 

 

o

o

 

We actually have 2 posters here on the Orioles Hangout who have been fans of the franchise prior to the move .......... they were St. Louis Browns fans, and they followed them when they moved to Baltimore ........ AND STILL are loyal fans of the team/franchise. ll 

 

This is one of them:

 

On 8/8/2014 at 10:18 PM Oriole1940 said:

If you all will indulge an old man for a moment. I waited 70 years, from the 1944 World Series to beat the Cardinals. So I am saying my Browns/Orioles finally beat the Cardinals.

 

 

 

o

[SteveA]

It's 2 days until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.   Here is the 2nd most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#2  September 6, 1995

Yankee great Lou Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games, a fabled record in the baseball pantheon, one that most people thought would never be broken.

Cal Ripken came up with the Orioles in 1981, became a full time player in 1982, winning the AL Rookie of the Year and following it up with American League MVP and a World Championship in 1983.   He would go on to win another MVP,  7 SIlver Slugger Awards, 2 Gold Glove Awards, and hit more home runs than any shorstop ever to play the game.

But the crowning achievement of Ripken's career, and one of the most memorable moments in baseball history, came on September 6, 1995, when he broke the unbreakable record.

Baseball had endured an ugly strike/lockout that had cancelled the 1994 World Series.   It was the first time in history that labor strife had actually prevented a championship from being played.    People were fed up with the billionaire owners and millionaire players allowing their greed to ruin a season.   Baseball needed something to draw fan interest back after the labor disaster.

Cal Ripken's pursuit of the record was just the thing baseball needed.   Once the 1995 season was finally started after the labor settlement, the Orioles put huge numbers on the warehouse counting up the days of the streak.

On September 5, Cal played in his 2,130th game, tying Gehrig's record, in a game nationally televised.   Cal lived up to the moment and homered in an 8-0 win over the Angels.

On the 6th, once again there was a national TV audience.   President Clinton was there as well.  In the 4th inning, once again, Cal hit one out of the park.   The game became official in the middle of the 5th inning with the Orioles leading 3-1.   As America watched, the final number 2131 was unfurled on the warehouse, the Angels came out of the dugout to join the 46,000+ fans in a standing ovation.   Cal came out of the dugout and tipped his cap, and finally, prodded by teammates, took a victory lap around the field.

Baseball needed a boost and Cal Ripken breaking one of baseball's most cherished, 57 year old record, brought many bitter fans back to the game.   Cal's record, as well as the exciting home run battles of McGwire, Bonds, and Sosa, were said to have "saved the game" after the labor debacle.   And Cal's record remains untainted to this day.

 

[Bahama O's Fan]

What's left for number one?

[Can_of_corn]

13 minutes ago, Bahama O's Fan said:

What's left for number one?

Felix Pie's cycle.