South Jersey Baseball History:
Dateline: August

Sunday, August 8, 1999

By Charlie Schick
South Jersey Baseball Historical Society

Dateline is a diary of South Jersey baseball that highlights area players, games, events, and outstanding accomplishments in the past history of the great game of baseball. The dates and facts listed below are taken from the manuscript entitled "A Day's Walk Through South Jersey Baseball".

August 1, 1951.   Chicago Cubs second baseman Eddie Miksis, Burlington High grad, stoked one of the strangest hits of the big league year, when his line drive caromed off the head of New York Giants center-fielder Willie Mays for a two base hit.

August 2, 1948.   Joe Williams of the Lindenwold team hurled a no-hit no-run game against the Clementon ball club to win a 4 - 0 Lower Camden League contest. Williams struck out 11 in picking up the victory. Losing pitcher Danny Flagg was almost as good, as he allowed only 4 safeties.

August 4, 1979.   Hal Wagner died in Riverside, NJ. Hal played 12 seasons (1937-1949) in the major leagues as a catcher. His lifetime big league numbers showed 672 game appearances, and a batting average of .248. He also played in 5 games of the 1946 World Series for the Boston Red Sox.

August 6, 1932.   In the Burlington County Semi-Pro League, Charlie "Cy" Young of the Riverside A.A. pitched his second league career no-hitter, as he shut down Mount Holly A.A. 5 to 0. "Cy" fanned 14 batters and collected one of his team's 11 hits. Young played in the major leagues for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1915.

August 8, 1991.   Brooklawn American Legion Post #72 captured their 4th straight American Legion State title by winning a doubleheader over Hoboken 5-4 and 7-2. Catcher Eric Filipek's single with the bases loaded in the 9th inning was the deciding blow in game one. Shortstop Mike Moriarity's 3-run homer in the bottom of the 2nd helped Brian McGettigan pick up the championship victory.

August 11, 1942.   South Jersey native Doc Cramer, outfielder for the Detroit Tigers, singled with two outs in the 9th inning to break up Cleveland Indian Al Miller's no-hit effort. The game however, ended up in a 0 - 0 tie after 14 innings because the contest could not continue under the lights due to war time rules.

August 13, 1985.   Brian Brodwater went 5 for 5 and Mike Schick fanned 18 to lead Medford to a 17 to 1 win over Springfield in American Legion Tournament play. Schick allowed only 3 hits and one unearned run. Brodwater's 5 hits included a bases loaded triple, and Schick added 3 hits plus 3 RBIs in the one-sided 9-inning contest.

August 14, 1961.   Al Kennders of Barrington, NJ, catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League, made his major league debut. In his rookie year, Kennders only big league season, he would catch 10 games, have 23 official at bats, and collect 4 hits. Defensively, he made no errors for a perfect fielding percentage.

August 15, 1926.   George "Barney" Schultz was born in Beverly, NJ. After starring at Burlington High and the minor leagues, he went on to pitch 7 years (1955-1965) in the big leagues. Barney's lifetime record was 20 and 20, all as a reliever. He also recorded 35 saves, and appeared in one World Series with a 0-1 record.

August 16, 1901.   The first night baseball game in the history of New Jersey was played on the ball grounds of East Burlington. Two Burlington County Semi-Pro clubs, Burlington A.A. and Florence squared off in the historical event. The game was a slugfest with Burlington winning 15 - 11.

August 17, 1929.   In the Burlington County Semi-Pro League, leftfielder Bernie Worrell of the Vincetown baseball club, hit for the cycle. Worrell went 4 for 5 on the day with 6 RBIs. He singled in the 1st inning, doubled in the 2nd, tripled in the 6th, and blasted a home run in the 9th.

August 19, 1930.   For the second time in his major league career, St. Louis Browns star outfielder Goose Goslin, of Salem, NJ, blasted 3 home runs in a game. Goslin's home run hat trick helped the Browns defeat the Philadelphia A's. He would go on to hit 248 homers in his big league career.

August 22, 1992.   Shawnee High's Brett Boone, Seattle Mariners second baseman, hit his first major league home run. Boone's blast came off Boston Red Sox hurler Mike Gardner, and he alsoo scored the tying run in the 7th inning. The Sox however scored 2 runs in the 8th to win the game 10 to 8.

August 24, 1959.   Ed Keegan, of Camden, NJ, right-hand pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, made his major league debut. In his rookie year the hard-throwing Keegan would pitch in just 3 games, work 9 innings, have a 0-3 record, and a 18.00 ERA. In 3 big league seasons he would never will a game.

August 25, 1991.   Brooklawn American Legion Post #72 won the American Legion national championship, when they downed Newark, Ohio 5 to 3 in the Legion World Series final. Post #72 won the contest with a 4-run 6th inning that featured John Mader's key hit. Scott Lavender and Brett Laxton shared the pitching, with Lavender picking up the victory.

August 27, 1949.   The Hammonton Little League team defeated Pensacola Florida's little leaguers by the score of 5-0 to capture the 3rd annual Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. Joe DiGiacomo was the winning pitcher, as he surrendered just one hit and struck out 14. First baseman "Blitz" Bilazzo drove in the key runs of the historic victory.

August 29, 1998.   The Toms River Little League team defeated Kashima Japan 12 to 9 to win the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. The slugfest featured 11 home runs, 5 by Toms River and 6 by Japan, and 21 total runs. The winner's Todd Frazier (SS/P) led the champions 15-hit attack, going 4 for 4 with 3 runs scored.

August 31, 1942.   Hilly Flitcraft, of Woodstown, NJ, left-hand pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League, made his major league debut. In his rookie year, his only big league season, Flitcraft pitched in just 3 games, had no decisions and a 8.10 ERA.

This is just a sample of South Jersey's baseball history, but I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I did researching these outstanding scholastic, college and major leaguers from our area.

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