Ted Williams debuts
On April 20, 1939 – 1939: It’s opening day at Yankee Stadium and this is the only game that Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig ever play against each other. It is the first major-league game for Williams, a 20-year-old playing right-field and batting sixth for Boston, and the 2,124th consecutive game for the Yankees’ Gehrig.
Williams strikes out twice and goes 1-for-4 against Red Ruffing, who blanks Boston, 2-0. Williams’ hit — the first of 2,654 in his career — is a double off the right-center bleacher wall.
Gehrig, batting fifth, is 0-for-4 against Lefty Grove, including a low liner that Williams catches with two runners on base. An ailing Gehrig will play only six more games before illness forces him to retire.
Sources:
About The Author
