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Originally Posted by Bluefoot
Ask Fred Merkle, 1908 New York Giants. He missed 2B. Does matter. He ended up becoming a Viagra spokesman.
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Yep, actually Merkle didn't advance to second even though he was forced.
All kinds of interesting stuff about that play...and of course that season.
Hank O'Day, the base umpire who was almost kidnapped by the Cubs to discuss the call and determine Merkle was out and the winning run had not scored, had been a pitcher for several years, and was a manager in the major leagues.
Many umpires still worked one-man games in the major leagues at that time. Bill Emslie, the plate umpire, actually preferred to work one-man, but the NL president forced him to use a partner for the Cubs-Giants season. It was not unusual for important series and games to have two umpires, while other less important series and games used a single umpire. Neither league employed enough umpires in 1908 to use two umpires at each game. (I believe NL had 7 umpires and AL had 6...but it might be the other way around.)
The Giants have been to, and won, World Series since 1908. The Cubs have Steve Bartmann.