Jack HARSHman

In reading about Juan Marichal vs. Warren Spahn I saw a footnote about other such marathons. Of course, since these other games didn't have the marquee names of Spahn and or Marichal, these tale of yore got tucked away on a dusty shelf to be read another day.

On August 13, 1954, while a member of the White Sox, Jack Harshman faced Al Aber of the Tigers.  The lefty Harshman, is the only guy to give the opponents 65 chances without allowing a run, a feat that hasn't been matched before or since in the live ball era.

Harshman's pitching line: IP-16, H-9,R-0, BB-7, K-12. W (10-6).

Harshman was also a good hitter, hitting 21 career home runs, twice hitting as many as six (6) in a season. (1956 with the Chisox and 1958 with the Baltimore Orioles.)

There have been a lot of ballgames played in the majors and many more in the minors so it shouldn't be too surprising to come across games with unbelievable accomplishments every now and then.

I completely forgot about the game at Shea Stadium, on August 19, 1969, when Juan Marichal had another shutout going into the 14th inning when with one out Tommie Agee hit a walk-off homer. This was the year of the Miracle Mets. History would be written in two months of that year (1969).

The pitching lines were:

Marichal 13.1 IP, 6-H, 1-R, 1-BB, 13-K
Gary Gentry 10-IP, 4-H, 4-BB, 5-K
Tug McGraw 4-IP, 1-H, 1-BB.
WP- McGraw (6-2)
LP- Marichal (14-9)

Giants starting lineup for that game:
Bobby Bonds-RF
Ron Hunt-2B
Willie Mays-CF
Willie McCovey-1B
Bob Burda-LF
Bobby Etheridge-3B
Bob Barton-C
Hal Lanier-SS
(Lanier was only Giant with 2 hits.)

Kevin J. Marquez