Philadelphia Baseball History

As Charlie Ferguson sat on the bench, the twenty-two year old must have had butterflies in his stomach.   He turned in a remarkable pitching performance, having gone a full nine innings for the Philadelphia Quakers, one of the nicknames that the Phillies were known by until about 1890, and not a single member of the Providence Grays had gotten a hit off of him.   Unfortunately, the Quakers’ offense was just as anemic as the Grays’ was that day.   And so, on this August 29, 1885, Charlie Ferguson would have to sit and wait, and even be ready to go out for a possible tenth inning. Charlie Ferguson's Opponents Had Been Involved in the First World Series The Quakers’ opponent was the Providence Grays, the reigning National League champions.   They had been involved in the first World Series, although, calling it that may give it a bit more of an air of formality than the series of matches really deserves.   Back in 1884, there were two separate major leagues. ...

It was the bottom of the ninth, with two outs.  Although the Phillies had a four run lead, this was no time to relax.  One of the best hitters in the league, a former Rookie of the Year and two time batting title champion, had worked a full count.  Much was riding on this next pitch. The man on the mound, however, had been preparing his whole life for this moment.  Just thirteen years earlier, at age twelve, he had led his team to the Little League World Series.  Three years after that, he became only the second player to pitchers  a no-hitter in the Babe Ruth World series.  Major league scouts had shown interest in the teenaged Rick Wise, for quite some time.  One scout even pressured Wise's parents to sign a major league contract for their minor son on the spot, warning that his value could only decrease if Rick had a bad game.  In his next game, Wise proceeded to strike out twenty-two batters in nine innings. June 23, 1971 would prove to b...