June 2, 1935: Ripper Collins Stuns Chicago With a Slam

     On June 2, 1935, Ripper Collins stunned the fans in Chicago by capping off a ninth inning rally with a grand slam that beat the Cubs 6-5 at Wrigley.

     The stage was set for a comeback early as the Cubs put two runs on the board in the third, then one in fifth and another in the sixth. Perhaps the most interesting play of the game came in the two run Cubs third, when Billy Herman "played possum" after realizing he would be tagged out by Frankie Frisch at second. Frisch thought he passed out, so he threw to first, before yelling for the ball back to make the tag on Herman. Meanwhile, Herman got up and dashed to second before the play could be made. I would imagine this would be quite the highlight on the MLB Network. The play ignited the two run Cubs inning, which had Herman scoring the first run of the ballgame.

     The Birds did scratch a run across in the seventh when the Cubs starter/former Redbird got in a bit of trouble by walking the bases full, before Charlie Gelbert came through with a single, but the Cubs came right back and plated a run in the bottom of the inning. Carleton was still on the bump in the ninth for the Cubs, but got into trouble quickly, which led to him handing the ball over to Larry French with the bases full. French retired to the first two he faced, then Ripper crushed the second pitch he saw and it landed over the left field wall. The turn of events had the Baby Bears slightly shell-shocked, as Dizzy Dean came in to earn a two out save in the bottom of the ninth.

Just a quick note about that 1935 Cubs club. They did win the pennant that season with 100 wins, but could not get past the Detroit Tigers in the Fall Classic. The Cardinals won 96 games, so they were right there in the hunt until the end. When looking back at these great pennant races I often think how this generation is very blessed with the expanded playoff format. Just think about how great a postseason series between these two clubs would have been. It would have been a classic battle that's for sure.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN193506020.shtml