August 7, 1915: Miller Huggins Dupes Brooklyn

     On August 7, 1915, a trick play by Cardinals manager Miller Huggins helped the club prevail 6-4 over the Brooklyn Robins in St. Louis. The game began with the Cardinals jumping out to a 3-0 lead, as they knocked Brooklyn's starting pitcher Wheezer Dell right out of the box. Ham Hyatt got the biggest hit of the inning with a big blast that had the Birds flying high early. Both pitching staffs would have their work cut out for them, as the Robins plated two runs in the second, another in the fourth to tie it 3-3, before the Birds could answer back with a run in the bottom of that same inning to retake the lead. That only lasted so long, as Casey Stengel tied it back up with a single in the sixth that came moments after his teammate Otto Miller come up big with a triple. Then came the play that decided it all in the seventh, with Huggins coaching at third with the bases loaded, he yelled over to Brooklyn's rookie reliever Ed Appleton and told him to toss him the ball. The rookie hurler tossed it his way, and Huggins moved out of the way, then Dots Miller, who was standing at third darted down the baseline to score the go ahead run. The Birds put one more on the board moments later, and from there it was all Cardinals. A rule was put in place to prevent a trick play like the one that Huggins executed, but on that day it was totally legal, and he made the most of it. I can almost hear the laughter in the stands as I have written this. It had to be hilarious.