AARON ROBINSON

THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 2 ...
A POWERFUL RED SOX TEAM FAILS
IN THE WORLD SERIES ....
Ted Williams busts out at Yankees Stadium,
but Aaron Robinson matches him for a Yankees win

August 10, 1946 ... Ted Williams busted out all over Yankee Stadium today with two home runs, a single and several great plays in the outfield, but the red-hot Aaron Robinson matched the Kid's power production and ultimately slid the Yankees to a 7-5 win, in a 12 inning thriller before 35,000 spectators. Williams had socked his first Stadium home run of the year, with two aboard in the seventh. He then opened up the top of the 12th with his 31st of the year into the lower deck of right field, boosting the Red Sox back into a 5-4 lead.

Williams then started off the Yankee half of the 12th with a spectacular running, backhanded leaping catch of Bill Johnson's 400 foot drive. Joe DiMaggio, who had knocked across the first Yankee run in the first inning, singled into left for his second hit. Charlie Keller, up next, hit a slow roller down to Rudy York. After Rudy grabbed the ball he saw that the pitcher Clem Dreisewerd was slow to cover the bag, so he tried to make the play himself unsuccessfully. Dreisewerd then worked the count to 3 and 2 on Aaron Robinson, who grabbed the next pitch, a curveball, and timed it perfectly with a walk-off smash into the lower right field seats, for his biggest home run of the year. Hundreds of fans jumped over the barriers and wanted to pat him on the back on his triumphant tour around the bases and his Yankee teammates acted like he had just won the pennant.

Ted's four RBI boosted his league-leading total to 103, and he also scored the first Red Sox run in the second inning when the Yankees were leading 1 to 0. He scored when Rudy York lined a triple between DiMaggio and Keller to tie up the game. Although the Sox rolled up eight hits in the first six innings, the score stayed tied at 1-1, when Ted came up in the seventh.

With two away, Johnny Pesky had knocked out the third of his for singles. Dom walked and Ted came to bat. After fouling off a change up, Ted hit a towering drive that settled in the second row of boxes of the top-tier in right field. The drive gave Tex Hughson a 4-1 lead, but Tex couldn't stand the prosperity.

After Keller had ruled out any Yankee half of the seventh, Robinson lifted his first homer into the lower right field seats. Lindell than doubled down the left-field line and Rizzuto scored him with a single to center and went to second on Dominic's throw to the plate. Snuffy Stirnweiss then almost decapitated Hughson with a liner through the box and ended up on second on another unsuccessful throw by DiMaggio. Tex passed Bill Johnson purposely and out came Joe Cronin. Earl Johnson came in from the bullpen and ended the rally by getting Tommy Heinrich on a grounder to York at first, but the score was tied at four each,

From there until the 12th inning matters remained unchanged. The Sox loaded the bases in their part of the 12th on a walk to York, Johnny Murphy's wild throw to second on Bobby Doerr's bunt, and intentional pass to Hal Wagner, before Ted propelled the Sox into a temporary 5-4 lead.

It was the first extra inning game the Red Sox had played since May 23rd in Cleveland. Johnny Pesky's four blows brought his league-leading season total to 150.