DAVE SHEAN

THE LAST ONE FOR 86 YEARS
Les Nunamaker throws the game
away in the ninth for St. Louis

July 16, 1918 ...  With George Whiteman at the plate and getting set to do combat for the Red Sox in the final inning, former Sox catcher Les Nunamaker, presented the home team, with the game, throwing past Fritz Maisel at third while trying to break up a double steal, and permitting Dave Shean too score the winning run, and defeating the Browns 2 to 1 at Fenway Park.  It was quite a ballgame that Sam Jones and Alan Sothoron were in for seven innings. Lefty Liefeld finished up the game and got charged with the loss.

It was a hot day and Sam Jones was wilting and between innings, while the Sox were batting, manager Ed Barrow gave him smelling salts and resorted to other heroic measures to keep Jones' head up. Sam went the distance, however, and but for that final throw of Nunamaker, the game might have run on considerably longer.

There was not much hitting, with each team getting four blows.  Babe Ruth did half the hitting for the Sox and George Sisler got two of the hits that the Browns made.

In the second inning, Sam Jones hit Joe Gideon on the wrist and Joe had to leave the game in the following inning. Upon examination, it was found that his right wrist was broken. The Red Sox also were not without injury. In the sixth inning, a foul tip ripped off one of Sam Agnew's fingernails and he also had to leave the game.

When George Whiteman was batting in the second inning, the visitors kicked up quite a fuss over a decision that umpire Tommy Connolly made. Ruth had tripled to the bank in center field and the count was two and two on Whiteman. Whitey took one of those half swings and the ump called ball three. The Browns battery and infield swarmed around the umpire.  Sothoron slammed his gloved to the ground and started yelling. All of the players threw remarks at the umpire and the net result was that Jimmy Austin was sent to the showers. After that, Whitey slammed a single to left and scored Babe, and the first run.  The run looked big until the ninth inning when the Browns knotted the score.

In every inning except three, Sothoron turned the Sox back in order. His spitter was working wonderfully.  Only twice after the first inning, did any of the home team reach first, while Sothoron was pitching. Harry Hooper was passed in the sixth and Ruth singled in the seventh.

Harry Hooper's great running catch off and Nunamaker, with two out and two on, in the second, helped out Jones.  Ray Demmitt had doubled, taking third on a sacrifice, and Gedeon had been hit by a pitch ball. Nunamaker hit one out too far for Dave Shean to take, but Hooper came in and turned in a great catch.

Sam went along fine until the ninth, when the visitors put over the tying run. George Sisler singled to center, was sacrificed to second by Demmitt, and took third on Sam's wild pitch, scoring after Tim Hendryx drove a long fly out to Amos Strunk.

Then, in the bottom of the ninth the Sox snatched the game out of the fire. Shean singled on a play that Wally Gerber, at deep short couldn't make, and moved to second on Otis Strunk's sacrifice. The Babe was intentionally passed by Liefeld and with Whiteman up, Shean and the Babe started a double steal. Nunamaker threw high, and Shean slid into third and did not know the throw had been bad. It took a second for him to hear third base coach, Heinie Wagner, yelling at him to go. Shean recovered and took off for home.  If Tim Hendryx and made a good throw, they might have nailed Shean at the plate. The game was over the final score was Red Sox 2, Browns 1.

Lefty pitchers Bobby Carruthers, who is been with a semipro team in New Jersey, and Bill Kinney, from Dallas, reported to manager Ed Barrow today.  King Bader was struck on the arm by a ball in batting practice, and cannot pitch for a couple of days.

Fred Thomas, thirdbaseman of the Red Sox, today enlisted in the Navy as an apprentice seamen at the Milwaukee recruiting station. Thomas has been laid up recently with an injured hand. He will go to the Great Lakes naval air station next Monday.