Today in Sports History: June 23rd

In the first game of a doubleheader, Babe Ruth was on the mound for the Boston Red Sox, who were facing the atrocious Washington Senators at Fenway Park. Ruth walked the first batter of the game, Ray Morgan, on four pitches and then began to argue with home plate umpire Brick Owens. Brick quickly tossed him for arguing, and Ruth was so upset that he walked up to him and punched him in the face. “It wasn’t a love tap. I really socked him -- right in the jaw,” Ruth said.

Ruth was handed a ten-game suspension and would pay a $100 fine, though the real story happened after he left. Coming in from the bullpen was right-hander Ernie Shore, who more than made up for the loss of the Babe. Shore picked off Morgan at first base and then proceeded to retire the next 26 batters in a row. When it was all said and done, Shore had retired all 27 batters without allowing a single run or hit. Shore was initially credited with throwing a perfect game, but later redefinitions would take that away from him. Officially, Shore threw nine innings of a combined no-hitter with Babe Ruth, though many refer to this as a “perfect game in relief.”

1917 was the final year that Ruth was a full-time pitcher. That season, he went 24-13 with 35 complete games and a 2.01 ERA.