May 17, 2021 3 min read

ON THIS DATE

May 18

1912 – Detroit players go on strike to protest Ty Cobb’s suspension. To avoid a forfeit and fine, manager Hugh Jennings recruited college players and others; they lost to the Philadelphia A’s 24-2. Joe Travers gave up all 24 runs on 26 hits.

1954 – Dave Palmer pitches a three-hitter and Bethlehem Joint High School scores twice on bunts to defeat Centerville 2-0 in a tiebreaker game for the Section 22 baseball title.

1957 – West Greene’s mile relay team and Jefferson-Morgan javelin thrower Bob Knight win WPIAL Class B championships at Mt. Lebanon. The Pioneers’ team of Price Cheeks, Ray King, Zinn Gorby and Glenn Baker sets a meet record with a time of 3:38.2. Knight has a winning throw of 175-9 1/2.

1957 – Bold Ruler, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Preakness Stakes by two lengths over Iron Liege. It’s the sixth and last time Arcaro wins the Preakness.

1978 – Ringgold’s Jim Fitch wins the WPIAL Class AAA boys shot put title with a throw of 57-3 1/2.

1981 – Tom Hisiro is named head football coach at Canon-McMillan, succeeding Tom Olszewski. Hisiro had been head coach at Lake Lehman High School.

1981 – Washington wins the WPIAL Class AAA boys track & field team title.

1989 – Waynesburg’s Carlos Gibbs easily wins the 3,200-meter run and teammate Scott Koast wins the gold medal in the triple jump at the WPIAL Class AAA Boys Track & Field Championships at Butler High School.

1992 – Canon-McMillan upsets top-seeded and defending WPIAL softball champion Baldwin 6-4 in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs.

1995 – Ken Wregget stops 33 shots, and Ron Francis and Norm MacIver score goals in the first 16 minutes as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Washington Capitals 3-0 in Game 7 of a conference quarterfinal series.

1997 – Daneille Penner throws her 25th shutout of the season as California University blanks Wisconsin-Parkside 1-0 to move to within one victory of the NCAA Division II softball championship in Salem, Va.

1998 – California University defeats Barry (Fla.), 2-1, in Pensacola, Fla., to win its second straight NCAA Division II women’s softball national championship. The Lady Vulcans finish the season 49-7 overall. California breaks a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning when Lith Webb walks, steals second base and then, with two outs, scores on a single by Nikki Fiedler.

2004 – Randy Johnson becomes the oldest pitcher in major league history to throw a perfect game, retiring all 27 hitters to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Atlanta Braves 2-0.

2007 – Jordan Jankowski, the leading home-run hitter in the WPIAL, smacks a first-pitch grand slam in the ninth inning as Peters Township defeats Shaler 8-4 in the Class AAAA baseball playoffs.