The Most Perfect Game That Wasn’t

A young Babe Ruth played a big role in the Red Sox victory against the Senators in 1917. Image credits: The Pop History Dig

When the 16,158 fans went home for supper after the Red Sox-Senators doubleheader at Fenway Park on Saturday, June 23, 1917, they had a story to tell the likes of which they had never witnessed and never would again.

It wasn’t just that the home team had won both games. After all, they were the defending champions, in second place, and Washington was seventh. Nor was it that they had beaten Senators’ ace Walter Johnson, 5-0, in the second game. Johnson was a perennial 20-game winner, but he took a lot of losses with some weak Washington teams.

The fans’ story started with a hit, not a base hit to the infield or outfield, but to an umpire’s head. 

Our story begins with Babe Ruth. As a kid growing up around the waterfront in Baltimore, George Ruth had been a roughneck, a troublemaker, “a bum” he later admitted.

Sent by his mother to live in an industrial school for boys, he was tamed somewhat, discovered baseball, and became the school’s best hitter and pitcher. When he left at 19 to join the Baltimore Orioles minor league team in 1914, he still had plenty of rough edges.

The Orioles intended to give him a few years of coaching and experience and growing up, but the independent Federal League had declared itself a major league and put a rival team in Baltimore that resulted in heavy financial losses for Orioles owner/manager Jack Dunn.

In desperation, he had been forced to sell Ruth and 23-year-old pitcher, Ernie Shore, to the Red Sox. 

Behind their pitching and Ruth’s hitting, the Red Sox had won pennants in 1915 and 1916. But Ruth had not grown up yet. The rough edges were still there.

Ruth’s record was 12-4 when he went to the mound to start the first game that Saturday afternoon. Veteran umpire Brick Owens was behind the plate. Owens was 5-10, 200 pounds.

23-year-old Ernie Shore faced 26 batters and retired them all - an almost perfect game! Image credits: NC Pedia

Ruth threw his first pitch to leadoff batter Ray Morgan.

“Ball!” yelled Owens.

Ruth glared at him.

Next pitch: “Ball!”

“Open your eyes,” Ruth yelled.

He walked Morgan on four pitches, then stalked about the mound, shouting at Owens, as the next batter came to the plate. He was still beefing when Owens yelled, “Get in there and pitch or I will run you out of there.”

Ruth yelled back, “You run me out and I will come in there and bust you on the nose.”

The ump tossed him and Ruth charged the plate, swinging. He landed one blow behind the ump’s left ear as players from both benches swarmed out. Boston catcher Pinch Thomas tried to get between them and was ejected for his efforts, as Boston manager Jack Barry dragged Ruth off the field.

Barry called on Ernie Shore to replace Ruth. The umpire gave him about ten minutes to warm up with the replacement catcher Sam Agnew. When the game resumed, the man on first was thrown out trying to steal second.

He was the only Washington baserunner of the game. Ernie Shore faced 26 batters and retired them all. It was the most “almost” perfect game in baseball history.