 Charlie Robertson in 1922 with Chicago. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | April 30, 1922 (1922-04-30) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Navin Field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Detroit,Michigan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On April 30, 1922, in a game between theChicago White Sox andDetroit Tigers,Charlie Robertson pitched the fifthperfect game inMajor League Baseball history. Robertson, pitching for the White Sox, retired all 27 batters he faced.
Robertson was the White Sox's starting pitcher for their game against the Tigers in Detroit on Sunday, April 30, 1922. The 26-year-old Robertson, who had played for theAmerican Association'sMinneapolis Millers the previous season, was making his fourth start in Major League Baseball.[1] He faced a Detroit team that ended the season with a .306 batting average.[1]
Robertson started off the game by striking outLu Blue. In the second inning, Chicago'sHarry Hooper andJohnny Mostil scored on aWhitey Sheely single for the only runs. A spectacular diving catch byJohnny Mostil on a liner to left byBobby Veach in the second inning preserved the historic feat.[1] Throughout the game, Tigers managerTy Cobb complained to the umpires that Robertson was doctoring the ball. Robertson's uniform was checked, and Detroit kept several game balls, but nothing was ever found. In the ninth inning, Robertson retired pinch hitterJohnny Bassler for the final out.[1] The game lasted one hour and 55 minutes.[2]
It was 34 years before anyone else pitched a perfect game in the majors. For White Sox catcherRay Schalk, it was one of fourno-hitters he caught in his career. During the 1922 season, Robertson had a 14–15 win–loss record and a 3.64 earned run average. He finished his career with a win–loss record of 49–80 and a 4.44 ERA, and according to one writer, "Hands down, Robertson is the least-accomplished pitcher to have thrown the most accomplished of games."[1]
He appeared on the game showWhat's My Line? on October 14, 1956, six days afterDon Larsen's perfect game.[3]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Charlie Robertson (2–0) LP:Herman Pillette (2–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago White Sox | AB | R | H | RBI | Detroit Tigers | AB | R | H | RBI | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Mulligan,SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Lu Blue,1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Hervey McClellan,3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | George Cutshaw,2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Eddie Collins,2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Ty Cobb,CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Harry Hooper,RF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Bobby Veach,LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Johnny Mostil,LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Harry Heilmann,RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Amos Strunk,CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Jones,3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Earl Sheely,1B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | Topper Rigney,SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Ray Schalk,C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Danny Clark,PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Charlie Robertson,P | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Clyde Manion,C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| . | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Herman Pillette,P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| . | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Johnny Bassler,PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Totals | 32 | 2 | 7 | 2 | Totals | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Chicago White Sox | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | Detroit Tigers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Robertson | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Herman Pillette | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Totals | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Totals | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
