Only July 29, 1915, Honus Wagner hit a bases-loaded inside-the-park home run off of Brooklyn’s Jeff Pfeffer. The hit made the 41-year-old Wagner the oldest player in baseball history to hit a grand slam. Wagner held the record for 70 seasons.
Wagner’s slam came at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field in the 8th inning of an 8-2 Pirates victory. The Dutchman held the record for the rest of his life.
Wanger’s victim Pfeffer was one of baseball’s best pitchers from 1914-1917. Owner of 78 wins during that period, he pitched to a 2.05 ERA.
Then in 1918 Pfeffer appeared in just one game. He made the most of it with a two-hit complete-game shutout against the eventual National League champion Chicago Cubs.
In the letter above Pfeffer explains his abbreviated campaign.
“The reason for my one game appearance during the season of 1918 – I was busy with duties at the Great Lakes Naval Station as a member of the Armed Services where I was stationed for two months during the First World War. I pitched the one game for Brooklyn when they came to Chicago on one of their regular trips of that season.”
Pfeffer’s signature is at the bottom.
Interestingly the correspondence is dated June 17, 1965 from Chicago, a half-century to the day after his 13 2/3-inning complete-game loss in the same city. On June 17, 1915 Cub hurler Zip Zabel established a still-standing MLB record by throwing 18 1/3 innings in relief for the win.