Year In Review : 1934 American League
Off the field...
American justice prevailed as Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker aka "Bonnie and Clyde" were ambushed and killed instantly by a posse of lawmen led by Texas Ranger Frank Hamer near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana on May 23rd. Together the pair committed thirteen murders, numerous kidnappings, and several burglaries and robberies requiring the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to engage in the largest manhunt the United States had seen up to that time. Another famous bank robber and cold-blooded killer who terrorized the Midwest during the early '30s, John Dillinger was also shot and killed by FBI agents outside of a Chicago movie theater in July.
The Securities and Exchange Commission agency of the U.S. government was created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and was charged with protecting the interests of the public and investors in connection with the public issuance and sale of corporate securities. The Federal Communications Commission was also established to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest.
In the American League...
Washington Senators reserve catcher Moe Berg set an American League record on April 21st, after playing in his one-hundred seventeenth consecutive errorless game (dating back to 1931).
New York Yankees icon Lou Gehrig hit two home runs (one a grand slam) and a pair of doubles on May 10th, to tie the Major League record with four long hits and seven runs (in only five innings of play) to top the Chicago White Sox, 13-3.
The amazingly inconsistent St. Louis Browns shocked everyone on June 3rd after tying an American League record for most consecutive hits (nine in the sixth-inning — all with two outs) to beat the first place Cleveland Indians 12-8.
In the National League...
On April 29th, the Pittsburgh Pirates became the last remaining major league city to play a home outing on a Sunday (beating the Cincinnati Reds 9-5) after the state's "Blue Law" (prohibiting games on Sundays) was repealed.
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dazzy Vance notched the two-thousandth strikeout of his career during his last complete game, a 4-2 victory over the Boston Braves, on July 22nd.
Reggie Grabowski of the Philadelphia Phillies, set an unwanted National League record after surrendering eleven hits (and runs) in the ninth inning against the New York Giants for a humiliating 21-4 loss on August 4th.
Around the league...
Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who was granted absolute power in 1920 after the Black Sox scandal had tainted the game, denied participant Shoeless Joe Jackson's appeal for reinstatement in January.
Due to declining attendance, both the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns discontinued radio broadcasts from Sportsman's Park in an effort to promote ticket sales with the hometown fans. All games had been aired since 1926, but only on weekdays for the last two years.
As a novelty concept (that would eventually catch on), fans were tasked with voting in the participants for the second annual All-Star Game, which was to be played on July 10th at the Polo Grounds in New York. Bill Terry of the New York Giants was the top vote-getter in the Midsummer Classic balloting.
Negro League ace Satchel Paige tossed a 4-0 no-hitter on July 4th against the Homestead Grays in Pittsburgh, and then drove to Chicago to shut out the Chicago American Giants 1-0 (in twelve innings) giving him two shutouts (in two different cities) on the same day.
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