This Day in Yankees History: the first regular season Subway Series

With the start of the 2020 season delayed for the foreseeable future, the Pinstripe Alley team decided to revive the program in a slightly different format. These daily posts will highlight two or three key moments in Yankees history on a given date, as well as recognize players born on the day. Hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane with us!

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This Day in Yankees History (June 16)

67 Years Ago

The Yankees’ winning streak of 18 games crashed to a halt with a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Browns — who had been enduring a 14-game losing skid of their own. As part of the upset, Whitey Ford took the loss in the game, his first defeat after a run of eight straight decisions without a loss.

The Bombers’ run of 18 consecutive wins, which started back on May 27th against the Washington Senators, was the second-longest in team history. The longest Yankees streak, which stood at 19 victories, had been compiled in 1947, and also happened to start against the Senators.

24 Years Ago

Hall of Fame radio broadcaster Mel Allen passed away, leaving behind a legacy as an iconic voice of the Yankees. Allen was best known for his play-by-play on Yankees radio broadcasts, and his signature line, “How about that?” which he saved for particularly impressive plays.

His tenure calling Yankees games began in 1940, and his voice accompanied some of the team’s great achievements over the ensuing title-laden decades. Allen called 16 World Series in the span of 17 years from 1947 to 1963, and 22 Fall Classics in total.

Allen was replaced unexpectedly by Joe Garagiola for the 1965 season, but made his return to Yankees broadcasting in 1976, just in time to bear witness to another era of winning baseball in the Bronx.

23 Years Ago

The Yankees and Mets played their first ever regular season game against one another in an interleague clash in Yankee Stadium. Mets starter Dave Mlicki pitched a complete game in a 6-0 win, scattering nine hits and two walks to best Andy Pettitte.

The complete game shutout was the first of Mlicki’s major league career. He would throw just one more for the rest of his time in the big leagues, which came the following season while he was a member of the Dodgers.

His performance against the Yankees was the first installment in a new chapter of the intra-city rivalry that intensified throughout the late nineties, and came to a boiling point during the 2000 World Series between the clubs. The Yankees prevailed over the Mets in five games, cementing their place in the franchise’s dynastic history and securing their reputation as the best team in town.

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Birthdays

Happy birthday to former Yankees Kerry Wood, Ken Johnson, Allie Clark, and Bobby Keefe.

Wood, who made 24 relief appearances for the Yankees in the latter half of the 2010 season, made his name as a 21-year-old phenom in his debut season with the Cubs, when he struck out 20 batters in a game in just the fifth start of his career.

Wood’s special achievement placed him in the company of fellow Yankee and 20-strikeout wizard Roger Clemens, who accomplished the feat two times in his career, both as a member of the Red Sox. The first came in 1986, when he punched out 20 Mariners, and the second occurred a decade later, when he fanned 20 Detroit Tigers during his third-to-last start in Boston.

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We thank Baseball-Reference, Nationalpastime.com, and FanGraphs for providing background information for these posts.