# Unassisted triple play **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 14, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725 "2005-01-14T16:16:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/1 "2005-01-14T16:16:06Z")
At… [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_173.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_173.html) …Cecil tells us - among other things - that Bill Wambsganss, 2nd baseman for the Cleveland Indians executed the first unassisted triple play in a World Series back in 1920. The very first such play in the big leagues occured in 1908. Curiously enough, it was performed in Cleveland by Indians shortstop, Neal Ball. Happened the same way as Wambsganss’s. Boston Red Sox runners on 1st and 2nd are off with the pitch, batter hits a liner over 2nd base, Ball leaps and snags it for one out, comes down on 2nd for out number 2, and tags the runner from first for the 3rd out. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/B/Ball\_Neal.stm](http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/B/Ball_Neal.stm) says the team name was the Cleveland Indians, but in my head I’m stuck with the Cleveland Naps. I read about this a long time ago, so I’m probably wrong. But one thing’s sure. Neal Ball comes up in the bottom of the inning and hits a home run! An inside-the- park, job, at that. The guy had a helluva day. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/2 "2005-01-14T16:22:16Z")
It’s very common, when talking about sports franchises that haven’t physically moved from one city to another, to use the current name when referring to past teams. For example, the Braves were known, for a time, as the Bees while in Boston, but most people simply refer to them as the Braves for the entirety of thier history. Other examples include the Reds, who were known as the Redlegs for a while, and the Brooklyn Dodgers, who went through several name changes. Lastly (at least with regard to Cleveland), “Naps” may simply have been an unofficial nickname applied to them from their former player and manager Nap Lajoie. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/3 "2005-01-14T19:51:22Z")
> [@zev\_steinhardt](#): > > Lastly (at least with regard to Cleveland), “Naps” may simply have been an unofficial nickname applied to them from their former player and manager Nap Lajoie. “Naps” was the official name as far as the history books are concerned. They started out as the Cleveland Blues, became the Broncos the next season, then the Naps from 1903-1914 - when the A’s bought Napoleon Lajoie’s contract. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/4 "2005-01-14T20:27:27Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > “Naps” was the official name as far as the history books are concerned. They started out as the Cleveland Blues, became the Broncos the next season, then the Naps from 1903-1914 - when the A’s bought Napoleon Lajoie’s contract. Hurray! I was right. Not to push my luck, but I also seem to remember that Neal Ball pulled his triple play against the Washington (Name\*?), not the Red Sox. \*Nationals? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/5 "2005-01-14T20:52:11Z")
The Washington team of the time was officially called the Nationals but [the triple play was indeed against Boston](http://www.hollandsentinel.com/stories/071804/fea_071804026.shtml). Trivia: in 1878, Paul Hines of the Providence Grays pulled off an unassisted (according to the rules of the time) triple play. Under today’s rules, secondbaseman Charlie Sweasy would be awarded an assist for the third out. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/6 "2005-01-14T22:09:35Z")
> [@zev\_steinhardt](#): > > Other examples include the Reds, who were known as the Redlegs for a while, … including a short stint during the early part of the Cold War. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/7 "2005-01-14T23:47:44Z")
The concept of an “official” team nickname for a sports team didn’t really take hold until after World War I. Teams were given nicknames by the local papers based on what they sounded nice, fit in headlines easily, and appealed to the editor. Many reference sources stated that the Boston Red Sox won the first (AL vs NL) World Series in 1903. Except the team wasn’t called the Red Sox then. Some sources have taken to referring to that team as the pilgrim, but historian Bill Nowlin has studied Boston newspapers from that era and determined that the 1903 Boston AL team had no nickname at all. It was always just “Boston”. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/8 "2005-01-16T13:51:28Z")
> [@Antiochus](#): > > At… > > [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_173.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_173.html) > The very first such play in the big leagues occured in 1908. Curiously enough, it was performed in Cleveland by Indians shortstop, Neal Ball. [snip] > But one thing’s sure. > > Neal Ball comes up in the bottom of the inning and hits a home run! An inside-the- park, job, at that. > > The guy had a helluva day. On July 31, 1968, Ron Hansen of the Washington Senators made the first unassisted triple play in 41 years. Two days later he hit a Grand Slam homerun. As his reward, that day after that the Senators traded him to the White Sox.(!) Any questions why Washington was known as “last in the American League”? ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/9 "2005-01-16T16:24:44Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > Any questions why Washington was known as “last in the American League”? Not always. While sometimes Washington was “first in war, first in peace and last in the American League,” more often it was St. Louis (as the Browns) who were “first in shoes, first in booze and last in the American League.” Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/10 "2005-01-16T16:55:41Z")
> [@Antiochus](#): > > …Cecil tells us - among other things - that Bill Wambsganss, 2nd baseman for the Cleveland Indians executed the first unassisted triple play in a World Series back in 1920. Actually, what he said was that it was the first (and only to this point) unassisted triple play in the World Series. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/11 "2005-01-16T18:49:08Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > The concept of an “official” team nickname for a sports team didn’t really take hold until after World War I. Teams were given nicknames by the local papers based on what they sounded nice, fit in headlines easily, and appealed to the editor. Some teams adopted an official name as early as 1905. 1908 in the case of the Washington Nationals. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/12 "2005-01-17T23:14:01Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > On July 31, 1968, Ron Hansen of the Washington Senators made the first unassisted triple play in 41 years. Two days later he hit a Grand Slam homerun. As his reward, that day after that the Senators traded him to the White Sox.(!) Any questions why Washington was known as “last in the American League”? Hansen was hitting .185 with 8 homers and 28 rbis, with 17 errors in 86 games. The reincarnation of Babe Ruth is not what we’re talking here. ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/13 "2005-01-18T18:47:50Z")
I have to disagree about the point that all perfect games are equal. I can certainly think of games that are _more perfect_ than others, such as a pitcher throwing 27 pitches, all of which are line drives _that he catches himself_. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/14 "2005-01-18T19:11:45Z")
> [@galt](#): > > I have to disagree about the point that all perfect games are equal. I can certainly think of games that are _more perfect_ than others, such as a pitcher throwing 27 pitches, all of which are line drives _that he catches himself_. 🙂 I don’t know about that. It’s the pitcher’s job to get the hitter out. It’s not his job to make every out himself. (Note: When a pitcher records a strikeout, he doesn’t get the putout, the catcher does.) As such, it’s not more perfect if he records every out himself - on the contrary it’s less perfect because he put the perfect game at jeopardy by doing everything himself and potentially wearing himself out. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/15 "2005-01-18T19:35:19Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > “Naps” was the official name as far as the history books are concerned. They started out as the Cleveland Blues, became the Broncos the next season, then the Naps from 1903-1914 - when the A’s bought Napoleon Lajoie’s contract. The “Naps” faltered after a few years with that name, prompting some wag to suggest that “Naps” be short for “Napkins–the way they’ve folded up.” 😃 Lajoie always pronounced his last name LAJ-uh-way, according to Lee Allen; the correct French, of cxourse, would be (approximately) Luh-ZHWAH. Despite the common belief that the Yankees, who played in Highland Park in Manhattan until they moved into the Polo Grounds in 1913 as the Giants’ tenants, were known as the “Highlanders” before 1913, a 1905 sports-section headling specifically uses the pohrase “Dougherty as a Yankee.” 😛 (according to Lee Allen again.) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/16 "2005-01-18T20:11:29Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Lajoie always pronounced his last name LAJ-uh-way, according to Lee Allen; the correct French, of cxourse, would be (approximately) Luh-ZHWAH. Well, he was from Rhode Island, not France. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/17 "2005-01-19T00:33:13Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Despite the common belief that the Yankees, who played in Highland Park in Manhattan until they moved into the Polo Grounds in 1913 as the Giants’ tenants, were known as the “Highlanders” before 1913, a 1905 sports-section headling specifically uses the pohrase “Dougherty as a Yankee.” 😛 (according to Lee Allen again.) I can cite them being called the “Yankees” in headlines and text of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The L.A. Times, etc. day after day in 1906. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/18 "2005-01-19T00:47:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, he was from Rhode Island, not France. … and he didn’t want to be tempting Providence. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/19 "2005-01-19T02:18:21Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > … and he didn’t want to be tempting Providence. Well, any UFO nut can tell you how dangerous the Greys are! 😛 Perhaps the most arcane really-stretching-it pun I’ve ever pulled on this board. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725/20 "2005-01-19T08:18:37Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > … and he didn’t want to be tempting Providence. FWIW, On the Classmates website, on the message board for my high school, I am known as The Royal Punster. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unassisted-triple-play/284725.md?page=2)