Today in Baseball History: July 19th

1982 On July 19, 1982, 22-year-old Tony Gwynn makes his major league debut for the San Diego Padres. In a harbinger of things to come, the future National League batting champion collects two hits against the Philadelphia Phillies. Gwynn, a seven-time batting champion, will play his entire career with the Padres before announcing his retirement in 2001.

1982 On July 19, 1982, the first Cracker Jack Old-Timer's Classic is played at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington, D.C. 75-year-old Luke Appling hits a leadoff home run against 61-year-old Warren Spahn, helping the American League old-timers to a 7-2 win over the National League.

1975 On July 19, 1975, New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson is ruled out for using an illegal bat that has too much pine tar. The umpire's ruling, which is based on the pine tar exceeding the 18-inch limit, negates Munson's first inning RBI single against the Minnesota Twins.

1974 On July 19, 1974, Dick Bosman of the Cleveland Indians hurls a no-hitter against the Oakland A's and comes within one batter of pitching a perfect game. In winning the game, 4-0, Bosman commits a fielding error in the fourth inning, allowing the A's their only baserunner of the game.

1960 On July 19, 1960, future Hall of Famer Juan Marichal makes his major league debut for the San Francisco Giants. Marichal pitches a no-hitter until the seventh and winds up with a one-hit, 2-0 victory over the Phillies. Marichal will enjoy a 16-year career with the Giants, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

1952 On July 19, 1952, Fitzgerald of the Georgia State League plays a 12-year-old African-American batboy in a game against Statesboro. Joe Relford becomes the first black player in the history of the Class-D league. Umpire Ed Kubick is fired for allowing Relford to play, and Relford will lose his job as batboy.

1936 On July 19, 1936, Hall of Famer Bob Feller makes his major league debut for the Cleveland Indians. Feller pitches a scoreless inning of one-hit relief against the Washington Senators and picks up his first career strikeout.

1911 On July 19, 1911, minor leaguer Walter Carlisle pulls off an unassisted triple play while playing center field. Whileplaying for Vernon of the PCL, with runners on first and second and no one out in the sixth, Carlisle caught a ball at his sho tops. Seeing that the runners had been going, Carlisle ran to second to force one, and proceeded to first base, stepped on the bag, and finished the rare triple play.

1910 On July 19, 1910, Cy Young of the Cleveland Spiders wins the 500th game of his career. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer defeats Washington, 5-4, in 11 innings. Young will finish with an all-time record of 511 victories. A ball from that game is in the Hall of Fame collections.

1904 On July 19, 1904, Cleveland Naps infielder Neal Ball pulls off the first unassisted triple play in modern major league history. Ball, the Naps' shortstop, handles all three putouts in recording the history-making play.

1897 On July 19, 1897, Honus Wagner made his big league debut with the Louisville Colonels. Wagner won eight batting titles in his career, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936.