If a baseball fan from the 1920s was somehow magically transported to a 2022 major league game, he or she would be shocked by many things, beginning with the staggering difference in the cost of admission. Regardless of the disparity between ticket prices then and now, however, the cost of attending a game has been an issue for fans probably since admission charges were first introduced. That leads to a question which may not get a lot of conscious thought, what do fans expect to receive in exchange for parting with their hard earned money? Clearly the atmosphere and experience is part of it, but there is almost always a hope, if not an expectation, that our team, usually the home team will win. As we mature as baseball fans, however, most of us realize, if not accept, that no matter how weak the opponent, there is no guarantee our team will prevail. At the very least though, we want a competitive game, one that makes us feel we've gotten our money's worth.
By that standard any Cleveland baseball fan considering spending his money for the June 15, 1929 game with the Philadelphia Athletics should have given the matter careful thought. Cleveland was two games under .500 and that mediocre record was unlikely to improve against Connie Mack's Athletics on their way to the first of three consecutive American League pennants. To make the outlook even more bleak, Cleveland had just lost three straight to the Athletics in Philadelphia, while being outscored 20-3. The intimidating Athletics lineup was led by three future Hall of Famers, Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane and Jimmy Foxx with a solid supporting cast. While Cleveland didn't have that kind of talent, they did have Charlie Jamieson, possibly the best player you've never heard of and definitely the best New Jersey player in that category. Throughout his decade in a Cleveland uniform, the 36 year old Paterson product was not only a .300 hitter, but also, according to Cleveland sportswriter, Henry P. Edwards, the best left fielder of the last 30 years.
Baseball fans are, however, optimistic by nature and 20,000 made their way to Dunn Field to see the pitching matchup between Philadelphia's Rube Walberg and Cleveland's Walter Miller. After Miller set down the Athletics without a run, Jamieson singled and scored the first Cleveland run in 15 innings against Philadelphia on Earl Averill's home run. Philadelphia got one back in the top of the second and trailed 2-1 going to the top of the fifth with many fans likely settling down for what they thought was going to be a pitcher's duel. That proved to be a false notion, however, as consecutive hits by Cochrane, Simmons and Foxx drove in five Philadelphia runs. It was only after Foxx's single that Cleveland manager Roger Peckinpaugh brought in Wes Ferrell who retired the side without any further damage. With their lead gone and their money apparently wasted, Cleveland fans had to wonder why Peckinpaugh waited so long to make a pitching change. Having seemingly restored order, Athletics took the field with a 6-2 lead, but quickly discovered that the home team was far from done.
Three straight hits drove in a run and Mack replaced Walberg with the alliteraly named Ossie Orwoll who retired the next two Cleveland batters, but then walked two in a row to force in another run. Orwoll was relieved by Bill Shores who continued the pedestrian parade by walking Jamieson to force in another run and cut the Philadelphia lead to 6-5. Shores didn't fare much better when he finally got the ball over the plate. Lew Fonseca "whaled a double" that drove in three runs to give Cleveland an 8-6 lead. Averill, a future Hall of Famer in his own right, followed with his second hit of the inning and third of the game to drive in the home team's ninth run. In just one inning, Cleveland fans had gone from the depths of despair to renewed hope for a win against the league's top team. Prudent home fans, however, knew the game was far from over which was established beyond any doubt when Philadelphia cut the lead to 9-8 in the seventh inning. Fortunately, in the bottom of the eighth, Cleveland scored an insurance run, thanks to a three base error by Philadelphia's Mule Haas.
While the Cleveland fans had gotten a competitive game for their money, few at this point would have been satisfied with just coming close. They became more than a little nervous when Simmons singled to begin the ninth and Foxx hit a long drive that appeared headed for the center field bleachers. But they relaxed, at least for the moment, when Jamieson caught the ball with his back to the wall, supposedly, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, just two feet short of a game tying home run. It was only a momentary reprieve, however, as Bing Miller doubled putting the tying runs in scoring position with only one out. Perhaps having learned from waiting too long to make a pitching change earlier, Peckinpaugh brought in Jimmy Zinn (no relation) in relief. Zinn got Jimmy Dykes to hit a high bounder in front of the plate and when Simmons tried to score, the pitcher threw him out at home. But then, only one out away from a memorable victory, Zinn, who normally had good control, walked two straight batters, forcing in a run, to narrow the gap to 10-9.
With two out, the bases loaded and their team clinging to a one run lead, any Cleveland fan who wasn't standing, was probably kneeling in prayer. Zinn threw Max Bishop a fast ball which the Athletic second baseman "laced low and on a line toward left field." "Tearing twenty feet" after it on his "ancient legs" was the 36 year old Jamieson. "Ancient legs" or not Jamieson dove "through the air" and made "a spectacular shoe string catch" to end the game and save the day. It was a fitting conclusion to a day at the ballpark that gave the fans far more than they could have ever dreamed of when they paid for admission. And they didn't hesitate to show their appreciation, pouring onto the field "to hammer old Jamie on the back." As disappointed as any Athletics fans in the crowd might have been, they had to agree with the Inquirer that they had pretty much seen everything baseball had to offer. Understandably caught up in the emotions of the day, Gordon Cobbledick of the Plain Dealer called it the "rip-roaringest ball game every played." Be that as it may, one thing is for sure, as the drained, but happy crowd left the park they knew they had gotten their money's worth and then some.
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