eptember 28, 1941: On the final day of the season in Philadelphia, Ted Williams goes six for eight in a doubleheader against Connie Mack’s Athletics to finish the season batting .406, the last time a player achieved that mark.
Nineteen years later, September 28, 1960: In Williams’ last at-bat at Boston’s Fenway Park, he hit a home run – number 521 in his Hall of Fame career.
His first game was 21 years earlier, but as most fans know he didn’t play all 21 seasons; drafted by the Army in WWII, he trained as a fighter pilot from 1943-45, but the war ended before he saw action. Several years later, the Air Force needed pilots, and Williams was again called to service, this time flying 39 combat missions over Korea in 1951 and 1952.
Williams’ last game became his last game. The Red Sox were scheduled to face the Yankees in New York for the final three games of the season, but “The Kid” decided to hang up his spikes after the game on the the 28th ended, ensuring his last-at bat would be a home run.
On that Wednesday, the Sox’s final home game, the contest began at 2:18 p.m. inder what the official scorecard described as “gloomy and overcast” skies.
