Phillies and Cubs set a record that still stands in a ‘weird’ game on this week in Philly history
The Phillies and Cubs accounted for 49 runs on Aug. 25, 1922, the most ever recorded in a Major League Baseball game.
The Inquirer’s headline called it a “weird” game.
The Chicago Tribune called it a “comedy of runs, hits and errors.”
More than 100 years later, record-keepers call it baseball history.
The game
On Aug. 25, 1922, a windy-day matchup between the visiting Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs accounted for 49 runs, the most ever recorded in a Major League Baseball game.
That record remains unbroken.
“Cubs and Phillies hooked up in what was advertised as a baseball game,” The Inquirer noted, “but which turned out early to be a comic opera to the tune of base hits.”
The two teams met at Cubs Park, which would not adopt the name of Philadelphia native William Wrigley Jr. until 1926.
More than 7,000 fans turned out for the Friday matinee, which started well enough: The Cubs jumped to a one-run lead, but a series of Cubby errors put the Phils up by three in the second inning.
But the Phillies would not lead again for the rest of the game.
The Cubs scored 10 runs in the second inning, and 14 in the fourth.
The Phillies put up six runs between the third and fifth innings, eight runs in the eighth inning, and six more in the ninth, but could not fully catch up.
And when the last out was recorded, the Phils left the bases loaded.
The record
When the basepath dust had settled, the two teams accounted for 51 hits, and 49 runs, “which established a new world’s mark for modern baseball,” The Inquirer noted.
The teams also set records for most runs in one inning (14), number of at-bats by one player in one inning (3), number of hits by a team in one inning (11), and the season record for number of runs scored by one team over nine innings, besting the previous record of 19.
But the Phillies were on the wrong side of history.
They lost, 26-23.
The Philadelphia baseball club got some measure of revenge more than 50 years later, beating the Cubs in a 10-inning slugfest at Wrigley Field, 23-22, on May 17, 1979. Their combined 45 runs counts as the second-most runs ever scored in a game.
Close enough.
