On this day in 1909, Michigander Neal Ball made MLB’s first unassisted triple play. And in 1838, a massive canal project began—only to be abandoned years later.
TRANSCRIPT
It’s one of the most rare things in baseball, there have only been 15 known occurrences in MLB to date. And today in 1909, Grand Haven, Michigan-native with a very appropriate last name, Neal Ball made the very first unassisted triple play in recorded MLB history. It occurred at the top of the 2nd inning while playing Shortstop with the Cleveland Naps. If that wasn’t enough, Ball was up to bat at the bottom of the 2nd and hit his very first homerun as well. Quite a day of firsts for both baseball and the Michigander Neal Ball.
And today in 1838, according to the Detroit Free Press announced a canal project began to connect Mt. Clemens, north of Detroit across over 200 miles to the Kalamazoo River. It was the plan of Michigan Governor Stevens T. Mason for ships to bypass the Great Lakes and Straits of Mackinac. However, the expansive project would be abandoned 5 years later, with only 10 percent completed.