The Catbird Seat

Almanac Edition · every September 21 at once · from the makers of Tearing Up the Pea Patch

SEPTEMBER 21 · 1,329 GAMES ON THE RECORD · 1872–2025

On this date in 1981, Montreal beat Philadelphia 1–0 in 16 innings while being out-hit 8 to 7. It took 4 hours and 28 minutes.

The Committee has looked at all 1,329 major-league games played on September 21, from 1872 to 2025, and this is the one that does not behave.

Also on this date

1895-09-21	LS3 at Cincinnati	8–19
1989-09-21	The California Angels at Cleveland	4–5	16.7	326 min
1897-09-21	Brooklyn at the Boston Braves	22–5		by 17
2001-09-21	San Francisco at San Diego	2–0	9.0	60,066 paid

Unfair afternoons — won while out-hit

1944-09-21	The Cubs at the New York Giants	6–4	9.0	hits 6-15
1906-09-21	The Washington Senators at Detroit	4–5	8.8	hits 13-7
1913-09-21	Philadelphia at the Cubs	7–8	10.7	hits 16-10

The Mirror Game — a line score this date shares with another day

1898-09-21	The Cubs at BLN	1–3	8.5	000000010 / 10100100x
1900-09-21	The Cubs at Cincinnati	3–6	8.5	000020001 / 00010500x
1901-09-21	Detroit at the Boston Red Sox	3–1	9.0	300000000 / 000100000

By the decades

1870s 6 · 1880s 55 · 1890s 58 · 1900s 87 · 1910s 75 · 1920s 70 · 1930s 73 · 1940s 73 · 1950s 61 · 1960s 71 · 1970s 108 · 1980s 127 · 1990s 110 · 2000s 137 · 2010s 139 · 2020s 79

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THE CATBIRD SEAT is set by the Committee on Playing Rules of Tearing Up the Pea Patch, a Macguffin Co. game, Commissioner F. McCoy presiding. Almanac editions are compiled from the record by the Committee’s engine and read by no one before you; a surprising fact in them is a lead, not a verdict. The information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Interested parties may contact Retrosheet at www.retrosheet.org. Wire service (RSS)