The Catbird Seat

Almanac Edition · every September 24 at once · from the makers of Tearing Up the Pea Patch

SEPTEMBER 24 · 1,294 GAMES ON THE RECORD · 1873–2025

On this date in 1971, Houston beat San Diego 2–1 in 21 innings while being out-hit 13 to 11. It took 5 hours and 25 minutes.

The Committee has looked at all 1,294 major-league games played on September 24, from 1873 to 2025, and this is the one that does not behave.

Also on this date

1985-09-24	Montreal at the Cubs	17–15	9.0
2019-09-24	St. Louis at Arizona	2–3	18.8	413 min
1894-09-24	Philadelphia at St. Louis	21–1		by 20
1950-09-24	The Boston Red Sox at the Yankees	5–9	8.5	66,924 paid

Unfair afternoons — won while out-hit

2010-09-24	Baltimore at Toronto	4–6	8.5	hits 16-5
1919-09-24	The Boston Red Sox at the Yankees	1–2	12.7	hits 13-5
1974-09-24	San Francisco at San Diego	2–3	8.5	hits 11-4

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

1900-09-24	Pittsburgh at St. Louis	0–1	8.5	000000000 / 00000010x
1903-09-24	Brooklyn at Cincinnati	1–2	8.8	000100000 / 000001001
1904-09-24	The Philadelphia Athletics at the White Sox	0–4	8.5	000000000 / 30000001x

By the decades

1870s 8 · 1880s 46 · 1890s 53 · 1900s 64 · 1910s 70 · 1920s 78 · 1930s 80 · 1940s 63 · 1950s 53 · 1960s 80 · 1970s 110 · 1980s 120 · 1990s 110 · 2000s 130 · 2010s 141 · 2020s 88

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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)