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September 2008Happy Birthday: 1908On September 23, 1908, in the bottom of the ninth inning, New York Giant Fred Merkle was on first base while teammate Moose McCormick was on third. What happened next cost the Giants the pennant, established the date as one of the most ignominious anniversaries in baseball, and made bonehead and boner part of our lexicon. Along with the noun bonehead, more than 150 other nouns also first appeared in print in 1908. We've pulled out a few notable ones — they tell an interesting cultural story. To learn about Merkle's boner and see more of the list, read on. Or, to get the full list, select the Collegiate as your reference, click on Advanced Search, type 1908 into the Date field and noun into the Function field. Merkle's boner made September 23, 1908 an ignominious anniversary in baseball circles. Here's what happened: in a game against the Chicago Cubs, with the score tied 1-1 and two men out, Merkle was a runner at first base with fellow New York Giants teammate Moose McCormick on third. A single by Al Birdwell scored McCormick. But when Giants fans mobbed the field to celebrate, the rookie Merkle left the diamond before tagging second base. The Cubs noticed the mistake and completed the force play to negate the run, ultimately costing the Giants the pennant. Other terms that saw the first light of print in 1908 include: |