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BECKER MAKES HISTORY WITH THREE HOME RUNS!
THREE I.T.P. HOMERS MAKES HISTORY; UTICA’S KUHN WAS 1ST TO HIT TWO IN A GAME

PHILADELPHIA (June 30th, 1860) – The American Baseball Club took a surprising 13-10 home loss to Olympic this afternoon but the talk of the game was American’s Friedrich Becker, who did what many thought impossible and became the first player ever to hit three home runs in a single game. To give one an idea of the feat Becker pulled off, the average TEAM in the N.B.B.O. has hit roughly four home runs through 44 games this year (187 HR/48 teams) and eight have yet to hit even one.

Becker’s first home run – his first of the season & his career – was a solo Inside-the-Park job that flew over the head of Olympic center fielder Hank Roginski in the bottom of the fourth.

In the bottom of the sixth Becker led off the inning with his second homer, another Inside-the-Park effort that split the gap between Roginski and Olympic right fielder Mooney McMahon.

The bottom of the eighth was where Becker made history, hitting a third Inside-the-Park home run that found its way between Roginski and Olympic left fielder Charles Hutchins.

American B.C. teammates lined up on the field to congratulate Becker after the historic feat and members of Olympic joined in to tip their caps to the catcher, who had just hit as many home runs in a single game as many N.B.B.O. teams had all season. Utica’s Scott Kuhn was the first to hit a pair of home runs in a game on June 15, 1858, and now Becker had done him one better.

Becker’s final line for the day: 5/5, 3 HR, 4 R, 5 RBI, 14 TB.

Not only were Becker’s three home runs a new milestone for the sport of base ball, but his fourteen Total Bases were a new N.B.B.O. record that is unlikely to be broken for quite some time. Olympic may have won the game, but Becker’s accomplishments were all that anyone will remember.