One quiet afternoon at Wrigley produced a line no one had ever seen next to Musial’s name.
On July 28, 1963, Stan Musial did something he’d never done in 22 major-league seasons: strike out three times in one game. Facing Cubs ace Dick Ellsworth, perhaps the game’s greatest contact hitter—who would finish with just 696 strikeouts in more than 12,000 plate appearances—was unusually overmatched. With the Cardinals and Cubs both chasing the Dodgers, the stakes were high at Wrigley Field. Chicago capitalized, sweeping the doubleheader and tightening the National League race.
🕵️ Inside Today’s Original Newspaper Coverage:
A standing-room-only Wrigley crowd not seen in over a decade
Why Ellsworth’s season put him in rare Cubs company
Elsewhere: A Phillies win reshaped the NL pennant picture
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