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Probe Special Report:
The Storied History of the Arizona Diamondbacks
The Daily Probe honors the World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks
by sharing a few stories, both well-known and behind-the-scenes, which
contribute to the legacy of this hallowed ball club and help to make the
Dbacks one of the most globally beloved teams in the history of sports.
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February 12, 1921 -- Using a stick, Grandpa Otis Colangelo scratches a
baseball diamond into the middle of the Arizona desert. He tells the
local government: "If you finance it, they will come!" Less than a year
later the first baseball stadium in Arizona is constructed and the famed
Grand Diamondback Diamond hosts its first major league game.
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October 17, 1929 -- Just 10 years after the infamous "Black Sox"
scandal, the Diamondbacks are forced to forfeit the World Series when it
is uncovered that star 1st baseman "Beltless" Bob Jackson is running
a child pornography ring from his locker in the Dbacks dressing room.
The ensuing publicity keeps an otherwise-deserving Jackson out of the
Baseball Hall of Fame. He dies in 1948 in a penitentiary outside of Tucson.
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June 5, 1934 -- In his first and last game as a Diamondback, 18 year old
Lefty Joe Wright strikes out 10 batters pitching with his right hand and
an additional 8 batters pitching with his left. After the game a spooky,
hot, blond lady asks Lefty if he would be the "best ever." She then
shoots Lefty and leaves him for dead.
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September 23, 1958 -- At the conclusion of an encouraging season, and
despite a legion of loyal local fans, the Diamondbacks move from Tempe
to Phoenix. The move breaks the hearts of everyone in Tempe and results
in the bitter hatred the Diamondbacks now experience throughout southern Arizona.
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April 30, 1964 -- Fred Sanchez becomes the first Arizona-born
Socialist to play in the Major Leagues. Fred plays for 3 years and breaks the
ideological barrier, opening doors for many other Arizona-born Socialists.
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August 14, 1979 -- Forced into retirement by an irreversible foot disorder
which now bears his name, Joe Corn gives a moving farewell address in
front of a capacity crowd at Diamondback Stadium. Perhaps the greatest
player ever to don a Diamondback uniform, Joe concludes his remarks by saying,
"Today I consider myself the unluckiest bastard on the planet."
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November 4, 2001 -- Riding the strength of starting pitchers Randy
Johnson and Curt Schilling, the Dbacks best the Yankees in game 7 of one
of the most thrilling World Series ever. The fall classic is marred when
an inebriated Arizona fan stands on the dugout and urinates on Yanks manager Joe Torre.
To his credit, Torre takes it in stride, saying, "Hey, these are some fans you got here!"
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