On This Date in Sports May 29, 1928: Grand Slam Cycle
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
New York Giants' first baseman Bill Terry hits for the cycle as he led the way in a 12-5 victory over the Brooklyn Robins at Ebbets Field in New York. The cycle by Terry was grand as he had smashed a grand slam in the seventh inning. Terry was the third player in MLB history to hit a grand slam with a cycle in the same game.
Bill Terry was born on October 30, 1898, in Atlanta, Georgia. Terry began playing semipro ball at the age of 16 in 1915. After several seasons playing in the south, Billy Terry signed with the Toledo Mudhens of the American Association. He made his debut with the New York Giants in late September of the 1923 season. Terry had his breakout season in 1927, batting .327 with 20 home runs and 121 RBI.
Playing at Ebbets Field in late May, the New York Giants at 21-15 for John McGraw and Brooklyn Robins 22-17 for Wilbert Robinson had similar records as the played on a Tuesday at Ebbets Field. Freddie Fitzsimmons pitched for the Giants, while Jesse Petty got the start for Brooklyn. Billy Terry got a single in his first at-bat in the second inning, as the game was scoreless after the first two frames. The Robins would score the first two runs of the game, as Harvey Hendrick had a two-run single in the third inning.
The Giants got their first run in the fourth inning as Bill Terry scored after a two-out triple. The Giants would take the lead one inning later on a two-run single by Mel Ott. Terry would ground out in the sixth but came up one inning later and broke the game open with a seventh-inning grand slam. Travis Jackson followed with a home run of his own, as the Giants led 8-2, chasing Petty from the game.
Bill Terry completed the cycle with a double in the eighth inning, as the Giants added three more runs. New York scratched out their 12th run in the ninth, making the game a blowout. Brooklyn would get three runs in the ninth, but it was not enough as the Giants won the game 12-5. Only two other players had a cycle with a grand slam previously. The first was Curry Foley of the Buffalo Bisons, who did it on May 25, 1882. Napolean Lajoie did it with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901. Tony Lazzeri of the New York Yankees did it with a walk-off grand slam in 1932. Following Jimmie Foxx in 1933, the grand cycle was not accomplished again for 60 years, when Jay Buhner did it with the Seattle Mariners. Miguel Tejada did it with the Oakland Athletics in 2001, while Jason Kubel did it with the Minnesota Twins in 2009.
No National Leaguer has accomplished the grand cycle since Bill Terry in 1928. Bengie Molina of the Texas Rangers did the most recent grand cycle in 2010.