OUR MUSEUM IN ACTION
JOHNNY NEUN BRONZED FIRST BASE MITT
You can honor one of baseball’s greatest by helping fund the work that will preserve this symbol of excellence for today’s generation and the next.
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Occurring just 16 times in major league history, the unassisted triple play is one of the rarest feats in baseball. In May 1927, it would be achieved on back-to-back days.
On May 31, just one day after Chicago Cubs shortstop Jimmy Cooney secured all three outs on a Paul Waner line drive, Tigers first baseman Johnny Neun would seal a Detroit victory by stifling the Cleveland Indians ninth inning rally in one fell swoop.
Following a playing career of six seasons, Neun would spend nearly next six decades as a manager, instructor and scout. notably helping to eye World-Series opponents for the New York Yankees throughout their dominance of the 1950s and 1960s.
Throughout this life in baseball, Neun’s knack for storytelling would endear him to fans and teammates, and his recounting of his unassisted triple play was his most exciting tale.
"I got a little more publicity on it, because the play came at the psychological moment; in the ninth inning with the score 1-0 in our favor,” Neun told the press.
With runners on first and second following a pair of singles, Cleveland’s Homer Summa lasered a line drive into Neun’s mitt for the first out. Neun immediately tagged the runner heading back to first base for out number two, and instead of tossing the ball to second base for the final out, he raced the runner back to the bag and secured the the win for the home team.
As years went by, Neun would spin yarns about the play, stating that the reason he did not throw the ball to second base was because he was “running it into the Hall of Fame,” according to the Cumberland News. The Hall of Fame, however, would not open its doors until 1939 - 12 years after this moment.
The first base mitt used that day would make it to the Hall of Fame, as Neun donate the bronzed glove to the Hall of Fame’s collection in 1975. The mitt from this defining moment now needs conservation, and your gift can help preserve the history of this incredible play in Cooperstown.