GOOD MORNING! Art Mahaffey sets Phillies K record 63 years ago. No pitch count then
By Larry Shenk
There have been some great strikeout pitchers in Phillies history, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Robin Roberts, Jim Bunning, Steve Carlton and Curt Schilling. Now Aaron Nolan is joining the elite group.
But the honor of having the biggest strikeout game in franchise history belongs to Art Mahaffey, who spent six seasons with the Phillies (1960–65). The right-hander from Cincinnati, OH, struck out 17 Chicago Cubs in the second game of a Sunday afternoon doubleheader at Connie Mack Stadium on April 23, 1961. Nine went down swinging.
Mahaffey, 23, threw 146 pitches that afternoon, of which only 48 were called balls.
He fanned Don Zimmer, Ron Santo, Ernie Banks and Frank Thomas three times each in matching the Major League record for most strikeouts in a day game, set by Dizzy Dean of the St. Louis Cardinals against the Cubs, July 30, 1933.
“I remember everything about it,” said Mahaffey many years later. “Matter of fact, I was at a golf tournament with Frank Thomas one time and he was telling me I didn’t strike him out that day. He was wrong. He was 3-for-3, three Ks. Early in the game Pancho (Herrera) dropped a foul pop-up hit by Thomas. I struck Frank out on the next pitch.”
During those days, the Phillies and Blue Cross had a Pitchometer built by Dr. I. M. Levitt of the Franklin Institute. The Pitchometer was used throughout the city to test the throwing speed of young athletes. Mahaffey remembered hitting 100 mph on the machine one time.
“Against the Cubs that day, I had an unbelievable fastball and curve ball,” he recalled. “I threw mostly fastballs, particularly in the late innings. Earlier, I got maybe five or six strikeouts with my curve.” Mahaffey had 15 strikeouts through seven innings. He struck out only one in each of the last two innings. “I had two strikes on the last four hitters but only got one strikeout. I came so close to having more than 17.”
One batter who didn’t fan that day was ex-Phil Richie Ashburn. He pinch hit in the eighth inning. “Whitey was tough to strike out. I remember he hit a line drive out to (Johnny) Callison in right field,” said Mahaffey, an All-Star in both 1961 and 1962. “It is amazing how many fans remember this game. There’s a photo of Connie Mack Stadium from that day and I’ve signed many an autograph, always including 4/23/61.”
Prior to Mahaffey’s big day, the Phillies record for strikeouts in a game was 13 shared by three pitchers: Ray Benge, June 16, 1929; Robin Roberts, May 2, 1957 and Jack Sanford, June 7, 1957. Oddly, the opponent in each case was the Cubs.
One other note about the day, Frank Sullivan, a 6-foot-6 right-hander, blanked the Cubs, 1–0, in the first game. It marked the last time the Phillies had two shutouts in a doubleheader.
Three Phillies pitchers came close to Mahaffey’s record, falling one short: Steve Carlton, June 9, 1982 vs. the Cubs; Curt Schilling, September 9, 1997 vs. the New York Yankees, Cliff Lee, May 6, 2011 vs. the Atlanta Braves and Vince Velasquez, April 24, 2016 vs. the San Diego Padres.
Chris Short did fan 18 on October 2, 1965, at the New York Mets, but that game went 18 innings.
