Indy Neidell's Baseball History Time Machine
Jun 21, 2026 · 36 min · 9 segments
The second in the mini series covering those players in MLB History who have struck out 19 or more batters in one game. Today we start off still in 1884 with Charlie Sweeney, but we have the usual…
Indy NeidellHostBurnsHost
Well, I'm going to make you feel better now by talking a little bit more about the 19K Club.
Those pitchers... have struck out 19 or more hitters in a single game we began in 1884 and we talked about one arm daily last time but charlie sweeney was the first person to strike out 19 guys in a game which like daily he also did in 1884 but unlike daily who did it in the union association the weakest of the three major leagues that year sweeney did it in the national league the strongest and he partly did it out of grudge
Grudge? I can appreciate a good grudge, but you're going to have to flesh that one out for
first.
Sweeney's Sabre bio begins with a quote from the great Tim Keefe, the Hall of Famer, Sir Timothy, to the effect that Charlie Sweeney, Charles Sweeney, was the greatest pitcher of them all.
And that quote, though, is from 1887, which is interesting, because by then, Sweeney's major league career was over, and indeed, he had set another record by then, other than 19 strikeouts in a game, and a record which no one would be proud of.
And what is that record?
Seven? Has anyone ever topped that?
But no one has matched Sweeney's feet, I guess you'd call it, even 140 years later.
The first in the 20th century to give up six homers in one game was Sloppy Thurston, whom I'm mentioning just because of his name.
Even the
Well, I'm going to make you feel better now by talking a little bit more about the 19K Club.
Those pitchers... have struck out 19 or more hitters in a single game we began in 1884 and we talked about one arm daily last time but charlie sweeney was the first person to strike out 19 guys in a game which like daily he also did in 1884 but unlike daily who did it in the union association the weakest of the three major leagues that year sweeney did it in the national league the strongest and he partly did it out of grudge
Grudge? I can appreciate a good grudge, but you're going to have to flesh that one out for
first.
Sweeney's Sabre bio begins with a quote from the great Tim Keefe, the Hall of Famer, Sir Timothy, to the effect that Charlie Sweeney, Charles Sweeney, was the greatest pitcher of them all.
And that quote, though, is from 1887, which is interesting, because by then, Sweeney's major league career was over, and indeed, he had set another record by then, other than 19 strikeouts in a game, and a record which no one would be proud of.
And what is that record?
Seven? Has anyone ever topped that?
But no one has matched Sweeney's feet, I guess you'd call it, even 140 years later.
The first in the 20th century to give up six homers in one game was Sloppy Thurston, whom I'm mentioning just because of his name.
Even the
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