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Cleveland's Guy Morton was one of the first pitchers to strike out four players in one inning. He did it June 11, 1916. That's him on the right, handing off a medicine ball in 1917.

(Plain Dealer file photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - A hundred years ago, on June 11, 1916, Guy Morton became the second American League pitcher and only the fifth ever to strike out four players in one inning.

Striking out four players occurs when a catcher drops the third strike. The rule states that if there is no one on first or there are two outs, the batter is free to try to advance to first unless being tagged or thrown out. A change in 2006 modified the rule, saying if the batter leaves the dirt area of the batter's box then he is out.

As in much of baseball trivia, tradition and historical accounts, the surrounding players also form their own interesting vignettes with various footnotes. This game was no exception.

Morton, facing the Philadelphia Athletics on a Sunday afternoon at Dunn Field, accomplished the feat, but was lauded for his performance in The Plain Dealer's account of the day. He struck out 13 of the "Mackerals" - 11 of the strikeouts coming in the first six innings. The newspaper jargon is derived from Connie Mack, the Athletics manager. There was no rain that day, but .71 of an inch fell a day earlier.

Morton had the reliable Steve O'Neill behind the plate. It was Whitey Witt, the first man up in the sixth for Philadelphia, who would strike out on a wild pitch but reach first safely. Morton would yield a single to Amos Strunk, but he struck out Charlie Pick, Napoleon Lajoie and Stuffy McInnis.

Two of those players would have ties to Cleveland: McInnis would play the 1922 season with Cleveland, and Lajoie, of course, is one of the greatest players to wear a Cleveland uniform. He spent most of his 21-year career in Cleveland and is in the Hall of Fame.

The Indians won 7-2. Morton finished the game letting up nine hits, two runs and no walks. In 1924, he would wind up an 11-year career spent entirely with Cleveland, going 98-86.

A trivial supporting cast:

* Jack Nabors pitched an inning in relief for Philadelphia. He would wind up in the record books with a career 1-25 mark.

* Two pinch-hitters for Philadelphia are arcane footnotes: Bill Stellbauer went 1-1 with a run scored in the game. In his brief career, lasting 25 games in 1916, he scored two runs total. Wally Schang also appeared in the game, and is known as the last player to wear a mustache in a Major League game until it became a fashion statement of sorts for players from the 1960s into the '80s.

* The umpires both officiated pitching gems in their career. Less than a week later, George Hildebrand was behind the plate when Rube Foster threw a no-hitter for Boston against New York. And Tommy Connolly umpired one of the greatest pitching gems ever, Oct. 2, 1908, when Addie Joss threw a perfect game for Cleveland.

* Pitcher Tom Sheehan also appeared in the box score for Philadelphia. He, too, would etch his name into the trivial record book when, in 1960, he became the oldest person to make his debut as a Major League manager. He was 66 when he took over the Giants.

* Chick Gandil played first base for Cleveland that day, going 2 for 3 with an RBI. He notoriety would come three years later when his career would end as a member of the famed Chicago Black Sox.

While the four-strikeouts-in-one-inning feat isn't up there with hitting for the cycle, four home runs in a game or other achievements, it is intriguing that it has occurred almost 80 times in the Majors, the most recent being May 24 by Atlanta pitcher Julio Teheran.

Morton was the fifth pitcher to do it, second in the American League. It wasn't until 1961 when another American League pitcher, Ryne Duren of the Los Angeles Angels, joined the one-inning strikeout quartet.

Morton was the first of six Cleveland pitchers to strike out four in an inning. All occurred in different months, decades and innings, and against different teams:

* Lee Stange, Sept. 2, 1964, in the seventh vs. Washington.

* Mike Paxton, July 21, 1978, in the fifth vs. Seattle.

* Paul Shuey, May 14, 1994, in the ninth vs. Detroit.

* Chuck Finley, April 16, 2000, in the third vs. Texas.

* Justin Masterson, Aug. 4, 2011, in the second vs. Boston.

A couple of other claims to fame for Morton: He was born in Sheffield, Alabama, a burg on the Tennessee River. He isn't Sheffield's most famous son, though; U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and the late Fred Thompson were born there.

Morton's son played one game in the Major Leagues, in 1954. He would become a minister at a Baptist church in Vermilion and also write a sports column. There is a Facebook page remembering him.