Elias Sports Bureau

Elias Sports Bureau Stats and insights for sports fans. Official statisticians for your favorite leagues, including MLB,

On August 31, 1990, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. made major league history as the first father and son to play to...
08/31/2026

On August 31, 1990, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. made major league history as the first father and son to play together in an MLB game.

Ken Sr. had joined the Mariners just weeks earlier, reuniting with his son, who was already emerging as one of baseball’s brightest young stars.

Batting second and third, respectively, the Griffeys each singled in the first inning. Like father, like son.

They would go on to play 48 games together across the 1990 and 1991 seasons before Ken Sr. retired.

The Griffeys remain one of just two father-son duos to play together as MLB teammates. Tim Raines Sr. and Tim Raines Jr. did it once with the Orioles in 2001.

Some family businesses are just a little more historic. ⚾️

Photo Credit: Associate Press

08/28/2026

On August 28, 1994, an 18-year-old Tiger Woods made history at TPC Sawgrass.

Facing Trip Kuehne in the 36-hole, match-play U.S. Amateur final, Woods found himself six holes down at one point. He was still five holes behind with just 12 to play.
Then came the comeback.

Woods won six of the final 10 holes, including each of the last three, to claim his first U.S. Amateur Championship. At 18, he became the youngest player ever to win the title, breaking a record that had stood since 1909.

And the fit? A pink and white striped polo, navy shorts, white socks, white shoes and a straw hat. Long before “Sunday Red,” there was this look. 👀

Woods went on to win the U.S. Amateur three consecutive times, in 1994, 1995 and 1996, before turning professional.

The first chapter of a legendary career began with one of golf’s greatest comebacks. 🏆

Did you catch the LA Times crossword yesterday?42-Across: ELIASClue: “Stat Giant”We couldn’t have said it better ourselv...
08/27/2026

Did you catch the LA Times crossword yesterday?

42-Across: ELIAS
Clue: “Stat Giant”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. 😉

Thanks for the shoutout, LA Times. We’re honored to make the crossword. ⬛ ⬜ ⬛ ⬜

08/26/2026

August 26, 2024: The “Danny Jansen Game”

A game between the Red Sox and Blue Jays on June 24, 2024 was suspended with Toronto catcher Danny Jansen at bat. It was scheduled to resume August 26, when Toronto was next in Boston.

But by then, Jansen was no longer a Blue Jay. He had been traded to the Red Sox.
So when the game resumed, Jansen wasn’t standing at the plate. Daulton Varsho, Toronto’s center fielder, pinch-hit for him. Jansen was behind the plate, catching for Boston.

That made Jansen the first player in MLB history to play for both teams in the same game. And because suspended-game statistics are recorded under the original date, the historic moment officially belongs to June 24, 2024.

The scorecard, featuring Jansen on both the winning and losing sides, now resides in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

At Elias, we were ready for this one. After all, we’d already dealt with Will Ferrell playing for 10 teams over five spring training games in a single day. But that’s a story for another day. ⚾️

Photo Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports & Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

08/24/2026

On August 24, 1919, Ray Caldwell was struck by lightning — and still got the final out.

Making his first start for Cleveland, Caldwell took a one-run lead into the ninth inning. With one out to go, lightning struck the field, knocking him unconscious and sending shock waves through the players around him. Five minutes later, Caldwell got back to his feet.

The hospital could wait. He still had one more out to get.

Caldwell retired the final batter on a groundout to preserve the victory.

It was the start of an incredible run in Cleveland. Caldwell won five of his six starts that season, including a no-hitter against the Yankees, then won a career-high 20 games in 1920 as the Indians advanced to the World Series and won their first championship.

Some baseball stories sound too unbelievable to be true. This one is. ⚡️⚾️

08/21/2026

Some baseball records are so unique, they’ve never been matched.

On August 21, 1975, Rick and Paul Reuschel became the ultimate Big League Brothers, combining forces to make Major League history.

The Cubs pitching duo joined together to shut out the Dodgers 7–0, becoming the only brothers in MLB history to collaborate on a shutout. Rick started the game before handing the ball to Paul, who finished the final 2⅔ innings to complete the historic blanking.

The achievement was so unprecedented that the Elias Sports Bureau was called upon to research the record, confirming it was the first — and remains the only — brother-combined shutout in Major League history.

Baseball has seen plenty of brothers share the field, but only a handful of family connections are written into the record books.

08/19/2026

August 19 is Lindsay Whalen Day in Minnesota, commemorating the anniversary of the legendary point guard's final professional game.

A five-time WNBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and cornerstone of the Minnesota Lynx dynasty, Whalen closed her remarkable career in fitting fashion.

🏀 10 points
🏀 5 rebounds
🏀 6 assists
🏀 4 steals

The Lynx defeated the Washington Mystics, giving one of the greatest players in franchise and WNBA history a memorable sendoff.

Some careers are measured by championships and accolades. Others are defined by the lasting impact they leave on a franchise, a league, and the next generation of players.

Lindsay Whalen's legacy is BOTH.

Photo Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

08/17/2026

When the Twins and Braves meet, it's more than just another interleague series. It's a rematch of one of the greatest World Series EVER played.

The 1991 World Series remains the only Fall Classic in which both teams finished in last place the season before—making the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves' remarkable turnarounds one of the most improbable in baseball history.

The series culminated in one of the sport's most iconic pitching performances: Jack Morris' 10-inning complete-game shutout in Game 7, leading the Twins to a 1–0 victory.

To this day, it remains the only extra-inning complete-game shutout in a decisive postseason game.

Only two other pitchers have ever thrown an extra-inning complete-game 1–0 shutout in any postseason game:

⚾ Dave McNally – Game 2, 1969 ALCS
⚾ Clem Labine – Game 6, 1956 World Series (to stave off elimination)

Some matchups bring history with them. Twins vs. Braves is one of them.

08/14/2026

Every story has a beginning…

At Elias, an image you see walking through the hallways of our office is of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. It's a reminder that understanding where the game began is just as important as documenting where it's going.

🏀 On August 14, 1936, the United States won the first-ever Olympic gold medal in basketball. But it wasn't won on hardwood—it was won on a rain-soaked clay-and-sand court in Berlin that had turned into mud.

With dribbling nearly impossible, Team USA relied on defense and ball control to defeat Canada 19–8, still the lowest-scoring Olympic men's basketball final ever. Joe Fortenberry led all scorers with eight points, and his dominance around the basket helped inspire future rule changes, including goaltending.

Adding to the moment, James Naismith himself attended the Games, tossed the opening jump ball, and presented the medals to basketball's first Olympic champions.

From muddy courts to the global game we know today, every chapter builds on the one before it, and that's why preserving sports history matters.

08/12/2026

On this day in 1995, the Dodgers walked off the Pirates in one of the strangest finishes in MLB history. 🤯

In the bottom of the 11th inning, with the winning run on third, Mitch Webster swung at a pitch in the dirt. Pirates catcher Angelo Encarnacion casually picked up the ball with his mask, a seemingly harmless move that turned out to be anything but.

Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda immediately appealed, citing an obscure rule: a fielder cannot deliberately touch a live ball with detached equipment, including a mask. The umpires agreed, awarded the runner home, and the Dodgers won, 11–10.

Sometimes, knowing the rulebook is just as important as knowing the game. 📖⚾
Did you know this rule existed?

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