Yankees: Best July 4 Moments in NYY History

4. Whitey Ford Grabs 15th Win of Season in 1961

Whitey Ford was an absolute machine during the 1961 season. That year, he became the first pitcher to record eight wins in a single month when he accomplished the feat in June, and on July 4 against the Detroit Tigers in New York, he recorded his 15th win of the season — 15th!!

He pitched a complete game, surrendering just two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk while striking out 11. The Yankees were victorious by a score of 6-2, but surprisingly had no home runs. Elston Howard led the way with three RBI, while Roger Maris and Bill Skowron followed with one apiece.

This was a World Series year for the Yanks, who went on to steamroll the Cincinnati Reds in five games at season’s end. Ford, who logged another All-Star campaign, won the Cy Young award after finishing 25-4 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 209 strikeouts. He led the league in wins (25), games started (39), innings pitched (283) and FIP (3.14).

What an unfortunate year for the Tigers, too. They finished with 101 wins, but this 109-win Yankees team stole the spotlight and captured yet another championship.

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3. Mariano Rivera Creams White Sox in 1995

Young Mo as a … starter?! You better believe it! The first ever unanimous choice for the Hall of Fame actually started 10 games his rookie season in what was the worst year of his career. But on July 4, 1995, Rivera was lights out. He tossed eight innings of shutout baseball against the Chicago White Sox in a 4-1 victory and struck out 11.

It was by far the best start of his career, and he notched his second-ever win in Chicago on Independence Day. This was actually the first quality start of his career, too, with his final two coming in his next couple outings. However, he was pretty much done as a starter in late August (he made one more in Sept.), and so began the career of the greatest closer we’ve ever seen.

On this day, he got some run support from Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams, Randy Velarde and Luis Polonia. This was no easy outing for Mo, either. The White Sox boasted a lineup of Dave Martinez, Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura, Ozzie Guillen, John Kruk and Ray Durham.

Next time you’re reminiscing on some Yankees July 4 moments, don’t forget to mention the best start of Mariano Rivera’s career, capisce?

2. Lou Gehrig Says Farewell

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Oh, we can’t help it! Lou Gehrig called it quits on July 4, 1939 and gave his famous speech in front of a sold out crowd at Yankee Stadium. A few weeks earlier on June 19, the Iron Horse was diagnosed with ALS, and he sadly knew his time as a professional ball player would come to an end.

That day was dubbed “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day” at the stadium and it wasn’t long after the Yankees retired his No. 4, which was the first time any number was retired in baseball history.

The 1939 season was another World Series year for the Bombers, and they brought home the hardware in honor of one of the best players in franchise history. Joe DiMaggio and Co. swept the Cincinnati Reds in October. The saddest part about this is that Gehrig definitely had a number of top-notch years left in the tank.

He played in only nine games in 1939 due to his illness, but he was an All-Star the six seasons prior, winning a batting title, leading the league in home runs twice, RBI once, OBP four times, and OPS three times. In December of 1939, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America held a special vote because of his ALS diagnosis and elected him to the Hall of Fame, though he never had a formal ceremony.

Gehrig was legend in every sense of the word. He would unfortunately pass away less than two years later on June 2, 1941.

1. Dave Righetti No-Hits the Red Sox

This is No. 1 because we simply have to end on a high note. Though it was a playoff-less year for the 91-71 Yankees, nothing beats embarrassing your all-time rival on the Fourth of July at Yankee Stadium. Dave Righetti twirled a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox in his final year as a full-time starter.

The left-hander struck out nine and walked four in the 4-0 win in what was his second consecutive complete game shutout — only this one was of the no-hit variation. Quick fun fact: his very next start against the Kansas City Royals featured a 10.1 inning outing in a 3-2 loss!

Righetti got his run support from Steve Kemp, Don Baylor and Andre Robertson. He struck out Wade Boggs to end the game in front of the Yankee Stadium crowd. The ’83 Sox were nothing special, finishing the year 78-84, but Righetti was just a 24-year-old going up against Boggs, Jerry Remy, Jim Rice, Tony Armas and Dwight Evans.

Talk about an all-time moment on Independence Day. Righetti would then transition to the team’s closer the very next year, finishing his career with 252 saves and two All-Star nods in ’86 and ’87. What a way to go out with a bang.