On July 13, 1896, powerhouse outfielder Ed “Big Ed” Delahanty of the Philadelphia Phillies cemented his place in baseball lore by blasting four home runs in a single contest. He was only the second Major League player ever to accomplish this extraordinary feat, showcasing the raw power that made him a legendary .346 lifetime hitter.
The agonizing paradox of Delahanty’s historic afternoon is that the Phillies still managed to lose the game 9–8 to the Chicago Colts. Delahanty remains the only player in baseball history to hit four home runs in a single game and still finish on the losing side — a bitter irony that foreshadowed his tragic death just a few years later when he swept over Niagara Falls.
Image: Ed Delahanty in 1898 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
