The Twins Almanac for June 23: Happy Birthday, Dave Goltz

In Today's Almanac: 

• Happy birthday to Dave Goltz and Jim Deshaies
• Future Twins all-time great makes Minnesota townball debut 

Happy Birthday, Dave Goltz
Happy 76th birthday to 1967 Rothsay graduate Dave Goltz, born in nearby Pelican Rapids on this date in 1949. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Twins as part of the team's 50th anniversary celebration in 2010. Goltz was a sinkerballer, and also featured a knuckle-curve (back when that term typically represented a slow, low-spin curve akin to the knuckleball, rather than the lethally high-spin, spike curve now described by that term). He didn't miss bats, even by the standards of the day, but was usually good and occasionally dominant. From 1975-79, he averaged 253 innings per year.

He threw a remarkable 70-pitch two-hit shutout on Oct. 1, 1974, pitched a one-hit shutout on Aug. 23, 1977, and tied for the American League lead with 20 wins that season He also tossed 303 innings. Share your favorite cool stories or fun facts about Goltz in the comments section below. 

Happy Birthday, Jim Deshaies
Happy 65th birthday to Jim Deshaies, who pitched for the Twins toward the end of his career in 1993 and 1994. 

As a rookie with the Astros in 1986, he became the only player in the entire 20th century to strike out the first eight batters to start a game. In the 21st century, Jacob deGrom (2014) and Germán Márquez (2018) matched Deshaies's record, before the Marlins' Pablo López set a new MLB record by striking out the first nine batters to begin the game on Jul. 11, 2021. Just to reiterate, López struck out every batter he faced through the first three innings of the game!

Worthington Makes Minnesota Townball Debut
Fresh off of pitching for Alabama in the College World Series, Al Worthington beat Pipestone in his Fulda Giants debut on this date in 1950. (He no-hit Wilmont nine days later.)

Dick Reusse (Patrick's dad) was the manager of the Fulda townball team, and recruited some marquee talent to the small Minnesota town. Just one year earlier, Reusse brought Kansas City Monarchs star Hilton Smith to Fulda. Smith was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001—the same class as Kirby Puckett and Dave Winfield. 

In 1950, Reusse went down to the College World Series in Omaha, where he recruited Worthington. While in rural Minnesota, Worthington fell in love with and married manager Reusse's niece, Shirley Reusse, who was a lifeguard at Fulda's Seven Mile Lake.

Worthington spent 14 years in the majors, including as the Twins' first great closer at the end of his career, from 1964 to 1969.

Are you interested in Twins history? Then check out the Minnesota Twins Players Project, a community-driven project to discover and collect great information on every player to wear a Twins uniform!