In the long history of Major League Baseball, spanning nearly 150 years and over 220,000 games, only eighteen players have managed to hit four home runs in a single game. This feat is rarer than a perfect game (which has occurred 24 times) and remains one of baseball's most exclusive clubs. This article examines the six earliest members of this prestigious group, including two pre-1900 pioneers and the first four of the modern era.

The 19th Century Pioneers

Bobby Lowe (May 30, 1894)
Bobby Lowe, a versatile infielder for the Boston Beaneaters (later the Atlanta Braves), became the first player in major league history to hit four home runs in a single game. On May 30, 1894, during the second game of a holiday doubleheader against Cincinnati, Lowe accomplished the unprecedented feat at Boston's Congress Street Grounds.

Standing at approximately (5'8") and weighing about (150 lbs), Lowe was not an imposing physical presence but possessed surprising power for his era. His historic performance came during the high-offense "dead ball" period of the 1890s, when the pitching distance had been increased from (50 feet) to (60 feet, 6 inches), but pitchers were still adjusting to the change.

Lowe's four home runs—all solo shots—contributed to Boston's 20-11 victory. What makes his achievement even more remarkable is that he hit all four homers consecutively. Contemporary accounts estimate the distances at approximately (350 feet), (400 feet), (375 feet), and (350 feet).

The Boston Daily Globe reported that fans were so impressed they spontaneously collected money and presented Lowe with $160 (equivalent to approximately $5,000 today) after the game. During his 18-year career, Lowe accumulated 71 home runs total, making his four-homer day represent nearly 6% of his career total.

Ed Delahanty (July 13, 1896)
Just two years after Lowe, Ed "Big Ed" Delahanty of the Philadelphia Phillies became the second player to hit four home runs in a game, achieving the milestone on July 13, 1896, against Chicago.

Standing (6'1") and weighing approximately (170 lbs), Delahanty was one of the premier power hitters of the 19th century. What makes his four-homer game particularly unusual is that, unlike Lowe's, all four of Delahanty's home runs were inside-the-park. This peculiarity reflects the expansive dimensions of 19th-century ballparks and the less sophisticated fielding techniques of the era.

Despite Delahanty's heroics, which included five hits and seven RBIs, the Phillies lost the game 9-8. His home runs were estimated at distances of approximately 122 meters (400 feet), (420 feet), (410 feet), and (390 feet)—impressive distances for the dead-ball era.

Delahanty finished his career with 101 home runs and a .346 batting average, establishing himself as one of baseball's first great sluggers. His life ended tragically in 1903 when, at age 35, he fell to his death from a railway bridge near Niagara Falls under mysterious circumstances.

The Modern Era Pioneers

Lou Gehrig (June 3, 1932)
Nearly four decades passed before another player joined the four-homer club. Fittingly, it was Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig who became the first 20th-century player to accomplish the feat.

On June 3, 1932, in a game against the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park, the (6'2"), (200 lb) Gehrig hit four home runs and drove in seven runs in New York's 20-13 victory. The estimated distances of his homers were (420 feet), (430 feet), (460 feet), and (440 feet).

Gehrig's feat occurred during a remarkable stretch of his career—just a few months before the Yankees' World Series sweep of the Cubs, famous for Babe Ruth's "called shot." What makes Gehrig's achievement particularly impressive is that it came in the spacious dimensions of Shibe Park, with its (468-foot) center field.

After the game, Gehrig told reporters: "I just had a good day." This characteristic understatement typified the man known as "The Iron Horse." His four-homer game occurred during his 1,103rd consecutive game played—part of his famous streak of 2,130 consecutive games that stood until Cal Ripken Jr. broke it in 1995.

In metric terms, Gehrig's career statistics are equally impressive: 493 home runs, 2,721 hits, and a .340 batting average over 2,164 games before amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, now commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's disease") cut short his career.

Chuck Klein (July 10, 1936)
Four years after Gehrig, Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies joined the exclusive club. On July 10, 1936, at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, Klein hit four home runs in a 10-inning, 9-6 Phillies victory against the Pirates.

Standing (6'0") and weighing approximately (185 lbs), Klein was one of the National League's premier power hitters of the 1930s. His four-homer performance was particularly notable because his last home run came in extra innings, making him the first (and until 2002, the only) player to hit four home runs including an extra-inning shot.

Klein's home runs traveled approximately (380 feet), (400 feet), (420 feet), and (390 feet). Like Gehrig's performance, Klein's feat came in a pitcher-friendly ballpark with Forbes Field's deep outfield dimensions of (370 feet) to left field and (420 feet) to right center.

During his 17-year career, Klein accumulated 300 home runs and 1,201 RBIs with a .320 batting average. He won the National League MVP award in 1932 and earned induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980, 22 years after his death.

Pat Seerey (July 18, 1948)
Pat Seerey of the Chicago White Sox became the fifth player to hit four home runs in a game, accomplishing the feat on July 18, 1948, against the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park—the same venue where Gehrig had achieved the milestone 16 years earlier.

Known as "Fat Pat" due to his (5'10"), (200 lb) frame, Seerey was an unlikely candidate for baseball immortality. Unlike the other members of the four-homer club, he was not a star player. In fact, he finished his career with just 86 home runs and a .224 batting average over six seasons.

Seerey's four home runs—estimated at distances of (370 feet), (400 feet), (380 feet), and (420 feet)—helped the White Sox defeat the Athletics 12-11 in 11 innings. His final home run was a three-run shot in the top of the 11th inning that provided the winning margin.

What makes Seerey's achievement remarkable is that it came from a player who struggled with strikeouts and weight issues throughout his career. In 1946, he became the first major leaguer to strike out seven times in a doubleheader, and in 1948, the same year as his four-homer game, he struck out a then-record 114 times in just 413 at-bats.

Gil Hodges (August 31, 1950)
Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman Gil Hodges became the sixth player to hit four home runs in a game when he accomplished the feat on August 31, 1950, against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field.

At (6'2") and (200 lbs), Hodges was a physically imposing player and one of the cornerstones of the "Boys of Summer" Dodgers teams of the 1950s. His four-homer performance came during the peak of his career and helped the Dodgers to a 19-3 victory.

Hodges' home runs were estimated at distances of (400 feet), (410 feet), (420 feet), and (370 feet). He also added a single, giving him 17 total bases for the game—a record at that time. Even more impressive, Hodges drove in nine runs during the game.

Throughout his 18-year career, Hodges accumulated 370 home runs and 1,274 RBIs with a .273 batting average. He was an eight-time All-Star and helped the Dodgers win two World Series championships. Despite these impressive credentials, Hodges has not been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, though many baseball historians argue he deserves the honor.

Analysis and Context
The four-homer game represents baseball's equivalent of basketball's 100-point game or hockey's double hat trick—a statistical anomaly so rare that each occurrence becomes instantly legendary. Only twelve additional players have accomplished this feat since Hodges in 1950, bringing the total to eighteen.

Several factors make these early achievements particularly noteworthy:

  1. Equipment Differences: The pre-1900 players used significantly heavier bats (40-48 ounces) compared to modern bats 30-33 ounces), and baseballs were less standardized.
  2. Ballpark Dimensions: Many early ballparks had asymmetrical dimensions with some outfield fences exceeding (500 feet), making home runs more difficult.
  3. Playing Conditions: Fields were often poorly maintained, with uneven outfield surfaces that could transform routine fly balls into adventures for fielders.
  4. Pitching Changes: Modern relief specialization didn't exist, allowing batters to face tiring starting pitchers multiple times, potentially improving their chances in later at-bats.

In metric terms, the combined career statistics of these six pioneers are impressive: 1,421 home runs, 5,947 RBIs, and 10,839 hits across 9,825 games. Their four-homer games represented 24 of those home runs—approximately 1.7% of their career total—concentrated into six extraordinary performances.

Conclusion
The four-homer game remains baseball's Mount Everest of single-game offensive achievements. That only eighteen players have accomplished it in nearly 150 years of major league history underscores its exceptional nature.

The six pioneers examined here—Lowe, Delahanty, Gehrig, Klein, Seerey, and Hodges—span baseball's evolution from the high-offense 1890s through the power-hitting 1950s. Their achievements stand as testaments to both their individual talents and the timeless capacity of baseball to produce moments of transcendent individual performance.

Whether achieved by Hall of Famers like Gehrig or journeymen like Seerey, the four-homer game represents baseball at its most dramatic and statistically improbable—a perfect confluence of skill, timing, and perhaps a touch of baseball magic.