It all began at 5:18 P.M. and ended at 5:28 P.M. - a sequence of events so unlikely and unfathomable that it might fairly be described as the greatest comeback of all time.

   It started when Jack McCarthy singled. Then Bill Bradley singled. Then Candy LaChance got an RBI single with two strikes against him, stirring the few remaining fans into mild irritation that they couldn't yet leave for their homes.

   Bob Wood was hit by a pitch, and a double by Frank Scheibeck cleared the bases and made it 13-9. Frank Genins singled Scheibeck in, making it 13-10. At this point, the few remaining fans were getting anxious, and they crowded the infield - time had to be called to push them back. With the count 2-1 to Truck Eagan, Watty Lee relieved Senators starter Casey Patten. Eagan walked, putting runners on first and second and getting the tying run to the plate.

   Amid mounting excitement from the fans, Erve Beck strode to the plate, pinch-hitting for Blue's pitcher Bill Hoffer. Beck lifted a ball to deep left, and it glanced off Pop Foster's glove for a double. Two runs scored, making 13-12, and the crowd was now hysterical.

   Ollie Pickering, the last Blue to make an out in the ninth, took the plate again, and this time rapped a single - his first hit of the day on 6 at-bats - driving in Beck and tying the score. Pandemonium broke loose as fans rushed the field, throwing hats and debris onto the infield. Play was halted for several minutes, and there was serious danger of a forfeit - but the officials regained control. Jack McCarthy was the next hitter, and by this time even a bad script-writer could have closed out the story-line:

   Pickering took second on a passed ball, and McCarthy singled to left. Foster fumbled the ball, allowing Pickering to cross the plate with the winning run.