On October 2, 1920, the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates did something on the same day, that no baseball teams have ever done since. What did they do?

On October 2, 1920, fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh got more than their money's worth when the hometown Pirates and the visiting Cincinnati Reds played three full nine-inning games in a single day. This grueling event was the result of a scheduling crunch at the very end of a season plagued by bad weather. A doubleheader from the previous day had been rained out, so it was tacked onto the regularly scheduled single game, creating the only tripleheader in modern baseball history.

The circumstances surrounding the games make the feat even more remarkable. Neither team was in contention for the pennant, so the marathon was not a high-stakes showdown but simply a way to complete the league schedule before the season ended. It was a testament to the endurance of early 20th-century players, who played all 27 innings in just over five hours of total game time. For the record, the Pirates took the first two games, but an exhausted Reds team rallied to win the final contest 10-0.

This quirky piece of baseball history has never been repeated and almost certainly never will be. The modern game, governed by collective bargaining agreements that prioritize player health and safety, would never permit such a physically demanding schedule. Today, even a single doubleheader is considered a long day at the ballpark. The 1920 tripleheader remains a unique relic from a very different era of the sport.