Jim Shrode, who played for Missoula, Montana, during the 1950s, was the only man to pitch a night baseball game wearing sunglasses. Once he wore the sunglasses at night during a snowstorm, which caused all sorts of difficulties.
Missoula was playing against Great Falls, Montana, and the snow had been predicted to fall before the game started. The Great Falls officials insisted that the game go on. The players weren’t very happy, but there was nothing they could do.
Then the umpires halted the game because Shrode was wearing sunglasses.
“What’s the difference?” screamed the Missoula manager. “Pretend they’re ordinary glasses. We want to get out of here.”
“We’ll have to call the league president to get his okay,” insisted one umpire.
“Because my pitcher is wearing sunglasses?” The Missoula manager almost had apoplexy.
While Shrode wore the glasses, the game went on. However, it was impossible to see a white ball coming through the swirling flakes, and in two innings the entire field was covered with snow. Finally the game had to be called off.
From The Giant Book of More Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.
Does Liss say why he wore sunglasses? Was it one of those weird baseball superstitions?
Nope, and the only information I could find on him was a bare bones stats page.