| << Yesterday | This Day in Baseball History |
Tomorrow>> |
27 Fact(s) Found
| 1900 | Boston Beaneater catcher Marty Bergen, reportedly depressed by his son's death in 1898, allegedly kills his family with an ax and commits suicide in Brookfield, Massachusetts. Billy Hamilton is the only Boston player to attend the 28-year-old backstop's funeral. (Thanks to Bill - a baseball fan in Virginia for suggesting this entry.) |
| 1916 | The National Association releases a list of 123 Federal League free agents under the peace agreement terms. Next month, U.S. District Court by Judge Kenesaw M. Landis, who will become the game's first commissioner in 1920, dismisses, by mutual consent, the upstart league's year-old suit that charged organized baseball of antitrust violations. |
| 1931 | Under the terms of a new agreement with the Pacific Coast League, the Robins purchase Ernie Lombardi's contract from the Oakland Oaks for $50,000. The 23-year-old 'Schnozz,' inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986, plays well for Brooklyn but will be traded to the Reds after his rookie season because the team has a plethora of catchers. |
| 1932 | Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis denies Shoeless Joe Jackson's appeal for reinstatement. The White Sox outfielder, banned for life for his alleged involvement in fixing the 1919 World Series known as the Black Sox scandal, will continue to proclaim his innocence for the remainder of his life. |
| 1937 | Cy Young, Nap Lajoie, and Tris Speaker are named on 75% of the 201 BBWAA ballots and will join last year's inaugural selection of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson as inductees of baseball's new Hall of Fame, scheduled to be opened in two years. The Centennial Commission, a small group of executives charged with picking individuals overlooked by the 1936 Veterans election, which failed to name any 19th-century players, selects Connie Mack, John McGraw, Morgan Bulkeley, Ban Johnson, and George Wright for induction at the Cooperstown ceremony. |
| 1938 | After resigning as the Reds' general manager at the end of the 1936 season, the Dodgers coaxed Larry MacPhail back into baseball. The Brooklyn Board of Directors, anxious to improve the club's poor performance on the field and reverse its financial woes, sign the fiery innovator to a contract that gives him complete control of the franchise. |
| 1942 |
Eleanor Gehrig receives a telegram from Samuel Goldwyn's creative publicity chief William Hebert about the selection of Teresa Wright to portray her in The Pride of the Yankees, a movie about her late husband, Lou. Miss Wright will earn a Best Actress Oscar nomination for the role where she appears opposite Gary Cooper, the Hollywood superstar chosen to play the legendary Yankees first baseman.
|
| 1961 | Don Newcombe is released by the Indians, ending his ten-year major league career with a .623 winning percentage, 149 victories, and only 90 losses. The one-time hard-throwing right-hander, best known for his playing days with the Dodgers, won the Rookie of the Year (1949), Cy Young (1956), and Most Valuable Player (1956) awards while with Brooklyn. |
| 1963 | After Eddie Stanky, the Cardinals' director of player development, turns down the job, the Orioles promote first base coach Hank Bauer as the team's manager to replace the fired Billy Hitchcock, who had posted an 86-76 record with the Birds last season. The former A's skipper and Yankee All-Star outfielder will guide the Birds, thanks to the acquisition of future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, to their first AL pennant and World Series championship in 1966. |
| 1965 | Danny O'Connell and Hobie Landrith surprise the Senators' front office when they resign to pursue different business opportunities. Rube Walker and Joe Pignatano, former major league catchers who played for the Dodgers with the team's manager, Gil Hodges, replace the departing coaches. |
| 1972 |
At 36 years and 20 days, former Dodger southpaw Sandy Koufax (86.9%), who placed himself on the voluntarily retired list because of an arthritic left arm in 1966, becomes the youngest player elected into the Hall of Fame, five months younger than Lou Gehrig at the time of his special election in December 1939. The baseball writers also selected Yankee legend Yogi Berra (85.6%) on his second ballot and Early Wynn (76%), a 300-game winner, on his fourth attempt.
(Ed. Note: In 2022, Koufax became the first Hall of Famer to mark the 50th anniversary of his election to Cooperstown. - LP) |
| 1977 | The BBWAA elects Ernie Banks into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (83.8%) without selecting any other player for induction in Cooperstown this year. The 14-time All-Star played shortstop and first base for Chicago between 1953 and 1971, winning the National League's Most Valuable Player in consecutive seasons, 1958 and 1959. |
| 1983 | Ozzie Smith becomes the game's first $1-million shortstop when the infielder inks a three-year pact with the World Champion Cardinals. The 'Wizard of Ahs,' best known for his outstanding defense, won his third consecutive Gold Glove in the offseason. |
| 1997 | Avoiding salary arbitration, Ivan Rodriguez agrees to a contract worth $6.65 million to catch for the Rangers. 'Pudge' set the record for most doubles by a catcher with 44 last season, and the All-Star receiver also set the major league mark for at-bats by a backstop, with 639, surpassing Johnny Bench's 621, established in 1970. |
| 1999 |
During his State of the Union address, President Bill Clinton introduces Sammy Sosa, sitting with First Lady Hillary Clinton, a big Cubs fan, in the House of Representatives chamber balcony, calling the Dominican outfielder "a hero in two countries." The Commander-in-Chief salutes the Chicago slugger for his relief efforts in the Dominican Republic after the country was devastated by recent hurricanes.
|
| 2000 | Major league owners vote unanimously to consolidate the administrative functions of the National and American leagues, giving the commissioner's office sweeping new powers. To restore competitive balance in baseball, Bud Selig will be allowed to block trades and redistribute the wealth and, under the adopted new constitution, will also be able to fine teams up to two million dollars. |
| 2005 | Esteban Loaiza (10-7, 5.70) and the Nationals agree to a one-year, $2.9 million pact. The 33-year-old free-agent pitcher, who was traded by the White Sox to the Yankees last season, could not return to form after an outstanding 2003 season (21-9, 2.90). |
| 2006 | Major league baseball owners unanimously approve the November transaction in which Bob Castellini and two other Cincinnati businessmen bought control of the Reds from previous owner Carl Lindner. According to reports, the trio, including investors Thomas Williams and William Williams Jr., acquired approximately 70 percent ownership of baseball's oldest franchise, believed to be valued at an estimated $270 million. |
| 2006 | Theo Epstein, after an eighty-day departure, returns to the Red Sox in a yet-to-be-named capacity. The youngest general manager in baseball history, who assembled a World Champion team in 2004, left Boston disguised in a gorilla costume on Halloween Day, citing the position was not "the right fit." |
| 2009 | Bill Werber, the oldest ex-major leaguer and last living teammate of Babe Ruth, dies at 100. The former infielder, who played for the Yankees, Red Sox, A's, Reds, and Giants, became the first player to appear in a televised game, batting leadoff for Cincinnati in a contest played against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field on August 26, 1939. |
| 2009 | The Diamondbacks and Stephen Drew, brother of major league outfielder J.D. Drew and right-hander Tim Drew, avoid arbitration by agreeing on a $3.4 million, one-year deal. The 26-year-old shortstop, selected as the team's 15th pick in the 2004 amateur draft, has compiled a .270 batting average during his four seasons with Arizona. |
| 2010 | Jonathan Papelbon inks a deal with the Red Sox for the richest salary ever given to a relief pitcher with just four years of major league service. The 29-year-old reliever, who has 151 career saves for Boston, agrees to a $9.35 million, one-year contract to continue to be the team's closer. |
| 2010 | Avoiding arbitration, Luke Scott and the Orioles agree on a $4.05 million, one-year deal. The 31-year-old outfielder, obtained in a 2007 trade with Houston, hit just .258 last season but had career highs with 25 homers and 77 RBIs. |
| 2010 | Avoiding arbitration for the second consecutive season, Ryan Ludwick (.265, 22, 97) and the Cardinals agree to a $5.45 million, one-year deal. The 31-year-old outfielder, who had nine assists while committing only one error, was named to the National League All-Star squad last season. |
| 2011 | The Twins resign right-handed free agent Carl Pavano to a $16.5 million deal, keeping the right-hander in Minnesota for two years. The 35-year-old Southington (CT) native led the team in both wins (17) and innings pitched (221) last season, including a league-leading seven complete games. |
| 2013 | Doctors perform life-saving surgery on Carl Pavano, removing his spleen, lacerated five days ago when he slipped on ice and fell onto the handle of a snow shovel clearing snow at his Vermont home. The 37-year-old veteran starting pitcher, who had been amping up his free-agent negotiations with several teams after being recently released by the Twins, says he is determined to pitch again. |
| 2016 |
The Reds announce that Pete Rose will become the 86th member inducted into the team's Hall of Fame. Also, the Cincinnati native, banned from baseball for gambling on the sport, will be honored by having his #14 uniform, which he wore from 1963-78 and 1984-86, retired and will have a statue of him dedicated at Great American Ball Park.
posted on flickr by J.L. Ramsaur Photography |
27 Fact(s) Found