BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

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On March 18 in Baseball History...

• • 1942 - Two black players, Jackie Robinson and Nate Moreland, request a tryout with the Chicago White Sox during spring training at Pasadena. Manager Jimmy Dykes allows the two to work out but later dismisses them.
    
  • 1953 - The Milwaukee Braves become the first franchise shift in baseball since 1903, when Baltimore moved to New York. The Braves have been in Boston for 77 years. Milwaukee assumes Pittsburgh's place in the Western Division for scheduling purposes and night games. The minor-league Milwaukee Brewers move to Toledo.
    
  • 1958 - In a move to change their image, the Dodgers announce that clown Emmett Kelly will not perform in 1958.
    
  • 1984 - White Sox coach Charlie Lau, renowned hitting instructor, dies at age 50 after a long bout with cancer. Lau, whose major league average was .255, earned his fame as the Royals batting coach from 1971-78, where his star pupil was George Brett.
    
  • 1985 - Commissioner Peter Ueberroth reinstates Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, who had been banned from association with organized baseball by Bowie Kuhn due to their employment by Atlantic City casinos.
    
  • 1990 - Players and owners reach a new collective bargaining agreement that will end the 32-day lockout of spring training camps. Highlights of the deal include increasing the clubs' contributions to the players' pension fund, raising the minimum major league salary to $100,000, and a compromise on salary arbitration that leaves 17 percent of players with between two and three years of major league experience eligible.

Baseball Birthdays on March 18...

• • 1854 - Walker, Oscar
  • 1861 - Scanlan, Mort
  • 1863 - Clark, Bob
  • 1870 - Snodgrass, Chappie
  • 1874 - Callahan, Nixey
  • 1874 - Bean, Joe
  • 1882 - Myers, Joseph
  • 1888 - Higgins, Eddie
  • 1888 - Taylor, Wiley
  • 1888 - Coombs, Cecil
  • 1890 - Mee, Tommy
  • 1893 - Wrightstone, Russ
  • 1901 - Cooney, Johnny
  • 1902 - Potter, Squire
  • 1911 - Benton, Al
  • 1916 - Fletcher, Elbie
  • 1916 - Bithorn, Hi
  • 1916 - Lake, Eddie "(Eddie) Lake decided he'd rather play in the minor leagues that have another season like that. Karen Bush writes, 'When the spring of 1942 came around, he flatly refused to report to the Cardinals, making the rather unusual request that he be reassigned to the minors. In fact, he said, he would go back to work in a steel mill not far from his mother's home in Oakland, if baseball didn't send him to Sacramento.' Branch Rickey reported, 'He wants to go to a Double-A club for $150 a month less than he's been getting from the Cardinals. Never knew of a case like it.' We might keep in mind that this unfolded within a relatively few weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor plunged America into war, and playing closer to home might have additional appeal as well. Lake said he wanted to play baseball and hadn't started even one game in 1941. 'That's all there is to it.'" - Baseball Historian Bill Nowlin (SABR Baseball Biography
  • 1917 - Williams, Ace
  • 1918 - Mulligan, Dick
  • 1919 - White, Hal
  • 1920 - Rutner, Mickey
  • 1924 - Hamner, Garvin
  • 1925 - Hatfield, Fred
  • 1926 - Littlefield, Dick
  • 1928 - Olivo, Chi-Chi
  • 1932 - Tate, Lee
  • 1940 - Martinez, Tony
  • 1941 - Jarvis, Pat "As much the defining image for an Era as Hank and his lumberjack liners, Pat Jarvis, toppling to the left side of the Atlanta mound, after another ferocious effort at a fastball—Pat, for several years the Opening Day hurler, when all that stood between victory and certain defeat was the will of the Little Bulldog. Built like a pre school lineman, Jarvis worked as fiercely, as boldly as a gladiator." - Peeler, Tim. Author. Waiting for Godot's First Pitch: More Poems from Baseball.
  • 1946 - Kelly, Van
  • 1953 - Miller, Randy
  • 1955 - Murphy, Dwayne
  • 1957 - Keeton, Rickey
  • 1957 - Olmsted, Al
  • 1960 - Winters, Matt
  • 1962 - Fisher, Brian
  • 1965 - Berroa, Geronimo
  • 1967 - Edenfield, Ken
  • 1973 - Chavez, Raul
  • 1976 - Ohka, Tomo
  • 1976 - Miller, Corky
  • 1976 - Podsednik, Scott

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Today in Baseball History
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Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths
On March 19 in Baseball History...

• • 1957 - In what is believed to be the largest offer for a player to date, the Indians reject Boston's bid of $1 million for Herb Score. Cleveland General Manager Hank Greenberg says that the team is interested in building for the future, not in selling its best ballplayers. Six weeks later Score is struck in the eye by Gil McDougald's liner.
    
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  • 1960 - Red Sox catcher Sammy White announces he will retire rather than report to Cleveland, where he had been traded.
  • 1984 - Denny McLain, the last major league pitcher to achieve a 30-win season, is indicted on various charges of racketeering, loan-sharking, extortion, and cocaine possession.
    
  • 1989 - With Dave Winfield sidelined, the Yankees trade catcher Joel Skinner and a minor leaguer to the Indians for outfielder Mel Hall. Winfield will miss all of the 1989 season after undergoing back surgery.
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Baseball Birthdays on March 19...

• • 1868 - Smith, Skyrocket
  • 1871 - McGinnity, Joe "One thing (Joe) McGinnity could have in today's game was his specialty pitch. He perfected an underhand pitch that has a similar movement to the riseball in fastpitch softball. According to newspaper accounts, his fingers would almost touch the ground, and with the twist of his wrist, he'd manage to get something resembling an up-curve that most batters swung under. That pitch kept him in the game until his mid-50s. He nicknamed the pitch 'Old Sal.' He reportedly threw it nearly every pitch. Catchers caught him without using signs. He wasn't fast; didn't need to be. Old Sal became part of the legend of Iron Man Joseph." - Columnist Marc Nesseler
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  • 1874 - Evans, Roy
  • 1881 - Maharg, Billy
  • 1884 - Engle, Clyde
  • 1884 - Messenger, Bobby
  • 1887 - Covington, Tex
  • 1891 - Schauer, Rube
  • 1894 - Wambsganss, Bill
  • 1894 - Torkelson, Red
  • 1897 - Bowman, Elmer
  • 1908 - Walker, Gee
  • 1915 - Gonzales, Joe
  • 1927 - Ashburn, Richie
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  • 1931 - Smith, Paul
  • 1935 - Brickell, Fritz
  • 1940 - Smith, Pete
  • 1947 - Mangual, Angel
  • 1947 - Rose, Don
  • 1947 - Jestadt, Garry
  • 1948 - Powell, Paul
  • 1953 - Corcoran, Tim
  • 1955 - Norris, Mike
  • 1962 - Calderon, Ivan
  • 1963 - Jackson, Chuck
  • 1964 - Hamilton, Jeff
  • 1966 - Scruggs, Tony
  • 1968 - Young, Pete
  • 1971 - Cromer, D.T.
  • 1974 - Coppinger, Rocky
  • 1974 - LaRue, Jason

Copyright � 2001-2007. All Rights Reserved.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Around the Horn | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Today in Baseball History.​