BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

"Joe DiMaggio seldom showed emotion. Once after striking out he came into the dugout & kicked the ball bag. It really hurt his toe. He sat down & clenched his fists without saying a word. Everybody wanted to howl but he was a god. You don't laugh at gods." ~ Jerry Coleman

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Baseball Birthdays February 20 2024
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1889 Boardwalk Brown Athletics & Yankees P


1890 Sam Rice Senators P HOF

1913 Tommy Henrich Yankees IF/OF


1928 Roy Face Pirates Expos, Reds+ P


1959 Bill Gullickson Tigers, Expos P


1967 Kurt Knudsen Tigers, Jays P


1975 Livan Hernandez Marlins, Giants P

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This Day in Baseball History
February 20th​

1923 Giants attorney Emil Fuchs and Christy Mathewson, who becomes the principal owner and team president, put together a syndicate that buys the Boston Braves for $300,000. The future Hall of Famer right-hander's deteriorating health reduces him no more than a figurehead, turning over the presidency to Fuchs at the end of the season.

1929 The Red Sox announce the team will play its newly allowed Sunday games at Braves Field, the home of their National League rivals located on Commonwealth Avenue at Babcock Street. The team will not play Sunday contests at Fenway Park until 1932 because the blue laws restrict the venue's use due to its proximity to churches.

1953 August A. Busch, seeing the purchase as a marketing tool, convinces the Board of Directors of Anheuser-Busch to buy the Cardinals from Fred Saigh for $3.75 million. As a matter of civic pride, the former owner, convicted of tax evasion, becomes convinced by the beer baron to take less money than the offer from an ownership group that would move the Redbirds to Houston.

1963 The Cubs officially end their radical approach of using multiple field bosses when the team hires Bob Kennedy as their only manager. With the "College of Coaches" system disbanded, the club will post an 82-80 record under their lone skipper.

1963 After leading the Giants to the pennant, Willie Mays becomes the game's presently highest-paid player, signing a $100,000 contract, a ten-thousand-dollar increase. The 31-year-old outfielder, who slugged a major league-leading 49 home runs last year, joins Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, and Ted Williams in inking a six-figure deal.

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1984 Pedro Guerrero becomes the highest-paid Dodger when he signs a five-year, seven-million dollar contract to play in Los Angeles. The 27-year-old Dominican Republic native, a .305 lifetime hitter who paced the team last season with 32 homers and 103 RBIs, made it clear he would not accept anything less than $1.2 million for the upcoming campaign.

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1996 The Yankees officially sign Dwight Gooden, who didn't play last season due to being suspended for drugs, to a one-year deal with two option years. The complicated contract, necessitated by the hurler's past addictions, calls for a salary of $1M in 1996, then $2M in 1997 and $3M in 1998, and requires the 31-year-old right-hander to be tested for drugs three times a week while participating in a 12-step program.

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2008 "My, oh my," Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus enters the Baseball Hall of Fame. On his 73rd birthday, the veteran announcer, the team's lead play-by-play announcer from their inaugural season in 1977 until his death after the 2010 season, learns he is the recipient of the 2008 Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence.

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2009 With the most wins among active pitchers, Tom Glavine agrees to a one-year, $1 million deal to stay with the Braves. The 42-year-old southpaw, who underwent surgery for a torn ligament in his left elbow, posted a 2-4 record with a 5.54 ERA in 13 starts for Atlanta before being shut down last August.

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2009 Baltimore inks Brian Roberts to a four-year contract extension reportedly worth $40 million. Along with Nick Markakis, who recently signed a six-year, $66 million deal, the 31-year-old talented second baseman becomes the second home-grown Oriole player within a month to agree to a long-term pact to stay with the last-place club.

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2009 The Nationals and Ryan Zimmerman (.283, 14, 51) avoid arbitration, agreeing to a one-year, $3.3 million contract. The 24-year-old third baseman is Washington's all-time leader in almost every offensive category, including homers, RBI, runs, hits, and games since the franchise relocated from Montreal four seasons ago.

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Pete Rose barreling into home plate at Wrigley Field, August 24, 1971.
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President John F. Kennedy shakes hands with Chicago #WhiteSox shortstop Luis Aparicio before the 1962 Baseball All-Star Game in Washington, D.C.

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Future President John F. Kennedy Visits Fenway Park In 1946! (L-R) Boston #RedSox star Ted Williams, Eddie Pellagrini, JFK & Detroit #Tigers star Hank Greenberg
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In 1954 Hank “The Hammer” Aaron played in his first MLB game and the rest was history, but before that Aaron honed his skills playing in the Negro Leagues.
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Robin Yount
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All Star games, back when the players wore their team uniforms
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Baseball Birthdays February 21 2024
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1867 Jouett Meekin Colonels,Senators, Giants, Beanaters P/OF

1875 Dummy 'Luther Hudson' Taylor Giants P/OF


1907 Snipe Hansen Phils P


1942 Fred Newman Angels, Jays P

1943 Joe Foy RedSox, Royals, Mets IF/OF


1943 Jack Billingham Astros, Tigers, Reds P


1958 Alan Trammell Tigers SS, IF

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This Day in Baseball History
February 21st​

1931 The Dodgers arrive in Cuba to start a series of five inter-squad games. Brooklyn right-hander Dolf Luque, known as the Pride of Havana, will appear in the exhibitions scheduled for the spacious Tropical Stadium.

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1945 Due to wartime travel restrictions, the Office of Defense Transportation has requests major league clubs to cut travel by twenty-five percent. Commissioner Ford Frick estimates the decision to cancel the All-Star game, which has occurred annually since its inception in 1933, will save 500,000 passenger miles.

1966 Emmett Ashford becomes the first black to be a major league umpire when the American League hires him. 'Ash,' known for his flashy style in the PCL, will spend five years in the bigs, working the 1967 All-Star game and the 1970 World Series, before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.

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1968 The players and owners reach the first-ever collective basic agreement. The two-year CBA raises the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000, the first increase in two decades, and provides a new grievance arbitration procedure for labor disputes that empowers the commissioner as the final arbiter.

1974 Tom Seaver becomes the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history when he signs a one-year contract for $172,000, a twenty-five percent increase from last season, to hurl for the Mets. The 29-year-old right-hander known as 'Tom Terrific' has posted a 135-76 record during his seven years in New York.

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1980 Billy Martin signs a two-year, $250,000 deal to be the A's manager becoming Charlie Finley's fifteenth different skipper in the past twenty years. During the three-year reign of 'Billy Ball,' the fiery 51-year-old skipper will compile a 215-218 record, winning a division title as the first-half leader of the 1981 strike-shortened season in the AL West.

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1986 In defiance of the Reds' policy, Rollie Fingers refuses to cut off his trademark handlebar mustache and retires from baseball. The future Hall of Fame reliever, who leaves the game with 341 saves, had been offered a contract by Cincinnati's skipper Pete Rose after being released by the Brewers at the end of last season.

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1989 Reds manager Pete Rose meets with Commissioner Peter Ueberroth and Commissioner-elect Bart Giamatti to explain the allegations concerning his gambling habits. Major League Baseball will launch a full investigation into the matter next month, leading to "Charlie Hustle's" permanent ban from the game in August.

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2000 Denying the acquisition of Ken Griffey, Jr. as the reason, the Reds announce the team has dropped its prohibition on wearing earrings. Players have worn the jewelry in the Cincinnati clubhouse but weren't allowed to take the field wearing earwear.

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2006 The National Baseball Hall of Fame selects Gene Elston to receive the Ford C. Frick Award. During his 47 years in the broadcast booth, the former Astros announcer brought a no-nonsense approach to reporting the happenings on the diamond.

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2008 Ryan Howard, who made $900,000 last season, gets a substantial raise by winning his salary arbitration case against the Phillies. The 28-year-old first baseman receives a $10 million award, tying Alfonso Soriano, who had sought $12 million and lost, for the highest arbitrated amount ever given to a player.

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2009 In a decision that team general manager Neal Huntington calls easy, the Pirates pick up John Russell's contract option for this season. The sophomore skipper compiled a 67-95 record in his first season with the last-place Bucs.

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2019 Manny Machado agrees to a 10-year, $300 million contract with the Padres, making the 25-year-old infielder's deal the richest free-agent signing in baseball history. Bryce Harper will surpass the all-time free-agent jackpot in two weeks, signing a 13-year, $330 million commitment with the Phillies.

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