BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

Effa Manley was the influential co-owner of the Negro Leagues' Newark Eagles. She is the only woman elected thus far to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
​

 

​

 

​

 

​

 

1/11/25
Baseball BIRTHDAYS
***********​

1876 Elmer Flickl HOF outfielder (AL batting champion 1905; NL RBI leader 1900; 2 × AL stolen base leader; Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Bronchos/Naps)


1890 Max Carey Hall of Fame outfielder (World Series 1925; 10 × NL stolen base leader; Pittsburgh Pirates,


Brooklyn Robins)and manager (Brooklyn Dodgers)

1912 Lynwood Thomas "Schoolboy" Rowel pitcher (Detroit Tigers)


1962 Donn Pall pitcher, 1988-98 (Chicago White Sox, Florida Marlins, and 3 other teams)


1972 Rey Ordóñez infielder (Gold Glove Award 1997, 98, 99 NY Mets


1974 Warren Morris infielder (Olympic bronze 1996)


************************************

 

This Day in Baseball History
​

1917 The Phillies trade 30-year-old Grover Cleveland Alexander and catcher Bill Killefer to the Cubs for right-hander Mike Prendergast, who compiles a 13-15 record in his one-plus season with Philadelphia, and reserve backstop William Dillhoefer, who bats .091 in the eight games he plays for the team. From 1918 to 1926, 'Old Pete' compiles a 128-83 record in a Cubs uniform en route to a Hall of Fame career, including playing for the Cardinals.

​

1928 National League president John Heydler proposes a designated batter for the pitcher to speed up the game and add more offense. The American League opposes the idea, and the NL withdraws the proposal before asking Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to break the deadlock.

1941 The Giants deal hurler Bill Lohrman, catcher James O'Dea, first baseman Johnny McCarthy, and $50,000 to the Cardinals for Johnny Mize. Despite missing three years due to WWII, the Giants' new first baseman will spend five productive seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the team, hitting .299 and averaging more than 100 RBIs per season.

​

 

1950 A. B. 'Happy' Chandler's contract as commissioner isn't renewed for a second term when he receives only nine of the twelve owners' votes needed for re-election. The future Hall of Famer is credited for integrating the majors, putting six umpires on the field during the World Series, and establishing the players' pension fund in 1947, with the $475,000 made by selling the rights to broadcast the World Series on the radio.

1951 "I can no longer produce for my ballclub, my manager, my teammates, and my fans the sort of baseball their loyalty to me deserves." - Joe DiMaggio, announcing his decision to retire. At the Yankees' Fifth Avenue suite in the Squibb Tower, a tearful Joe DiMaggio, two weeks after his 37th birthday, announces to the press his decision to retire from baseball. The Bronx Bomber outfielder, claiming he "no longer has it" due to age and injuries, ends his thirteen-year career with a lifetime .325BA and 361 home runs, rejecting owner Dan Topping's $100,000 offer to play next season.

​

1952 The Pirates name Fred Haney as the team's manager, replacing Billy Meyer, who was selected as The Sporting News Major League Manager of the Year in 1948 following his first season at the helm. The Bucs will finish each season in last place, compiling a dismal 163-299 (.353) record during their new skipper's three-year tenure in Pittsburgh.

​

1954 The Phillies buy Connie Mack Stadium, once known as Shibe Park, for $1,675,000 from Arnold Johnson, the A's new owner, who acquired the ballpark as part of his purchase of the American League team. The Phils, who had been paying a minimal rent to share the park with the American League team, become the sole occupants of the aging downtown facility, their home for the next 15 seasons, when their Junior Circuit rivals move to Kansas City.


1956 Bob Feller, a future Hall of Fame hurler with the Indians, becomes the first president of a major league player association. One of many attempts by the players to form a union will prove to be very successful a decade later with the hiring of Marvin Miller to be the MLBPA's first executive director in 1966.

1959 After the Pirates reject the A's offer to exchange Dick Groat for Roger Maris, Kansas City, prohibited from trading the outfielder to the Yankees for 18 months, send the right fielder, shortstop Joe DeMaestri, and first baseman Kent Hadleyand to the Bronx for Hank Bauer, Don Larsen, Norm Siebern, and Marv Throneberry. The American League put a moratorium on trades by Kansas City, hoping to alleviate the perception that the team was serving as a 'big league' farm club for the Bronx Bombers.​

 

​

 

​

 

​

 

​

 

​

 

​

 

​

 

1/12/25
Baseball BIRTHDAYS
***********
1860 Henry Larkin


1951 Bill Madlock MLB third baseman, 3X All-Star, 4X NL Batting Title (Chicago Cubs; Pittsburgh Pirates and 4 other teams),


1971 Andy Fox infielder (NY Yankees)


1977 Yoandy Garlobo


1980 Bobby Crosby Oakland


1982 Dontrelle Willis pitcher (MLB All-Star 2003, 05; World Series & NL Rookie of the Year 2003; NL wins leader 2005; Florida Marlins)


1984 Scott Olsen

***********

 

This Day in Baseball History
December 12th​

1903 The Cardinals trade Mordecai Brown and catcher Jack O'Neill to the Cubs in exchange for backstop Larry McLean and Jack Taylor, a righty who will set the record for consecutive complete games in one season next year with 39 when he compiles a 20-19 record for the Redbirds. The future Hall of Fame right-hander, nicknamed Three Finger due to a farm-machinery accident when he was 11 years old, will post a 188-86 (.686) record, including six consecutive seasons of 20+ wins, during his ten-year tenure with Chicago.

​

​

1913 The Reds trade outfielder Bob Bescher to the Giants for shortstop Buck Herzog, who will become the team's player-manager, replacing Joe Tinker in the Cincinnati dugout. In his 2+ plus seasons, the club's new skipper will compile a 165-226 (.422) record, never finishing higher than seventh place in the eight-team circuit.

​

1920 Major League Baseball approaches U.S. District Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who will be elected and assume the post in January, to be its first commissioner. The selection of the tough-minded jurist appears to be a move by the owners to restore the integrity of the game after the 1919 World Series scandal that involved eight White Sox players paid off by professional gamblers to throw the Fall Classic against Cincinnati.

​

 

1930 The rules committee decides a ball that bounces into the stands will no longer be a home run but will become a ground-rule double. Babe Ruth's career total of round-trippers may have been slightly higher due to the existing ground rules in various ballparks at the time; however, research has never uncovered any of his 60 home runs in 1927 hopped into the seats.

1933 The A's swap their ace Lefty Grove, Rube Wallberg, and Max Bishop to the Red Sox for Bob Kline, Rabbit Warstler, and $125,000. The 33-year-old future Hall of Fame southpaw continues to pitch well for his new team, compiling a 105-62 (.629) record, leading the league with the best ERA in four of the eight seasons he hurls for Boston.

​

1941 The Dodgers obtain Arky Vaughn from the Pirates for right-hander Luke Hamlin, 1B/OF Jimmy Wasdell, and catcher Babe Phelps. The future Hall of Fame infielder, who will have his stint in Brooklyn interrupted by WWII, plays four seasons for the club, compiling a .291 batting average.

​

 

1950 The owners drop the bonus and high school rule, designed to prevent the wealthier clubs from monopolizing the available talent. The previous edict mandated that all 'bonus' players stay on the major league roster after one season in the minors.

1952 Peter J. McGovern becomes the Little League's president, replacing Charles Durban, who resigned due to ill health. The organization started with two leagues in 1939 and has grown to 1,800 in 48 states and international sites.

1966 With Justices W. Douglas, H.Black, and W.Brennan in favor but opposed by Chief Justice E.Warren, Associate Justices P. Stewart, J. Marshall Harlan II, B. White, and T.Clark, the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to review Wisconsin's suit to block the Braves' move to Atlanta by a 4-3 vote. The team initially announced its intention to move to the Peach State for the 1965 season, but the injunction filed by the state in Wisconsin forced the club to stay put in Milwaukee for one final year.

1979 The Giants sign re-entry free agents second baseman Rennie Stennett, catcher Milt May, and outfielder Jim Wohlford. The total number of dollars in the contracts for the three established major leaguers, added to the team's roster to fill specific roles, is nearly $5 million.
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 12 (UPI) —The San Francisco Giants confirmed baseball's poorest kept secret today when they announced the signing of Rennie Stennett, Milt May and Jim Wohlford, all free agents who were selected by the Giants in the recent reentry draft.
All three were signed to five‐year contracts, terms of which were not disclosed. It was believed that Stennett and May had signed for $1 million each and that Wohlford had signed for less.

​

Stennett is a 28‐year‐old native of Panama who played nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He suffered a leg injury last year, which limited his play to 108 games. He lost his job at second base when the Pirates, who had obtained Bill Madlock, a third baseman, in a trade with San Francisco, moved Phil Garner to second. The acquisition of Madlock enabled the Pirates to shift Garner. Stennett is expected to become a regular for the Giants.

May is a 29‐year‐old catcher who broke into the majors with the Houston Astros and played the last four years in the American League with the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox. He is expected to become San Francisco's No. 1 catcher because of his hitting ability.

​

Wohlford is a 28‐year‐old outfielder who will serve in a backup role at San Francisco.

​

 

1998 After being given his last rites, Hall of Fame outfielder Joe DiMaggio appears to recover miraculously, defying his doctors' dire predictions. In mid-January, the 'Yankee Clipper' is allowed to go home after a 99-day hospital stay but will die at his home in Florida on March 8 after a long battle with lung cancer.