December 1

Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 1.

[edit] Events

• 1881 - The Buffalo Bisons club meeting reveals their home attendance for 1881 was just over 32,000.
• 1889 - The California League meets and officially awards the pennant to Oakland on the basis of their final day 5 - 4 win over San Francisco. The forfeit is thrown out.
• 1896 - Amos Rusie, a season-long holdout, announces he will settle with the New York Giants and play next season.
• 1898 - New York Giants president Andrew Freedman renews his team's lease on the Polo Grounds for the next 10 years.
• 1911 - Future Hall of Fame member Walter Alston is born in Venice, Ohio. Although Alston will come to bat only once during a brief major league career, he will have far greater longevity as the manager of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 to 1976.
• 1912 - Boston Braves owner James Gaffney purchases the Allston Golf Club on Commonwealth Avenue with a plan to construct a ball park there. Ground breaking will commence on March 20, 1915.
• 1928 - National League President John Heydler becomes the first person to propose a baseball rule change calling for a 10th man, or a designated hitter, to bat in place of the pitcher. The NL will vote in favor of the proposal, but the American League will turn it down.
• 1930 - Shano Collins, a native New Englander, is appointed manager of the perennial last-place Boston Red Sox.
• 1931 - The Chicago Cubs trade future Hall of Famer Hack Wilson and pitcher Bud Teachout to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Burleigh Grimes. Wilson slumped to .261 and 13 home runs after hitting .356 with 56 HR and setting a major league record with 191 RBI in 1930.
• 1942 - At major league meetings in Chicago, World War II travel restrictions are the order of the day. Owners decide to restrict travel to a three-trip schedule rather than the customary four. Spring training in 1943 will be limited to locations north of the Potomac or Ohio rivers and east of the Mississippi.
• 1949 - Attendance in the major leagues is 20.2 million, down from 20.9 in 1948. The New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians each finish with over 2.2 million, but the St. Louis Browns fall to 270,000. The Browns will try to cover their light attendance with $200,000 obtained in cash in December sales of Bob Dillinger, Jerry Priddy and Paul Lehner as the team gets five players in the transactions.
• 1953 - The Boston Red Sox trade for slugger Jackie Jensen, sending P Mickey McDermott and OF Tom Umphlett to the Washington Senators. Jensen will average 25 home runs a year for his seven seasons in Fenway, lead the American League in RBI three times, and win the Most Valuable Player Award in 1958. A fear of flying will end his career prematurely.
• 1954 - The Yankees and Orioles complete the largest trade in major league history as 17 players, including Don Larsen, Gene Woodling, Bob Turley change teams. The first phase of the transaction began November 18th and will conclude today after the major league draft.
• 1955 - The Detroit Tigers bring back pitcher Virgil Trucks after a trade with the Chicago White Sox for third baseman Bubba Phillips.
• 1956:
  • Outfielder Frank Robinson of the Cincinnati Redlegs is unanimously voted the National League Rookie of the Year.
  • In the American League, Chicago White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio is voted Rookie of the Year with 22 points, beating out Baltimore's Tito Francona and Rocky Colavito of the Indians.
  • In front of an estimated 100,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the U.S. Army baseball team beats an Australian All-Star team, 11 - 5, in an Olympic exhibition game. Sergeant Vance Sutton hits a grand slam.
• 1962 - A complete overhaul of the classifications in the minor leagues is made. The Eastern and South Atlantic leagues are promoted from Class-A to Class-AA. Meanwhile, classes B, C and D are abolished with those leagues being promoted to Class-A. The Class-B leagues were the Carolina and Northwest leagues; the Class-C leagues were the California, Mexican Center, Northern and Pioneer leagues. The Class-D leagues were the Florida State, Georgia-Florida, Midwest, New York-Pennsylvania and Western Carolinas leagues. The Appalachian League moves from Class-D to Rookie classification.
• 1963 - Major league owners agree to allow the expansion clubs four protected first-year players who can be optioned to the minors without being subject to a draft.
• 1964:
  • The Houston Colt .45s officially change their nickname to "Astros." The change coincides with the team's impending move from Colt Stadium to the Harris County Domed Stadium, also known as the Astrodome. The change in name for the three-year old franchise is prompted by a dispute with the Colt firearm company and the team's proximity to NASA headquarters.
  • The Chicago White Sox trade P Ray Herbert and 1B Jeoff Long to the Phillies for OF Danny Cater and SS Lee Elia.
  • Cleveland obtains OF Chuck Hinton from the Senators for 1B Bob Chance and IF Woodie Held.
• 1965:
  • The Kansas City Athletics re-acquire minor league outfielder Joe Rudi from the Cleveland Indians. Rudi will eventually become the Athletics starting left fielder and a key member of their World Championship teams from 1972 to 1974.
  • The Pittsburgh Pirates acquire light-hitting outfielder Matty Alou from the San Francisco Giants for infielder Ozzie Virgil and pitcher Joe Gibbon. Alou batted only .231 for San Francisco in 1965, but will improve to a National League-leading .342 this season and have four straight seasons over .300.
• 1966 - The Los Angeles Dodgers trade former National League stolen base king Maury Wills to the Pittsburgh Pirates for infielders Bob Bailey and Gene Michael. Wills upset the Dodgers when he left the team during its recent tour of Japan.
• 1967 - Pacific Northwest Sports, Inc. is awarded one of the two American League expansion franchises. The new team will be named the Seattle Pilots.
• 1970:
  • Shortstop Enzo Hernandez and pitchers Tom Phoebus, Al Severinsen and Fred Beene go from the Orioles to the Padres for pitchers Pat Dobson and Tom Dukes. Dobson will win 20 games for the Orioles next season.
  • The Boston Red Sox trade second baseman Mike Andrews and shortstop Luis Alvarado to the Chicago White Sox for future Hall of Fame shortstop Luis Aparicio.
• 1971 - The Chicago Cubs release longtime star and future Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, ending his 19-year major league career. The Cubs also announce that Banks will serve as a coach on manager Leo Durocher's staff next season. Mr. Cub finishes his playing career with 512 home runs and 1,636 RBI.
• 1979 - San Diego Padres outfielder Dave Winfield and Texas Rangers third baseman Buddy Bell are first-time honorees as The Sporting News announces the 1979 Gold Glove teams.
• 1980 - Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Steve Howe wins the 1980 National League Rookie of the Year Award, edging Montreal Expos starter Bill Gullickson and outfielder Lonnie Smith of the Philadelphia Phillies. Howe posted a 7-9 record with a 2.65 ERA and 17 saves.
• 1982 - The New York Yankees sign one-time American League MVP Don Baylor to a free agent contract. Baylor, who won the Award in 1979, hit 24 home runs and collected 93 RBI for the California Angels. He signs a reported five-year, $5 million contract.
• 1987 - Free agent outfielder Brett Butler is signed by the Giants. Butler hit .295 with nine home runs, 41 RBI, and 33 stolen bases for Cleveland last season.
• 1989 - Free agent pitcher Mark Langston signs a five-year contract with the Angels.
• 1992:
  • The Houston Astros sign free agent pitcher Doug Drabek to a four-year contract worth $19.5 million.
  • The Chicago Cubs sign free agent pitcher Juan Guzman to a four-year contract. Guzman is coming off his best major league season, winning 16 games for the Texas Rangers.
• 1997 - The Arizona Diamondbacks obtain 3B Matt Williams from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for 3B Travis Fryman, P Tom Martin, and $3 million.
• 1998:
  • Due the acquisition of All-Star catcher Mike Piazza, the Mets deal fan favorite Todd Hundley along with minor league pitcher Arnold Gooch to the Dodgers for outfielder Roger Cedeño and catcher Charles Johnson. The Mets then send Johnson to Baltimore to obtain closer Armando Benitez.
  • Bypassing his agent and making the deal himself, Rafael Palmeiro turns down a bigger offer from Baltimore and signs a five-year $45 million contract to stay with the Rangers.
  • Free agent outfielder Otis Nixon is signed by the Atlanta Braves. The speedster Nixon was a starter for Atlanta from 1991 to 1993.
  • The Baltimore Orioles sign slugger Albert Belle to a five-year contract.
• 1999 - The Philadelphia Phillies sign free agent relief pitcher Mike Jackson to a contract.
• 2000 - Reliever Turk Wendell, who wears uniform number 99, agrees to a three-year deal worth $9,999,999.99 with the New York Mets. Wendell had asked that his pact include an option year in which he would play for free, but that plan was unworkable because baseball's collective bargaining agreement sets a $200,000 minimum salary.
• 2001 - The Mets sign former Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Satoru Komiyama to a one-year contract. Komiyama was a seven-time All-Star in Japan.
• 2002 - Former major league starting pitcher Dave McNally dies from lung cancer at the age of 60. A four-time 20-game winner over the span of four consecutive seasons, McNally helped anchor a Baltimore Orioles pitching staff that featured Hall of Famer Jim Palmer and standout left-hander Mike Cuellar. McNally won Game 4 of the 1966 World Series, cementing Baltimore's sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also won Game 3 of the 1970 World Series, as the Orioles defeated the Cincinnati Reds in five games. At the end of his career, McNally helped change baseball's basic financial structure. After playing the 1975 season without a signed contract, McNally, along with pitcher Andy Messersmith was declared a free agent by arbitrator Peter Seitz. The decision paved the way for the advent of the free agent system.
• 2005:
  • The San Francisco Giants agree to terms with reliever Tim Worrell on a two-year contract.
• 2008 - The post-season Serie A1 All-Star team and award winners for 2008 are announced. Batting champ Giuseppe Mazzanti wins MVP honors while Gustavo Martinez is named the best pitcher. All-Stars are C Kelly Ramos, 1B Dean Rovinelli, 2B Renato Imperiali, SS Seth La Fera, 3B Mazzanti, RF Claudio Liverziani, CF Richard Austin, LF Willie Vasquez, DH Max De Biase and P Martinez. Doriano Bindi is named Manager of the Year and Alessandro Cappuccini Umpire of the Year.
• 2009:
  • "Old Reliable" Tommy Henrich, who played on seven World Champion New York Yankees teams in the 1930s and 1940s dies in Dayton, OH at age 96.
  • The Atlanta Braves sign reliever Billy Wagner to a one-year, $7 million contract. Wagner missed most of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery but came back in August to pitch 2 games for the New York Mets and then post a 1.98 ERA in 13 games after being traded to the Boston Red Sox.
• 2010:
  • The Giants sign LF Pat Burrell to a one-year contract. Burrell's career was revived with the Giants over the second half of last year after a disastrous year-and-a-half as Tampa Bay's designated hitter.
  • The Pirates sign P Fernando Nieve, IF Andy Marte and C Dusty Brown to minor league contracts. All three also receive invitations to spring training.
• 2011:
  • Seiichi Uchikawa of the Softbank Hawks wins the 2011 Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award‎ in his first season in the league. He hit a league-high .338 to become the second Nippon Pro Baseball player to win batting titles in both the Pacific League and Central League. The 2011 Central League MVP goes to Takuya Asao of the Chunichi Dragons, who went 7-2 with 10 saves and a 0.41 ERA in a league-high 79 appearances. Asao is the first CL reliever to win the award since Kazuhiro Sasaki in 1998 and Sasaki was a closer, while Asao was used primarily as a set-up man.
  • The Marlins sign closer Heath Bell to a three-year deal worth $27 million.
  • The Orioles acquire C Taylor Teagarden from Texas for Class A P Randy Henry and a player to be named after next week's Rule V draft.
• 2012:
  • The Cubs sign veteran Japanese reliever Kyuji Fujikawa to a two-year contract.
  • The Rays trade P Burke Badenhop to Milwaukee for OF Raul Mondesi Jr.
  • At the 2012 Asian Championship, host Taiwan beats Pakistan, 15-0. Yu-Ching Lin, Hung-Cheng Lai and Ta-Yuan Kuan combine on a perfect game while Cheng-Wei Chang goes 3 for 5.

[edit] Births

• 1863 - Dave McKeough, catcher (d. 1901)
• 1868 - Paddy Fox, infielder (d. 1914)
• 1870 - Tommy Raub, catcher (d. 1949)
• 1877 - Matt Broderick, infielder (d. 1940)
• 1882 - Ed Reulbach, pitcher (d. 1961)
• 1884 - Charley Moore, infielder (d. 1970)
• 1889 - Willie Mitchell, pitcher (d. 1973)
• 1891 - Johnny O'Connor, catcher (d. 1982)
• 1892 - George Dickerson, pitcher (d. 1938)
• 1892 - Dean Sturgis, catcher (d. 1950)
• 1894 - Ernie Alten, pitcher (d. 1981)
• 1895 - Jake Miller, outfielder (d. 1974)
• 1898 - Charlie High, outfielder (d. 1960)
• 1900 - Eppie Barnes, infielder (d. 1980)
• 1901 - Ed Coleman, outfielder (d. 1964)
• 1901 - Mike Cvengros, pitcher (d. 1970)
• 1902 - Red Badgro, outfielder (d. 1998)
• 1905 - Buddy Dear, infielder (d. 1989)
• 1908 - Les Munns, pitcher (d. 1997)
• 1911 - Walter Alston, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (d. 1984)
• 1911 - Junie Barnes, pitcher (d. 1963)
• 1912 - Cookie Lavagetto, infielder, manager; All-Star (d. 1990)
• 1917 - Marty Marion, infielder, manager; All-Star (d. 2011)
• 1918 - Walter Balash, minor league pitcher (d. 1977)
• 1918 - Lefty Sloat, pitcher (d. 2003)
• 1919 - Hiroshi Nakao, NPB pitcher; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1977)
• 1919 - Pete Wojey, pitcher (d. 1990)
• 1921 - Frank Evans, scout (d. 2012)
• 1921 - Charlie Ripple, pitcher (d. 1979)
• 1921 - Bob Savage, pitcher
• 1922 - George Lerchen, outfielder
• 1925 - Niles Jordan, pitcher
• 1925 - Cal McLish, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2010)
• 1929 - Nino Escalera, outfielder
• 1934 - Gerald Ice, minor league pitcher (d. 2010)
• 1935 - Don Whittington, Negro League infielder (d. 1986)
• 1937 - Domingo Carrasquel Sr., minor league infielder and manager
• 1940 - Cecil Perkins, pitcher
• 1944 - Jim Ray, pitcher
• 1948 - George Foster, outfielder; All-Star
• 1952 - Dan Warthen, pitcher
• 1954 - Dan Schatzeder, pitcher
• 1956 - Tom Filer, pitcher
• 1961 - Anthony Latham, minor league outfielder (d. 1983)
• 1961 - Herm Winningham, outfielder
• 1962 - Tim Jones, infielder
• 1963 - Greg Harris, pitcher
• 1965 - Julio Machado, pitcher
• 1965 - Jeff Tackett, catcher
• 1966 - Min-Ching Lo, CPBL infielder
• 1966 - Greg McMichael, pitcher
• 1966 - Larry Walker, outfielder; All-Star
• 1967 - Reggie Sanders, outfielder; All-Star
• 1970 - Kirk Rueter, pitcher
• 1972 - Roger Cropper, minor league outfielder
• 1972 - Tim Peters, minor league pitcher
• 1973 - Pedro Mega, minor league manager
• 1977 - Edmund Muth, minor league outfielder
• 1981 - Jesus Colmenter, minor league player
• 1983 - Ji-man An, KBO pitcher
• 1985 - Eddy Rodriguez, catcher
• 1986 - A.J. Morris, minor league pitcher
• 1986 - Jan Řeháček, minor league pitcher
• 1987 - Nate Reed, minor league pitcher
• 1988 - Daniel Straily, pitcher
• 1989 - Kesley Kondo, Brazilian national team pitcher
• 1990 - Alex Burgos, minor league pitcher
• 1991 - Deyang Zhang, China Baseball League infielder
• 1992 - Javier Baez, minor league infielder
• 1992 - Joseph Daru, Thai national team outfielder
• 1992 - Taylor Guerrieri, minor league pitcher

[edit] Deaths

• 1899 - Ed Gastfield, catcher (b. 1865)
• 1902 - Fred Dunlap, infielder, manager (b. 1859)
• 1917 - Mike Hooper, outfielder (b. 1850)
• 1922 - Jim Snyder, infielder (b. 1847)
• 1924 - Dolly Stark, infielder (b. 1885)
• 1924 - Dummy Stephenson, outfielder (b. 1869)
• 1927 - Danny Shay, infielder (b. 1876)
• 1927 - Germany Smith, infielder (b. 1863)
• 1942 - Frank Connaughton, infielder (b. 1869)
• 1949 - Hanson Horsey, pitcher (b. 1889)
• 1950 - Bob Hall, infielder (b. 1878)
• 1953 - Klondike Douglass, infielder (b. 1872)
• 1953 - Frank Rudderham, umpire (b. 1868)
• 1954 - Kid O'Hara, outfielder (b. 1875)
• 1973 - Skinny Graham, pitcher (b. 1899)
• 1975 - Nellie Fox, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1927)
• 1975 - Dave Koslo, pitcher (b. 1920)
• 1976 - George Earnshaw, pitcher (b. 1900)
• 1981 - Tony Piet, infielder (b. 1906)
• 1991 - Buster Mills, outfielder, manager (b. 1908)
• 1992 - Chile Gomez, infielder (b. 1909)
• 1992 - Sam Lowry, pitcher (b. 1920)
• 1999 - Gene Baker, infielder; All-Star (b. 1925)
• 2000 - Terry Wilshusen, pitcher (b. 1949)
• 2002 - Dave McNally, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1942)
• 2005 - John Toncoff, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1912)
• 2007 - Masayori Shimura, broadcaster; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1913)
• 2009 - Gerry Craft, scout (b. 1951)
• 2009 - Tommy Henrich, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1913)