December 24
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
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| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 24.
[edit] Events
- 1885 – The American Association champions St. Louis Browns agree to sell the reserve rights of infielder Sam Barkley to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys for $1,000.
- 1929 - Francis McQuade is sued by the New York Giants. The club's treasurer, McQuade is accused of trying to "wreck and destroy" the team.
- 1940 - The Cleveland Indians trade veteran outfielder Ben Chapman to the Washington Senators for pitcher Joe Krakauskas. Cleveland also sells pitcher Johnny Allen to the Browns.
- 1949 - Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander is found lying unconscious in an alley in Hollywood, CA. The great Old Pete, who was elected to the HoF in 1938, is suffering from epilepsy and is missing one of his ears. He will die from liver disease less than a year later.
- 1959 - The Milwaukee Braves sign 20-year old Dominican slugger Rico Carty.
- 1967 - While skiing at Lake Tahoe, Boston Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg tears the ligaments in his left knee. Lonborg, who posted a 22-9 record with 246 strikeouts and a 3.49 ERA and received the Cy Young Award, will pitch 12 more seasons in the major leagues, but will not reach double digits in wins until 1971 and will never be the same.
- 1969 - In a letter to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, traded St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood states his refusal to report to the Philadelphia Phillies citing he is not a piece of property to be sold. The MLB Players Association announces support Flood's suit against baseball and will pay legal fees.
- 1974 - St. Louis Cardinals speedster Lou Brock is named Sportsman of the Year by The Sporting News. He finishes ahead of such sports luminaries as tennis great Jimmy Connors, golfer Johnny Miller, and Dodgers ironman reliever Mike Marshall.
- 1986 - Two free agents sign, Gary Ward with the New York Yankees, while Reggie Jackson signs with the Oakland Athletics.
- 1990 - The Montreal Expos trade longtime leadoff man Tim Raines Sr. to the Chicago White Sox for OF Ivan Calderón and P Barry Jones. In 12 seasons with the Expos, Raines batted .301 and stole 634 bases, the most in franchise history.
- 1992 - The Expos trade 3B Tim Wallach to the Dodgers in exchange for Tim Barker.
- 2002:
- In a deal which prompts a Boston Red Sox official to call the New York Yankees an "evil empire", Cuban defector Jose Contreras agree to terms on a four-year contract with New York. Contreras, who was considered the top pitcher on Cuba's national team, was declared a free agent after gaining residency in Nicaragua.
- Two free agent pitchers sign contracts, Chad Fox with the Red Sox and Jay Witasick with the Padres. Meanwhile, free agent outfielder Chris Singleton sign with Oakland.
- 2004 - Boston Red Sox catcher and team leader Jason Varitek agrees to a four-year deal to stay in Boston. Joining Mike Menosky, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice, Varitek is also named captain of the team.
- 2005 - Veteran reliever Mike Stanton returned to the Washington Nationals, agreeing to a $1 million, one-year contract.
[edit] Births
- 1860 - Joe Crotty, catcher (d. 1926)
- 1869 - Zeke Wilson, pitcher (d. 1928)
- 1877 - Del Howard, infielder/outfielder (d. 1956)
- 1880 - John Brackenridge, pitcher (d. 1953)
- 1884 - Ernie Groth, pitcher (d. 1950)
- 1884 - George Zackert, pitcher (d. 1977)
- 1886 - Henry Mathewson, pitcher (d. 1917)
- 1889 - Ed McCreery, pitcher (d. 1960)
- 1889 - Bill Otis, outfielder (d. 1990)
- 1890 - Tod Sloan, outfielder (d. 1956)
- 1910 - Lloyd Johnson, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1912 - Dave Coble, catcher (d. 1971)
- 1913 - George Jeffcoat, pitcher (d. 1978)
- 1913 - Owen Scheetz, pitcher (d. 1994)
- 1915 - Frank Trechock, infielder (d. 1989)
- 1916 - Jack Graham, infielder (d. 1998)
- 1924 - Chico Garcia, infielder; Salón de la Fama (d. 2007)
- 1931 - Evelio Hernandez, pitcher
- 1937 - Larry Foster, pitcher
- 1938 - Bobby Henrich, infielder
- 1943 - Al Stanek, pitcher
- 1949 - Frank Taveras, infielder
- 1951 - John D'Acquisto, pitcher
- 1957 - Victor Cruz, pitcher (d. 2004)
- 1960 - John Costello, pitcher
- 1964 - Carlos Diaz, catcher
- 1964 - Tim Drummond, pitcher
- 1966 - Mo Sanford, pitcher
- 1968 - Kirt Ojala, pitcher
- 1971 - Alex Cabrera, infielder
- 1974 - Keith Luuloa, infielder
- 1974 - Kevin Millwood, pitcher; All-Star
- 1974 - Jamey Wright, pitcher
- 1977 - Matt Ginter, pitcher
- 1979 - Joe Valentine, pitcher
- 1985 - Andrew Romine, minor league infielder
[edit] Deaths
- 1894 - Charlie Duffee, outfielder (b. 1866)
- 1913 - Chief Sockalexis, outfielder (b. 1871)
- 1915 - John Doyle, pitcher (b. 1858)
- 1927 - Al Myers, infielder (b. 1863)
- 1936 - Ren Deagle, pitcher (b. 1858)
- 1938 - Luke Lutenberg, infielder (b. 1864)
- 1938 - Bill Yohe, infielder (b. 1878)
- 1945 - Hughie Miller, infielder (b. 1886)
- 1947 - Joe Cobb, pinch hitter (b. 1895)
- 1953 - Pinch Thomas, catcher (b. 1888)
- 1955 - Jake Boultes, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1956 - Del Howard, infielder/outfielder (b. 1877)
- 1957 - Hal Reilly, outfielder (b. 1894)
- 1958 - Jim Boyle, catcher (b. 1904)
- 1959 - Bill Friel, infielder (b. 1876)
- 1963 - Skipper Roberts, catcher (b. 1888)
- 1968 - Johnnie Heving, catcher (b. 1896)
- 1975 - Russ Lyon, catcher (b. 1913)
- 1978 - George McQuinn, infielder; All-Star (b. 1910)
- 1978 - Bill Rodgers, infielder (b. 1887)
- 1980 - Bob Habenicht, pitcher (b. 1926)
- 1981 - Joe Kracher, catcher (b. 1915)
- 1987 - Nino Espinosa, pitcher (b. 1953)
- 2004 - Johnny Oates, catcher, manager (b. 1946)
- 2005 - Xavier Rescigno, pitcher (b. 1913)
- 2005 - Henry Hyde Jr., minor league pitcher (b. 1950)
