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December 29
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
| Permanent link to Today's Entry | |
| Sources | |
| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 29.
[edit] Events
- 1878 - The professional Baseball League of Cuba begins play in Havana, making the Cuban Winter League the world's second oldest professional baseball organization, trailing North America's National League in seniority by only two seasons. Havana wins the first game 21 - 20 over Almendares in a contest featuring ten men to a side (the extra position was "right short"). The inaugural Cuban championship consists of only three clubs - Havana, Matanzas, Almendares - and Havana wins the trophy with a 4-0-1 record behind the leadership of manager and captain Steve Bellan.
- 1890 - In the Players League, after the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Burghers clubs combine with their National League rivals, Al Spalding buys out Chicago's PL backer, John Addison, for $18,000, some of which goes to pay off unpaid salaries and reimburse players half of their investments. Spalding gets the club's grandstand, equipment, and player contracts.
- 1917 - The Philadelphia Phillies keep swapping with the Chicago Cubs, this month sending OF Dode Paskert, a seven-year veteran, to Chicago for slugger Cy Williams. Williams will flourish in the Baker Bowl, and will hit 222 home runs for the Phillies over the next 13 years. Paskert will not enjoy the same success at Wrigley Field.
- 1919 - The Boston Red Sox send RF Braggo Roth and 2B Red Shannon to the Washington Senators for P Harry Harper, LF Mike Menosky and 3B Eddie Foster.
- 1932 - Shanty Hogan, who started his career with the Boston Braves, is purchased by the Braves after five years as the regular catcher for the New York Giants. Boston pays $25,000 for Hogan, who will finish his career with a .295 batting average.
- 1933 - New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert refuses to release Babe Ruth from his contract, thus preventing him from becoming the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Ruth will never receive a chance to manage a major league team.
- 1938 - Al Simmons moves to the National League when the Boston Bees buy him for $3,000 from the Washington Senators.
- 1969 - The New York Times reports that former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood will sue Major League Baseball over the reserve clause, which perpetually binds players to their teams. Flood is objecting to being traded from the Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies without his consent.
- 1977 - Melissa Ludtke, female Sports Illustrated sports writer, files suit against Major League Baseball, the Yankees and New York City officials for denying her access to the locker room to interview players during the 1977 World Series.
- 2002 - Three blocks away from the blast, thousands of spectators at Paul Brown Stadium cheer as 1,275 pounds of explosives implodes Cinergy Field, which was opened in 1970, sending a huge dust cloud down the Ohio River. The structure, formerly known as Riverfront Stadium, was the site where Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth's career 714 home run record on Opening Day in 1974, and Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's all-time 4,189 hits record in 1985. The site will become the western concourse of Great American Ball Park and will include the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame when it opens in the 2004 season.
- 2005 - Elrod Hendricks is remembered as a "kind, wonderful person" today at a funeral attended by thousands in honor of the man who spent nearly four decades as a catcher and coach with the Baltimore Orioles. Baseball stars Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken, Jr. and Lee May, and former Orioles managers Earl Weaver and Mike Hargrove are among those filling the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in tribute to Hendricks, who died December 21 of a heart attack at age 64.
- 2009:
- The Giants sign Mark DeRosa to a two-year deal. The versatile player may be used at third base next season, displacing Pablo Sandoval to first, or could fill in at a number of positions.
- The Mets sign LF Jason Bay to a four-year deal worth approximately $66 million.
- 2011 - Former major league pitcher Rosman Garcia is killed when his car skids off the road and hits a tree outside of Caracas, Venezuela. He was playing for the Tigres de Aragua in the Venezuelan League at the time.
[edit] Births
- 1861 - Joe Flynn, outfielder (d. 1933)
- 1882 - Frank Delahanty, outfielder (d. 1966)
- 1884 - Lou Fiene, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1885 - Gus Salve, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1889 - Bill McAllester, catcher (d. 1970)
- 1890 - George Aiton, outfielder (d. 1976)
- 1892 - Dave Skeels, pitcher (d. 1926)
- 1893 - Joe Smith, catcher (d. 1974)
- 1894 - Hank DeBerry, catcher (d. 1951)
- 1895 - Clyde Barnhart, outfielder (d. 1980)
- 1904 - Bill Sweeney, infielder (d. 1957)
- 1911 - Bill Knickerbocker, infielder (d. 1963)
- 1924 - Robert Seebold, minor league outfielder (d. 2012)
- 1926 - Tom Upton, infielder (d. 2008)
- 1927 - Ted Del Guercio, minor league outfielder (d. 2006)
- 1930 - Frank Dezelan, umpire (d. 2011)
- 1934 - Ramon Conde, infielder
- 1937 - George Perez, pitcher
- 1939 - George Farson, minor league catcher and manager (d. 2010)
- 1939 - Wayne Huizenga, owner
- 1941 - Bruce Brubaker, pitcher
- 1941 - John Upham, pitcher
- 1946 - Ken Rudolph, catcher
- 1952 - Dennis Werth, infielder
- 1956 - Dave Ford, pitcher
- 1959 - Mike Brown, outfielder
- 1959 - Mitch Zwolensky, minor league pitcher and manager
- 1960 - Jim Wilson, designated hitter
- 1961 - David Bresnahan, minor league catcher
- 1962 - Devon White, outfielder; All-Star
- 1964 - Craig Grebeck, infielder
- 1964 - Curt Hasler, minor league pitcher
- 1964 - Rod Nichols, pitcher
- 1966 - Luis de los Santos, infielder
- 1967 - Gabriel Rodriguez, minor league pitcher
- 1969 - Scott Ruffcorn, pitcher
- 1972 - Jim Brower, pitcher
- 1972 - Vladimir Petrov, Russian national team pitcher
- 1973 - Tomas Perez, infielder
- 1974 - Emil Brown, outfielder
- 1974 - Richie Sexson, infielder; All-Star
- 1975 - Tom Jacquez, pitcher
- 1975 - Jason Pearson, pitcher
- 1975 - Jaret Wright, pitcher
- 1977 - Jimmy Journell, pitcher
- 1977 - Josh Laxton, minor league pitcher
- 1977 - Jack Wilson, infielder; All-Star
- 1979 - Matt Knox, minor league player
- 1980 - Shane Wallace, minor league player
- 1981 - Marcos Yepez, minor league infielder
- 1982 - Brad Davis, catcher
- 1982 - Tony Giarratano, infielder
- 1982 - Kevin Hart, pitcher
- 1983 - Takashi Kamoshida, NPB pitcher
- 1984 - Filip Berecka, Croatian national team outfielder
- 1986 - Pat Farrell, minor league catcher
- 1988 - Niko Gallego, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Bryan Harper, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Bryan Penalo, minor league pitcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1888 - Asa Brainard, pitcher (b. 1841)
- 1916 - Ed Doheny, pitcher (b. 1873)
- 1924 - Bill White, infielder (b. 1860)
- 1928 - Mort Scanlan, infielder (b. 1861)
- 1930 - Sandy Piez, outfielder (b. 1888)
- 1930 - Ginger Shinault, catcher (b. 1892)
- 1930 - George Stutz, infielder (b. 1889)
- 1935 - Harley Payne, pitcher (b. 1868)
- 1936 - Bill Prough, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1947 - George Blaeholder, pitcher (b. 1904)
- 1948 - Larry Hoffman, infielder (b. 1878)
- 1952 - Bob Meinke, infielder (b. 1887)
- 1962 - Tiny Graham, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1965 - Alex Main, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1977 - Jimmy Brown, infielder; All-Star (b. 1910)
- 1978 - Walt Alexander, catcher (b. 1891)
- 1979 - Ed Albrecht, pitcher (b. 1929)
- 1980 - Art Reinholz, infielder (b. 1903)
- 1981 - Don Plarski, outfielder (b. 1929)
- 1988 - John Happenny, infielder (b. 1901)
- 1988 - Earl Mossor, pitcher (b. 1925)
- 2004 - Ken Burkhart, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 2004 - Gus Niarhos, catcher (b. 1920)
- 2007 - Henry Bartolomei, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1922)
- 2010 - Steve Boros, infielder, manager (d. 1936)
- 2011 - Rosman Garcia, pitcher (b. 1979)
