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 | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 29.
[edit] Events
- 1878 - 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 first game 21-20 over Almendares in contest featuring ten men to a side (extra position was "right short"). Inaugural Cuban championship consist of only three clubs - Havana, Matanzas, Almendares - and Havana wins trophy with 4-0-1 record behind 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 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 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 paid $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 Braves buys 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 had objected to being traded from the Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies without his consent.
- 1977 - Melissa Ludtke, female Sports Illustrated sports writer, files suit against MLB, 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 the Babe Ruth 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 was 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 were among those filling The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in tribute to Hendricks, who died December 21 of a heart attack at age 64.
[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)
- 1926 - Tom Upton, infielder
- 1927 - Ted Del Guercio, minor league outfielder (d.2006)
- 1934 - Ramon Conde, infielder
- 1937 - George Perez, pitcher
- 1941 - Bruce Brubaker, pitcher
- 1941 - John Upham, pitcher
- 1946 - Ken Rudolph, catcher
- 1952 - Dennis Werth, infielder
- 1956 - Dave Ford, pitcher
- 1959 - Mike Brown, outfielder
- 1960 - Jim Wilson, designated hitter
- 1962 - Devon White, outfielder; All-Star
- 1964 - Craig Grebeck, infielder
- 1964 - Rod Nichols, pitcher
- 1966 - Luis de los Santos, infielder
- 1969 - Scott Ruffcorn, pitcher
- 1972 - Jim Brower, 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 - Jack Wilson, infielder; All-Star
- 1979 - Matt Knox, minor league player
- 1980 - Shane Wallace, minor league player
- 1982 - Tony Giarratano, infielder
- 1982 - Kevin Hart, 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. 1889)
- 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)
