December 30
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 30.
[edit] Events
- 1907 - The Mills Commission reports that baseball was invented by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. The Commission is convinced by the testimony of Abner Graves, who claimed to be a childhood companion of Doubleday's. Grave's story is later "verified" when an old, rotting ball is found among his personal effects: The ball is now in the Hall of Fame. The Commission ignores the fact that Doubleday did not graduate from West Point until 1842.
- 1925 - In a trade of pitchers, the New York Giants send Jack Bentley and Wayland Dean to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jimmy Ring. Bentley will return to the Giants during the 1926 season.
- 1926 - The Chicago Tribune breaks a story that the Detroit Tigers had thrown a four-game series to the Chicago White Sox in 1917 to help Chicago win the pennant. Responding to the publicity, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis convenes a hearing on the matter, but dismisses all charges. Landis can find no witnesses to confirm any part of Swede Risberg's claim.
- 1935 - Sandy Koufax, one of the most dominant pitchers history, is born in Brooklyn. He will go on to pitch for the hometown Dodgers, but his career really takes off when the team moves to Los Angeles. Koufax will post a 129-47 record and capture three Cy Young Awards. He won all three when only one award was given annually for the two leagues.
- 1940 - The New York Yankees swap pitcher Monte Pearson to the Cincinnati Reds for a player and cash.
- 1943 - Happy New Year to a couple of Babes that swap places. The Philadelphia Phillies send much-traveled first baseman Babe Dahlgren to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for catcher Babe Phelps and cash considerations. 1944. A former Yankees first baseman, Dahlgren had gained most of his notoriety after replacing Lou Gehrig when the "Iron Horse's" playing streak ended in 1939.
- 1970 - The San Francisco Giants trade popular second baseman Ron Hunt to the Montreal Expos for first baseman Dave McDonald. Hunt will be a solid starter for three seasons in Montreal, while McDonald will be sold back to the Expos a year later.
- 1995 - Free agent pitcher Kenny Rogers is signed by the Yankees to a four-year contract.
- 2001 - The Oakland Athletics sign free agent catcher Scott Hatteberg to a one-year contract.
- 2002 - Citing this will probably be his last season, 40-year old Roger Clemens agrees to a $10.1 million, one-year deal with the New York Yankees. The 19-season veteran, who has won the Cy Young Award six times, is seven victories shy of 300.
- 2004 - Aid originally destined for Nicaragua in memory of the anniversary of Roberto Clemente's tragic flight 32 years ago will be sent instead to the earthquake and tsunami victims of Southern Asia. Roberto Clemente, Jr. ,who with the help of the Project Club Clemente, collected two tons of supplies and raised nearly $20,000 dollars in effort to reenact his father's unfinished mission, decides to postpone the ceremonial flight and divert the relief to help those in desperate need right now.
[edit] Births
- 1851 - Ed Caskin, infielder (d. 1924)
- 1856 - John Morrissey, infielder (d. 1884)
- 1877 - Charlie Miller, pinch hitter (d. 1951)
- 1878 - Clarence Currie, pitcher (d. 1941)
- 1888 - Ovid Nicholson, outfielder (d. 1968)
- 1889 - La Rue Kirby, outfielder (d. 1961)
- 1890 - Jim Viox, infielder (d. 1969)
- 1892 - Tom Connolly, infielder (d. 1966)
- 1901 - Dick Porter, outfielder (d. 1974)
- 1905 - John Pomorski, pitcher (d. 1977)
- 1906 - Ray Prim, pitcher (d. 1995)
- 1919 - Pete Laydon, outfielder (d. 1982)
- 1923 - Harry Elliott, outfielder
- 1929 - Bill Taylor, outfielder
- 1930 - Milt Graff, infielder (d. 2005)
- 1931 - Frank Torre, infielder
- 1935 - Sandy Koufax, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer
- 1944 - José Morales, designated hitter
- 1944 - Bob Schroder, infielder
- 1945 - Tom Murphy, pitcher
- 1953 - Steve Davis, pitcher
- 1955 - Keith Macwhorter, pitcher
- 1962 - John Minch, minor league catcher
- 1967 - Archie Corbin, pitcher
- 1969 - Steve Gajkowski, pitcher
- 1970 - Ben Blomdahl, pitcher
- 1970 - Bart Evans, pitcher
- 1971 - Travis Baptist, pitcher
- 1971 - Chris Priest, minor league outfielder (d. 1997)
- 1973 - Ralph Milliard, infielder
- 1975 - Santiago Perez, infielder
- 1976 - A.J. Pierzynski, catcher; All-Star
- 1976 - Brad Voyles, pitcher
- 1977 - Grant Balfour, pitcher
- 1980 - Dan Eisentrager, minor league player
- 1981 - Mark Phillips, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Thomas Cowley, minor league player
- 1985 - Sean Gallagher, pitcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1894 - Jack McMahon, infielder (b. 1869)
- 1896 - Dave Birdsall, outfielder (b. 1838)
- 1898 - Bill Stearns, pitcher (b. 1853)
- 1903 - Dan Leahy, infielder (b. 1870)
- 1906 - Henry Porter, pitcher (b. 1858)
- 1913 - Joe Neale, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1916 - Reddy Mack, infielder (b. 1866)
- 1934 - George Henry, outfielder (b. 1863)
- 1946 - Pat McGehee, pitcher (b. 1888)
- 1949 - Doc Watson, pitcher (b. 1886)
- 1951 - Hi Bithorn, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1951 - Bob Kinsella, outfielder (b. 1899)
- 1958 - Jim Hickman, outfielder (b. 1892)
- 1958 - Glenn Spencer, pitcher (b. 1905)
- 1959 - Lew Whistler, infielder (b. 1868)
- 1962 - Joe Boley, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1963 - Wilbur Good, outfielder (b. 1885)
- 1968 - Dick Marlowe, pitcher (b. 1929)
- 1974 - Al Shaw, outfielder (b. 1881)
- 1980 - Stuffy Stewart, infielder (b. 1894)
- 1981 - Josh Billings, catcher (b. 1892)
- 1993 - Tom Alston, infielder (b. 1926)
- 1998 - Jack Graham, infielder (b. 1916)
- 2005 - Bobby Stevens, infielder (b. 1907)
