January 1
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 January 1.
[edit] Events
- 1857 - Future Hall of Fame pitcher Tim Keefe is born in Cambridge, MA. In a 14-season major league career, Keefe will post a 342-225 record with 2562 strikeouts and a 2.62 ERA.
- 1911 - Hank Greenberg is born in New York, NY. After a splendid career as a player and executive, Greenberg will gain Hall of Fame honors in 1956.
- 1923 - Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Keeler dies in Brooklyn, NY, at the age of 50. In 19 major league seasons, Keller hit .341, amassed 2,932 hits, and won consecutive batting titles in 1897 and 1898.
- 1927 - The press is informed that outfielder Zack Wheat, after 18 consecutive seasons with the Brooklyn Robins teams, has been released. Wheat, who led the National League in hitting in 1918 with a .335 batting average, will hit .324 in 88 games for the Philadelphia Athletics in his final major league season in 1927, completing a distinguished Hall of Fame career with a lifetime mark of .318.
- 1929 - Cool Papa Bell, playing for Cienfuegos, becomes the first slugger to connect for three home runs in a single game during Cuban professional play. A Negro Leaguer and future Hall of Fame member, Bell accomplishes his feat at Aida Park during the 15 - 11 slugfest victory over Habana. All three are inside-the-park efforts. Oscar Levis, Cliff Bell and Martin Dihigo surrender the homers.
- 1943 - Negro League star Josh Gibson suffers a nervous breakdown and is admitted to St. Francis hospital for rest and treatment. He will be released in time to go to Hot Springs, AR, to get in shape for the baseball season.
- 1961 - Briggs Stadium, home of the Detroit Tigers, is officially renamed "Tiger Stadium".
- 1970 - Chub Feeney begins his 16-year presidency of the National League taking over for Warren Giles, who held the position for 18 years.
- 1974 - Lee MacPhail takes over as American League president, succeeding Joe Cronin, who retires. MacPhail will serve in this role until 1984. He will join his father, Larry MacPhail, as a member of the Hall of Fame in 1998.
- 2009:
- Major League Baseball launches MLB Network, a cable and satellite television channel based out of Secaucus, NJ. The channel debuts in nearly 50 million cable and satellite homes - the largest debut in cable television history, exceeding any other cable television launch by approximately 20 million homes.
- The friendly confines of Wrigley Field see a different type of action as the ballpark is fitted with an outdoor hockey rink to welcome an afternoon game between the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings. The event is a huge success with 40,818 in attendance and a huge television audience in place to watch the Wings beat the Hawks, 6 - 4. Other ballparks are lining up to host future editions of what is set to become an annual New Year's Day event.
- 2010 - Boston's historic Fenway Park is host to a National Hockey League game for the first time, as the Boston Bruins defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2 - 1 in overtime in the league's annual New Year's Day outdoor game.
- 2012 - The Blue Jays repatriate Jason Frasor, the team's all-time leader in games pitched with 455, from the White Sox in return for minor leaguers Myles Jaye and Daniel Webb. Frasor had been sent to Chicago at the 2011 trading deadline after spending 8 seasons as a member of the Jays' bullpen.
[edit] Births
- 1844 - Harry Berthrong, outfielder (d. 1928)
- 1851 - David Lenz, catcher (d. 1886)
- 1854 - Peter Morris, infielder (d. 1884)
- 1855 - Tom Mansell, outfielder (d. 1934)
- 1855 - Bill McGunnigle, outfielder, manager (d. 1899)
- 1857 - Tim Keefe, pitcher; Hall of Famer (d. 1933)
- 1858 - Hugh Nicol, outfielder, manager (d. 1921)
- 1865 - Miah Murray, catcher (d. 1922)
- 1868 - Dave Zearfoss, catcher (d. 1945)
- 1869 - Frank Connaughton, infielder (d. 1942)
- 1869 - Kid Keenan, pitcher (d. 1909)
- 1870 - Bumpus Jones, pitcher (d. 1938)
- 1873 - Tom Donovan, outfielder (d. 1933)
- 1874 - Ned Garvin, pitcher (d. 1908)
- 1876 - Joe Martin, utility player (d. 1964)
- 1876 - Henry Wilson, catcher (d. ????)
- 1880 - Jake Livingstone, pitcher (d. 1949)
- 1880 - Claude Rothgeb, outfielder (d. 1944)
- 1881 - Rudy Bell, outfielder (d. 1955)
- 1882 - Andy Bruckmiller, pitcher (d. 1970)
- 1882 - Howard Murphy, outfielder (d. 1926)
- 1884 - Tom Downey, infielder (d. 1961)
- 1892 - Charlie Schmutz, pitcher (d. 1962)
- 1893 - Frank Fuller, infielder (d. 1965)
- 1894 - Hack Miller, outfielder (d. 1971)
- 1897 - Monty Swartz, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1900 - Teddy Kearns, infielder (d. 1949)
- 1900 - Webster McDonald, Negro League pitcher and manager (d. 1982)
- 1900 - Al Stokes, catcher (d. 1986)
- 1904 - Ethan Allen, outfielder (d. 1993)
- 1910 - Charlie Devens, pitcher (d. 2003)
- 1911 - Hank Greenberg, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1986)
- 1911 - Toshiyasu Ogawa, NPB catcher (d. WWII)
- 1912 - Hiker Moran, pitcher (d. 1998)
- 1915 - Joe Reichler, writer (d. 1988)
- 1919 - Sherry Robertson, infielder (d. 1970)
- 1921 - Royce Lint, pitcher (d. 2006)
- 1924 - Charlie Bishop, pitcher (d. 1993)
- 1924 - Earl Torgeson, infielder (d. 1990)
- 1927 - Carl Scheib, pitcher
- 1931 - Foster Castleman, infielder
- 1933 - Gene Host, pitcher (d. 1998)
- 1938 - Yukio Imaizumi, NPB catcher (d. 2009)
- 1939 - Roy Majtyka, coach
- 1942 - Bill Bethea, infielder
- 1942 - Masayuki Nagayasu, NPB pitcher
- 1943 - Bud Hollowell, minor league catcher and manager
- 1943 - Motohiko Sato, NPB pitcher
- 1944 - Roberto Castellon, minor league infielder and manager
- 1944 - Yasuhiro Kunisada, NPB infielder
- 1948 - Randy Bobb, catcher (d. 1982)
- 1948 - John Dolinsek, minor league outfielder
- 1951 - Rick Albert, minor league infielder and manager
- 1953 - Lynn Jones, outfielder
- 1954 - Joe Pittman, infielder
- 1955 - La Marr Hoyt, pitcher; All-Star
- 1955 - Bob Owchinko, pitcher
- 1957 - Rob Pietroburgo, minor league pitcher
- 1959 - Robbie Allen, minor league infielder
- 1960 - Yury Zhirov, Russian national team pitcher
- 1965 - Rich Aldrete, college coach
- 1969 - Ray Harvey, minor league infielder
- 1969 - Roberto Rivera, pitcher
- 1970 - Derek Hacopian, minor league outfielder
- 1970 - Gary Wilson, pitcher
- 1970 - Henry Centeno, scout/minor league infielder (d. 2009)
- 1971 - Jose Flores, minor league player
- 1972 - Rafael Roque, pitcher
- 1972 - Kazuhito Yoshimura, NPB infielder
- 1974 - Kevin Beirne, pitcher
- 1975 - Jon Cannon, minor league pitcher
- 1975 - Fernando Tatis, infielder
- 1976 - Alexander Vashakidze, Russian national team outfielder
- 1980 - Jae-hun Chung, KBO pitcher
- 1981 - Avelino Asprilla, minor league infielder
- 1981 - Miguel Bernard, minor league catcher and manager
- 1981 - B.J. LaMura, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Chih-Sheng Lin, CPBL infielder
- 1984 - Neil Wagner, pitcher
- 1985 - Diego Echeverria, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - André Hughes, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1986 - Diover Ávila, minor league infielder
- 1986 - Nick Hagadone, pitcher
- 1986 - Sheng-An Kuo, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Chao Zhang, China Baseball League outfielder
- 1988 - Saleem Haider, Pakistani national team pitcher
- 1988 - Mark Tracy, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Chad Oberacker, minor league outfielder
- 1990 - Xavier Avery, outfielder
- 1990 - Dabo Matko, Croatian national team pitcher
- 1991 - Jeroen de Haas, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Luis Samayoa, Guatemalan national team infielder
- 1993 - Shayla Sashavar, Canadian womens' national team pitcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1904 - George Radbourn, pitcher (b. 1856)
- 1916 - Jake Drauby, infielder (b. 1864)
- 1919 - Gene Curtis, outfielder (b. 1883)
- 1921 - George Winkleman, outfielder (b. 1859)
- 1923 - Willie Keeler, outfielder; Hall of Famer (b. 1872)
- 1925 - Hank Simon, outfielder (b. 1862)
- 1932 - Tom Parrott, outfielder (b. 1868)
- 1949 - Hans Rasmussen, pitcher (b. 1895)
- 1953 - Doug McWeeny, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1960 - Tige Stone, outfielder (b. 1901)
- 1966 - Oscar Dugey, infielder (b. 1887)
- 1967 - Lindsay Brown, infielder (b. 1911)
- 1971 - Joe Lotz, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1971 - Harry Rice, outfielder (b. 1901)
- 1971 - Luis Aparicio Sr., winter league infielder (b. 1912)
- 1974 - Jimmy Smith, infielder (b. 1895)
- 1974 - Dutch Weems, minor league pitcher (b. 1951)
- 1976 - Frank Parenti, minor league player and manager (b. 1898)
- 1977 - Danny Frisella, pitcher (b. 1946)
- 1983 - Ángel Castro, minor league infielder; Salon de la Fama (b. 1917)
- 1986 - Bill Hall, catcher (b. 1928)
- 1987 - Ernie Maun, pitcher (b. 1901)
- 1990 - Carmen Hill, pitcher (b. 1895)
- 1992 - Jean Lovell, AAGPBL catcher and pitcher (b. 1926)
- 1992 - Buck Stanton, outfielder (b. 1906)
- 1999 - Len Dondero, infielder (b. 1903)
- 2000 - Andy Spognardi, infielder (b. 1908)
- 2001 - John Steadman, writer (b. 1927)
- 2004 - John Stoneham, outfielder (b. 1908)
- 2006 - Paul Lindblad, pitcher (b. 1941)
- 2007 - Ernie Koy, outfielder (b. 1909)
- 2008 - Chuck Daniel, pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2011 - John Rice, umpire (b. 1918)
- 2011 - Raymond Searcy, minor league pitcher (b. 1938)
