January 28

Events, births and deaths that occurred on January 28.

[edit] Events

• 1847 - George Wright is born in Yonkers, New York. A member of the first all-professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, Wright will have a splendid career as shortstop and manager, being inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1937.
• 1888 - In Chicago, IL, 350 fans brave the weather to watch a baseball game on ice at Lincoln Park. Second baseman Fred Pfeffer of the Chicago White Stockings plays wearing a top hat. After two hours and five innings of play, the game is called. The "Spaldings" defeat the "North-Siders", 7 - 6.
• 1890 - In the first of many lawsuits filed against Players League members by their former teams, a judge refuses to grant an injunction against John Ward, president of the Brotherhood. His decision, echoed frequently by other judges, states that the "want of fairness and mutuality" in the standard National League contract, specifically the clauses relating to the reserve rule, "[is] apparent."
• 1893:
  • It is announced that Frank Bancroft is spending the remainder of the off-season serving as the manager of Linda Gardner's Mastodon Minstrels. Bancroft is credited with introducing baseball to Cuba in 1879 when he took a touring team to the Caribbean.
  • The New York Clipper states that "an attempt will be made to change the rules so as to compel outfielders to discard gloves."
• 1901 - The American League formally organizes as a major league, having been a top minor league in 1900: the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Americans are admitted to join the Washington Nationals, Cleveland Blues, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago White Sox. Three of the original clubs - Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Buffalo - are dropped. League power aggregates in Ban Johnson as trustee for all ballpark leases and majority stockholdings, and with authority to buy out refractory franchises. Player limit is 14 per team, and the schedule will be 140 games. American League contracts give the Players Protective Association what it asked for, with five-year limits on the rights to player services.
• 1907 - In an effort to reduce playing-date conflicts between their leagues, presidents Harry Pulliam of the National League and Ban Johnson of the American League meet to plan schedules. Conflicting dates are reduced to 27.
• 1949 - The New York Giants sign their first black players: Negro League players Monte Irvin and Ford Smith. Both men are assigned to the Jersey City Giants (International League). Irvin will star for the Giants, but Smith will never make the major leagues.
• 1953 - St. Louis Cardinals owner Fred Saigh is found guilty of income tax evasion and is sentenced to a fifteen-month jail term. He plans to sell the club. Cardinals Vice President William Walsingham, Jr., is the acting president until Saigh can divest himself of his stock.
• 1958:
  • The San Francisco Giants trade infielders Gail Harris and Ozzie Virgil to the Detroit Tigers for outfielder Jim Finigan and $25,000. Virgil becomes the first black player in a Tigers uniform.
  • The Kansas City Athletics sign pitcher Murry Dickson as a free agent.
• 1961 - The International League Board of Directors votes to move the Montreal franchise to Syracuse, NY.
• 1962 - Edd Roush and Bill McKechnie are added to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.
• 1964 - Cincinnati Reds center fielder Vada Pinson is cleared of assault charges stemming from a September 5, 1963, incident when Cincinnati sportswriter Earl Lawson does not pursue charges further.
• 1968 - Goose Goslin and Kiki Cuyler are admitted to the Hall of Fame by unanimous vote of the Special Veterans Committee. Goslin was a career .316 hitter who played in four World Series. Cuyler was a .321 career hitter with four stolen base crowns.
• 1973 - The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee selects 19th-century players Mickey Welch and George Kelly, plus umpire Billy Evans, for enshrinement in Cooperstown.
• 1974 - Right fielder Sam Thompson, first baseman Jim Bottomley, and umpire Jocko Conlan, are selected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.
• 1980 - Hank Aaron refuses an award from Commissioner Bowie Kuhn honoring him for hitting his 715th home run. Aaron charges that baseball's treatment of retired black ballplayers falls far short of what is needed.
• 1982 - The California Angels trade outfielder Dan Ford to the Baltimore Orioles for third baseman Doug DeCinces and pitcher Jeff Schneider.
• 1986 - The Texas Rangers sign free agent catcher Darrell Porter to a one-year contract.
• 1992 - Detroit Tigers first baseman Cecil Fielder avoids salary arbitration by agreeing to a $4.5 million contract, for the largest single-season deal in major league history.
• 1993 - The Milwaukee Brewers sign free agent outfielder Tom Brunansky.
• 2000 - The Baltimore Orioles sign free agent pitcher Pat Rapp to a contract.
• 2002 - The Rangers continue to shore up their pitching staff by signing free agent Ismael Valdez to a one-year contract.
• 2005 - Recently-traded first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who caught and kept the ball used to make the last out giving the Boston Red Sox their first World Championship in 86 years, will lend his souvenir to his former club. The historic horsehide, which Boston claims belongs to the team, will be encased within a plaque and will become part of the victory tour which includes the World Series trophy.
• 2006:
  • In a three-team, multi-player trade, the Cleveland Indians send center fielder Coco Crisp, reliever David Riske and catcher Josh Bard to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for reliever Guillermo Mota, catcher Kelly Shoppach, infielder Andy Marte, a player to be named later and cash considerations. Cleveland then sends reliever Arthur Rhodes to the Philadelphia Phillies in return for outfielder Jason Michaels. The deal is temporarily held up because of Cleveland's concerns about Mota's health. If he goes on the disabled list, Cleveland will add a pitcher from Boston's minor league system.
  • Five players avoid salary arbitration by agreeing to one-year contracts: pitcher Mark Prior with the Chicago Cubs; pitcher Vicente Padilla and outfielder Gary Matthews with the Texas Rangers; reliever Jorge Julio with the New York Mets, and reliever Jesús Colome with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
  • Cuba invite Puerto Rico to play exhibition games on the island ahead of the World Baseball Classic.
• 2010:
  • P Francisco Liriano leads the Leones del Escogido to the Dominican League championship, striking out 10 batters in 5 innings in a 5 - 3 win over the Gigantes del Cibao, in the 9th and decisive game of the finals. Wladimir Balentien hits a solo home run, Joaquin Arias goes 2 for 4 and Santiago Casilla picks up the save for the winners. Gustavo Chacin is the losing pitcher. It is the first time in 15 seasons that a team other than the Águilas Cibaeñas or Tigres del Licey has won the title.
  • OF Jim Edmonds, who last played in 2008 for the Cubs, starts a comeback attempt by signing a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.
  • The Phillies sign veteran Cuban P Jose Contreras to a one-year contract. A starter for most of his career, he will start the year in the bullpen.
  • Four new members are voted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame: Paul Quantrill (the all-time Canadian-born leader with 841 games pitched), former Toronto Blue Jays infielder Roberto Alomar (who just fell short of election to the Baseball Hall of Fame), sabermetrician Allan Roth and owner Calvin Griffith (the latter two being Montreal natives).
• 2011 - The Criollos de Caguas win the Puerto Rican League championship with a 7 - 5 victory over Leones de Ponce in the decisive seventh game of the finals. For the winners, Rey Navarro goes 3 for 5 with a double and three RBI, while Luis Montanez hits a homer. With the score tied at 5 all in the 8th inning, pinch-hitter Javier Valentin leads off with a single to centerfield for Caguas, and is replaced by pinch runner Miguel Abreu. 3B Jorge Jimenez misplays a ground ball to put a second runner on with one out, and both reach scoring position on Alex Cora's fly ball to right for the second out. Navarro then hits a single to right to plate both runners, giving Caguas its first title since 2001.
• 2012:
  • Celebrating its first two major leaguers in Trayvon Robinson and Efren Navarro, Major League Baseball's Urban Youth Academy holds its almuni game in Compton, CA. The alumni, led by Robinson, defeat the Academy's current players, 14 - 8. The alumni team is likely to only get more impressive in future years, as the Academy has opened branches in Houston, TX and Puerto Rico, and will open another in New Orleans, LA this summer, with more on the way.
  • The Tigres de Aragua are now one win away from the Venezuelan League championship with a 7 - 1 win over La Guaira. Jose Gregorio Martinez goes 4 for 5 and Yusmeiro Petit is the winner.
  • Escogido takes 4 games to 3 lead in the best-of-nine Dominican League finals with a 5 - 2 win over Aguilas Cibaeñas. Julio Lugo breaks a 2 - 2 tie with a 5th-inning RBI single, giving reliever Kris Johnson the win.
• 2013:
  • The Los Angeles Dodgers announce the launch of SportsNet LA, their own regional sports network on Time Warner Cable. The deal is a prelude to a long-rumored $7 billion deal that will award Time Warner broadcast rights for Dodger games for the next 25 years. However, the Commissioner's office is concerned about the proposed deal, as its annual value well above that used for revenue sharing purposes, which will result in the Dodgers pocketing a huge financial windfall if no adjustments are made. The dispute may end up in court if no resolution is found.
  • Lara takes a three games to two lead in the Venezuelan League finals with a 3 - 2 win over Magallanes. José Yépez drives in Luis Valbuena with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning on a hit past CF Endy Chavez, who was playing shallow with the bases loaded and only one out.

[edit] Births

• 1847 - George Wright, outfielder (d. 1937)
• 1854 - Dick Lowe, catcher (d. 1922)
• 1868 - Dan Sweeney, outfielder (d. 1913)
• 1869 - Ducky Holmes, outfielder (d. 1932)
• 1873 - Montague Alfred Noble, Australian executive (d. 1940)
• 1874 - Al Burris, pitcher (d. 1938)
• 1882 - Frank Arellanes, pitcher (d. 1918)
• 1884 - Tom Hughes, pitcher (d. 1961)
• 1887 - Jack Coffey, infielder (d. 1966)
• 1891 - Bill Doak, pitcher (d. 1954)
• 1893 - Guy Cooper, pitcher (d. 1951)
• 1898 - Jim Bishop, pitcher (d. 1973)
• 1898 - Bill Snyder, pitcher (d. 1934)
• 1900 - Emil Yde, pitcher (d. 1968)
• 1901 - Ray Knode, infielder (d. 1982)
• 1902 - Pat Crawford, infielder (d. 1994)
• 1902 - Jackie Gallagher, outfielder (d. 1984)
• 1904 - Dutch Hoffman, outfielder (d. 1962)
• 1906 - Lyn Lary, infielder (d. 1973)
• 1913 - Joe Kohlman, pitcher (d. 1974)
• 1914 - Alf Anderson, infielder (d. 1985)
• 1916 - Dottie Hunter, AAGPBL infielder (d. 2005)
• 1916 - Bob Muncrief, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1996)
• 1916 - Pat Tobin, pitcher (d. 1975)
• 1917 - Bernard Healy, minor league outfielder (d. 2010)
• 1919 - Manuel Salvatierra, minor league outfielder and manager
• 1921 - Julio Moreno, pitcher (d. 1987)
• 1922 - Hank Arft, infielder (d. 2002)
• 1927 - Carlos Bernier, outfielder (d. 1989)
• 1928 - Pete Runnels, infielder, manager; All-Star (d. 1991)
• 1933 - Harry Dunlop, coach
• 1934 - Bill White, infielder; All-Star
• 1936 - Roland Hoffmann, German national team catcher
• 1950 - Larvell Blanks, infielder
• 1955 - Joe Beckwith, pitcher
• 1960 - Stu Pederson, outfielder
• 1963 - Gary Mielke, pitcher
• 1964 - Fredi Gonzalez, manager
• 1965 - Todd Azar, minor league outfielder
• 1965 - Chuck Baldwin, minor league infielder
• 1969 - Jeroen Deken, Hoofdklasse pitcher
• 1971 - Kevin Tolar, pitcher
• 1972 - Epi Cardenas, minor league infielder
• 1972 - Steve Falteisek, pitcher
• 1972 - Chris Peters, pitcher
• 1972 - Tsuyoshi Shinjo, outfielder
• 1972 - Bryan Ward, pitcher
• 1973 - Jacob Cruz, outfielder
• 1973 - Nelson Paulino, minor league infielder and manager
• 1974 - Jermaine Dye, outfielder; All-Star
• 1974 - Oscar Henriquez, pitcher
• 1974 - Magglio Ordonez, outfielder; All-Star
• 1975 - Junior Spivey, infielder; All-Star
• 1976 - Rod Lindsey, outfielder
• 1976 - Juan Muñiz, minor league and NPB outfielder
• 1977 - Justin Annin, minor league catcher
• 1977 - Daunte Culpepper, drafted outfielder
• 1977 - Bob File, pitcher
• 1977 - Lyle Overbay, infielder
• 1978 - Tomas de la Rosa, infielder
• 1978 - Chang-Ming Cheng, CPBL infielder
• 1979 - Han-lee Park, KBO outfielder
• 1979 - Phil Seibel, pitcher
• 1981 - Josh Cenate, minor league pitcher
• 1981 - Yorkin Ferreras, minor league pitcher
• 1981 - Doug Waechter, pitcher
• 1982 - Yueh-Ping Lin, CPBL pitcher
• 1983 - Jason Pospishil, minor league outfielder
• 1983 - Elizardo Ramirez, pitcher
• 1985 - Daniel Morales, minor league pitcher
• 1985 - Wesley Wright, pitcher
• 1986 - Juan Fuentes, minor league catcher
• 1986 - Brandon Guyer, outfielder
• 1986 - Nate Jones, pitcher
• 1987 - Jose Ceda, pitcher
• 1987 - Jayson De Aguas, minor league catcher
• 1988 - A.J. Griffin, pitcher
• 1989 - Alessandro Vaglio, Italian Baseball League infielder
• 1991 - Hyung-sik Jung, KBO outfielder

[edit] Deaths

• 1898 - Ed Connor, infielder (b. 1850)
• 1905 - Len Stockwell, outfielder (b. 1859)
• 1928 - Jake Thielman, pitcher (b. 1879)
• 1934 - John Kane, outfielder (b. 1882)
• 1938 - Bill Hill, pitcher (b. 1874)
• 1938 - Pop Rising, outfielder (b. 1877)
• 1939 - Bill Cristall, pitcher (b. 1878)
• 1941 - Lou Johnson, pitcher (b. 1869)
• 1946 - Pat Flaherty, infielder (b. 1866)
• 1949 - Frank Naleway, infielder (b. 1902)
• 1953 - Howie Haworth, catcher (b. 1893)
• 1955 - Bill Calhoun, infielder (b. 1890)
• 1956 - Barry McCormick, infielder (b. 1874)
• 1959 - Walter Beall, pitcher (b. 1899)
• 1960 - Bill Warren, catcher (b. 1883)
• 1961 - Red Oldham, pitcher (b. 1893)
• 1962 - Steve Melter, pitcher (b. 1886)
• 1965 - Billy Sullivan, catcher, manager (b. 1875)
• 1967 - Bob Connery, scout (b. 1880)
• 1970 - Orie Arntzen, pitcher (b. 1909)
• 1974 - Paul Fittery, pitcher (b. 1887)
• 1978 - Larry Raines, infielder (b. 1930)
• 1982 - Henry Peploski, infielder (b. 1905)
• 1982 - Hub Pruett, pitcher (b. 1900)
• 1982 - Paul Schreiber, pitcher (b. 1902)
• 1983 - Joe Chamberlain, infielder (b. 1910)
• 1984 - Ray Harrell, pitcher (b. 1912)
• 1985 - Bobby Young, infielder (b. 1925)
• 1986 - Tom Grubbs, pitcher (b. 1894)
• 1988 - Al Rubeling, infielder (b. 1913)
• 1989 - Stan Partenheimer, pitcher (b. 1922)
• 1993 - Vern Kennedy, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1907)
• 2000 - Tedd Gullic, outfielder (b. 1907)
• 2001 - Curt Blefary, outfielder (b. 1943)
• 2006 - Ernest Rangazas, college coach (b. 1924)
• 2009 - Gene Corbett, infielder (b. 1913)
• 2010 - Frank Baker, outfielder (b. 1944)
• 2013 - Lonnie Goldstein, infielder (b. 1918)
• 2013 - Earl Williams, catcher (b. 1948)