January 7
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 7.
[edit] Events
- 1882 - The National League will continue the practice of using different color patterns on uniforms for the different positions. Third basemen will wear gray and white uniforms, as the blue and white uniforms originally sought were "impossible to obtain."
- 1913 - Future Hall of Fame first baseman Johnny Mize is born in Demorest, GA. Known as "The Big Cat," Mize will hit 359 home runs and will gain election to the Hall in 1981.
- 1915 - The Detroit Tigers waive Wally Pipp to the New York Yankees. Pipp hit .161 in 12 games, but he'll anchor first base in New York for a decade until Lou Gehrig's appearance.
- 1920 - Babe Ruth reacts to the trade in the Boston Evening Standard saying, "Frazee is not good enough to own any ball club, especially one in Boston."
- 1924 - The Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians make a seven-player deal involving star first baseman "Tioga" George Burns. A .328 batter in 1923, Burns joins second baseman Chick Fewster and catcher Roxy Walters in heading to the Indians, while catcher Steve O'Neill, second baseman Bill Wambsganss, outfielder Joe Connolly and pitcher Danny Boone join the Red Sox.
- 1924 - The New York Yankees buy the contract of Louisville Colonels star outfielder Earle Combs, who hit .380 last year for Louisville. Colonels owner Bill Kneblekamp gets $50,000, outfielder Elmer Smith and another player, and demands that the Yankees play an exhibition game in Louisville with a guarantee that Babe Ruth is in the lineup. This reportedly nets Kneblekamp an additional $5,000.
- 1933 - Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis announces that he is cutting his salary by 40 percent. Landis' action is a sign of the times during the Great Depression; most players will have their salaries reduced for the coming season.
- 1933 - The Washington Senators get veteran catcher Luke Sewell from the Cleveland Indians.
- 1945 - In the most violent incident in Cuban baseball history, outfielder Roberto Ortiz of Almendares attacks umpire Bernardino Rodriguez in a dispute at home plate. Rodriguez is knocked unconscious and Ortiz is suspended for his actions.
- 1962 - The 61-year-old Three-I League is disbanded by the six remaining clubs.
- 1971 - Cincinnati Reds star Bobby Tolan ruptures his Achilles tendon while playing basketball. Tolan will miss the entire season and will never regain the form that he displayed in 1970, when he batted .316 and stole a league-leading 57 bases.
- 1981 - The Cincinnati Reds is the last major league club to enter the free agency market signing their first free-agent, outfielder Larry Biittner. Biittner will prove a bust and be released after the 1982 season.
- 1985 - Lou Brock and Hoyt Wilhelm are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. During his career, Brock established the record for the most stolen bases in major league history (which was since broken by Rickey Henderson), while the knuckleballing Wilhelm pitched in more games than any other major league pitcher. Nellie Fox is named on 295 of the 395 ballots (74.7%), but the BBWAA and the Hall of Fame committee decline to round Fox's total to the required 75%.
- 1991 - Pete Rose is released from federal prison in Marion, IL, after serving five months for tax evasion. He will now begin the second part of his sentence, consisting of 1,000 hours of community service at Cincinnati inner-city schools.
- 1992 - Starter Tom Seaver and reliever Rollie Fingers, two of the greatest pitchers of their generation, are elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA.
- 1993 - The Detroit Tigers sign first baseman Cecil Fielder to a five-year $36 million contract, temporarily making him the highest paid player in the majors.
- 2005 - Boston Red Sox owner, John Henry, calls Doug Mientkiewicz to discuss the defensive replacement's possession of the game ball caught at first base for the last out of the 2005 World Series. Larry Lucchino, the club's president, has made it clear he wants the team to have ownership of the historic ball. The ball now resides in a safe deposit box along with back-up infielder's Olympic ring.
- 2005 - Commissioner Bud Selig announces Major League Baseball and the Players Association will donate $1 million to help the victims of last month's tsunami in Southeast Asia.
- 2006 - Baseball's world governing body, the IBAF, has threatened to withdraw its sanctioning of the World Baseball Classic unless the United States government allows Cuba to compete.
- 2006 - The final 2005 payrolls are released, the New York Yankees finished last year with a record $207.2 million payroll, more than $90 million ahead of any other team, according to final figures compiled by the commissioner's office.
- 2006 - Shortstop Justin Upton, the top pick in the 2005 amateur draft, agreed to a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks that includes a $6.1 million signing bonus payable over five years.
- 2006 - The minimum salary for players in the major leagues is rising $11,000 this year to $327,000.
[edit] Births
- 1861 - George Frazer, manager (d. 1913)
- 1865 - Dad Clarke, pitcher (d. 1911)
- 1867 - George Keefe, pitcher (d. 1935)
- 1875 - Kitty Bransfield, infielder (d. 1947)
- 1882 - Heinie Berger, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1884 - Willy Wilson, pitcher (d. 1925)
- 1889 - Leo Murphy, catcher (d. 1960)
- 1890 - Grover Baichley, pitcher (d. 1946)
- 1897 - Topper Rigney, infielder (d. 1972)
- 1900 - Johnny Grabowski, catcher (d. 1946)
- 1900 - Carlton Lord, infielder (d. 1947)
- 1902 - Cliff Knox, catcher (d. 1965)
- 1902 - Al Todd, catcher (d. 1985)
- 1904 - Clay Roe, pitcher (d. 1956)
- 1905 - Frank Grube, catcher (d. 1945)
- 1910 - Johnny McCarthy, infielder (d. 1973)
- 1913 - Johnny Mize, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1993)
- 1915 - Red Steiner, catcher (d. 2001)
- 1916 - Ed Butka, infielder (d. 2005)
- 1918 - Toshio Ohara, NPB catcher (d. World War II)
- 1920 - Dixie Howell, pitcher (d. 1960)
- 1921 - Ted Beard, outfielder
- 1922 - Alvin Dark, infielder, manager; All-Star
- 1924 - Jim Pendleton, outfielder (d. 1996)
- 1931 - Ray Semproch, pitcher
- 1931 - Bunky Stewart, pitcher (d. 2007)
- 1935 - Dick Schofield, infielder
- 1938 - Fred Whitfield, infielder
- 1940 - Jim Hannan, pitcher
- 1942 - Jim Lefebvre, infielder, manager; All-Star
- 1943 - Dave Gray, pitcher
- 1944 - Dick Calmus, pitcher
- 1945 - Tony Conigliaro, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1990)
- 1946 - Joe Keough, outfielder
- 1947 - Scott Reid, outfielder
- 1950 - Ross Grimsley, pitcher; All-Star
- 1952 - Doug Capilla, pitcher
- 1952 - Bob Gorinski, outfielder
- 1958 - Carlos Diaz, pitcher
- 1962 - Bob Caffrey, minor league catcher
- 1962 - Jeff Montgomery, pitcher; All-Star
- 1963 - Craig Shipley, infielder
- 1964 - Allan Anderson, pitcher
- 1964 - Dave Meads, pitcher
- 1967 - Rob Maurer, infielder
- 1969 - Chris Hatcher, outfielder
- 1971 - Frank Menechino, infielder
- 1974 - Gabby Martinez, minor league infielder
- 1974 - Rob Radlosky, pitcher
- 1975 - Jake Meyer, minor league pitcher
- 1975 - Jorge Toca, infielder
- 1976 - Eric Gagne, pitcher; All-Star
- 1976 - Alfonso Soriano, infielder; All-Star
- 1978 - Kevin Mench, outfielder
- 1980 - Jackson Melián, minor league outfielder
- 1981 - Mario Chiarini, minor league infielder
- 1982 - Brayan Pena, catcher
- 1982 - Francisco Rodriguez, pitcher; All-Star
- 1983 - Edwin Encarnacion, infielder
- 1984 - Jon Lester, pitcher
- 1985 - José García, pitcher
- 1989 - Philippe Aumont, minor league pitcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1892 - Ham Allen, outfielder (b. 1846)
- 1929 - Law Daniels, catcher (b. 1862)
- 1939 - Bert Weeden, pinch hitter (b. 1882)
- 1944 - George Mullin, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 1954 - Joe Maney, owner (b. ????)
- 1954 - Red Schillings, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1956 - Danny Claire, infielder (b. 1897)
- 1957 - Ches Crist, catcher (b. 1882)
- 1962 - Ad Brennan, pitcher (b. 1881)
- 1962 - Dutch Lerchen, infielder (b. 1889)
- 1963 - Harl Maggert, outfielder (b. 1883)
- 1965 - George Smith, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1969 - Bill Lobe, coach (b. 1912)
- 1970 - Jumbo Elliott, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1971 - Dud Lee, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1971 - Hal Rhyne, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1978 - George Burns, infielder (b. 1893)
- 1978 - Snipe Conley, pitcher (b. 1894)
- 1981 - Irv Stein, pitcher (b. 1911)
- 1982 - Chet Falk, pitcher (b. 1905)
- 1986 - Joe Burns, catcher (b. 1900)
- 1990 - Horace Stoneham, owner (b. 1903)
- 1990 - Shag Thompson, outfielder (b. 1893)
- 1995 - Kite Thomas, outfielder (b. 1923)
- 1998 - Hiker Moran, pitcher (b. 1912)
- 2002 - Harry Marnie, infielder (b. 1918)
- 2003 - Ed Albosta, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 2005 - Harry Boyles, pitcher (b. 1913)
