February 29
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Today in Baseball History |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on February 29.
Events[edit]
- 1888 - In a spring training game in New Orleans, LA, Cincinnati Red Stockings catcher Kid Baldwin slugs the umpire during an argument and narrowly escapes arrest.
- 1896 - Western League president Ban Johnson asserts that "the Western League has passed the stage where it should be considered a minor league - it is a first-class organization, and should have the consideration that such an organization warrants." Four years later Johnson will act upon this belief, taking the first steps toward moving the WL - renamed the American League in 1900 - to major league status.
- 1940 - The First National Bank of Chicago tries to force a sale of the Chicago White Sox by the heirs of the late J. Louis Comiskey. A judge denies the effort of the club's principal lender, saying that Mrs. Grace Comiskey can keep the club for their 14-year-old son, Charles II, until he is 35.
- 1944 - Deemed too tall for service, 6-foot 6-inch Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman Howie Schultz is rejected for military duty for the second time.
- 1956 - The Cleveland Indians are sold for nearly four million dollars. The team's present general manager and former player, Hank Greenberg, is one of the new owners.
- 1972 - Hank Aaron signs a major league record-breaking contract with the Atlanta Braves, calling for $200,000 annually for three years.
- 2000:
- After being suspended yesterday by major league baseball for one year for testing positive for using cocaine, New York Yankees OF/DH Darryl Strawberry is invited to join the Newark Bears during the suspension. The New Jersey franchise, which is a member of the Atlantic League, is located near Strawberry's Fort Lee home.
- Manager Sparky Anderson, 19th century star Bid McPhee, and Negro League slugger Norman (Turkey) Stearnes are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
- 2008 - The judge overseeing the BALCO case rules that Barry Bonds's testimony should be made public.
- 2012 - Newly-acquired Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett fractures an eye socket when he fouls a ball into his face during a bunting drill. He will undergo surgery in two days and will be out until April 21st.
- 2016 - After playing with three different teams in 2015, free agent IF Juan Uribe signs a one-year deal with the Indians for $4 million.
- 2024 - SABR announces this year's recipients of the Henry Chadwick Award for lifetime achievement in the field of baseball research. They are Larry Gerlach, one of the foremost authorities on umpiring; Leslie Heaphy, who has written extensively on the Negro Leagues and Women's baseball; and Sarah Langs, a journalist with mlb.com who has made advances in analytics understandable to the masses.
Births[edit]
- 1836 - Dickey Pearce, infielder, manager (d. 1908)
- 1856 - Sadie Houck, infielder (d. 1919)
- 1860 - Bill Lane, minor league owner (d. 1938)
- 1892 - Ed Appleton, pitcher (d. 1932)
- 1896 - Ralph Miller, infielder (d. 1939)
- 1896 - Roy Parker, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1904 - Pepper Martin, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1965)
- 1904 - Nish Williams, catcher, manager (d. 1968)
- 1924 - Al Rosen, infielder; All-Star (d. 2015)
- 1932 - Paul Giel, pitcher (d. 2002)
- 1940 - Candy Robinson, minor league pitcher and college coach (d. 2011)
- 1944 - Emile Henderson, minor league pitcher (d. 2007)
- 1944 - Steve Mingori, pitcher (d. 2008)
- 1952 - Al Autry, pitcher (d. 2022)
- 1956 - Jerry Fry, catcher
- 1960 - Bill Long, pitcher
- 1968 - Stepan Rubanov, Russian national team infielder
- 1972 - Heath Hayes, minor league catcher
- 1976 - Terrence Long, outfielder
- 1976 - Fabien Proust, Division Elite outfielder
- 1992 - Gerardo Concepcion, pitcher
- 1992 - Stefan Crichton, pitcher
- 1996 - Bligh Madris, outfielder
- 2000 - Ben Abram, drafted pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1920 - Ernie Courtney, infielder (b. 1875)
- 1948 - Rebel Oakes, outfielder, manager (b. 1883)
- 1968 - Pat Monahan, umpire (b. 1888)
- 1988 - Bennie Charleston, outfielder (b. 1907)
- 1996 - Ralph Rowe, coach (b. 1924)
Further Reading[edit]
- Len Hochberg: "The best baseball players born on Feb. 29", mlb.com, February 29, 2024. [1]
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