January 5 – The
Continental League—the proposed third major league in North American professional baseball—gets an assurance of
Congressional support from New York Senator
Kenneth Keating.
January 11 –
CenterfielderRichie Ashburn, the "heart and soul" of the
Philadelphia Phillies for a dozen seasons, is traded to the
Chicago Cubs for three players. Three years later, he will return as a member of the Phillies' broadcasting team and remain until his death in
1997.
January 26 – Reigning
American Leagueruns batted in champion and
1958MVPJackie Jensen, 32, announces his retirement from the
Boston Red Sox because of airplane
flight phobia. Jensen is a three-time All-Star as well as a three-time RBI champ (1955 and 1958, in addition to 1959), and the incumbent
Gold Glove Award-winning
rightfielder for the Junior Circuit. He will sit out the 1960 season, return to the Red Sox with diminished skills in 1961, then retire for good.
January 29 – The
Continental League grants its eighth and final franchise to Buffalo. For the Western New York metropolis, the proposed debut of the CL in 1961 would restore Major League Baseball to the city for the first time since 1915, when the Buffalo Blues and its upstart
Federal League disbanded.
February
February 4 – For the second straight election, the BBWAA voters fail to elect a new member to the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
Edd Roush gets 146 votes, but 202 are necessary for election.
Sam Rice (143) and
Eppa Rixey (142) are next in line.
February 15 – In
Caribbean Series action, the
Elefantes de Cienfuegos completes a 6–0 sweep to give the Cuban team the Series championship for the fifth straight year.
Camilo Pascual, who went 2–0 with 15 strikeouts including a one-hit shutout in the clincher, is named Most Valuable Player.
February 23 – Demolition of
Ebbets Field begins.
Lucy Monroe sings the National Anthem, and wheelchair-bound
Roy Campanella is given an urn of dirt from behind home plate.
March
March 12 – The
Cincinnati Reds sign Cuban prospect
Tony Pérez, 17, as an amateur free agent. Pérez would go on to be a seven time all-star and key member of the Big Red Machine of the 1970s and was elected to the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
March 13 – The
Chicago White Sox unveil new road uniforms with the players' names above the number on the back, another innovation by Sox owner
Bill Veeck.
March 24 – Commissioner
Ford Frick says he will not allow the Continental League to pool players in the Western Carolinas League as it would violate existing major-minor league agreements.
March 31 – By a vote of 8–1, the Professional Baseball Rules Committee turns down a
Pacific Coast League proposal to use a
designated hitter for the pitcher.
In the
National League's traditional Opening Day contest, the homestanding
Cincinnati Reds defeat the rebuilding
Philadelphia Phillies, 9–4. Following the game, veteran Phillies manager
Eddie Sawyer resigns, saying, "I'm 49 years old, and I want to live to be fifty." After coach
Andy Cohen handles the Phils for one game on April 14,
Gene Mauch, skipper of the
Boston Red Sox' top farm club in
Minneapolis, gets the Phillies' permanent job on April 16. At 34, Mauch becomes the youngest manager in the majors.
Chuck Essegian belts an 11th-inning pinch-hit home run as the
Los Angeles Dodgers beat the
Chicago Cubs, 3–2, before a record Opening Day crowd (67,550) at Los Angeles. The home run is Essegian's third straight as a pinch hitter, including two in the
1959 World Series.
Don Drysdale pitches all the way, striking out 14, for the win over
Don Elston.
On Easter Sunday, GM
Frank Lane brings AL batting champ
Harvey Kuenn to the
Cleveland Indians and sends co-home run champ
Rocky Colavito to the
Detroit Tigers. Colavito, an unparalleled fan favorite in Cleveland, will hit 173 home runs before returning to Cleveland in
1965. Kuenn will report to Cleveland, pull a muscle, and never be the same hitter. He'll be traded after one season.
Before a home crowd of 41,661,
Minnie Miñoso celebrates his return to the
Chicago White Sox with a fourth-inning
grand slam against the
Kansas City Athletics. Leading off the bottom of the 9th with the score tied 9–9, Miñoso hits a solo homer for his sixth RBI.
April 24 - The New York Yankees score eight runs against Baltimore in the bottom half of the first before the first out is recorded. Though the Orioles would stage a comeback, thanks in part to an eighth inning grand slam by
Albie Pearson and a ninth inning grand slam by
Billy Klaus, The Yankees hold on for a 15-9 home win.
April 29 – At home, the
St. Louis Cardinals crush the
Chicago Cubs, 16–6.
Stan Musial plays his 1,000th game at first base, becoming the first major league player ever with that many at two positions (1,513 games in the outfield). A bright spot for the Cubs is
Ernie Banks hitting two home runs to break
Gabby Hartnett's club record of 231 homers.
The
Chicago Cubs make a "trade" with flagship radio station
WGN (AM), plucking
Lou Boudreau out of the broadcast booth to replace
Charlie Grimm (6–11) as Cubs manager. "Jolly Cholly" replaces Boudreau behind the mike. The Cubs win, 5–1, over the
Pirates as pitcher
Dick Ellsworth gains his first ML victory.
Baltimore Orioles catcher
Gus Triandos sets a pair of
American League records with three
passed balls in one inning (6th) and four in one game, but knuckleballer
Hoyt Wilhelm, making a rare start, goes seven innings and gets credit for a 6–4 Baltimore win over the
Chicago White Sox.
Early Wynn records his 2,000th strikeout in a no-decision effort for Chicago. Triandos' PB mark for an inning will be tied by reserve backstop
Myron Ginsberg in six days, and
Tom Egan will collect five PBs in
1970 to erase Triandos' name from the top of the list.
Pitcher
Larry Sherry and catcher
Norm Sherry of the
Dodgers become the 10th sibling battery in ML history. Norman belts an 11th-inning home run to give his reliever brother Larry a 3–2 win against the
Phillies.
May 12 – Duplicating
Sam Jones' effort of yesterday, the
Giants'
Jack Sanford pitches a two-hit, 1–0 win over the
Phillies. Sanford matches Jones by striking out 11 and walking three.
The
Philadelphia Phillies suffer their third straight 1–0 shutout, losing to the hosting
Cincinnati Reds. The Phillies, losers of back-to-back 1–0 games in
San Francisco, tie the major-league record for straight 1–0 losses.
Jim O'Toole's win is Cincinnati's ninth straight.
May 17 -
Carl Furillo is released by the
Los Angeles Dodgers. Forillo had been with the Dodgers since the team was in Brooklyn and the two time all-star was one of the last players who played with
Jackie Robinson during Robinson's rookie season still on the roster.
May 19 – The
New York Yankees send third baseman
Andy Carey to the
Kansas City Athletics for outfielder
Bob Cerv. Cerv had been with the Yankees for five years before going to Kansas City, where he hit 38 home runs in
1958 and was chosen as the
American League left fielder in the All-Star game over
Ted Williams. Cerv will be claimed in the 1960 expansion draft and the Yankees will again reacquire him.
Since there is no rule limiting the size or shape of the catcher's mitt,
Baltimore manager
Paul Richards combats the team passed-ball problem while catching
Hoyt Wilhelm (38 in
1959; 11 so far this year) by devising an oversized
mitt to gather in Wilhelm's fluttering knuckleball. It is half again as large as the standard glove and 40 ounces heavier. Wilhelm goes the distance in beating
New York, 3–2, at
Yankee Stadium. Catcher
Clint Courtney has no passed balls behind the plate.
May 28 – Manager
Casey Stengel is hospitalized with a virus and high fever and will miss 13 games. The
Yankees go 7–6 under interim manager
Ralph Houk.
June
June 8 –
Billy Jurges, second-year manager of the last-place
Boston Red Sox, leaves the team, citing "illness." Two days later, Jurges is fired. After coach
Del Baker handles the club through June 12, Jurges' predecessor as manager,
Pinky Higgins, regains his old job and holds it through the end of the 1962 season.
June 13 – For the second time in three months, the
Boston Red Sox acquire catcher
Russ Nixon from the
Cleveland Indians, this time sending pitcher
Ted Bowsfield and outfielder
Marty Keough to the Tribe. A March 16 transaction had to be cancelled when former Bosox catcher
Sammy White retired rather than report to the Indians.
June 15 – Mexico City and Poza Rica combine to hit 12 home runs in one game, a
Mexican League record.
June 17 – The
San Francisco Giants fire fifth-year manager
Bill Rigney in the midst of a 4–8 team slump. Surprisingly, they turn to 66-year-old
scoutTom Sheehan as their new manager; he becomes the oldest rookie skipper in MLB annals. The move fizzles, however, as the Giants go only 46–50 under Sheehan and fall out of the National League's
first division.
June 19 – In a brilliant pair of pitching performances,
Orioles pitchers
Hoyt Wilhelm and
Milt Pappas throw shutouts to beat the host
Detroit Tigers in a twin bill. Wilhelm allowed two hits in winning the opener, 2–0, over
Jim Bunning, and Pappas allows three hits in winning the nightcap, 1–0, over
Don Mossi.
Jim Gentile and
Ron Hansen collected home runs as catcher
Clint Courtney, using the big glove designed by manager
Paul Richards, is twice charged with batter interference, the first loading the bases in the 4th inning.
June 24 –
Willie Mays belts two home runs and makes ten putouts to lead the
San Francisco Giants to a 5–3 win at
Cincinnati. Mays adds three RBI, three runs scored, and a single — and steals home.
June 26 – Hoping to speed up the election process, the
Hall of Fame changes its voting procedures. The new rules allow the Special Veterans Committee to vote annually, rather than every other year, and to induct up to two players a year. The
BBWAA is authorized to hold a runoff election of the top 30 vote getters if no one is elected in the first ballot.
June 30 –
Dick Stuart blasts three consecutive home runs, as the
Pirates split with the
Giants. Stuart drives in seven runs and joins
Ralph Kiner as the second Pirates player to hit three home runs in a game at
Forbes Field.
July 4 –
Mickey Mantle's three-run first-inning home run off
Hal Woodeshick is the 300th of his career. Mantle becomes the 18th major leaguer to join the 300-HR club, but the
Yankees drop a 9–8 decision to the
Senators.
July 8:
The
Cuban revolution led by
Fidel Castro brings an end to Havana's International League team. The Sugar Kings relocate in
Jersey City, marking that city's return to the
International League after a 10-year absence. Poor attendance at
Roosevelt Stadium prompts the parent
Cincinnati Reds to cease the minor league operation there following the 1961 season.
Jim Coates suffers his first loss after nine straight wins, and 14 straight over two seasons, as the
Boston Red Sox beat the
Yankees, 6–5. The Sox are led by
Vic Wertz, who hit a home run, double and single to drive in four runs. Coates' major-league career-record is 17–2.
July 18 – The
National League votes to expand to ten clubs if the
Continental League does not join organized baseball. The new NL clubs would invade CL territories.
July 19:
In a spectacular major-league debut,
Juan Marichal of the
San Francisco Giants pitches no-hit ball until
Clay Dalrymple pinch-hit singles with two out in the 7th inning. Marichal winds up with 12 strikeouts and a one-hit 2–0 win against the
Phillies, becoming the first
National League pitcher since
1900 to debut with a one-hitter.
July 20 – At
Cleveland Municipal Stadium,
Mickey Mantle golfs a
Gary Bell pitch over the auxiliary scoreboard into the distant upper deck in right field, matching
Luke Easter as the only major league players to reach that spot. Cleveland holds on for an 8–6 win over the
Yankees.
July 21 –
Robin Roberts pitches his third career one-hitter, and the 3rd one-hitter of the season in new
Candlestick Park.
Felipe Alou spoils Roberts' no-hit bid in the fifth inning of a 3–0
Phillies victory; third baseman
Joe Morgan fields the batted ball, but falls down and cannot make a throw.
July 30 – Just as he predicts,
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher
Art Mahaffey picks off the first batter to get a hit against him. Then with the next batter to get a hit, he does it again.
Curt Flood and
Bill White of the
St. Louis Cardinals are the base runner victims, but St. Louis still wins, 6–3. In his next game, the first batter to get a hit off Mahaffey will be
Jim Marshall, and Mahaffey will pick him off as well.
August
August 2 – In an agreement with the major leagues, the
Continental League abandons plans to join the
American League and
National League.
Walter O'Malley, chairman of the NL Expansion Committee, says, "We immediately will recommend expansion and that we would like to do it in
1961."
Milwaukee Braves owner
Lou Perini proposes a compromise that four of the CL territories be admitted to the current majors in orderly expansion.
Branch Rickey's group quickly accepts. The Continental League ends without playing a game.
August 4 – Reacting to an inside fastball that sails over his head, second baseman
Billy Martin of the
Cincinnati Reds engages
Chicago Cubs'
rookie southpaw
Jim Brewer in an altercation on the
Wrigley Field pitchers' mound. Martin punches Brewer in the face, breaking the
orbital bone below his right eye. Brewer undergoes season-ending surgery two days later and files suit against Martin for $1.04 million, while
National League president
Warren Giles suspends Martin for five games and fines him $500. Brewer's lawsuit will be settled out of court.
August 8 – A day crowd of 48,323, the largest day crowd ever at
Comiskey Park, cheers
White Sox pitcher
Billy Pierce's four-hit victory over the
Yankees, 9–1. Pierce faces just 31 batters.
August 9 – With fine relief pitching of
Lindy McDaniel in the opener and a five-hitter by
Curt Simmons in the nightcap, the
St. Louis Cardinals sweep the
Philadelphia Phillies, 5–4 and 6–0. Phillies
Tony Taylor ties a major league record for a second baseman by going the entire doubleheader (18 innings) without a putout – the first to achieve the feat since
Connie Ryan, of the Phillies, on June 14,
1953.
August 10 –
Ted Williams blasts a pair of home runs and a double to pace the
Red Sox to a 6–1 win over the
Cleveland Indians. Williams has 21 homers for the season. The first of the two today, #512, moves him past
Mel Ott into fourth place on the all-time list. After the game, Williams announces that he will retire at the end of the season.
August 18 – At
County Stadium,
Lew Burdette of the
Milwaukee Bravesno-hits the
Philadelphia Phillies 1–0. He faces the minimum 27 batters, a fifth-inning hit-by-pitch to
Tony González being the only Phillies base runner; González is retired on
Lee Walls' double play ground ball one batter later. Burdette also helps his own cause by scoring the only run of the game; after doubling to lead off the eighth, he scores on
Bill Bruton's double one batter later.
August 20 –
Ted Williams draws the 2,000th walk of his career in the
Red Sox' split of a twi-night doubleheader with the
Orioles. Williams joins
Babe Ruth as the only major leaguers to collect 2,000 walks.
Rickey Henderson in
2000, and
Barry Bonds in
2003, will join the select 2,000 walks group.
August 30 –
Boston Red Sox second baseman
Pete Runnels goes 6-for-7, as Boston edges the
Tigers in the 15-inning opener of a twin bill. Runnels' 15th-inning double brings
Frank Malzone home with the winning run to win, 5–4. Runnels has three more hits in the nightcap victory, 3–2 in 10 innings. His six hits are the most in an
American League game since July 8,
1955. With 9-for-11 in the doubleheader, Runnels ties the major league record.
A battle of left-handed pitchers features
Sandy Koufax of the
Dodgers against
Mike McCormick of the
Giants.
Felipe Alou's home run gives McCormick a 1–0 win, his second 1–0 win against Los Angeles in 1960.
September 10 – In
Detroit, the
Yankees'
Mickey Mantle hits a home run in the 6th inning, the ball clearing the right field roof and landing in the Brooks Lumber Yard across Trumbull Avenue. In
June 1985, Mantle's blow was retroactively measured at 643 feet, and will be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records at that distance.
September 13 – Eighteen-year-old outfielder
Danny Murphy becomes the youngest
Chicago Cubs player to hit a home run when he clouts a three-run homer off
Bob Purkey of the
Cincinnati Reds, as the Reds win 8–6 at home. Murphy will play just 49 games for the Cubs from 1960 to 1962. He will come back as a pitcher for the
Chicago White Sox in 1969-70.
At the age of 39,
Warren Spahn notches his 11th 20-win season with a 4–0
no-hitter against the
Phillies. Spahn also sets a
Milwaukee club record with 15 strikeouts in handing the last-place Phils their 90th loss of the year.
The
Baltimore Orioles (83–58) and
New York Yankees (82–57) open a crucial four games series with the Orioles just .002 in back of New York. Three days later, during a doubleheader, the Yankees will sweep Baltimore. The faltering Birds, now four back, will end up in second place, eight games back.
September 18 – At
Wrigley Field,
Ernie Banks sets a record by drawing his 27th intentional walk of the season.
September 19 – The
Chicago White Sox pennant hopes are damaged with a nightcap 7–6 loss to the
Detroit Tigers, after they win the opener, 8–4. Pinch hitter
Norm Cash scores the decisive run in game two. Cash thus ends the season by grounding into no double plays, becoming the first
American League player since league records on this were started in
1940.
Dick McAuliffe and
Roger Repoz will duplicate this in
1968.
September 20 –
Boston Red Sox outfielder
Carroll Hardy pinch-hits for
Ted Williams, who is forced to leave the game after fouling a ball off his ankle, and grounds into a double play. On May 31,
1961, Hardy will pinch hit for rookie
Carl Yastrzemski, making him the only player to go in for both future Hall of Famers. Hardy also hit his first major league home run pinch-hitting for
Roger Maris when both were at
Cleveland (May 18,
1958).
September 28 – In his last major league at bat,
Ted Williams picks out a 1-1 pitch by
Baltimore's
Jack Fisher and drives it 450 feet into the right-center field seats behind the
Boston bullpen. It is Williams' 521st and last career home run, putting him third on the all-time list. Williams stays in the dugout, ignoring the thunderous ovation at
Fenway Park, and refused to tip his hat to the hometown fans. However, they would make up for that
39 years later.
October 3 – The
New York Yankees head into the
World Series with a 15-game winning streak, the 8th longest streak in the
American League this century, after
Dale Long's two-run 9th-inning home run gives them an 8–7 win over the
Boston Red Sox. The 193 home runs are an AL season record, three better than the
1956 Yankees. RBI leader
Roger Maris drives in three runs, but falls one home run short of
Mickey Mantle's league-high 40.
October 10 –
Bill Mazeroski stars again. His two-run double stakes
Harvey Haddix to a 3–0 lead.
Roy Face is called on once more for another hitless effort to preserve a 5–2 win over the
Yankees and 3-2
World Series lead for the surprising
Pirates.
October 13 – The
Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the
New York Yankees, 10–9, in Game 7 of the
World Series, to win their third
World Championship, and first since
1925, four games to three. In a 9–9 tie,
Bill Mazeroski leads off the last of the ninth inning and hits what is arguably the most dramatic home run in Series history, off
Yankees hurler
Ralph Terry. The drama of Mazeroski's home run was heightened by the excitement that preceded the home run: A combined total of seven runs were scored by both teams in a wild and whacky bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth. An oddity in this game – it is the only World Series game this century with no strikeouts recorded. Another oddity, this one to the 1960 World Series itself – Mazeroski's home run makes this the only World Series in history won by a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the seventh and deciding game. Despite Mazeroski's heroics, however, Yankees second baseman
Bobby Richardson is named the
Series MVP, as the Yankees outscore Pittsburgh, 55 to 27.
October 17 – The
National League votes to admit
Houston and New York City teams to the league in
1962, the first structural change since
1900, and to go to a 10-team league.
October 18 – Instituting a mandatory retirement age of 65,
New York Yankees co-owners Dan Topping and Del Webb relieve
Casey Stengel as the team manager. Stengel says, "I wasn't retired—they fired me." The veteran skipper has a 1,149-696 career record.
October 20 – Coach
Ralph Houk, at age 41, is named to succeed
Casey Stengel as the
Yankees manager. Houk briefly led the Yankees in 1960 when Stengel was hospitalized.
October 25 –
Gabe Paul, general manager of the
Cincinnati Reds since October 1951, quits his post to join the
expansionHouston Colt .45s as their first front-office boss. Although he doesn't stay long, Paul brings young Cincinnati executives
Tal Smith and
Bill Giles to Houston, and both play key roles in the team's early years.
October 26 – Trying to jump ahead of the
National League, the
American League admits Los Angeles and
Minneapolis teams to the league with plans to have the new clubs begin competition in
1961 in the new 10-team league.
Calvin Griffith is given permission to move the existing
Washington Senators franchise to
Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota. (An expansion team, also called the Senators, will be placed in Washington.) American League president
Joe Cronin says the league will play a 162-game schedule, with 18 games against each opponent. The
National League will balk, saying the two expansions are not analogous and that the American League was not invited to move into LA.
George Weiss, who had a hand in 15
World Series champions in 29 seasons with the
New York Yankees — eight as farm system director (1932–1947) and seven as general manager (1948–1960) — is forced into retirement at age 66. A longtime assistant,
Roy Hamey, replaces him.
Veteran executive
Bill DeWitt steps down as president and de facto general manager of the
Detroit Tigers and joins the
Cincinnati Reds as vice president/GM. One year and a National League pennant later, DeWitt purchases the Cincinnati franchise from the estate of
Powel Crosley Jr. Meanwhile, in Detroit,
Rick Ferrell,
Hall of Fame catcher, assumes the Tigers' GM responsibilities.
November 22 – The
American League proposes that both leagues expand to nine teams in
1961 and begin
interleague play. It will delay entering the Los Angeles market if the
National League agrees. (There will be expansion to 10 teams in the American League in 1961, followed by the National League doing so in 1962, but interleague play does not arrive until
1997.)
November 23 –
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder
Frank Howard is selected National League Rookie of the Year with 12 of 24 votes. The six-foot, seven-inch (2.01 m) Howard belted 23 home runs during the regular season.
November 26 – The relocated American League team in the Twin Cities of
Minneapolis – Saint Paul chooses the appropriate nickname
Twins to represent its franchise. The team recently moved from Washington, D.C., where they were known as the Senators.
December 5 –
American League president
Joe Cronin suggests that if the
National League starts its new New York City franchise in
1961, the AL will stay out of Los Angeles until
1962. The NL turned down the suggested compromise of November 22 because
Houston will not be ready in 1961.
January 1 –
Tige Stone, 58, outfielder/pitcher who appeared in five contests for 1923 St. Louis Cardinals
January 2 –
Ken Gables, 40, pitcher who worked in 62 total games for 1945–1947 Pittsburgh Pirates
January 5 –
Clay Van Alstyne, 59, pitcher in six games for 1926–1927 Washington Senators
January 10 –
Bunny Fabrique, 72, shortstop for the 1916–1917 Brooklyn Robins who got into 27 career big-league games
January 12 –
Jimmy Lavender, 75, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs from 1912 to 1916, and for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1917
January 15 –
Frankie Austin, 43, Panamanian shortstop who played in 251 games for the 1944–1948 Philadelphia Stars of the Negro National League; batted .337 lifetime and was selected to six All-Star teams
January 19 –
Bob Fagan, 65, second baseman for the 1921 Kansas City Monarchs and 1923 St. Louis Stars of the Negro National League
January 20 –
Gibby Brack, 51, outfielder/first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies who played in 315 games between 1937 and 1939
January 24 –
Russ Ford, 76, Canadian pitcher who twirled for the New York Highlanders/Yankees (1909–1913) and Buffalo of the "outlaw" Federal League (1914–1915); three-time 20-game winner (1910, 1911, 1914) — including a 26-game-winning campaign for the 1910 Highlanders; inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (1987)
January 25 –
Palmer Hildebrand, 75, catcher who appeared in 26 games for the 1913 St. Louis Cardinals
January 28 –
Bill Warren, 75, Federal League catcher who played 31 games in 1914–1915 for Indianapolis and Newark
February
February 3 –
Lem McDougal, 65, pitcher for the Chicago Giants of the Negro National League in 1920
February 6 –
Noodles Hahn, 80, left-handed hurler for the Cincinnati Reds (1899–1905) and New York Highlanders (1906); won 22 or more games during four of his seven seasons with Cincinnati
February 11 –
Fritz Clausen, 90, a 19th-century pitcher for the Louisville Colonels and Chicago Colts
February 11 –
Roy Mack, 71, son of
Connie Mack; vice president of the Philadelphia Athletics from 1936 to August 1950, and co-owner with his brother Earle from that point to November 1954, when the Mack brothers sold the Philadelphia franchise to banker and real-estate magnate Arnold Johnson (died March 6, 1960), who moved it to Kansas City for 1955
February 16 –
Stuffy McInnis, 69, excellent fielding first baseman (committed only one error in 152 games and 1,652 chances for a .9994 fielding percentage in 1921); batted .307 lifetime for six clubs, most prominently with the Philadelphia Athletics' "$100,000 infield" (1909–1917); four-time World Series champion with A's (1911, 1913), Boston Red Sox (1918) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1925); managed National League Phillies to an abysmal 51–103 mark in 1927 then became a longtime college baseball coach
February 16 –
Jasper Washington, 63, first- and third baseman who played in the Negro leagues between 1921 and 1933, notably for the Homestead Grays
February 18 –
Fred Schemanske, 56, pitcher and pinch hitter for 1923 Washington Senators; went 2-for-2 (1.000) as emergency batsman, far outshining his one inning pitched and earned run average of 27.00
February 20 –
George Leitner, 88, who pitched for the New York Giants, Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Blues and Chicago White Sox in 1901–1902; one of several deaf-mute MLB players at turn of 20th century
February 24 –
Uke Clanton, 62, first baseman for the 1922 Cleveland Indians
February 27 –
Arthur Coleman, 61, pitcher/outfielder/first baseman for the 1920 Dayton Marcos of the Negro National League
March
March 2 –
Howie Camnitz, 78, pitcher who spent nine of his 11 MLB seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1904, 1906–1913); won 20 or more games three times for the Pirates, and was a member of 1909 World Series champions
March 3 –
Toussaint Allen, 63, outfielder in the Negro leagues from 1914 to 1928
March 6 –
Arnold Johnson, 54, Chicago-based businessman who purchased the Philadelphia Athletics in November 1954, transferred the franchise to Kansas City for 1955, and owned the team until his death
March 10 –
Jim Holmes, 78, pitched in 18 career games as a member of the 1906 Philadelphia Athletics and 1908 Brooklyn Superbas
March 17 –
Bob Thorpe, 24, pitcher who appeared in two games for the 1955 Chicago Cubs
March 18 –
Dixie Howell, 40, relief pitcher for the 1940 Cleveland Indians, 1949 Cincinnati Reds and 1955–1958 Chicago White Sox; combat veteran of World War II who, starting in September 1944, spent six months in captivity as a POW; still an active player when he died from a heart attack during spring training drills in Florida
March 21 –
Mack Stewart, 45, relief pitcher who appeared in 24 games for the 1943–1944 Chicago Cubs during World War II
March 22 –
Gordon Rhodes, 52, pitcher who played from 1929 to 1936 for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics
March 26 –
Dan Tipple, 70, pitcher who worked in three games for 1915 Yankees
March 29 –
Kid Carsey, 87, pitcher/outfielder who played in 329 games (296 on the mound) for six clubs between 1891 and 1901; lost 37 games in one season (1891) as a pitcher for the Washington Statesmen of the then-major-league American Association; won 24 games for Philadelphia Phillies in 1895
March 30 –
Joe Connolly, 65, outfielder for the New York Giants, Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox in the 1920s
April
April 17 –
Ricardo Torres, 69, Cuban catcher who played in 22 games for the 1920–1922 Washington Senators; father of
Gil Torres
April 19 –
Vallie Eaves, 48, pitcher who appeared in 24 total MLB games for 1935 Philadelphia Athletics, 1939–1940 Chicago White Sox, and 1941–1942 Chicago Cubs
April 19 –
Bob Osborn, 57, pitcher who went 27–17 (4.32) in 121 career games for Chicago Cubs (1925–1927 and 1929–1930) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1931)
April 22 –
Johnson Hill, 69, third baseman who played in the Negro leagues between 1910 and 1927
April 30 –
Oscar "Cannonball" Owens, 66, outfielder/pitcher in the Negro leagues of the 1920s; in the two seasons (1922, 1929) for which
Baseball Reference lists his batting statistics, he hit .398 during his 61-game career (74-for-186)
April 30 –
Herman Pillette, 64, pitcher in 106 games for 1923–1925 Detroit Tigers (and one contest for 1917 Cincinnati Reds); won 19 games for 1923 Tigers, then lost 19 for 1924 Bengals; father of
Duane Pillette
May
May 1 –
Lou Schettler, 73, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher who worked in 27 games in 1910
May 6 –
Vern Bickford, 39, pitcher who won 66 games for the Boston/Milwaukee Braves (1948–1953), including a no-hitter on August 11, 1950, against the Brooklyn Dodgers
May 6 –
Merlin Kopp, 68, outfielder for the 1915 Washington Senators and 1918–1919 Philadelphia Athletics
May 8 –
Howie Camp, 66, outfielder in five games for 1917 New York Yankees
May 12 –
Gus Felix, 64, outfielder for the
Boston Braves (1923–1925) and
Brooklyn Robins (1926–1927); finished third in the National League in putouts by a centerfielder in 1925
May 19 –
Leo Fishel, 82, Columbia University alumnus and future lawyer who hurled for the 1899 New York Giants; said to be first Jewish pitcher in MLB history
May 19 –
George Winkelman, 95, pitcher/outfielder for Washington of the National League in 1886
May 20 –
Pat Collins, 63, catcher who appeared in 543 games for three MLB clubs over ten seasons spanning 1919 and 1929, most notably the 1926–1928 New York Yankees, when he contributed to three consecutive American League pennants and 1927–1928 World Series titles; most-used of three platoon catchers for
1927 "Murderers' Row" edition and started Games 1 and 4 of Bombers' 1927 Series sweep of Pittsburgh, going 3-for-3 in Series-clinching contest
May 21 –
Leo Birdine, 65, pitcher/outfielder/third baseman who played in 129 games for the Birmingham Black Barons and Memphis Red Sox of the Negro leagues between 1927 and 1932
May 21 –
George Cochran, 71, a third baseman for the 1918 Boston Red Sox
May 30 –
George Hildebrand, 81, American League umpire from 1913 to 1934 who worked in four World Series; outfielder for Brooklyn in 1902, also credited with developing the spitball while in the minor leagues
June
June 1 –
Harry Dean, 45, relief pitcher with two appearances and two innings pitched for 1941 Washington Senators
June 5 –
Rip Jordan, 70, pitcher who appeared in majors for the 1912 Chicago White Sox and 1919 Washington Senators; went 21–2 (2.14 ERA) in his final minor-league campaign in 1921 Class B Sally League
June 10 –
Vic Delmore, 44, National League umpire who worked 618 league games from 1956 through 1959; home plate umpire on June 30, 1959, when confusion over a foul tip resulted in two baseballs "in play" at the same time
June 10 –
Charlie Fallon, 79, outfielder by trade who was a pinch runner for the 1905 New York Highlanders
June 12 –
Art Wilson, 74, catcher whose 14-year (1908–1921) career was spent in three major leagues; appeared in 812 games for New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Boston of the National League, Chicago of the Federal circuit, and Cleveland of the American League
June 25 –
Tommy Corcoran, 91, longtime shortstop, and captain of the Cincinnati Reds for 10 years
June 27 –
Square Moore, 59, stocky pitcher who appeared in 76 games for five Negro National League teams between 1924 and 1928
June 28 –
Louis "Bull" Durham, 83, pitcher for the Brooklyn Superbas, Washington Senators and New York Giants who got into nine games over four seasons between 1904 and 1909
July
July 3 –
"Reindeer Bill" Killefer, 72, catcher who played 13 seasons (1909–1921) for three MLB clubs (St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs) and gained fame as Hall of Fame pitcher
Grover Cleveland Alexander's favorite receiver; spent 48 years in professional baseball, including all or part of nine years as manager of the Cubs between 1921 and 1925 and Browns between 1930 and 1933; as a scout, signed the American League's first black player, Hall of Famer
Larry Doby, for the Cleveland Indians in 1947
July 4 –
Frank Parkinson, 65, second baseman and shortstop for the 1921–1924 Philadelphia Phillies, appearing in 378 MLB games
July 4 –
Eddie Wall, 56, left-hander who pitched for the 1926 Cleveland Elites of the Negro National League
July 8 –
Joe Krakauskas, 45, Canadian southpaw hurler who worked in 149 career games for Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians from 1937 to 1942 and in 1946
July 10 –
Harry Redmond, 72, second baseman for 1909 Brooklyn Superbas
July 13 –
Dan Kerwin, 86, minor-league veteran who got into two games as a left-fielder for the 1903 Cincinnati Reds, and went 4-for-6 (.667) in his only MLB action
July 13 –
Mark Scott, 45, television play-by-play announcer for the 1956 Cincinnati Redlegs and minor-league Hollywood Stars, and host/producer of the 1959 TV series Home Run Derby, which was discontinued upon his death but remains in syndication
July 14 –
Al Kellett, 58, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics in the 1920s
July 14 –
Walter Thornton, 85, pitcher/outfielder for Chicago Colts/Orphans of the National League, 1895–1898; later became a street preacher
July 17 –
Pat Duncan, 66, Cincinnati Reds outfielder who was the first player to homer over Crosley Field's left-field fence
July 18 –
Terry Turner, 79, shortstop for the Cleveland Naps/Indians, who led American League shortstops in fielding percentage four times, ranks among the top 10 Cleveland all-timers in seven different offensive categories, and set team-records with 1,619 games played and 4,603 putouts that still stand
July 19 –
Charlie Whitehouse, 66, southpaw who pitched in 25 games for Indianapolis and Newark (Federal League) in 1914–1915 and Washington (American League) in 1919
July 28 –
Ken Landenberger, 31, minor league slugger and briefly a first baseman for the 1952 White Sox; manager of the Class D
Selma Cloverleafs until mid-July 1960 when, stricken with acute leukemia, he stepped aside; he died by month's end
July 28 –
Marty Kavanagh, 69, second baseman for the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals in the 1910s
July 30 –
Eugene Jones, 38, left-hander who went 2–0 for 1943 Homestead Grays of the Negro National League
July 31 –
Joe Klinger, 57, first baseman and catcher whose 12-year pro career was interrupted by two very brief MLB stints with 1927 New York Giants and 1930 Chicago White Sox
August
August 5 –
George Chalmers, 72, native of Scotland and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher from 1910 to 1916, working in 121 games; started and lost Game 4 of the 1915 World Series
August 11 –
Harry McChesney, 80, outfielder who played 22 games for 1904 Chicago Cubs
August 12 –
Herlen Ragland, 64, southpaw who pitched in 12 games and played outfield in two more during his two years (1920–1921) in the Negro National League
August 14 –
Fred Clarke, 87, Hall of Fame left fielder (1894–1911, 1913–1915) and player-manager of the
Louisville Colonels (
NL) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1897–1915) who batted .312 in his career, and became one of the first dozen players to make 2,500 hits and the first manager to win 1,500 games; led Pirates to 1909 World Series title.
August 14 –
Henry Keupper, 73, left-hander for the 1914 St. Louis Terriers who led Federal League pitchers in games lost (20) in his only season
August 15 –
Ed Wheeler, 82, infielder who appeared in 30 games for the 1902 Brooklyn Superbas
August 20 –
George Perring, 76, infielder who played 513 games for the 1908–1910 Cleveland Naps (American League) and 1914–1915 Kansas City Packers (Federal League)
August 21 –
John Kelleher, 66, backup infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Robins, Chicago Cubs and Boston Braves from 1912 to 1924
August 22 –
Chet Carmichael, 72, pitcher for the 1909 Cincinnati Reds
August 23 –
Jack Leiper, 92, lefty who hurled for the 1891 Columbus Solons of the American Association, then a major league
August 25 –
Fred Crolius, 83, outfielder for Boston and Pittsburgh of the National League in 1901 and 1902, appearing in 58 games in all.
September
September 1 –
Charlie High, 61, outfielder in 28 games for 1919–1920 Philadelphia Athletics; one of three brothers to play in majors
September 2 –
Billy Maloney, 82, outfielder/catcher who played in 696 games for four clubs between 1901 and 1908
September 3 –
Armando Marsans, 72, Cuban outfielder/first baseman and one of the first men from his native country to play in the majors; appeared in 655 games for four teams between 1911 and 1918
September 13 –
Ralph Mattis, 70, outfielder in 36 games for the 1914 Pittsburgh Rebels (Federal League)
September 14 –
Herman Watts, 40, southpaw who hurled for the New York Black Yankees and Cincinnati–Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro leagues in 1941–1942
September 18 –
King Brockett, 80, pitcher/outfielder/third baseman who appeared in 54 games (50 on the mound) for the New York Highlanders of 1907, 1909 and 1911
September 22 –
Joe Bernard, 78, pitcher for the 1909 St. Louis Cardinals
September 23 –
Paul Hinson, 56, infielder who pinch-ran in three games for the 1928 Boston Red Sox; later a police officer in Oklahoma
September 27 –
Jim Eschen, 69, outfielder/pinch hitter for 1915 Cleveland Indians who played in 15 midsummer games
September 28 –
Danny Mahoney, 72, who pinch ran for the Cincinnati Reds on May 15, 1911, and failed to score a run in his lone MLB appearance
September 28 –
Joe Martin, 49, third baseman who played eight MLB games for the 1936 New York Giants and 1938 Chicago White Sox
September 28 –
Jess Orndorff, 79, catcher for the Boston Doves of the National League in 1907
October
October 2 –
Jim Busby, 59, third baseman for the 1933 Indianapolis ABCs of the Negro National League
October 2 –
Mike Kilroy, 90, pitcher for 1888 Baltimore Orioles and 1891 Philadelphia Phillies; brother of
Matt Kilroy
October 4 –
Jack Warhop, 76, submarine-style pitcher for the New York Highlanders/Yankees who appeared in 221 games between 1908 and 1915
October 9 –
Oscar "Heavy" Johnson, 65, slugging catcher of the Negro leagues between 1920 and 1933; two-time Negro National League batting champion, hitting .370 lifetime, including two seasons (1922, 1923) during which he hit .406; won the league's Triple Crown in 1922
October 10 –
Hub Hart, 82, lefty-swinging backup catcher for the 1905–1907 Chicago White Sox; member of 1906 World Series champions
October 15 –
Jack Wallace, 70, catcher who appeared in two games for 1915 Chicago Cubs
October 16 –
Arch McDonald, 59, broadcaster for the Washington Senators from 1934 to 1956, interrupted by one year (1939) in New York as voice of Yankees and Giants
October 18 –
Irish McIlveen, 80, Belfast-born pitcher/outfielder who appeared in 53 total games for the 1906 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1908–1909 New York Highlanders
October 19 –
Ed McCreery, 70, who posted a 1–0 record (11.25 ERA) in three tilts for the 1914 Detroit Tigers
October 20 –
Lew Groh, 77, veteran minor-league infielder who appeared in two contests at age 35 for the 1919 Philadelphia Athletics; brother of
Heinie Groh
October 21 –
Oscar Tuero, 66, Cuban-born pitcher who made 58 appearances for the 1918–1920 St. Louis Cardinals; led 1919 National League hurlers in games pitched (45) and saves (4)
October 22 –
Charlie Hartman, 72, pitcher for the 1908 Boston Red Sox
October 24 –
Wilbur Fisher, 66, minor-league outfielder whose lone MLB appearance came as a pinch hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 13, 1916
November
November 2 –
Everett Scott, 67, shortstop, primarily for the Boston Red Sox (1914–1921) and New York Yankees (1922–1925), who played in 1,307 consecutive games from 1916 to 1925, a record later broken by Lou Gehrig; four-time World Series champion, three times as a member of the Red Sox
November 3 –
Bobby Wallace, 86, Hall of Fame shortstop for the Cleveland Spiders (1894–1898), St. Louis Cardinals (1899–1901, 1917–1918) and St. Louis Browns (1902–1916) who set several fielding records; managed the Browns from 1911 to June 1, 1912, and Cincinnati Reds from September 14, 1937, through season's end; scouted for the Reds for 33 years
November 9 –
Al Nixon, 74, outfielder for the Brooklyn Robins (1915–1916, 1918), Boston Braves (1921–1923) and Philadelphia Phillies (1926–1928), appearing in 422 career games
November 11 –
Red Causey, 67, "The Florida Flamingo", pitched in 131 games for the New York Giants, Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies from 1918 through 1922
November 12 –
Merle Keagle, 37, All-Star female outfielder who set several single-season records in the
AAGPBL
November 15 –
Ray Gordinier, 68, right-hander who hurled in eight games for the 1920–1921 Brooklyn Robins
November 16 –
Weldon Henley, 80, pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Superbas from 1903 to 1907, pitched no-hitter on July 22, 1905 against the St. Louis Browns
November 20 –
Frank Brower, 67, outfielder/first baseman who appeared in 340 games for the Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians from 1920 to 1924
November 24 –
Al Braithwood, 68, southpaw who pitched for the 1915 Pittsburgh Rebels of the "outlaw" Federal League
November 24 –
Abbie Johnson, 89, Canadian 19th-century infielder who appeared in 74 games for Louisville of the National League in 1896 and 1897
December
December 10 –
Ernie Quigley, 80, National League umpire from 1913 to 1937 who worked in six World Series, was later a league supervisor; member, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
December 18 –
Art Nehf, 68, pitcher who won 184 games for four National League teams, principally the New York Giants and Boston Braves
December 20 –
Kip Dowd, 71, pitcher for the 1910 Pittsburgh Pirates
December 22 –
Jack Onslow, 72, manager of the Chicago White Sox from 1949 through May 26, 1950, and a longtime coach and scout; previously, catcher in 45 total games for 1912 Detroit Tigers and 1917 New York Giants
December 26 –
Fred Knorr, 47, Michigan-based broadcasting executive and co-owner of the Tigers from 1956 until his death