Rocky Colavito, the slugging outfielder whose April 1960 trade from the Cleveland Indians was decried by fans and media in that city, returns to the Tribe as the centerpiece of a three-team, eight-player trade also involving the Kansas City Athletics and Chicago White Sox. He will put up strong numbers for Cleveland in 1965 (.287, 26 HR, and an American League-best 108 RBI in 162 games played), before falling off in production in 1966 and getting traded to the White Sox in July 1967.
The complicated multi-player Colavito trade also sees Cleveland send pitcher Tommy John, 21, and outfielder Tommie Agee, 22, to the White Sox, where they will blossom into MLB stars. John, only 2–11 (3.61) in 31 games with the Indians, becomes a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher in Chicago en route to a 26-year, 288-win MLB career, and the namesake for groundbreaking elbow surgery performed by Dr. Frank Jobe in 1974. Agee wins the 1966 American League Rookie of the Year Award and etches his name in New York Mets history for his brilliant defense in the 1969 World Series.
January 31
Pitcher Pud Galvin is chosen for Hall of Fame induction by the Special Veterans Committee.
The newly-renamed Houston Astros sign future All-Star first baseman and front-office executive Bob Watson, 18, as an amateur free-agent.
March 9 – Detroit Tigers manager Chuck Dressen, 70, suffers a heart attack at the Tigers' spring training camp; third-base coach Bob Swift takes the reins as interim pilot until Dressen is able to return to the dugout May 31.
April 9 – U. S. President Lyndon Johnson is on hand for an exhibition game between the New York Yankees and recently renamed Houston Astros. It is the first game to be played indoors at the new Harris County Domed Stadium, which will soon be called the Astrodome.
The first official game at the Astrodome is played in front of over 43,000 fans, as they watch the Philadelphia Phillies defeat the host Astros, 2–0.
At light-less Wrigley Field's Opening Day, the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs play to an eleven-inning, 10–10 tie when the game is called because of darkness. It goes into the books as a tie game, and all individual and team statistics stay on the books as official. The game include's Steve Carlton's debut MLB appearance; the St. Louis rookie, 20, walks George Altman, the only batted he faces.
April 28 – Lindsey Nelson, broadcaster for the New York Mets, calls today's Mets-Astros game from a gondola suspended above second base in the Astrodome.
May
May 1
Yogi Berra, the New York Yankees' Hall-of-Famer now a 39-year-old catcher-coach for the New York Mets, plays in his first MLB game since Game 3 of the 1963 World Series, grounding out as a pinch hitter at Crosley Field, Cincinnati. Three days later, he will start behind the plate at Shea Stadium, go two for three (both singles), and guide pitcher Al Jackson to a 2–1 complete game victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. But those two hits will be his only safeties in a Mets' uniform. After two more appearances, including one final game started May 9, Berra will be released May 17. He remains a coach with the Mets until becoming their fourth-ever full-time manager on April 7, 1972.
May 12 – The Houston Astros activate coach Nellie Fox, future Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman. Fox, 37, will appear in 21 games for Houston through July 25, mostly as a pinch hitter, and collect the last 11 safeties of his 2,663-hit career, before returning full-time to the coaching ranks.
May 20 – Warren Spahn, the winningest southpaw of all time—now a pitcher-coach for the New York Mets—faces his old team, the Milwaukee Braves, for the first time after winning 356 games in a Brave uniform. But his return to Milwaukee County Stadium is spoiled by a 7–1 defeat in which he lasts only five innings on the mound. Eddie Mathews, Spahn's fellow Hall-of-Fame teammate for 13 years and still the Braves' third baseman, seals Spahn's fate with a grand slam homer during Milwaukee's seven-run fifth inning. With the Atlanta-bound Braves playing out their final season in Wisconsin, only 17,433 fans attend Spahn's homecoming game.
May 27 – Dave Morehead of the Boston Red Sox, with help from closer Dick Radatz, defeats future Hall-of-Famer Jim Kaat of the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park 2–0, tossing a three-hitter (although he walks six). It is the only game — of 18 — that Boston will win from the pennant-bound Twins all season.
June 14 – The 24–32 Chicago Cubs replace "head coach" Bob Kennedy with Lou Klein. Kennedy had held the post since February 1963 and brought continuity to what had been a chaotic "College of Coaches" rotation of field leaders. Klein will serve through the end of the 1965 campaign as the experiment's last head coach.
June 15 – Denny McLain of the Detroit Tigers, called on to relieve starting pitcher Dave Wickersham in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Tiger Stadium, strikes out the first seven Boston hitters he faces, and registers 14 Ks in 62⁄3 innings of relief, a Tigers' record. McLain, 21, is removed for a pinch hitter in the Detroit half of the seventh, but the Tigers rally to win, 6–5.
July
July 3 – The Minnesota Twins defeat the Kansas City Athletics 3–2. Coupled with a Cleveland Indians loss, the Twins move into a tie for first place. They gain sole possession of first place on July 5, and are in first by four games by the time they complete a nine-game winning streak on July 10. They do not relinquish their lead for the remainder of the season.
July 17 – After going only 4–12 (4.36) in 20 games for the last-place New York Mets, Hall-of-Fame pitcher Warren Spahn draws his unconditional release. Two days later, the 44-year-old is signed as a free agent by the contending San Francisco Giants, where he's more effective but wins only three of seven decisions. He retires from pitching at season's end with 363 career victories, most ever by a left-hander.
July 24 – Casey Stengel, legendary 75-year-old manager of the New York Mets, breaks his hip, reportedly while stepping out of a car. Hospitalized, he undergoes surgery and is unable to return to the team's helm. Former New York Giants catcher Wes Westrum, the Mets' pitching coach, becomes acting skipper.
August 22 – During a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park, San Francisco's starting pitcher, Juan Marichal, batting against Sandy Koufax in the third inning, attacks Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with his bat. Both benches clear and a 14-minute brawl ensues before peacemakers such as Koufax and the Giants' Willie Mays restore order. A shaken Koufax then gives up a three-run homer to Mays and the Giants win 4–3 to retake first place. National League president Warren Giles suspends Marichal for eight games and fines him $1,750, and also forbids him to travel with his team to Dodger Stadium for the final series of the season against the Dodgers.
August 26 – Tug McGraw, then a starting pitcher, allows two runs in 72⁄3 innings and the Mets beat the Dodgers and Sandy Koufax 5–2. It is the first time in 14 games since 1962 that the Mets beaten the future Hall-of-Famer; Koufax had been 13–0 against them.
August 30 – Casey Stengel announces his retirement as manager of the New York Mets, ending a 55-year professional baseball career as a player, manager or coach. He retires with a career managerial record of 1,899–1,835 over 25 MLB seasons dating to 1934; he won ten American League pennants and seven World Series during his 12 seasons (1949–1960) as manager of the New York Yankees. He is the only person to have played for or managed all four of New York's major league clubs.
In anticipation of their move the following season to Anaheim, the Los Angeles Angels change their name to the California Angels.
September 8 – Against the California Angels at Municipal Stadium, Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City Athletics becomes the first player to play all nine positions in the same game, as part of a special promotion featuring the popular young player. He begins the game at shortstop and plays, in order for the next eight innings, second base, third base, left field, center field, right field, first base, pitcher (he gives up a run on a hit and two walks) and catcher. With the game tied at 3–3 after nine innings, Rene Lachemann replaces Campaneris, who was injured in a collision at the plate with Ed Kirkpatrick to end the top of the ninth. California scores two runs in the 13th inning and defeats Kansas City 5–3.
September 9 – At Dodger Stadium, a duel between the Los Angeles Dodgers' Sandy Koufax and Bob Hendley of the Chicago Cubs is perfect until Dodger left fielder Lou Johnson walks in the fifth inning. Following a sacrifice bunt, Johnson steals third base and scores on a throwing error by Cubs catcher Chris Krug. Johnson later has the game's only hit, a 7th-inning double. Koufax's fourth no-hitter in four years is a perfect game, the first in Dodgers history. One hit by two clubs in a completed nine-inning game is also a major league record, as is the one runner left on base. The two base runners in a game is an ML record. For Chicago pitchers, it is the second one-hitter they've thrown against the Dodgers this year and lost. A week later in the rematch in Chicago's Wrigley Field, Hendley beats Koufax and the Dodgers, 2–1. The Cubs won't be no-hit again until July 25, 2015, by Philadelphia PhillieCole Hamels—a span of 7,920 games.
September 13 – The San Francisco Giants' Willie Mays' hits his 500th career home run and Juan Marichal earns his 22nd victory of 1965 as the Giants beat the Houston Astros 5–1 at the Astrodome. The win is the Giants' 11th straight and gives them a 2+1⁄2-game lead in the NL pennant race.
Though he has not pitched in the Major Leagues since 1953, the Kansas City Athletics send Satchel Paige to the mound. At (approximately) 59 years old, he is the oldest pitcher in Major League history. In three innings, he strikes out one, and gives up one hit, a single to Carl Yastrzemski. Paige does not earn a decision in the loss to Boston, 5–2.
Mudcat Grant, pitching for the Minnesota Twins, wins his 20th game, becoming the first black 20-game winner in the American League. Next month, he'll be the first black AL hurler to win a World Series game, and only the seventh pitcher to homer in one.
September 26
The Minnesota Twins gain their first American League pennant since moving from Washington in 1961 by defeating the expansion Senators team that replaced them, 2–1, at Washington's D.C. Stadium. Minnesota's Jim Kaat (17–11), a member of the last "original" Senators team of 1960, wins the clincher.
Don Drysdale holds the St. Louis Cardinals to five hits, and the Los Angeles Dodgers win their ninth in a row to move back into a tie for first place. The streak reaches thirteen.
October
October 2
Sandy Koufax wins his 26th game as the Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Braves 2–1, for their 14th win in their last 15 games as they clinch the National League pennant.
October 14 – Working on two days rest, Sandy Koufax strikes out ten and throws a three-hit, 2–0 shutout against the Minnesota Twins in Game 7 of the World Series, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a second World Championship in three years. Lou Johnson's fourth inning leadoff home run off the left field foul pole gives Koufax the only run he'll need. A Ron Fairly double and Wes Parker single in the same inning add an insurance run to account for the 2–0 final. Koufax, who threw complete game shutouts in games 5 and 7, is named Series MVP.
October 19
NBC Television, which already has the TV rights to the World Series and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, takes over the Saturday-afternoon and holiday Game of the Week when ABC declines to renew its option. NBC and MLB agree to a three-year $30.6 million contract that will include all 20 teams, and the "Peacock network" will retain the "GotW" for the next 24 years. Its inaugural 1966 season will feature lead announcer Curt Gowdy and analyst Pee Wee Reese on primary games, and Jim Simpson and newly retired New York Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek on "backup" games.
October 25 – After a decade's hiatus, Leo Durocher, 60, resumes his managerial career when he is appointed to lead the 1966 Chicago Cubs. At his press conference with owner Philip K. Wrigley, Durocher emphatically ends the Cubs' "College of Coaches" experiment when he declares, "I'm not a 'head coach.' I'm the manager."
October 27 – The Cincinnati Reds hire former Mets' third-base coach Don Heffner, 54, as their manager for 1966. He succeeds Dick Sisler, who was fired October 4.
November
November 3 – Sandy Koufax who won 26 games and a 1.73 ERA this season, was named the Cy Young Award winner for a record third time.
November 5 – Al López retires after nine seasons as manager of the Chicago White Sox, during which he led them to the 1959American League championship and averaged 90 wins per season.
William Eckert is the 20 MLB owners' unanimous choice to succeed the retiring Ford Frick as Commissioner of Baseball. Eckert, 56, is a former United States Air Forcegeneral and holder of an MBA from Harvard. Nevertheless, he is so obscure a choice that he is uncharitably tagged "the unknown soldier" by baseball writers. He will serve three years and three weeks as baseball's fourth "czar" before his firing in December 1968.
Lee MacPhail, president and general manager of the Baltimore Orioles since 1959, departs to become the chief administrator to the new Commissioner. One of his final acts with Baltimore is to open serious negotiations with the Cincinnati Reds to acquire superstar outfielder Frank Robinson. MacPhail's successor, Harry Dalton, will put the finishing touches on the blockbuster Robinson trade, which is consummated December 9.
November 26 – Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Jim Lefebvre, who hit .250 with 12 home runs and 69 RBI, is voted National League Rookie of the Year over Houston Astros second baseman Joe Morgan (.271, 14, 40) and San Francisco Giants pitcher Frank Linzy (9–3, 43 strikeouts, 1.43 ERA).
December 2 – The Giants continue to deal during the hot-stove season. They send right-hander Bill Hands and catcher Randy Hundley to the Chicago Cubs for veteran relief pitcher Lindy McDaniel and outfielder Don Landrum. Hands and Hundley will become key players when the Cubs break a two-decade-long streak of futility to become a first-division team and pennant contender starting in 1967.
December 12 – The Houston Astros fire general manager Paul Richards and field manager Lum Harris. Richards, the expansion team's chief front-office architect since September 1961, will be replaced by a three-man committee composed of executives Spec Richardson and Tal Smith, as well as Harris' successor as manager, Grady Hatton, who is also named a club vice president.
December 15 – The Los Angeles Dodgers deal utility infielder Dick Tracewski to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher Phil Regan. Known as "The Vulture," Regan will go 14–1 (1.62) with a league-best 25 saves coming out of the Dodger bullpen in 1966, helping them repeat as NL champions.
January 7 – George Smith, 72, pitcher in 229 games for four National League clubs, primarily the Philadelphia Phillies, from 1916 to 1923; led NL in games lost (20) in 1921.
January 11 – Wally Pipp, 71, first baseman who played in 1,872 games, notably for the New York Yankees (1915–1925) and Cincinnati Reds (1926–1928); home-run champion of the American League in 1916 and 1917, but most known for losing his regular Yankees' first-baseman job to "The Iron Horse", Lou Gehrig, on June 2, 1925; member of 1923 World Series champions.
January 13 – Brad Kocher, 76, catcher in 67 games for 1912 Detroit Tigers and 1915–1916 New York Giants.
January 14 – Bill Hopper, 73, right-hander who pitched in 19 total MLB games for the 1913–1914 St. Louis Cardinals and 1915 Washington Senators.
January 14 – Ellis Johnson, 72, pitcher who got into eight total games over three seasons between 1912 and 1917 for the Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Athletics.
January 16 – Jimmy Williams, 88, turn-of-the-century second baseman for Pittsburgh of the National League (1899–1900), then Baltimore (1901–1902), New York (1903–1907) and St. Louis (1908–1909) of the American League, playing in 1,457 games.
January 17 – Fred Bostick, 69, outfielder for the 1923 Milwaukee Bears of the Negro National League.
January 19 – Jim Joe Edwards, 70, pitcher for the Indians, White Sox and Reds from 1922 to 1928.
January 20 – Nick Altrock, 88, left-handed pitcher for Louisville of the National League (1898), then Boston, Chicago and Washington of the American League (1902 to 1909); won 19, 23 and 20 games for 1904–1906 White Sox, and opening match of 1906 World Series, which was captured four games to two by his "Hitless Wonders" over the Cubs in all-Chicago Fall Classic; in 1912, began a 42-year stint as a Washington coach famous for clowning before games and in the coach's box during contests; known for teaming with a fellow coach, Al Schacht, the "Clown Prince of Baseball".
January 21 – Bert Whaling, 76, catcher for the 1913–1915 Boston Braves; backup receiver behind Hank Gowdy for 1914 "Miracle Braves" world champions.
January 24 – Ralph "Pep" Young, 76, second baseman who played 1,022 career games for the 1913 New York Yankees, 1915–1921 Detroit Tigers and 1922 Philadelphia Athletics.
January 25 – Charlie Fitzberger, 60, minor-league first basemen who got into seven games as a pinch hitter for the Boston Braves during September 1928.
January 25 – Bill Slater, 62, play-by-play sportscaster for the New York Yankees and New York Giants in 1944–1945 and the Mutual Radio Network's coverage of World Series and MLB All-Star Games during that decade.
January 26 – Bingo DeMoss, 75, second baseman of the Negro leagues.
January 28 – Billy Sullivan, 89, one of the best defensive catchers of his era, who played for the Boston Beaneaters (1899–1900), Chicago White Sox (1901–1912, 1914) and Detroit Tigers (1916); led American League catchers in fielding average three times, and a member of the 1906 World Series champion White Sox; managed 1909 ChiSox to a 78–74–7 record.
February
February 5 – Bill Brinker, 81, nicknamed "Dodo", pinch hitter, outfielder and first baseman in nine games for the 1912 Philadelphia Phillies; University of Washington alumnus who was Huskies' head baseball coach for seven seasons spanning 1906 to 1919.
February 7 – Bruno Betzel, 70, infielder for St. Louis Cardinals in 448 games from 1914 to 1918; later, a longtime manager in minor leagues.
February 7 – Rube Peters, 79, pitcher for 1912 Chicago White Sox and 1914 Brooklyn Tip-Tops (of the "outlaw" Federal League).
February 8 – Ray Brown, 56, elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006; All-Star pitcher for the Negro leagues' Homestead Grays who led the Negro National League in games won seven times between 1932 and 1945.
February 8 – Ray Kremer, 69, standout hurler for Pittsburgh Pirates (1924–1933); two-time National League ERA champion (1926, 1927); won 20 games twice, 19 games once, 18 games twice, and 17 games once between 1924 and 1930, while posting a 143–85 lifetime won–lost mark; member of 1925 World Series champions, when he went 2–1 with two complete games against the Washington Senators.
February 11 – Lefty Herring, 84, first baseman, centerfielder and pitcher who played for both the National League (1899) and American League (1904) versions of the Washington Senators.
February 11 – Pete Noonan, 83, catcher/first baseman who played in 162 career games over three seasons (1904, 1906–1907) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.
February 17 – Larry Gilbert, 73, outfielder in 117 games for 1914–1915 Boston Braves, including 1914 world-champion "Miracle Braves"; longtime manager in minor-league Southern Association and a major baseball figure in New Orleans and Nashville; father of two big-leaguers, Charlie and Tookie.
February 22 – Clarence Huber, 69, third baseman who appeared in 12 games for 1921–1922 Detroit Tigers and 242 contests for 1925–1926 Philadelphia Phillies.
February 27 – Dan Tye, 65, third baseman for the 1930 Memphis Red Sox of the Negro National League.
March
March 1 – Maurice Van Robays, 50, outfielder who hit .267 in 529 career games for Pittsburgh Pirates (1939–1943 and 1946).
March 2 – Fred Ostendorf, 72, left-hander who hurled for the 1914 Indianapolis Hoosiers of the "outlaw" Federal League.
March 5 – Pepper Martin, 61, four-time All-Star third baseman/outfielder and an integral member of the St. Louis Cardinals' legendary Gashouse Gang of the 1930s, who batted .298 over a 13-year career, led the National League with 122 runs scored in 1933, also in stolen bases three times, and was the catalyst in a Cardinals' upset victory over the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1931 World Series.[1]
March 5 – Tadashi Wakabayashi, 57, Hall of Fame Japanese Baseball and NPB pitcher who played for the Osaka/Hanshin Tigers and the Mainichi Orions from 1936 to 1953.
March 6 – Wally Schang, 75, American League catcher for five teams over 19 seasons (1913–1931) and 1,842 games, including three world champions (1913 Philadelphia Athletics, 1918 Boston Red Sox and 1923 New York Yankees).
March 9 – Frank Graham, 71, New York sportswriter for over 50 years.
March 16 – Ed Roetz, 59, infielder who appeared in 16 games for the 1929 St. Louis Browns.
March 19 – Jack Quinlan, 38, broadcaster; radio voice of the Chicago Cubs from 1957 until his death in a spring-training car accident.
April 5 – Mike Pasquella, 66, first baseman/pinch hitter who played in two National League games in May 1919 — one for Philadelphia and one for St. Louis.
April 6 – Rudy Kneisch, 65, southpaw who twirled in two contests for the 1926 Detroit Tigers.
April 9 – Phil Ketter, 80, catcher who played two games for the 1912 St. Louis Browns.
April 11 – Sam Fishburn, 71, first baseman and pinch runner who appeared in nine games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1919.
April 11 – Bobby Vaughn, 79, infielder in five games for 1909 New York Highlanders (American League) and 144 contests for 1915 St. Louis Terriers (Federal League).
April 16 – Chick Tolson, 66, pinch hitter and backup first baseman who appeared in 144 MLB games—three for Cleveland Indians (1925) and 141 for Chicago Cubs (1926–1927 and 1929–1930).
April 19 – Bill Lauterborn, 85, second baseman/third baseman who played 87 games for Boston of the National League in 1904–1905.
April 19 – Woodrow "Lefty" Wilson, 48, southpaw hurler in the Negro leagues who pitched from 1936 to 1940.
April 21 – Steve Biras, 48, pinch hitter/second baseman for 1944 Cleveland Indians who played in two MLB games and went two-for-two (1.000) in his pair of big-league at bats.
April 21 – Jock Somerlott, 82, first baseman in 29 total games for 1909–1910 Washington Senators.
April 29 – Johnny Watson, 57, shortstop in four September 1930 games for the Detroit Tigers.
May
May 1 – Frank Barberich, 83, who pitched for Boston's National League club, the Doves, in 1907 and its American League team, the Red Sox, in 1910.
May 1 – Hi Myers, 76, center fielder who appeared in 1,310 games for Brooklyn (1909, 1911, 1914–1922), St. Louis (1923–1925) and Cincinnati (1925) of the National League; member of Brooklyn's 1916 and 1920 NL champions.
May 2 – Wally Hood, 70, outfielder who played 67 MLB games between 1920 and 1922, 65 of them for the Brooklyn Robins; his son and namesake briefly pitched for 1949 New York Yankees.
May 4 – Guy Sturdy, 65, first baseman and minor-league standout who played 59 career games for the 1927–1928 St. Louis Browns.
May 13 – Bill Brown, 71, outfielder and pinch hitter for the 1912 Browns.
May 13 – Dick Wantz, 25, rookie Los Angeles Angels pitcher, following surgery for brain cancer, who had made his debut only one month earlier, pitching one inning of relief in his only MLB appearance.
May 14 – Lee Quillin, 83, third baseman who played 53 games for the 1906–1907 Chicago White Sox.
May 17 – Bill Bartley, 80, pitcher who appeared three games for the 1903 New York Giants and 16 contests for the 1906–1907 Philadelphia Athletics.
May 19 – Eric Erickson, 73, pitcher in 145 career games for the New York Giants (1914), Detroit Tigers (1916, 1918–1919) and Washington Senators (1919–1922); one of four natives of Sweden to appear in major leagues.
May 23 – Earl Webb, 67, outfielder for five clubs over seven seasons between 1925 and 1933, who hit an MLB single season record 67 doubles for the Boston Red Sox in 1931.
May 25 – Harry Biemiller, 67, pitched in 28 career games for 1920 Washington Senators and 1925 Cincinnati Reds.
May 29 – Mike McNally, 72, infielder for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Washington Senators from 1915 to 1925, and later a minor league manager and scout during almost two decades.
June
June 8 – Pep Clark, 82, third baseman who played 15 games for 1903 Chicago White Stockings, but spent 17 seasons as a player or player-manager for minor-league Milwaukee Brewers.
June 15 – Jack Calvo, 71, Cuban-born outfielder who appeared in 34 total games for the 1913 and 1920 Washington Senators.
June 21 – Sandy Thompson, 70, outfielder who batted .305 lifetime in 639 games for three Negro leagues clubs (notably the Birmingham Black Barons and Chicago American Giants) from 1923 to 1932.
June 24 – Johnny Humphries, 50, pitcher who made 211 career appearances for Cleveland Indians (1938–1940), Chicago White Sox (1941–1945) and Philadelphia Phillies (1946); in 1942, set an MLB record by hurling for ten or more innings in four consecutive starting pitcher assignments.
July
July 3 – Hank Robinson, 77, left-hander who pitched in 150 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1911–1913), St. Louis Cardinals (1914–1915) and New York Yankees (1918).
July 6 – Jimmy Ring, 70, pitcher who went 118–149 (4.13) over 12 seasons (1917–1928) for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals; member of Reds' 1919 World Series champions; included in high-profile Cardinals-Giants trade involving Rogers Hornsby and Frankie Frisch after 1926 season.
July 7 – Pat Burke, 64, third baseman who appeared in one MLB contest on September 23, 1924 as a member of the St. Louis Browns.
July 8 – "Sunny Jim" Blakesley, 68, minor-league outfielder who batted .333 in 1,850 games over 14 seasons (1920–1933); collected over 200 hits five times.
July 14 – Ike Eichrodt, 62, light-hitting outfielder for 1925–1927 Cleveland Indians and 1931 Chicago White Sox.
July 15 – Harry Fanwell, 78, pitcher who appeared in 17 games for the 1910 Cleveland Naps.
July 16 – Otis Starks, 67, left-handed pitcher who appeared for six clubs in the Negro leagues between 1921 and 1935.
July 21 – Hugh Bedient, 75, pitcher who starred as a rookie for 1912 world champion Boston Red Sox, winning 20 regular-season games and going 1–0 with a superb ERA of 0.50 over four games and 18 innings pitched in the 1912 World Series; played with Boston through 1914 and with Buffalo Blues of the "outlaw" Federal League in 1915.
July 21 – Ira Townsend, 71, pitcher who worked in eight games for the 1920–1921 Boston Braves.
July 27 – Harry Lunte, 72, reserve infielder who appeared in 49 games for the 1919–1920 Cleveland Indians, and member of 1920 World Series champions.
August
August 7 – Walt Whittaker, 71, pitcher who appeared in one game for the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, one of the worst teams (36–117–1) in MLB history.
August 8 – Red Applegate, 42, who pitched in three games for the 1946 Newark Eagles of the Negro National League; also, a heavyweight boxer who fought Rocky Marciano in 1951.
August 8 – George Crable, 80, left-hander who pitched in two games for the 1910 Brooklyn Superbas.
August 15 – Stan Pitula, 34, pitcher who appeared in 23 games for the 1957 Cleveland Indians.
August 19 – Larry Jacobus, 70, who hurled in five games for the 1918 Cincinnati Reds.
August 21 – Bill Harris, 65, pitcher for the Reds (1923–1924), Pirates (1931–1934) and Red Sox (1938), who also tossed two no-hitters in the International League with the 1936 Buffalo Bisons.
August 29 – Paul Waner, 62, nicknamed "Big Poison"; Hall of Fame right fielder who won three batting titles and the National League's 1927 MVP award with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and became the seventh player to make 3,000 hits; played 15 years (1926–1940) for Pirates, with Bucs posthumously retiring his #11 uniform in 2007; brother of fellow Hall of Fame outfielder Lloyd Waner; also played for Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Braves and New York Yankees prior to 1945 retirement.
August 30 – Frank Papish, 47, southpaw who pitched in 149 games for the Chicago White Sox (1945–1948), Cleveland Indians (1949) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1950).
September
September 1 – Ivy Olson, 79, shortstop/third baseman for the Cleveland Naps (1911–1914), Cincinnati Reds (1915) and Brooklyn Robins (1915–1924) who appeared in 1,574 games; led National League in hits (1919) and played on two pennant-winners (1916 and 1920) for Brooklyn.
September 2 – Joe Hoover, 50, shortstop who appeared in 338 games for wartime 1943–1945 Detroit Tigers; member of Detroit's 1945 World Series champions.
September 3 – Rudy Leopold, 60, Chicago White Sox southpaw who got into two games in July 1929.
September 21 – Socks Seibold, 69, shortstop who became a pitcher and spent eight years in MLB, marked by stints with the Philadelphia Athletics (1915–1917 and 1919), a decade out of the majors, and five years with Boston Braves (1929–1933).
September 22 – Biz Mackey, 68, five-time All-Star catcher and manager of the Negro leagues.
September 23 – Fred Hobgood, 43, left-handed pitcher who played in the Negro leagues between 1941 and 1946.
September 24 – Cliff Knox, 63, catcher who appeared in six games for 1924 Pittsburgh Pirates.
September 27 – Tink Riviere, 66, pitcher in 18 games for the 1921 St. Louis Cardinals and three contests for the 1925 White Sox.
September 30 – Jim Battle, 64, infielder who hit .375 in eight games for the 1927 Chicago White Sox.
October
October 3 – Delos Drake, 78, outfielder/first baseman in 335 career games for 1911 Detroit Tigers and 1914–1915 St. Louis Terriers (Federal League).
October 3 – Jerry McCarthy, 42, first baseman and pinch hitter who appeared in three games for the St. Louis Browns in June 1948; former baseball and football captain at University of Pennsylvania and World War II veteran.
October 5 – Wid Matthews, 68, outfielder, scout and executive; played in 192 total games for Philadelphia Athletics (1923) and Washington Senators (1924–1925); general manager of Chicago Cubs (1950–1956) who later worked for Milwaukee Braves and New York Mets as assistant GM.
October 4 – Harvey MacDonald, 67, Philadelphia Phillies pinch hitter and first baseman who appeared in 13 games in June and July 1928.
October 11 – Willis Cole, 83, Chicago White Sox outfielder who appeared in 68 total games in 1909 and 1910.
October 12 – Curt Davis, 62, pitcher and two-time All-Star who went 158–131 (3.42) in 429 career games over 13 seasons (1934 to 1946) with four National League clubs; won 22 games for 1939 St. Louis Cardinals and was 15–6 (2.36) for 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers.
October 14 – Jimmy Boyd, 47, pitcher for 1946 Newark Eagles of the Negro National League.
October 15 – Fritz Brickell, 30, shortstop and second baseman who played in 41 career games for the New York Yankees (1958–1959) and Los Angeles Angels (1961); son of Fred Brickell.
October 21 – Harry Kincannon, 56, pitcher who appeared in 59 games for three clubs in the Negro leagues from 1933 to 1939.
October 22 – Lou Nagelsen, 78, catcher who played two games for the 1912 Cleveland Naps.
October 23 – Ed Fitzpatrick, 75, second baseman/outfielder for Boston Braves (1915–1917).
October 23 – Otis Lawry, 71, second baseman/outfielder who played 71 games for Philadelphia Athletics (1916–1917).
October 23 – Ted Odenwald, 63, left-hander who pitched in 11 games for 1921–1922 Cleveland Indians.
October 23 – Chick Shorten, 73, outfielder and lefty-swinging pinch hitter who appeared in 527 games for four clubs, primarily the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox, during eight seasons spanning 1915 to 1924.
October 24 – John Dudra, 49, infielder for 1941 Boston Braves, who appeared in 14 late-season games.
October 28 – Walter Barbare, 74, third baseman/middle infielder who played an even 500 games for the Cleveland Naps/Indians, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Braves from 1914 to 1916 and 1918–1922.
October 29 – Frank Fuller, 72, second baseman for the Detroit Tigers (1915–1916) and Boston Red Sox (1923).
October 29 – Bill McKechnie, 79, nicknamed "Deacon", Hall of Fame manager who became the first pilot to lead three different teams to pennants: the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1928 St. Louis Cardinals, and 1939–1940 Cincinnati Reds, winning the World Series in 1925 and 1940; his 25-year managerial career produced 1,896 victories and a winning percentage of .524; as a player, he was a switch-hitting infielder who appeared in 846 games for six teams over 11 seasons between 1907 and 1920.
October 30 – Lee Fohl, 88, manager of three American League clubs over 11 seasons spanning 1915 to 1926, notably the St. Louis Browns (1921 to August 7, 1923); skipper of second-place 1922 Browns, perhaps the most talented edition of the franchise during its 52 years in St. Louis; briefly (five total games) played as a catcher in the National League in 1902 and 1903.
November
November 2 – Clarence Fisher, 67, pitcher who worked in four games as a reliever for the 1919–1920 Washington Senators.
November 4 – Johnny Mitchell, 71, shortstop who appeared in 329 games for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn Robins between 1921 and 1925.
November 4 – Harry Trekell, 72, pitcher in seven career games for the 1913 St. Louis Cardinals.
November 16 – Ed Sherling, 68, minor league outfielder who appeared in four major-league games as a pinch hitter and pinch runner for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1924.
November 23 – Ruby Tyrees, 74, pitcher who appeared in five games for the Cleveland Browns of the Negro National League in 1924.
November 24 – Ralph Good, 79, pitcher, Maine native and Colby College alumnus who worked in two July 1910 games for Boston of the National League.
November 27 – Bill Hollahan, 67, third baseman who played in three late-season games for the 1920 Senators.
November 29 – Stanley Woodward, 70, sports editor of the New York Herald Tribune from 1930 to 1948 and from 1959 to 1962, who oversaw the coverage of Jackie Robinson's integration of Major League Baseball in 1947 and whose column on May 9 thwarted a planned strike by National League players to protest having to take the field with a black man.
December
December 5 – Mary Dailey, 37, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League infielder/pitcher.
December 6 – Frank Crossin, 74, St. Louis Browns catcher who appeared in 55 games over three seasons (1912–1914).
December 9 – Branch Rickey, 83, Hall of Fame executive who built dynasties with the St. Louis Cardinals (1917–1942) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1943–1950); known for revolutionizing the game—first by establishing the farm system of player development with the Cardinals, and again by signing Jackie Robinson to integrate the major leagues with the Dodgers; also played significant role in the front offices of the St. Louis Browns and Pittsburgh Pirates, and, late in his career, was president of the nascent Continental League (1959–1960), which never played a game but spurred expansion of MLB from 16 to 20 teams in 1961 and 1962; earlier, a catcher in the American League in 120 games between 1905 and 1914, and manager of both Browns and Cardinals.
December 9 – Dutch Sterrett, 76, pitcher for the New York Yankees from 1912 to 1913.
December 15 – Dick Newsome, 56, pitcher in 85 career games for 1941–1943 Boston Red Sox; went 19–10 (4.13) in rookie season with Boston, to place third in American League in victories.
December 15 – Charley Wilson, 70, pitcher in the Negro National League between 1920 and 1926.
December 19 – John Knight, 80, shortstop who spent 24 years in baseball, including major league stints with the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Americans, New York Highlanders/Yankees and Washington Senators.
December 20 – Al Lyons, 47, hard-hitting pitcher/outfielder/pinch hitter who appeared in 60 career games, 39 of them on the mound, over four seasons between 1944 and 1948 for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Braves; posted a 3–3 (6.30) pitching record and a .293 lifetime batting average (17 for 58).
December 27 – Bob Smith, 75, native Vermonter who pitched in 17 total games from 1913 to 1915 for Chicago (American League) and Buffalo (Federal League).
December 29 – Alex Main, 81, right-hander who pitched in 75 games for three teams in three major leagues over three seasons: the 1914 Detroit Tigers (AL), 1915 Kansas City Packers (Federal League) and 1918 Philadelphia Phillies (NL).
