January 28
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on January 28.
[edit] Events
- 1847 - George Wright is born in Yonkers, New York. A member of the first all-professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, Wright will have a splendid career as shortstop and manager, being inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1937.
- 1888 - In Chicago, 350 fans brave the weather to watch a baseball game on ice at Lincoln Park. Second baseman Fred Pfeffer of the Chicago White Stockings plays wearing a top hat. After two hours and five innings of play, the game is called. The Spaldings defeat the North-Siders, 7 - 6.
- 1890 - In the first of many lawsuits filed against Players League members by their former teams, a judge refuses to grant an injunction against John Ward, president of the Brotherhood. His decision, echoed frequently by other judges, states that the "want of fairness and mutuality" in the standard National League contract, specifically the clauses relating to the reserve rule, "[is] apparent."
- 1893:
- It is announced that Frank Bancroft is spending the remainder of the off-season serving as the manager of Linda Gardner's Mastodon Minstrels. Bancroft is credited to introduce baseball to Cuba in 1879 when he took a touring team to the Caribbean.
- The New York Clipper states that "an attempt will be made to change the rules so as to compel outfielders to discard baseball gloves."
- 1901 - The American League formally organizes as a major league, having been a top minor league in 1900: the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Somersets are admitted to join the Washington Nationals, Cleveland Blues, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago White Stockings. Three of the original clubs "” Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Buffalo "” are dropped. League power aggregates in Ban Johnson as trustee for all ballpark leases and majority stockholdings, and with authority to buy out refractory franchises. Player limit is 14 per team, and the schedule will be 140 games. American League contracts give the Players Protective Association what it asked for, with five-year limits on the rights to player services.
- 1907 - In an effort to reduce playing-date conflicts between their leagues, presidents Harry Pulliam (NL) and Ban Johnson (AL) meet to plan schedules. Conflicting dates are reduced to 27.
- 1949 - The New York Giants sign their first black players: Negro League players Monte Irvin and Ford Smith. Both men are assigned to the Jersey City Giants (International League). Irvin will star for the Giants, but Smith never makes the major leagues.
- 1953 - St. Louis Cardinals owner Fred Saigh is found guilty of income tax evasion and is sentenced to a fifteen-month jail term. He plans to sell the club. Cardinals Vice President W. Walsingham, Jr., is the acting president until Saigh can divest himself of his stock.
- 1958:
- The San Francisco Giants trade infielders Gail Harris and Ozzie Virgil to the Detroit Tigers for outfielder Jim Finigan and $25,000. Virgil becomes the first black player in a Tigers uniform.
- The Kansas City Athletics sign pitcher Murry Dickson as a free agent.
- 1961 - The International League Board of Directors vote to move the Montreal franchise to Syracuse, NY.
- 1962 - Edd Roush and Bill McKechnie are added to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.
- 1964 - Cincinnati Reds center fielder Vada Pinson is cleared of assault charges stemming from a September 5, 1963, incident when Cincinnati sportswriter Earl Lawson does not pursue charges further.
- 1968 - Goose Goslin and Kiki Cuyler are admitted to the Hall of Fame by unanimous vote of the Special Veterans Committee. Goslin was a career .316 hitter who played in four World Series. Cuyler was a .321 career hitter with four stolen base crowns.
- 1973 - The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee selects 19th-century players Mickey Welch and George Kelly, plus umpire Billy Evans, for enshrinement in Cooperstown.
- 1974 - Right fielder Sam Thompson, first baseman Jim Bottomley, and umpire Jocko Conlan, are selected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.
- 1980 - Hank Aaron refuses an award from Commissioner Bowie Kuhn honoring him for hitting his 715th home run. Aaron charges that baseball's treatment of retired black ballplayers falls far short of what is needed.
- 1982 - The California Angels trade outfielder Dan Ford to the Baltimore Orioles for third baseman Doug DeCinces and minor league prospect Jeff Schneider.
- 1986 - The Texas Rangers sign free agent catcher Darrell Porter to a one-year contract.
- 1992 - Detroit Tigers first baseman Cecil Fielder avoids salary arbitration by agreeing to a $4.5 million contract, for the largest single - season deal in major league history.
- 1993 - The Milwaukee Brewers sign free agent outfielder Tom Brunansky.
- 2000 - The Baltimore Orioles sign free agent pitcher Pat Rapp to a contract.
- 2002 - The Rangers continue to shore up their pitching staff by signing free agent Ismael Valdez to a one-year contract.
- 2005 - Recently traded first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who caught and kept the ball used to make the last out giving the Boston Red Sox their first World Championship in 86 years drought, will lend his souvenir to his former club. The historic horsehide, which Boston claims belongs to the team, will be encased within a plaque and will become part of the victory tour which includes World Series trophy.
- 2006:
- In a three-team, multi-player trade, the Cleveland Indians sent center fielder Coco Crisp, reliever David Riske and catcher Josh Bard to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for reliever Guillermo Mota, catcher Kelly Shoppach, infielder Andy Marte, a player to be named later and cash consideration. Cleveland then sent reliever Arthur Rhodes to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for outfielder Jason Michaels. The deal had been held up because of Cleveland's concerns about Mota's health. If he goes on the disabled list, Cleveland could add a pitcher from Boston's minor league system.
- Five players avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to an one-year contracts: pitcher Mark Prior with the Chicago Cubs; pitcher Vicente Padilla and outfielder Gary Matthews, Jr. with the Texas Rangers; reliever Jorge Julio with the New York Mets, and reliever Jesús Colome with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
- Cuba invited Puerto Rico to play exhibition games on the island ahead of the World Baseball Classic.
[edit] Births
- 1847 - George Wright, outfielder (d. 1937)
- 1854 - Dick Lowe, catcher (d. 1922)
- 1868 - Dan Sweeney, outfielder (d. 1913)
- 1869 - Ducky Holmes, outfielder (d. 1932)
- 1874 - Al Burris, pitcher (d. 1938)
- 1882 - Frank Arellanes, pitcher (d. 1918)
- 1884 - Tom Hughes, pitcher (d. 1961)
- 1887 - Jack Coffey, infielder (d. 1966)
- 1891 - Bill Doak, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1893 - Guy Cooper, pitcher (d. 1951)
- 1898 - Jim Bishop, pitcher (d. 1973)
- 1898 - Bill Snyder, pitcher (d. 1934)
- 1900 - Emil Yde, pitcher (d. 1968)
- 1901 - Ray Knode, infielder (d. 1982)
- 1902 - Pat Crawford, infielder (d. 1994)
- 1902 - Jackie Gallagher, outfielder (d. 1984)
- 1904 - Dutch Hoffman, outfielder (d. 1962)
- 1906 - Lyn Lary, infielder (d. 1973)
- 1913 - Joe Kohlman, pitcher (d. 1974)
- 1914 - Alf Anderson, infielder (d. 1985)
- 1916 - Dottie Hunter, AAGPBL infielder (d. 2005)
- 1916 - Bob Muncrief, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1996)
- 1916 - Pat Tobin, pitcher (d. 1975)
- 1921 - Julio Moreno, pitcher (d. 1987)
- 1922 - Hank Arft, infielder (d. 2002)
- 1927 - Carlos Bernier, outfielder (d. 1989)
- 1928 - Pete Runnels, infielder, manager; All-Star (d. 1991)
- 1933 - Harry Dunlop, coach
- 1934 - Bill White, infielder; All-Star
- 1936 - Roland Hoffmann, German national team catcher
- 1950 - Larvell Blanks, infielder
- 1955 - Joe Beckwith, pitcher
- 1960 - Stu Pederson, outfielder
- 1963 - Gary Mielke, pitcher
- 1964 - Fredi Gonzalez, manager
- 1969 - Jeroen Deken, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1971 - Kevin Tolar, pitcher
- 1972 - Epi Cardenas, minor league infielder
- 1972 - Steve Falteisek, pitcher
- 1972 - Chris Peters, pitcher
- 1972 - Tsuyoshi Shinjo, outfielder
- 1972 - Bryan Ward, pitcher
- 1973 - Jacob Cruz, outfielder
- 1974 - Jermaine Dye, outfielder; All-Star
- 1974 - Oscar Henriquez, pitcher
- 1974 - Magglio Ordonez, outfielder; All-Star
- 1975 - Junior Spivey, infielder; All-Star
- 1976 - Rod Lindsey, outfielder
- 1977 - Daunte Culpepper, drafted outfielder
- 1977 - Bob File, pitcher
- 1977 - Lyle Overbay, infielder
- 1978 - Tomas de la Rosa, infielder
- 1978 - Chang-Ming Cheng, CPBL infielder
- 1979 - Phil Seibel, pitcher
- 1981 - Josh Cenate, minor league pitcher
- 1981 - Doug Waechter, pitcher
- 1982 - Yueh-Ping Lin, CPBL pitcher
- 1983 - Elizardo Ramirez, pitcher
- 1985 - Daniel Morales, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Wesley Wright, pitcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1898 - Ed Connor, infielder (b. 1850)
- 1905 - Len Stockwell, outfielder (b. 1859)
- 1919 - John Newell, infielder (b. 1868)
- 1928 - Jake Thielman, pitcher (b. 1879)
- 1934 - John Kane, outfielder (b. 1882)
- 1938 - Bill Hill, pitcher (b. 1874)
- 1938 - Pop Rising, outfielder (b. 1872)
- 1939 - Bill Cristall, pitcher (b. 1878)
- 1941 - John Johnson, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1946 - Pat Flaherty, infielder (b. 1866)
- 1949 - Frank Naleway, infielder (b. 1902)
- 1953 - Howie Haworth, catcher (b. 1893)
- 1955 - Bill Calhoun, infielder (b. 1890)
- 1956 - Barry McCormick, infielder (b. 1874)
- 1959 - Walter Beall, pitcher (b. 1899)
- 1960 - Bill Warren, catcher (b. 1883)
- 1961 - Red Oldham, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1962 - Steve Melter, pitcher (b. 1886)
- 1965 - Billy Sullivan, catcher, manager (b. 1875)
- 1967 - Bob Connery, scout (b. 1880)
- 1970 - Orie Arntzen, pitcher (b. 1909)
- 1974 - Paul Fittery, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1978 - Larry Raines, infielder (b. 1930)
- 1982 - Henry Peploski, infielder (b. 1905)
- 1982 - Hub Pruett, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1982 - Paul Schreiber, pitcher (b. 1902)
- 1983 - Joe Chamberlain, infielder (b. 1910)
- 1984 - Ray Harrell, pitcher (b. 1912)
- 1985 - Bobby Young, infielder (b. 1925)
- 1986 - Tom Grubbs, pitcher (b. 1894)
- 1988 - Al Rubeling, infielder (b. 1913)
- 1989 - Stan Partenheimer, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 1993 - Vern Kennedy, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1907)
- 2000 - Tedd Gullic, outfielder (b. 1907)
- 2001 - Curt Blefary, outfielder (b. 1943)
