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Although the Negro American League would last until 1960, 1951 was, notably, the last season in which the Negro American League was considered major-league caliber, which was itself the last major Negro league baseball organization.
January 26 – The BBWAA votes retired sluggers Jimmie Foxx and Mel Ott into the Baseball Hall of Fame. At 534 and 511 career home runs respectively, they are the only men to crack the 500-homer mark—apart from Babe Ruth and his legendary 714 blows.
March 12 – For the second time in three months, Commissioner of BaseballHappy Chandler loses his bid for a new contract when he fails to secure the required support of 12 of the 16 MLB owners. The final tally is nine for Chandler, seven against. The former U.S. Senator, who became baseball's second permanent "czar" in April 1945, will serve as "lame duck" commissioner until he steps down July 14.
March 21 – During spring training, Pittsburgh Pirates left-handed-throwing first baseman Dale Long appears as a catcher in an exhibition game at San Diego, after Pirates general manager Branch Rickey decides to flout tradition. The experiment goes nowhere, with Long appearing almost exclusively as a pinch hitter and playing seven innings at first base before he's sent the St. Louis Browns on waivers June 1. Long eventually catches catch two innings in 1958 as a member of the Chicago Cubs, using his first baseman's mitt.
At Shibe Park, the Philadelphia Athletics and the Washington Senators play the first Opening Day night game in American League history. The Senators prevail, 6–1, behind the solid pitching of Cuban 40-year-old Connie Marrero, as his batterymateMickey Grasso hits a three-run home run. Marrero pitches nine strong innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits and two walks while striking out six batters. Bobby Shantz is the losing pitcher. Marking another milestone, this is the Philadelphia AL franchise's first Opening Day with someone other than legendary Connie Mack at the helm; he had managed the Athletics for 50 years and 7,466 games before his retirement in October 1950 at age 87. Jimmy Dykes, Mack's former stalwart third baseman, runs the Philadelphia bench this season.
June 19 – Billy Southworth resigns as manager of the Boston Braves with his team tied for fifth place in the National League and 10½ games out of the lead. The Braves promote popular former right fielder Tommy Holmes, 34, from Hartford to replace him. Southworth, 58, retires from managing with a 1,044–704 record over 13 seasons; his .597 winning percentage is fourth-best all-time among pilots with ten seasons of MLB service. He won four NL pennants: three straight (1942–1944) as skipper of the St. Louis Cardinals (along with the 1942 and 1944 World Series); and one with the Braves (in 1948). He will be posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
June 22 – Bill Veeck, the flamboyant former owner of the Cleveland Indians, announces that he has purchased controlling interest in the downtrodden St. Louis Browns from owners Bill and Charles DeWitt. Veeck, 37, will complete the transaction July 4 when he acquires additional stock in the Browns to assume 75 percent ownership. He has been out of baseball since 1949, when he sold his share in the Indians during a divorce settlement.
June 30 – The New York Giants claim utility infielder Hank Schenz on waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Schenz will appear in only eight games while spending the rest of the season on New York's roster; however, decades later, it will be alleged that the spyglass he employs to steal signs will be instrumental in the Giants' white-hot 37–7 late-season winning streak that propels them into the 1951 National League tie-breaker series.
Ralph Kiner belts two home runs in the second game of a Forbes Field holiday twin bill, enabling his Pittsburgh Pirates to overwhelm the Cincinnati Reds 16–4 in a seven-inning official game halted by rain. The Pirates and Reds split the doubleheader, but Cincinnati manager Luke Sewell protests both contests because Kiner remains in the Bucs' lineup despite being suspended by the National League just before the start of Game 1 for a recent dust-up with umpire Jocko Conlan.
July 5 – With his estimated $1.5 million purchase completed, Bill Veeck becomes president and 75% owner of the St. Louis Browns. He promises "sweeping changes" for the last-place team, which has also finished last in MLB team attendance for every year since 1946.
It takes 17 innings to settle a "Battle of the Soxes," but the Boston Red Sox defeat the Chicago White Sox, 5–4, at Comiskey Park. Boston's Ellis Kinder throws ten innings of shutout relief, and Chicago's starting pitcher, Saul Rogovin, goes all 17 innings and ends up with the loss. The win is the Red Sox' seventh straight and gives them a 1½-game lead in the AL standings.
July 14
Although he had vowed to serve out his term "until the last second" when it expires on April 30, 1952, lame-duck Commissioner of BaseballHappy Chandler resigns, leaving the post temporarily vacant. Prominent names such as retired General of the ArmyDouglas MacArthur are floated as possible successors, but it's quickly reported that MLB owners wish to promote someone from inside the game to replace Kentucky politician Chandler.
July 19 – Paul Lehner is claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Indians, enabling the veteran outfielder to play for four of the eight American League teams during the 1951 regular season.
July 23 – A "ding-dong" affair at Forbes Field sees the Boston Braves score seven runs in the first inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates respond with six tallies of their own. The Bucs take the lead 14–11 after six innings, but Boston battles back with four runs in the seventh and eighth, and pulls out a 15–14 win. Of the Braves' 22 hits, the winning blow is an eighth-inning single by Roy Hartsfield.
July 28
Clyde Vollmer, who started the month on the Boston Red Sox' bench, continues his slugging fireworks against the Cleveland Indians. Vollmer singles in the tying run in the 15th inning and then in the 16th hits a grand slam off reliever Bob Feller for an 8–4 Red Sox win. The slam is the latest hit in a game in major-league history. Mickey McDermott pitches all 16 innings for the Sox, striking out 15 and walking one.
August 7 – Dick Sisler's RBIsingle in the home half of the 15th gives the Philadelphia Phillies a 1–0 triumph over the Boston Braves. Defending NL champion Philadelphia is 55–51 and, at 13½ games, well out of the 1951 pennant race.
August 9 – The Brooklyn Dodgers complete a three-game, Ebbets Field series sweep of the second-place New York Giants, 6–5. Roy Campanella bashes two homers, including the game-winner in the seventh inning off Sheldon Jones, and Clyde King picks up his second victory in as many games. The Giants now trail the Dodgers by 121⁄2 games—15 in the loss column—with 45 games left in the regular season.
August 11 – Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies beats the Giants, 4–0, briefly dropping the New Yorkers a season-high 131⁄2 games behind the first-place Brooklyn Dodgers. However, the Dodgers lose a half-game of their lead when they come up short in the second game of a Saturday doubleheader, 8–4, to the Boston Braves.
August 12 – The Giants sweep the Phillies in a Polo Grounds Sunday twin bill, 3–2 and 2–1. The victories begin the Giants' 16-game winning streak and a phenomenal 37–7 (.841) stretch run that enables them to tie for the NL pennant on the regular season's final day.
August 19 – Bill Veeck, the showman and maverick owner of the St. Louis Browns, pulls off one of the greatest stunts in baseball history. In the second game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, Veeck sends Eddie Gaedel to the plate as a pinch-hitter for leadoff batter Frank Saucier. At 3 feet 7 inches (1.09 m) tall, Gaedel becomes the shortest player in baseball annals. Due to his extremely small strike zone, Gaedel walks on four consecutive pitches and is immediately replaced by a pinch-runner. American League president Will Harridge, saying Veeck is making a mockery of the game, voids Gaedel's contract the next day. Detroit goes on to win the game, 6–2.
August 24 – Just five days after the Gaedel stunt, Veeck stages another headlining promotion, "Grandstand Managers Night," at Sportsman's Park. A select group of 1,000 fans seated in a special section of the ballpark and equipped with YES and NO placards decides game strategy — while the St. Louis Browns' veteran manager, Zack Taylor, sits in a rocking chair, smoking a pipe, in the Brownie dugout. The "grandstand managers" even help Taylor make out his lineup card. The promotion has mixed results: a paltry 3,925 attend the contest, but the 38–81 Browns defeat the 49–75 Philadelphia Athletics, 5–3, with Ned Garver improving to 15–8 on the season.
August 27 – The New York Giants extend their winning streak to 16 games, sweeping the Chicago Cubs in a Polo Grounds doubleheader, 5–4 (12 innings) and 6–3. The Giants have now shaved the Brooklyn Dodgers' National League lead to five games, six in the loss column.
August 29
With four-plus weeks remaining in the regular season, there is a torrid pennant race in the American League. The Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees have been trading blows all this month; today Cleveland, which held a three-game lead as recently as August 23, falls into a dead heat with the Yankees at 80–47, when they fall to the Philadelphia Athletics, 3–0, and the Yankees overwhelm the St. Louis Browns, 15–2.
In an attempt to bolster their pitching staff, the Yankees acquire four-time 20-game winner Johnny Sain from the Boston Braves for rookie right-hander Lew Burdette, who has spent 1951 pitching in Triple-A. The trade helps both clubs: Sain, 33, contributes to three consecutive World Series championships (1951–1953), while Burdette, 24, blossoms into a top hurler who wins 179 games in a Braves' uniform whose three complete-game victories lift the Milwaukee Braves to the 1957 World Series title over the Yankees themselves.
September 17 – A crucial, three-game series between the American League's two top teams in The Bronx concludes, turning the tide of the pennant race. The New York Yankees (now 89–53) defeat the Cleveland Indians, 2–1, when Phil Rizzuto's ninth-inning buntsingle scores Joe DiMaggio from third base with the winning run. Eddie Lopat wins his 20th game, defeating Bob Lemon. The Yankees take two out of three from Cleveland (now 90–56) and a one-game lead in the standings. The Indians will go only 3–5 over their final eight games, while the Yankees will finish 9–3, including a humiliating five-game sweep over the visiting, third-place Boston Red Sox to close the season. They will clinch the pennant September 28.
September 20 – Ford Frick, 56, president of the National League since 1934, is elected the third Commissioner of Baseball and takes office immediately. Cincinnati Reds president/general manager Warren Giles, 55, the runner-up in the balloting, will succeed Frick as the Senior Circuit's chief executive. In Frick, MLB owners choose a baseball insider, unlike the first two Commissioners, a federal judge (Kenesaw Mountain Landis) and a politician (Happy Chandler).
September 27 – Gabe Paul, vice president and traveling secretary of the Cincinnati Reds, is promoted to general manager, succeeding long-time mentor Warren Giles, now president of the National League. At 41, Paul is the youngest general manager in the majors.
September 28
Allie Reynolds turns in the second no-hitter of his career, and his second this season, as the New York Yankees blank the Boston Red Sox, 8–0, in the first game of a doubleheader in The Bronx. Reynolds' no-no clinches a tie for the American League pennant. Then, in Game 2, the Yankees seal their 18th league title with an 11–3 thumping.
When the clock strikes midnight on the Friday evening of the 1951 season's final weekend, the National League pennant race is dead even. The Brooklyn Dodgers, only 12–13 so far in September, bow to the host Philadelphia Phillies, 4–3, as Carl Erskine is defeated by the Phillie tandem of starter Karl Drews and reliever Andy Hansen. Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones drives home the winning run in the home half of the ninth inning. The New York Giants, 18–5 so far this month, have an open date. Both teams boast 94–58 records with two games remaining.
At Shibe Park, the Brooklyn Dodgers overcome an early 6–1 deficit to send their game with the Philadelphia Phillies into extra innings, 8–8. Neither team scores until the top of the 14th when Jackie Robinson—who in the 12th had saved the Dodgers' season with a brilliant, diving catch of Eddie Waitkus' bases-loaded line drive—belts a solo home run off Phillies' ace Robin Roberts, pitching in relief, to give Brooklyn a 9–8 lead. The Dodgers' Bud Podbielan then holds the Phillies off the scoreboard in the bottom of the 14th. The Brooklyn victory sets up the second best-of-three tie-breaker series in the NL's 75-year history.
October 3 – The Giants had been 131⁄2 games behind the National League leading Dodgers in mid-August, but under Leo Durocher's guidance and with the aid of a 16-game winning streak, they complete their improbable comeback. In Game 3 of the NL playoffs at the Polo Grounds, Brooklyn leads 4–2 with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. With Giants' runners on second and third, New York's Bobby Thomson hits reliever Branca's third pitch for a line-drivehome run into the left-field stands to win the game, 5–4. His "shot heard 'round the world" wins the NL pennant in "walk off" style, and WMCA-AM's Russ Hodges' frantic "The Giants win the pennant!", said four times consecutively, becomes one of the most famous home run calls in baseball history.
October 8 – In a marriage of opposite personalities, showman owner Bill Veeck names cantankerous former Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman Rogers Hornsby manager of the 1952 St. Louis Browns, replacing Zack Taylor. Upon his appointment, Hornsby promises "no midgets, no gimmicks, just good baseball."
October 10
The New York Yankees defeat the New York Giants, 4–3, in Game 6 of the World Series to win their third consecutive Series championship and 14th overall. The Yanks' Eddie Lopat goes 2–0 (0.50) with two complete games, and Gil McDougald drives in seven runs for the victors, while Monte Irvin (11 hits, .458) and Alvin Dark (ten hits, .417) star in a losing cause. Just before today's game, Giants manager Leo Durocher turns over a letter he received to newly installed CommissionerFord Frick that offered the Giants manager a $15,000 bribe "if the Giants managed to lose the next three games".
October 22 – The third-place Boston Red Sox, who lost 12 of their last 13 games to finish 87–67 in 1951, replace veteran manager Steve O'Neill with infielder Lou Boudreau, who has just completed his first season in a Red Sox uniform. Boudreau, 34, formerly was the player-manager of the Cleveland Indians from 1942 to 1950, and in his most famous season, 1948, led the Indians to a playoff victory over the Red Sox, and—ultimately—a World Series championship.
November 10 – In Tokyo, 50,000 fans are on hand as an American All-Star team battles a Japanese Central League All-Star team. Joe DiMaggio hits a 400-foot home run in the eighth inning to tie the game at 1–1, then his younger brother Dom laces an RBI-triple in the ninth and later scores to give the Americans a 3–2 victory. The Americans have won 12 games and tied one.
November 23 – The New York Yankees send young catcher Clint Courtney to the St. Louis Browns in exchange for pitcher Jim McDonald. Courtney, a scrapper despite being the first major-league catcher to wear eyeglasses, had appeared in one game for New York. He'll appear in 945 more American League contests through 1961.
November 24 – The St. Louis Cardinals fire manager Marty Marion after only one season at the team's helm. Eight-time NL All-Star shortstop Marion, 33, led the 1951 Redbirds to an 81–73 mark and third-place finish.
December 5 – The Pittsburgh Pirates reacquire first baseman Dale Long on waivers from the St. Louis Browns. In March, the Pirates and Long had made headlines when he was briefly auditioned as a left-handed-throwing catcher. When that experiment was abandoned, he returned to his original position. Long will spend 1952 through 1954 in the minor leagues before winning the Pirates' first base job in 1955 and setting an MLB record for homers in consecutive games in 1956.
The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants conclude weeks of negotiation and rumors, with the Cardinals acquiring scrappy veteran second baseman Eddie Stanky from the Giants for pitcher Max Lanier and outfielder Chuck Diering. Stanky, 36, immediately signs a two-year contract to succeed Marty Marion as manager of the Redbirds.
January 6 – Harry Camnitz, 66, pitcher who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1909 season and for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1911.
January 10 – Tom Delahanty, 78, third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Spiders, Pittsburgh Pirates and Louisville Colonels of the National League in a span of three seasons between 1894 and 1897.
January 11 – Bill Wagner, 57, catcher who played from 1914 through 1918 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Braves.
January 16 – Pid Purdy, 46, two-sport athlete who played outfield in four Major League seasons with the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds from 1927 to 1929, and was a quarterback in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers in 1926 and 1927.
January 26 – Bill Barrett, 50, outfielder who played for the Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators over nine seasons between 1921 and 1930.
February
February 2 – Bill Sowders, 86, pitcher who played from 1888 through 1890 for the Boston Beaneaters and Pittsburgh Alleghenys clubs of the National League.
February 6 – Gabby Street, 68, who came into prominence as the personal catcher for the legendary pitcher Walter Johnson with the Washington Senators, and as the first man to catch a baseball dropped from the top of Washington Monument; one of the few Major League managers to capture a World Series title in his first attempt, with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1930; managed Cardinals from 1930 to July 23, 1933, and St. Louis Browns for 146 games in 1938; late in his career, popular member of radio broadcast team for both St. Louis teams.
February 8 – Harry Ables, 67, pitcher who played for the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Naps and New York Highlanders in part of three seasons spanning 1905–1911.
February 14 – Harry Thompson, 61, pitcher who split his only big-league season between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics in 1919.
February 20:
Steamboat Johnson, 70, National League umpire who ejected 12 men in the 66 games he worked between April 26 and October 5, 1914.
Marty Shay, 54, infielder who played with the Chicago Cubs in the 1916 season and for the Boston Braves in 1924.
March 2 – Adam Comorosky, 45, left fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds in a ten-year career from 1926 to 1935, who in 1931 became the only outfielder in National League history to ever perform two unassisted double plays in a single season, joining American League outfielders Tris Speaker (twice), José Cardenal and Socks Seybold.
March 3 – Dan Bickham, 86, pitcher who played in 1886 for the Cincinnati Red Stockings of the National League.
March 13 – Joe Hughes, 71, backup outfielder for the 1902 Chicago Orphans of the National League.
March 20 – Roscoe Coughlin, 83, pitcher who played from 1890 to 1891 for the Chicago Colts and New York Giants.
March 25:
Eddie Collins, 63, Hall of Fame second baseman who played from 1906 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox; won the American League MVP Award in 1914, and is the only AL player to steal six bases in a single game, a feat he accomplished twice in September 1912; led the Athletics to four AL pennants and three World Series championships between 1910 and 1914, as well as the White Sox to the 1917 World Series title; ended his career with a .333 average, .424 on-base percentage, 3,314 hits, and 745 stolen bases in 2,826 games; managed White Sox from May 19 through June 18, 1924, and for all of 1925 and 1926, compiling a 174–160 record and a .521 winning percentage; after returning to the Athletics in 1927, became a coach from 1929 to 1932, serving on two more world champion clubs (1929, 1930); after 1932, moved to Boston Red Sox front office as general manager, working with owner Tom Yawkey to rebuild the club and winning 1946 AL pennant before retiring due to ill health after the 1947 season.
Dan Daub, 83, pitcher who played in 1892 with the Cincinnati Reds and for the Brooklyn Grooms and Bridegrooms clubs from 1893 through 1897.
March 28:
Kohly Miller, 77, backup infielder who played for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns and Philadelphia Phillies in a span of two seasons between 1892 and 1897.
April 14 – Danny Moeller, 66, outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians during seven seasons between 1907 and 1916, who is listed as the first big leaguer of the dead-ball era (before 1950) to have at least five home runs and 100-plus strikeouts in consecutive seasons (1912–1913).
April 20 – Roy Brashear, 77, backup infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies in part of two seasons from 1902 to 1903, who later umpired in the Pacific Coast League for several years.
April 22 – Ox Eckhardt, 49, right fielder who played with the Boston Braves in the 1932 season and for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1936.
April 27 – Bill Eagle, 73, outfielder who played in 1898 for the Washington Senators of the National League.
May
May 4 – Charlie Buelow, 74, third baseman for the New York Giants in its 1901 season.
May 7 – Ezra Lincoln, 82, who pitched for the Cleveland Spiders and Syracuse Stars during the 1890 season.
May 20 – Frank Olin, 91, outfielder for the Washington Nationals and Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association in 1884, and the Detroit Wolverines of the National League in 1885, who after graduating from Cornell University founded the Olin Corporation in 1892, formed the Western Cartridge Company in 1898, and acquired the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1931, besides being a remarkable philanthropist.
May 26 – George Winter, 73, pitcher who won 82 games for the Boston Americans and Red Sox from 1901 to 1908, as well as the only member both of the original 1901 and 1908 Boston clubs.
June
June 11 – Tom Leahy, 82, backup catcher who played with five different teams in a span of five seasons from 1897 to 1905, mostly for the Washington Senators of the National League between 1897 and 1898.
June 17 – Bill Harper, 62, pitcher who appeared in two games for the St. Louis Browns of the American League in its 1911 season.
June 19 – Wally Gerber, 59, a slick shortstop with good hands and a strong throwing arm, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Browns and Boston Red Sox over 15 seasons between 1914 and 1929, while setting a Major League record for shortstops with 48 fielding chances in four consecutive games during the 1923 season, and leading the American League in double plays in 1920 and from 1926 to 1927.
July
July 3 – Hugh Casey, 37, relief pitching ace for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s, whose best season came in 1947 when he won 10 games and led the National League with 18 saves, establishing later a World Series record while facing the New York Yankees in six of the seven games of the Series, five consecutively, being credited with a 2–0 record, one save and only one run in 10+1⁄3 innings of work.
July 6 – Ted Easterly, 66, catcher for the Cleveland Naps, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Packers in a span of six seasons from 1909 to 1915, who posted a batting average over .300 over three consecutive seasons with a career-high .324 in 1911, ranking twice among the top ten hitters in the American League and once in the Federal League.
July 9:
Harry Heilmann, 56, Hall of Fame outfielder and Detroit Tigers star, who won four batting titles in the American League between 1921 and 1927, compiling averages of .394, .403, .393 and .398, whose career .342 batting average ranks him 12th in the all-time list; later, a sportscaster and radio play-by-play announcer for the Tigers from 1934 until his death.
Huck Wallace, 68, pitcher for the 1912 Philadelphia Phillies.
July 10 – Bobby Messenger, 67, outfielder who played with the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns in part of four seasons between 1909 and 1914.
July 14:
Dee Cousineau, 52, catcher who played in five total games for the Boston Braves in three seasons from 1923 to 1925.
Vance Page, 45, pitcher who spent four seasons with the Chicago Cubs from 1938 through 1941.
July 18 – Joe Klugmann, 56, second baseman who played for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Robins and Cleveland Indians in part of four seasons between 1921 and 1925.
July 19 – Sam Agnew, 64, solid catcher for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators in span of seven seasons from 1913 to 1918, who was also a member of the 1918 World Series Champion Red Sox.
July 24 – Ed Fisher, 74, pitcher who appeared in one game for the Detroit Tigers near the end of the 1902 season.
August
August 1 – Harry Curtis, 68, catcher for the 1907 New York Giants.
August 2 – Guy Cooper, 68, pitcher who played from 1914 to 1915 for the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
August 4 – Tony Tonneman, 69, catcher who played briefly for the 1911 Boston Red Sox.
August 7:
Bill Wynne, 82, who pitched in 1894 with the Washington Senators of the National League.
Biff Wysong, 46, pitcher who played from 1930 through 1932 for the Cincinnati Reds.
August 10 – Win Kellum, 75, Canadian pitcher for the Boston Americans, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals during three seasons 1901 and 1905, who in 1901 became the first Opening Day starting pitcher in Boston American League franchise's history.
August 12 – Paul McSweeney, 84, backup infielder who appeared in three games for the 1891 St. Louis Browns of the National League.
August 17:
Doc Crandall, 63, pitcher who played with six teams in three different leagues between 1908 and 1918, most prominently for the New York Giants from 1908 to 1913, playing for them in three consecutive World Series from 1911 to 1913 and known also for his hitting, as he was often used as a pinch-hitter by Giants manager John McGraw.
Ren Wylie, 89, center fielder who appeared in just one game for the 1882 Pittsburgh Alleghenys.
August 19 – Ollie Hanson, 55, pitcher who played for the Chicago Cubs in its 1921 season.
August 28:
Billy Lush, 77, very solid center fielder who spent seven seasons in the majors with four teams from 1895 to 1904, enjoying his most productive seasons in 1903 and 1904 with the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Naps, respectively.
Bill Piercy, 55, pitcher who played for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs during six seasons between 1917 and 1926, including the Yankees team that won the 1921 American League pennant.
September
September 4 – Carl Doyle, 39, pitcher who spent four seasons between 1935 and 1940 with the Philadelphia Athletics, Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals.
September 5 – Jim Keesey, 48, first baseman who played with the Philadelphia Athletics in part of two seasons spanning 1925–1930.
September 9 – Chappie Snodgrass, 81, backup outfielder for the 1901 Baltimore Orioles.
September 10 – Hank DeBerry, 56, catcher who played for the Cleveland Indians and Brooklyn Robins in a span of eleven seasons from 1916 to 1930.
September 12 – Lave Winham, 69, who pitched from 1902 to 1903 for the Brooklyn Superbas and Pittsburgh Pirates.
September 14 – Wally Roettger, 49, outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1927 through 1935, who got the first hit and scored the first run in Game 1 of the 1931 World Series for the eventual champion Cardinals; head baseball coach of the University of Illinois from 1935 until his death.
September 16 – Bill Klem, 77, Hall of Fame umpire known as the Old Arbitrator and the Father of Baseball Umpires, who officiated National League games during a 37-year career from 1905 to 1941 and introduced the inside chest protector, while working in 18 World Series to set a Major League Baseball record for umpires.
September 23 – Dale Gear, 79, who pitched with the Cleveland Spiders in the 1896 season and for the Washington Senators in 1901.
September 25 – Nolen Richardson, 48, third baseman for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds during six seasons between 1929 and 1939, who also was the shortstop and captain of the 1937 Newark Bears, which is widely regarded as the best in Minor League Baseball history.
October
October 11 – Bob Becker, 76, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1897 and 1898 seasons.
October 12:
Bill Essick, 70, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds from 1906 to 1907 and later a longtime Minor League manager and New York Yankees scout, who is credited for discovering or signing future Yankees stars Joe DiMaggio, Lefty Gomez, Joe Gordon and Ralph Houk, among others.
Pug Griffin, 55, utility outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1917 and the New York Giants in 1920, who later became a successful manager in the Minor Leagues, guiding the Lincoln Links to the 1943 Nebraska State League title, and the Pueblo Rollers to the Western League championship in 1941.
Rube Vinson, 72, outfielder who played from 1904 through 1906 for the Cleveland Naps and Chicago White Sox.
October 14 – Henry Zeiher, 89, catcher for the 1886 Washington Nationals of the National League.
October 17 – Al Clancy, 63, third baseman who appeared in three games for the St. Louis Browns in its 1911 season.
October 19 – Emil Haberer, 73, catcher and corner infielder who played for the Cincinnati Reds in a span of three seasons from 1901 to 1909.
October 27:
Pryor McElveen, 69, third baseman who played for the Brooklyn Superbas and Dodgers teams between 1909 and 1911.
John Brock, 55, backup catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1917 and 1918 seasons.
October 30 – Walt Woods, 76, valuable utility man who played all positions except catcher and first base, whose career included stints with the Chicago Orphans, Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirates during three seasons from 1898 to 1900.
November
November 1 – Mickey Doolin, 71, slick fielding shortstop who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Whales, Chicago Cubs, New York Giants and Brooklyn Robins in a span of 13 seasons between 1905 and 1918, while leading the National League in putouts four times, assists five times, double plays five times, and fielding percentage once.
November 3 – Joe Hovlik, 67, Hungarian pitcher who played from 1909 to 1911 for the Chicago White Sox and Washington Senators.
November 5 – George Stovall, 73, who played and managed from 1904 through 1913 for the Cleveland Naps and St. Louis Browns of the American League, and for the Kansas City Packers of the outlaw Federal League in 1914 and 1915.
November 6 – Carl Husta, 49, shortstop who appeared in six games with the 1925 Philadelphia Athletics.
November 8 – Claude Ritchey, 78, middle infielder and outfielder over 13 seasons for the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Doves and Louisville Colonels, who helped the Pirates win three consecutive National League pennants from 1901 to 1903.
November 11 – Jim Neher, 62, pitcher who appeared in just one game for the Cleveland Naps in their 1912 season.
November 18 – Wally Mayer, 61, catcher who played from 1911 through 1919 for the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Browns.
November 19:
Marty Griffin, 50, pitcher for the 1928 Boston Red Sox.
Crese Heismann, 71, pitcher who played from 1901 to 1902 with the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles.
Pete Hill, 69, Hall of Fame outfielder whose career from 1889 to the mid-1920s involved some of the pioneer programs of the Negro leagues, being considered to be a great center fielder with a strong arm and excellent glove, while his talents also extended as a consistent line-drive hitter, both for average and power, with outstanding speed on the base paths, closing his career by serving as the player-manager for several teams between 1914 and 1925.
November 20:
Fred Burchell, 72, who pitched with the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1903 season and for the Boston Americans and Red Sox from 1907 to 1909.
Joe Rogalski, 39, pitcher who played in 1938 with the Detroit Tigers.
December
December 5:
Jim Duggan, 66, first baseman who played for the St. Louis Browns in its 1911 season.
Shoeless Joe Jackson, 63, left fielder and prominent hitter whose career lasted from 1908 to 1920 with the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Naps and Chicago White Sox, who hit .408 in 1908, the highest batting average ever by a rookie, while hitting a slash line of .408/.468/.590 in 1911 during his first season as a full-time player, and leading the White Sox to the 1917 World Series victory against the New York Giants, ending his career with a .356 average for the third highest in Major League history, before being banished from the sport for his involvement in the Black Sox scandal.
December 8 – Bobby Lowe, 86, second baseman who joined the Boston Beaneaters in 1890 and remained with them through 1901, winning five National League pennants in that period while completing an outstanding infield that featured Fred Tenney at first, Herman Long at shortstop and Jimmy Collins at third, whose claim to fame came when he became the first player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a single game, which was played on the afternoon of Memorial Day, 1894, against the Cincinnati Reds at Congress Street Grounds.
December 18:
Spencer Abbott, 74, coach for 1935 Washington Senators and longtime minor league player and manager, whose baseball career lasted for 52 years.
December 19 – Bob Lindemann, 70, backup outfielder who played for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901.
December 27 – Ernie Lindemann, 73, pitcher who appeared in one game for the Boston Doves in 1907.
December 29 – Hiram Bithorn, 35, pitcher who was the first player born in Puerto Rico to play in the Major Leagues when he made his debut with the Chicago Cubs in its 1942 season, leading the National League pitchers with seven shutouts in 1943, while posting a record of 34–31 and 3.16 ERA in 105 games over four seasons.
December 30 – Bob Kinsella, 52, outfielder who spent two seasons with the New York Giants from 1919 to 1920.
Sources
"Chandler, Foes Both Claim New Support". Los Angeles Times. February 6, 1951. p. 53.
Red Sox
American League
Braves
National League
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