<— APRIL 13     APRIL 15 —>

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1863 Parson Nicholson
1867 Dan Cotter
1870 Tom Niland
1880 George Merritt
1881 Jack Bracken
1882 John Barthold
1884 Wild Bill Luhrsen
1886 Herman Young
1893 Ben Tincup
1898 Jess Doyle
1905 Tom Richardson
1908 Don Pelham
1913 Jack Radtke
1916 Johnny Hutchings
1916 Jerry Lynn
1922 Alonzo Perry
1927 Don Mueller
1928 Herb Adams
1931 Don Minnick
1931 Kal Segrist
1934 Marty Keough
1935 Gene (Lefty) Hayden
1941 Pete Rose
1941 Frank Cipriani
1944 Frank Bertaina
1947 Joe Lahoud
1948 Ron Schueler
1953 Mark Bomback
1954 Craig Mitchell
1954 Casey Parsons
1955 Chris Welsh
1956 Bobby Sprowl
1960 Paul Hodgson
1961 Jay Aldrich
1966 Greg Maddux
1966 Greg Myers
1966 David Justice
1967 Mike Trombley
1968 Jesse Levis
1969 Brad Pennington
1969 Brad Ausmus
1970 Steve Avery
1971 Gregg Zaun
1971 Carlos Perez
1972 Roberto Mejia
1976 Kyle Farnsworth
1976 Paul Hoover
1980 John Van Benschoten
1982 Josh Whitesell
1983 Jeff Fiorentino
1983 Adam Russell
1984 Chris Leroux
1986 Cory Gearrin
1990 Jacob Barnes
1993 Brandon Finnegan
1998 Walter Pennington
2000 Roddery Munoz

OBITUARIES:

1891 Frank Bell

Bell was a catcher of some skill having gotten a tryout with Brooklyn in 1885. One article noted that his career ended after a series of hand injuries common to catchers. He became a police officer who had been recently selected to provide security at Cincinnati area baseball games for the 1891 season.

Bell wasn’t too thrilled about having lost all of his money at the poker table to Joe Hughes, the barkeeper at David Schoenberger’s Vine Street saloon where the cards were dealt. They had been at it for hours; it was now early in the morning. Throw in a night full of drinking – Bell turned violent and started punching and kicking Hughes. He even cracked Hughes across the skull with one of the chairs. A couple of private policemen successfully dislodged Hughes from Bell’s grip. Bell reached for his pistol and may have fired a shot that missed everybody. At that point, Hughes, who had run behind the bar, grabbed a pistol from there and dropped Bell for the count with three well-placed shots. Bell died minutes later in a vehicle that was taking him to a hospital.

The two officers who saved Hughes’ life were disciplined for being at a bar at such a late hour; they lost their commissions. As for Hughes, he was charged with murder, but found innocent because he acted in self defense.

“Base Ball Gossip,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 7, 1891: 2.
“Lost His Life,” Cincinnati Post, April 14, 1891: 1. (And image…)
“Frank Bell Killed,” Grand Rapids Herald, April 15, 1891: 1.
“Had He a Gun?,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 17, 1891: 8.

1898 Jiggs Parrott
1901 Pat Sullivan
1911 Addie Joss
1922 Cap Anson
1923 Jack Fox
1926 Eddie Fusselback
1935 Doc Martin
1936 Dan Lally
1937 Ned Hanlon
1951 Danny Moeller
1953 Roy Patterson
1953 Granville Lyons
1958 Red Smyth
1958 John Freeman
1959 Frank Harter
1963 Earl Kunz
1964 Enos Kirkpatrick
1968 Al Benton
1970 Ed Crowley
1970 John Donaldson
1977 Lionel Decuir
1978 Joe Gordon
1978 Bill Leinhauser
1982 Kermit Dial
1986 Doc Land
1988 Ralph Winegarner
1989 Carr Smith
1992 Horacio Martinez
1997 Gus Dugas
2000 Bob Barthelson
2000 Bo Wallace
2003 Al Epperly
2008 Tommy Holmes
2024 Ken Holtzman

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

1910 William Howard Taft throws out the first pitch at American League Park in Washington DC.

1914 Cubs pitcher Larry Cheney ties a record by heaving five wild pitches in a start against the Reds.  He’d match that four years later.

1915 Herb Pennock is one out away from a no-hitter when Harry Hooper scratches out a hit.

1917 Eddie Cicotte fires a no-hitter – he blanks the Browns, 11 – 0.

1925 Cleveland scores 21 runs, an opening day record, in a route of the Browns.

1967 Billy Rohr gives up a two-out single to Elston Howard in the ninth – it was Rohr’s first game in the majors.

TRANSACTION WIRE:

1949 Washington signs pitcher Bobo Newsom.

1964 San Francisco purchased Duke Snider from the Mets.

1989 San Francisco signs reliever Rich “Goose” Gossage.

1999 Cleveland signs amateur infielder Jhonny Peralta.