<— MAY 24     MAY 26 —>

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1840 Al Reach
1845 Lip Pike
1850 Charlie Cushman

Charles H. Cushman makes our encyclopedias as the manager of Milwaukee’s 1891 American Association franchise. He started playing baseball in New York in the late 1860s, then managed for some time during the 1880s, including an International League pennant winner in Toronto for 1887. Cushman landed in Milwaukee where he stayed after moving there for 1891. At some point he was involved in some sort of accident which contributed to his having health problems culminating in a heart attack in 1909.

“Manager C. H. Cushman,” Quad City Times, June 29, 1891: 2. (Includes image)
“Charles H. Cushman Dead,” Chicago Tribune, June 30, 1909: 13.

1863 John Hofford
1877 Bob Wicker
1883 Heinie Heitmuller
1884 Bill Kellogg
1884 Bill Lattimore
1887 John Daley
1892 Doug Smith
1893 Bill Bankston
1894 Joe Judge
1895 Jim Riley
1899 Jimmie Keenan
1901 Bud Connolly
1901 Doc Ozmer
1904 Buz Phillips
1905 Martin Dihigo
1906 Chester Williams
1908 Howard Craghead
1916 Frank Drews
1917 Bert Hodges
1918 Johnny Beazley
1919 Charlie Carter
1919 Fred Blaylock
1925 Don Liddle
1925 Curley Williams
1931 Jim Marshall
1932 Jim Archer
1936 Marshall Renfroe
1945 Bill Dillman
1946 Mike Corkins
1950 Glenn Borgmann
1950 John Montefusco
1954 Bobby Brown
1954 Bob Knepper
1955 Andres Mora
1966 Bill Haselman
1966 Dave Hollins
1968 Will Pennyfeather
1970 Joey Eischen
1970 Luis Ortiz
1971 Angel Echevarria
1971 Sean Maloney
1973 Melvin Rosario
1973 Todd Walker
1974 Miguel Tejada
1975 Randall Simon
1976 Lariel Gonzalez
1977 Fernando Lunar
1978 Travis Hughes
1978 Mike Vento
1979 Trey Lunsford
1979 Chris Young
1980 Scott Hairston
1982 Jason Kubel
1982 Brad Snyder
1984 Graham Taylor
1985 Eric Young, Jr.
1985 Brad Lincoln
1989 Pat Dean
1989 Neil Ramirez
1990 Jarred Cosart
1990 Ryan Sherriff
1994 Donovan Walton
1995 Jake Fraley
1995 Michael King

OBITUARIES:

1904 John Hayes

Jonathan Edward Hayes died of tuberculosis shy of his 50th birthday.  Not exactly sure about how shy of 50 he was, given that the best guess right now is that Hayes was born in January, 1855.

1905 Paul Cook

A catcher for a few different teams (mostly Louisville) in the AA, NL, and PL in the 1880s and early 1890s, Paul Cook (born Koch), Jr. was not quite three weeks past his 42nd birthday when he died in Rochester, NY.  His father passed away the previous October.

What I like about this baseball card is that Cook is wearing his hat backwards.

“Famous Ball Player is Dead,” Buffalo Commercial, May 26, 1905: 8.

1910 Bill Hassamaer

William “Wild Bill” Hasamear, as it was spelled in the obituaries of his native St. Louis, died at 45 of locomotor ataxia, which is a condition where you cannot control your limbs thanks to damage to your spinal column – and it’s associated with syphillis. A corner infielder and corner outfielder – he hit well in a few stops throughout the midwest and Texas leagues. Got his shot with Washington and hit well in 1894 and 1895, but was traded to Louisville mid-season and wasn’t the same hitter there. Back to the minors, he was out of baseball before the new century.

1917 Willie Sudhoff

Speaking of syphillis… Wee Willie was a pitcher for a number of teams – his longest run was with the St. Louis Browns in the early years of the American League. In 1913, he became violently insane and was placed in the St. Louis city sanitarium. Four years later, his body no longer worked and he passed to the next league.

1922 Charlie Gessner

Gessner played a lone game for the American Association’s Philadelpha Athletics in 1886. On July 19, he was swatted around by Cincinnati, losing 14 – 6. In addition to allowing 13 hits, he walked five and beaned a couple of hitters, too. (“Both Clubs Beaten,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 20, 1886: 3) On the other hand, he got one hit and scored – but committed two errors… Gessner finished that year playing amateur ball for Hazelton, PA after his tryout. He joined the US Army in time for the Spanish American War and then stayed, serving for more than two decades. He was hospitalized at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC for paralysis when he passed away, leaving behind a widow and young daughter. (Wilmington Evening Journal, May 23 and May 29, 1922)

1924 Carl Weilman

Tuberculosis took the tall and lanky Browns southpaw just four years after his playing days were over. Some players own teams – Weilmann owned the Detroit Tigers during his career. Check out this great bio by Stephen V. Rice.

1928 Max Fiske
1929 Harvey Blauvelt

Harvey King Blauvelt died of heart trouble after a brief illness – he was 61. Blauvelt was an upstate NY man, coming into two games for Rochester (AA) in relief in 1890. His pitching was brutal, but he went 3/6 in the two long relief outings, driving in a run, scoring three times, and stealing three bases.

1932 Henry Boyle
1941 Bob Higgins
1942 Bill James
1945 Charlie Frye
1953 Ray Grimes
1959 Dave Brain
1964 Joe Martin
1965 Harry Biemiller
1969 Jim Riley
1972 Charlie Henry
1975 Bruce Hartford
1976 Al Lakeman
1980 Jesse Brown
1986 Ray Clark
1988 Charlie Perkins
1992 Otto Denning
2008 Geremi Gonzalez

Struck by lightning…

2010 Morrie Martin
2011 Paul Splittorff
2011 Eugene Smith

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

1899 Charles “Deacon” Phillippe, pitching for Louisville, fires a no-hitter to beat the Giants. It was his seventh career game.

1910 The White Sox put a few on the board – the first to score on Jack Coombs in 53 innings – in a 5 – 2 over the Athletics.

1922 Jimmy Johnston collects four hits and completes the cycle.

1935 Babe Ruth, now a Brave, clocks three homers at Forbes Field – the last three homers of his career. #714 clears the roof and leaves the stadium.

1937 Mickey Cochrane’s playing career ends as he is beaned – knocked out cold – by a Bump Hadley pitch. Cochrane missed six weeks, then returned as just the manager for the remainder of the season.

1951 Welcome to the big leagues, Willie Mays! (Oh – fer – five, but still…)

1953 Braves pitcher Max Surkont fans eight straight Reds hitters – then a record.

2014 Dodger Josh Beckett blanks the Phillies, 6 – 0, while firing a no-hitter. Beckett fanned six and walked three.

TRANSACTION WIRE:

1913 The Yankees send Jack Lelivelt and Bill Stumpf to Cleveland for Roger Peckinpaugh.

1934 The Red Sox send Bob Weiland, Bob Seeds, and cash to Clevelend for Wes Ferrell and Dick Porter.

1963 Cleveland gets Dick Howser and Joe “The Immortal” Azcue from Kansas City for Doc Edwards and $100,000.

1979 Cincinnati sends Champ Summers to Detroit for a player to be named later (Sheldon Burnside).

1984 The Cubs send Bill Buckner to Boston for Dennis Eckersley and Mike Brumley.

1989 Montreal acquires Mark Langston from the Mariners – but it’s expensive. They send Randy Johnson, Gene Harris, Brian Holman and later Mike Campbell to Seattle.