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BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1854 Charlie Householder
1855 Harry Arundel
1867 James Wear “Bug” Holliday
1873 John Richter
1883 Joe Cassidy
1886 Roy Ellam
1888 Fred Blanding
1889 Gene Elliott
1890 Ray Bates
1892 Manuel Cueto
1896 Dobie Moore
1906 Bruce Caldwell
1911 Rae Blaemire
1911 Don Heffner
1914 Mel Bosser
1914 Bert Haas
1914 Leslie Green
1918 Elmer Leroy “Butch” Nieman
1918 Arthur Joseph “Cookie” Cuccurullo
1920 Robert Garnett “Buddy” Blattner
1921 Willard Marshall
1921 Walter Arthur “Hoot” Evers
1922 Romanus “Monty” Basgall
1923 Harry Baylis
1924 Joe Black
1925 Milt Nielsen
1939 Harvey Branch

Pvt. Harvey Alfred Branch (seen here with Johnny Keane) pitched a single game for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1962… Branch could throw – he had many seasons with high strikeout rates in the minors; but then he had a very good season in 1961 and the Cubs gave him a look during the following spring. While they sent him back to San Antonio, Branch went 14 – 12 with 216 Ks in 237 innings in 1962. St. Louis sent pitcher Paul Toth to Chicago for Branch in September, 1962 and two weeks later the two faced each other on September 18, 1962. Branch was a little wild; he walked in one run and gave up a homer to Ron Santo before being pulled after five innings. Toth took his lead into the ninth before giving up a homer to Stan Musial, but Barney Schultz came in for the save.

Few of us saw Harvey Branch pitch, but if you look at his record in the minors it’s a shame that nobody saw his live lefty arm and thought to make him a full-time reliever. Instead, his career ended a few years later and he returned home to Memphis.

Will Carruthers, “Cardinals Acquire Branch,” Memphis Press-Scimitar, September 5, 1962: 24. (Also image)
“Toth of Cubs Beats Ex-Cards Mates, 4-3,” Chicago Tribune, September 19, 1962: Sports, 2.
FindAGrave.com

1942 Costen Shockley
1942 Fritz Peterson
1943 Bob Oliver
1946 Larry Burchart
1946 Oscar Brown
1951 Steve Dillard
1954 Joe Maddon
1964 Edgar Diaz
1973 Keith McDonald
1975 Tony Mounce
1975 Jim Parque
1976 Adam Piatt
1979 Ryan Snare
1979 Aaron Cook
1983 Mauro Zarate
1983 Chase Wright
1983 Burke Badenhop

I remember being crushed when the Marlins traded Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers for about five guys. One of the five they acquired was Badenhop. I was looking up information about the five players when I noticed that Badenhop was born on the same day as my son, Casey, for whom this site is named. I told this to Casey, who was not quite five years old, that Badenhop had the same birthday as he did, and Casey replied, “Then he must be the best player on the team!”

Naturally, I agreed and have rooted for Badenhop ever since.

Burke has written a book and, now that his career is over, does research for the Diamondbacks to help identify pitchers Arizona might want to acquire.

1985 Felix Pie
1986 Matt Bush
1990 Andrew McKirahan
1993 James Naile
1995 Jake Fishman
1998 Jared Triolo
2003 Casey Proia

OBITUARIES:

1892 Spider Clark
1895 Roger Carey
1897 Fleury Sullivan
1910 Cy Vorhees
1910 Flip Lafferty
1934 Tom Sexton
1943 Dan Casey
1949 John Carden
1951 Harry Ables
1956 Tom Hughes
1956 Roy Hitt
1956 Connie Mack
1957 Lee McElwee
1960 Punch Knoll
1961 Bert Yeabsley
1962 Charlie Meara
1965 Ray Brown
1965 Ray Kremer
1966 Gene Paulette
1968 Joe Matthews
1970 John Churry
1971 Bobby Burke
1973 Roy Spencer
1977 Carroll (Boardwalk) Brown
1979 Alex Gaston
1982 Eddie Turchin
1983 Rufe Clarke
1987 Larnie Jordan
1989 Dick Bass
1992 Fabian Gaffke
1992 Wally Shannon
1994 Saul Davis
1996 Del Ennis
1997 Hal Warnock
1999 Carl Sumner
2002 Steve Roser
2005 Mike Bishop
2011 Tony Malinosky
2011 Cliff Dapper
2021 Stan Palys
2022 Gerald Williams
2024 Jim Hannan

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

1972 The Special Committee on the Negro League Hall of Fame selects Buck Leonard and Josh Gibson to join those enshrined in Cooperstown.

TRANSACTION WIRE:

1927 Detroit and Philadelphia “negotiate” to assign Cobb to the Athletics.

1933 St. Louis sends Jake Flowers and Ownie Carroll to the Dodgers for Dazzy Vance and Gordon Slade.

1956 Boston purchases Pumpsie Green from Stockton. Green would eventually become the first African-American to play for the Red Sox.

1968 St. Louis sends away future managers Pat Corrales and Jimy Williams to the Reds for Johnny Edwards.

1995 The Dodgers sign pitcher Hideo Nomo.

2008 Baltimore sends Eril Bedard to Seattle for Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio, and Tony Butler.