<— SEP 09     SEP 11 —>

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1863 Louis Pelouze

While playing in Detroit in 1886, the St. Louis Maroons needed some extra players.

“Quinn being injured, Louis Pelouze, a member of the Cass Club of this city, played center field and did it exceedingly well, capturing three difficult flies.”

“A Fitting Farewell,” Detroit Free Press, 23 July 1886: 5.

It was his only game.  He struck out twice in three at bats, but made four fine running catches in the outfield, including all three outs of the third inning.

The left-handed Pelouze was the son of Civil War veteran and brevetted Brigadier General Louis Pelouze. Louis Henri was born in Fort Monroe, VA to the future general and his wife Ellen, and died on 09 January 1939 in New York City. In between, he was a Chicago and (later) New York based jeweler who married Helen Ward on August 15, 1891. Helen, interestingly, was born eight days after Louis. They had a daughter, Lucille, around 1896. In World War I, he served the US Army as a Colonel, like his brothers, following in the footsteps of his father.  His time with a Detroit area cadet organization referred to as the “Light Infantry” and named after his father provided him with a chance to play organized semi-professional baseball.

I found an odd trivial item – apparently Helen was once convicted of smuggling and paid a $1,000 fine.  At this point, Pelouze ran a large electrical engineering firm – the Pelouze family had built some wealth.  When announcing the fine, Judge Hunt said the next women he convicted would get jail time.

When women pay a fine of a few thousand dollars for smuggling, get in their costly limousines, and ride away with a sneer on their face, it is time the government adopted different tactics,” said Judge Hunt. “I am convinced that the only way to deter women of wealth from cheating the government is to give them prison sentences.”

“Fair Smugglers Face Jail Terms,” Barre (VT) Daily Times, 26 November 1913: 2.

Also, the Pine Wood Country Club purchased land owned by Pelouze to expand from a nine to an eighteen hole golf course in 1921.

1864 Danny Murphy

Arriving September 10, 1864 in Brooklyn, Daniel Joseph Murphy was the oldest of seven children born to Daniel and Bridget (McCaffrey) Murphy, both Irish immigrants. His father was a cooper and young Daniel was also working as a cooper by the time he was a young teenager.

Murphy was a catcher of some repute, though he could fill in as needed in the outfield if he needed to rest his hands some. After bouncing around some in his nomadic minor league career, which saw him play from the New England League and Southern Association to the Texas League and Western Association, he finally got a look with Pittsburgh in 1892 but failed to make the team in the early spring. He was given a look by the New York Giants, however, making the team as the backup to catcher Jack Boyle. Never a great hitter, but a competent and willing backstop, Murphy had but three hits in his eight games with the Giants. He was popular and handsome – his nickname was “Handsome Dan.” The lack of hitting, however, cost him a job and by early June he was released and returned to Troy for two more seasons.

When his career ended, he returned home and took a position working for Albert H. Newton’s lumber company. He married Irish import Emma O’Connor in 1894 and they had six children – five of them daughters.

Murphy died December 14, 1915 from colon cancer and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Sources:

1870, 1880, 1900 US Census Data
1915 New York Census Data
NY Death Certificates
NY Birth Certificate Indexes

“Minor Leagues Satisfied,” New York Herald, March 2, 1892: 4.
“Daniel J. Murphy,” Brooklyn Times Union, December 15, 1915: 3.

1868 Charles Bradley (Dusty) Miller
1872 Joe Berry
1875 Mike Lynch
1880 Barney Pelty
1880 Harry Niles
1881 Charles Richard (Tony) Tonneman
1884 Jack Lapp
1886 Blaine Alphonsus (Kid) Durbin
1888 Marty Krug
1891 Joe Evers
1895 George “High Pockets” Kelly
1896 Sammy Hale
1897 Poindexter Williams
1899 Augie Johns
1902 Johnnie Oden
1904 Hoss Walker
1904 Arlie Tarbert
1905 Irv Jeffries
1908 Babe Davis
1910 Buddy Blair
1910 Eddie Sawyer

Sawyer was manager of the Whiz Kids that won a 1950 National League pennant in Philadelphia. He spent two tours managing the Phillies from the late 1940s to 1960. He needed a break and went into sporting goods (which was his side hustle) before returning to the Phillies.

1911 Johnnie Chambers
1919 Frank Pearson
1924 Ted Kluszewski
1927 Brandy Davis
1928 Bob Garber
1931 Harry Anderson
1934 Roger Maris
1940 Bob Chance
1944 Jim Hibbs
1951 Randy Wiles
1954 Preston Hanna
1954 Craig Cacek
1957 Len Whitehouse
1959 Bruce Robbins
1963 Randy Johnson
1963 Terry Wells
1964 Joe Kraemer
1965 Tim Sherrill
1966 Riccardo Ingram
1973 Mike Saipe
1977 Chad Hermansen
1977 Danys Baez
1978 Nick Green
1981 Kameron Loe
1981 Connor Robertson
1983 Joey Votto
1983 Lance Pendleton
1984 Andrew Brown
1985 Anthony Swarzak
1985 Neil Walker
1985 Matt Angle
1987 Paul Goldschmidt
1992 Phillip Evans
1992 Mitch Walding
1992 Chad Kuhl
1994 Ray Kerr
1994 Dustin Peterson
1995 Luis Gonzalez
1995 Make Baumann
1996 Carlos Perez
1996 Blake Perkins
1998 Landen Roupp
1999 Pierson Ohl
2001 Agustin Ramirez
2001 Marco Luciano
2002 JJ Wetherholt

OBITUARIES:

1905 Pete Browning

Recently placed in an asylum for mental and physical health reasons, Browning – long since deaf, an alcoholic, and likely at the end of life thanks to syphilis, passed to the next league.

“Is Insane,” Louisville Courier-Journal, June 8, 1905: 2.
“Called Out,” Louisville Courier-Journal, September 11, 1905: 5.

1918 Ed Cassian

According to a note on his FindaGrave.com profile, Cassian died of tuberculosis. His baseball career was brief but interesting, landing tryouts with Philadelphia (NL) and Washington (AA) in 1891, but ending with a 3 – 7 record in his 13 appearances (nine starts).

1935 Pug Bennett
1940 Bill Shipke
1951 Hank DeBerry
1955 Shano Collins
1956 Eddie Brown
1958 Arlas Taylor
1962 Bill Herring
1969 William (Jap) Barbeau
1970 Ernest Ritchie
1973 Roy Johnson
1975 Lance Richbourg
1976 Otis (Blackie) Carter
1979 Babe Bagby
1980 Honey Lott
1984 Jackie Gallagher
1984 Johnny Marcum
1984 Specs Roberts
2006 Al Gardella
2012 Tom Saffell
2014 George Spencer
2014 Grant Dunlap

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

1919 Cleveland pitcher Ray Caldwell tosses a no hitter to beat the Yankees, 3 – 0. Caldwell had been released by the Red Sox earlier in the summer.

1967 Joe Horlen of the White Sox opens a double header without allowing a hit to the Tigers in a 6 – 0 win.

1974 Lou Brock breaks Maury Wills’ stolen base record, stealing two bases to reach 105, in an 8 – 2 loss to the Phillies.

1980 Bill Gullickson sets a rookie record with 18 Ks in a game against the Cubs.

TRANSACTION WIRE:

1936 Detroit sends cash and a couple of players to Indianapolis for two players, including Dizzy Trout.

1964 St. Louis signs amateur free agent pitcher Mike Torrez.

1965 The Kansas City Athletics signed Satchel Paige for one last go.

1976 The Chicago White Sox signed Minnie Minoso for his first “one last go”…

1978 Los Angeles signed amateur free agent Alejandro Pena.

1985 Oakland sends Don Sutton to California for two minor leaguers to be named later…