<— DEC 19     DEC 21 —>

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1852 Herm Doscher

Association and NL Player and umpire. He’s the first father to have a son also play in the majors (Herm with Chicago in 1879, and his son, Jack, with the Cubs in 1903).  In 1892, Doscher scouted an outfielder named William O’Kelleher who was playing semi-pro baseball in Brooklyn and arranged for O’Kelleher to play professionally for the Birmingham Bingos.  O’Kelleher is much more famous as the name he took after becoming a professional: Wee Willie Keeler.

Weinstein, Matt. “Bingoes key to Keeler’s career”, Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin, 02 September 2014, Page C1.

Sometimes Herm’s name is spelled Doescher in the newspapers…

Herman Doescher seems to have stopped up his end of the pipe line he had laid to secure the appointment of umpire in the Eastern League, for he has opened a saloon in Buffalo. There will be many regular attendants of the games on the circuit who will regret the passing of Herm Doescher, a man who has been steadily connected with the national game since 1875 as a player, manager, and umpire.

“Base Ball Comment.”, Wilkes-Barre Record, 22 March 1897, Page 7

1853 Jack Manning

Pitcher, outfielder. Went 33 – 7 over two seasons as a pitcher for two Boston clubs (Association and NL), and was a good enough hitter to keep playing in the field once his pitching wing died.

1856 Harry Stovey
1866 Joe Gormley
1869 Bill McCauley
1876 Jimmy Williams

Infielder with the Pirates – the only Pirate who defected to the American League when the AL formed, signing with the Orioles then moving to the Highlanders. He finished with the Browns before heading off to the American Association…

1878 Bob Hall
1878 William “Doc” Moskiman

Oakland area pitcher who got a brief trial with the Red Sox, but was much more successful pitching in the early days of the Pacific Coast League.  At some point, earned his medical degree from Cal and would work as a doctor in the off-season.  After a long minor league career, he took his local fame and managed a west coast division of Spaulding Sporting Goods and lived the rest of his days in Oakland.

When he died in 1953, he left behind a son, William, and a daughter, Elizabeth (White).

“William Moskiman, Ex-Oak Hurler, Dies”, Oakland Tribune, 12 January 1953, Page 32.

The picture you see of Moskiman here was found on page 11 of the Oakland Tribune published 02 August 1909.

1879 Ham Wade
1881 Branch Rickey

Only the most important General Manager before Theo Epstein… Had a LONG career, successful with many teams. And he integrated baseball by signing Jackie Robinson.

1885 Joe Wilhoit
1885 Paddy Baumann
1886 Joe Berger
1888 Fred Merkle

Famed for his baserunning error (not completing his trip from first base to second base on a single by the batter, thus being called out on an inning ending force play) which was infrequently called (though there were other examples of this before him) but upheld in a key game late in the 1908 season.  He had a pretty long and successful career, even joining the Cubs at one point.

1893 Carroll (Deacon) Jones
1894 Butch Henline
1897 Snooks Dowd
1899 George Pipgras
1900 Charles (Gabby) Hartnett

The best National League catcher until Campanella, and maybe until Bench.

1902 Carl Yowell
1904 Virgin (Spud) Davis
1908 Art McLarney
1910 Calvin Chapman
1912 Tommy Irwin
1915 Marv Felderman
1918 Jimmy Johnson
1920 Julio Gonzalez
1922 Mahlon Duckett
1923 Grant Dunlap
1930 Troy Herriage
1931 Julio Becquer
1936 Dan Pfister
1940 Thad Tillotson
1943 John Noriega
1944 Don Mason
1945 Vince Colbert
1945 Keith Lampard
1948 Jim Norris
1949 Cecil Cooper

Couldn’t get regular work with the Red Sox, so was moved to the Brewers.  Became a devastating hitting first baseman with the Brew Crew, hitting .352 in 1980 and being the middle of the lineup force for a World Series winner.

1949 Oscar Gamble

More famous for his hair, but a fine hitter (usually a platoon guy) with very good power.  Helped the Yankees get over the top and was a member of the South Side Hit Men with the White Sox.

1951 Mike Hart
1953 Paul Moskau
1957 Bill Laskey
1960 Jose DeLeon
1965 Fernando Ramsey
1966 Jeff Mutis
1971 Marc Valdes
1974 Augie Ojeda
1976 Aubrey Huff
1979 David DeJesus
1980 Luke Carlin
1981 Chris Narveson
1981 James Shields
1982 David Wright

AKA Mr. Met.

1985 Tyler Sturdevant
1988 Erik Goeddel
1990 Bruce Maxwell
1992 Joey Krehbiel
1993 Trent Giambrone
1994 Dane Dunning
1996 Abraham Toro
1997 Bryse Wilson

OBITUARIES:

1892 John Fitzgerald

Do you know how many guys named John Fitzgerald in New England there are/were?  This one was 26 at the time.  I can’t find (yet) a death certificate, so what is your guess?  Typhoid?  Tuberculosis?

1897 William Brown

“Big Bill” had lung trouble the last two years of his life and tried living in Southern California, Arizona, and even Hawaii – but, as his death article notes, it was in vain.  Tuberculosis, sounds like, took him at 33.

“His Last Inning,” Pacific Bee (Sacramento), December 22, 1897: 3.

1917 Will Calihan

His FindAGrave.com page says pneumonia.

1924 Jimmy Woulfe

American Association outfielder with Cincinnati and the Alleghenies in 1884, but only briefly.  He was REALLY fast, but you got to hit more than .150 to stay in the league.

1934 Parke Wilson

The Giants catcher of the 1890s died of heart disease.

“A. P. Wilson, Former Giant Catcher, Dies,” Mattoon Daily Journal-Gazette and Commercial-Star, December 21, 1934: 6.

1944 Elmer Zacher

Famous for being among the first to catch a ball dropped from an airplane…  Was a Giant outfielder, then St. Louis, and spent time in the PCL.  Spent most of his post baseball life in Buffalo working recreation management jobs, but was once the Assistant Secretary of State for New York…  Ill for four months before he passed at 64. 

“Ex-Major Leaguer Elmer Zacher, Dies,” Elmira Star-Gazette, December 21, 1944: 24.

1950 Carroll Yerkes

Yerkes attended a ballplayer reunion Christmas party and was taken home when he fell ill.  His wife found him unconscious in bed, but it was too late.  Yerkes’s son, also C. Carroll Yerkes, pitched in the minors on the west coast.

“Yerkes’ Father Dies at Party,” Spokane Spokesman-Review, December 21, 1950: 14.

1960 James “Skip” Dowd

Holy Cross grad – not only a baseball star, but a hoops star.  Dowd once held the record for most baskets in a game until some hot shot named Bob Cousy went there… Dowd was taken by the Pirates out of college, played in one game, then spent about a half dozen years in the minors.  He left baseball to take over the family insurance business when his dad died.  The Dowd family has paid a lot of tuition checks to Holy Cross.  You might recognize his granddaughter, Ann, who has been acting for four decades and appears regularly in “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

1962 Charlie Luskey

1963 John “Dinny” McNamara

McNamara was probably more famous for coaching football at Boston College, but he also played for the Braves, which is how he gets on this list (one hit in 13 at bats, but he must have been a pinch runner or defensive replacement as he appeared in 20 games).  McNamara was walking when he was struck by a car and died from his injuries. 

“Ex-B.C. Coach J. R. McNamara,” Boston Globe, December 23, 1963: 22.

1965 Al Lyons

Lyons was an interesting sort – sort of like Shohei Ohtani, except he was a reliever rather than a starter.  Joe DiMaggio once said, “Lyons could run and make a difficult catch look easy. He hit the long ball, too, and he wasn’t a bad pitcher. Al would have made a major league outfielder if his managers had let him concentrate on one position. But they insisted he pitch, too.”

Lyons himself felt he was more useful pitching a few innings every day rather than taking a regular turn, saying, “…laying off ruins my timing.”

Lyons played for the Seals, Yankees, Pirates, and Braves – among other minor league stops. When he died of a massive heart attack, just 48, Lyons was working as a scout for the Mets.

Carl Reich. “Al Lyons Is Dead,” San Francisco Examiner, December 22, 1965: 52.

1966 Doc Farrell
1971 Tom Fitzsimmons
1972 Gabby Hartnett

On his birthday, no less.

1980 Mike Knode
1984 Steve Slayton
1984 Walter (Cuckoo) Christensen
1984 Gonzalo Marquez

I remember his baseball card with the Cubs – might have been a 1973 card.  Did you know he had three consecutive pinch hits for the Athletics in the World Series once?  Marquez died in an automobile accident in Venezuela at just 38.

“Ex-Athletic Marquez dies in crash,” Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, December 22, 1984: 1D.

1984 Art McLarney
1986 Joe DeSa

Driving home after a winter ball game in Puerto Rico, DeSa was in a head-on collision; both drivers died. 

“DeSa Killed in Puerto Rico Car Crash,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, December 20, 1986: B-1.

1987 Jake Eisenhart
1991 Hal Finney
1991 Don Williams
1993 Felix Mackiewicz
1993 Marlin Carter
1994 Bob Wellman
1994 Larry Crawford
1998 John Anderson
1999 Dick Bertell
2007 Tommy Byrne

Yankee and WWII Navy hero died of natural causes.

Charlotte Observer, December 24, 2007: 5B.

2015 George Burpo

Natural causes took the WWII Navy veteran and (briefly – two relief appearances in 1946) Reds pitcher. 

Arizona Daily Star (Tucscon), December 24, 2015: A12.

2016 Phil Gagliano

A heart attack took the former utility infielder from us.

Indianapolis Star, December 23, 2016: 8C.

2020 Billy Harris
2021 Jack Whillock
2021 Kimera Bartee
2021 Fred Andrews
2022 Denny Doyle
2022 Ray Herbert
2024 Rickey Henderson

Pneumonia was reported to be kryptonite to the Man of Steal…

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

1940 Connie Mack buys out the heirs of Benjamin Shibe and now is the sole owner of the Philadelphia Athletics.

2001 John Henry buys the Red Sox from the Yawkey Trust for more than $600 million.

TRANSACTION WIRE:

1903 Boston sends Tom Hughes to the Highlanders for Jesse Tannehill. Boston wouldn’t win another World Series for another nine years, until Tris Speaker vanquished the Curse of Long Tom.

Just kidding.

1921 Boston sends Stuffy McInnis to Cleveland for George Burns, Elmer Smith and Joe Harris.

Boston was still short of cash, though, so it sent Bullet Joe Bush, Sad Sam Jones, and Everett Scott to the Yankees for four players and $100,000.

1926 St. Louis sends Rogers Hornsby to the Giants for Frankie Frisch and Jimmy Ring.

1973 Montreal sends Pat Jarvis to Texas for Larry Biittner.

1983 Toronto sends Jorge Orta to Kansas City for Willie Mays Aikens.

1984 New York dispatches Steve Kemp and Tim Foli to the Pirates for Dale Berra, Jay Buhner, and Alfonso Pulido.

1993 Cleveland acquires Omar Vizquel from Seattle for Felix Fermin and Reggie Jefferson.

2005 Chicago trades Orlando Hernandez, Chris Young, and Luis Vizcaino to Arizona for Javier Vazquez.

Free Agent Signings:

1979 Willie Horton (Seattle)
1990 Charlie Liebrandt (Atlanta)
2002 Sandy Alomar (White Sox)
2004 Carl Pavano (Yankees)
2008 CC Sabathia (Yankees)