<— MARCH 08     MARCH 10 —>

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1857 Sam Moffet
1857 George Daisy
1861 Al Atkinson
1869 Frank Quinlan

Quinlan was a Massachusetts man, born in Marlborough and died in Brockton. On October 5, 1891, he appeared in both games of a double header in Philadelphia – the last day of the 1891 season. Catching for the Bostons of the American Association in the first game, he allowed four passed balls and was replaced after four innings. In the second game Quinlan played the outfield. He failed to get a hit and fanned twice. Such is the extent of his major league career.

The son of Irish imports Dennis and Johanna (Hickey) Quinlan, Francis Patrick Quinlan was the first of at least eight children born to the couple. According to a Brockton city directory for 1900, Frank was a shoemaker by trade.

Frank died of heart failure tied to extreme dehydration based on commentary in his death certificate. He’s buried in a family plot in Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Marlborough.

“Win and Lose a Game,” Boston Globe, October 6, 1891: 3.

1869 John McPherson
1872 Tom Delahanty
1875 Elmer Bliss
1882 Jack Compton
1890 Rolla Mapel
1890 Iron Davis
1893 Billy Southworth
1893 Lefty Williams
1895 Frank Kane
1895 Lewis Smallwood
1896 Rube Yarrison
1897 Joe Dawson
1897 Charley Williams
1900 Bill Narleski
1906 Hughie Wise
1908 Myril Hoag
1912 Arky Vaughan
1916 Woody Rich
1918 Dale Alderson
1919 Adam Young
1920 James Bizzle
1920 Bonnie Serrell
1922 Eugene Jones
1927 Jackie Jensen
1930 Larry Raines
1932 Ron Kline
1932 Paul Martin
1934 Jim Landis
1942 Bert Campaneris
1944 Ed Acosta
1948 Darrel Chaney
1948 Dan Neumeier
1948 John Curtis
1950 Doug Ault
1959 Shooty Babitt
1963 Terry Mulholland
1965 Benito Santiago
1967 Vince Horsman
1973 Aaron Boone
1973 C. J. Nitkowski
1974 Wayne Franklin
1974 Francisco Santos
1975 Rob Sasser
1977 Justin Leone
1978 Michael Neu
1979 Koyie Hill
1981 Clay Rapada
1983 Willy Aybar
1984 Elliot Johnson
1984 Craig Stammen
1985 Brian Bocock
1985 Jesse Litsch
1987 Daniel Hudson
1988 Kenny Roberts
1993 Randy Wynne
1994 Yennier Cano
1995 Zach Burdi
1998 Anderson Espinoza
1999 Miguel Amaya
2001 Jorbit Vivas

OBITUARIES:

1890 Jake Goodman

Jacob Goodman was a first baseman of some skill that played in the late 1870s and 1880s. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the fourth of six children to Israel and Catharine Price Goodman, Jacob learned the game on the sandlots there when he wasn’t working as a laborer in his teens to help the family (his father was a carpenter and his mother dealt with a regularly growing family). Eventually Jacob signed with the amateur Lancaster Ironsides and, later, in Reading where he joined top amateur clubs including the Reading Actives. This led to his getting a chance to play professionally – and in 1877 Goodman was playing for Pittsburgh in the International Association. A year later, he was the regular first baseman for the Milwaukee Grays of the National League, though admittedly a bit overmatched; he batted just .246 with none of the bonuses (power/walks).

At that point, he returned to Reading and played in some of the top state semi-pro teams and organizations earning a second shot at the big leagues. In 1882 he was signed by Pittsburgh of the American Association and this time he batted .317 with four extra base hits in his ten games. However, Goodman injured his knee in a game against Louisville while running the bases and never returned to the team. By the end of the year, he was playing for the Reading Actives again.

Still, Goodman signed with Trenton in the Interstate Association where he batted .356, leading to a promotion of sorts to Lancaster of the Eastern League where he continued hitting at this torrid pace. In fact, though Goodman’s record doesn’t suggest that he was a power hitter, he did hit the longest home run on the Lancaster Grounds – a shot clearing the centerfield pack and nearly reaching a nearby roadway. Goodman signed with Trenton for 1885 but didn’t stay long (he was “granted a ticket of leave…” in early June). To be fair, he wasn’t batting very well there. And, when Goodman returned to Lancaster in 1885 his batting wasn’t nearly as productive as it had been in 1883 or 1884. He played briefly in 1886, but Goodman’s baseball days were behind him. Goodman worked in the rolling mills of Lancaster instead.

By 1890, Goodman began having other problems, namely worsening strokes and eventually the strokes took him to the next league; his first stroke may have occurred as early as 1886. Over time, he began having issues with dementia which stayed with him until the end of his life. Articles about his demise mention a connection between a head trauma from a beaning while with Lancaster in 1884 and his early death; he was 36 or 37 when he died at his parents’ home in Reading, Pennsylvania. However, other articles mention how there is no local memory of that having happened – and I looked through games from 1884 and 1885 and I can’t find a game or even a mention of that happening.

(Most encyclopedia entries have Goodman’s birthdate as September 14, 1853, but his gravestone in Charles Evans Cemetery says 1852.)

Sources:

1860, 1870, 1880 US Census Records

“Louisville Wins a Game,” Pittsburgh Post, May 30, 1882: 4.
“A Remarkable Game,” Harrisburg Daily Patriot, August 23, 1882: 1.
“The National Sport,” Lancaster Daily Intelligencer, June 23, 1884: 2.
“An Unearned Victory, Trenton Times, June 2, 1885: 1.
“Base Ball Briefs,” Lancaster Daily Intelligencer, June 20, 1885: 1.
“Base Ball Briefs,” Lancaster Daily Intelligencer, April 14, 1886: 1.
“The Ball Field,” Wilkes-Barre Leader, May 19, 1886: 1.
“Nearing the Season’s End,” Lancaster Daily Intelligencer, October 5, 1886: 1.
“Smitten with Paralysis,” Lancaster New Era, April 8, 1889: 1.
“Died in Reading,” Lancaster Daily Intelligencer, March 10, 1890: 1.
“Sporting Small Shot,” Harrisburg Telegraph, March 11, 1890: 1.
“Jacob Goodman, the Ball Player,” Lancaster New Era, March 15, 1890: 5.
“Allegheny First Baseman,” Pittsburgh Post, November 1, 1890: 6.

1899 Bill McGunnigle
1912 Doc Amole
1934 Dan Dugdale
1946 Tom Nagle
1958 Skel Roach
1959 Fin Wilson
1966 Elmer Steele
1966 Aaron Robinson
1967 Jack Meyer
1968 Jim Callahan
1974 Hal Quick
1977 Spike Merena
1978 Bill Doran

There was a Bill Doran who was a really, really good handball player in Southern California.  Wonder if it was this Bill Doran.

1980 Tommy Johnson
1980 Tom Baker
1983 Carl Manda
1984 Charlie Blackburn
1984 Ping Gardner
1986 James Crump
1987 Zeke Bonura
1990 Lou Vedder
1991 Jim Hardin
1994 Elbie Fletcher
2010 Willie Davis
2011 Bob McNamara
2017 Bill Hands
2019 Kevin Ward
2021 Jim Snyder
2025 Rick Peters

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

1960 Kansas City As owner Arnold Johnson is found slumped over in his car at his home. Johnson was suffering a cerebral hemorrhage and would pass away the next morning.

1979 Female reporters are granted access to locker rooms at MLB games.

1995 All 28 teams approve expansion and admit Arizona and Tampa Bay to the major leagues – with teams to be assigned to specific leagues two years later.

TRANSACTION WIRE:

1900 With a couple of teams still sorting out rosters due to shared ownership and eventual contraction (Brooklyn/Baltimore), Joe McGinnity was “assigned” to Brooklyn by the Baltimore ownership group, Bill Keister, John McGraw, and Wilbert Robinson were “assigned” to Baltimore, and Jack Chesbro and three others were “assigned” to Louisville by Pittsburgh. Eventually, Baltimore and Louisville would be contracted. (Washington and Cleveland were already contracted.)

1987 Filling out a blank contract (1 year – $500,000), the Cubs signed free agent outfielder Andre Dawson. They paid more for him the following seasons after Dawson was the NL MVP.