<— OCT 24     OCT 26 —>

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1851 Mike Brannock
1855 Harry McCormick

McCormick helped the Cincinnati win the 1882 American Association pennant; before that he was probably the best semi-professional pitcher in America for the last half of the 1870s.

1857 John Foley
1858 Harry Jacoby
1861 Joe Werrick
1863 Bill Shettsline
1864 John Godar
1866 Mickey Hughes
1868 Dan Burke
1869 Jack Doyle
1869 Marty Hogan
1871 Marty Bergen
1874 Tom Stanton
1875 Jake Gettman
1880 Weldon Henley
1887 Oscar Dugey
1889 Smoky Joe Wood
1893 Vic Aldridge
1896 Lamon Dillard
1901 Ray Gardner
1903 Bobby Robinson
1904 Andy Cohen
1905 Joe Malay
1909 Mickey Haslin
1913 Phil Marchildon
1913 Gene Corbett
1913 Herb Bremer
1917 Lee MacPhail
1918 Nanny Fernandez
1920 Lee Carter
1923 Russ Meyer
1923 Bobby Thomson
1924 Bobby Brown
1925 Roy Hartsfield
1931 Dick Murphy
1937 Chuck Schilling
1939 Pete Mikkelsen
1944 Skip Guinn
1946 Don Eddy
1951 John LaRose
1951 Al Cowens
1952 Rowland Office
1952 Roy Smalley
1954 Tito Landrum
1955 Danny Darwin
1955 Jeff Schattinger
1955 Tommy Boggs
1956 Andy McGaffigan
1958 Dave Von Ohlen
1958 Tom Romano
1960 Kelly Downs
1965 Steve Decker
1966 Mike Harkey
1967 Joe Siddall
1969 Larry Thomas
1969 Keith Garagozzo
1970 Terrell Lowery
1970 Curtis King
1971 Pedro Martinez
1974 Joe Nelson
1978 J. J. Davis
1979 Tony Torcato
1979 Jeremy Brown
1980 Clint Nageotte
1985 Wilkin Ramirez
1988 Alberto Cabrera
1992 Tyler Payne
1998 Juan Soto

OBITUARIES:

1906 Marty Swandell

Martin Schwendel, a German import, played ball after arriving in the United States (and after the Great War for Slavery) in the boroughs of New York City, finding time with the Eckfords, Mutuals, and Atlantics of Brooklyn. Two of those years he appeared in National Association games, hence his inclusion here. Schwendel was standing on his front porch when he had a heart attack.

“Famous Ball Player Drops Dead,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, October 26, 1906: 21.

1911 Chris Rickley

Rickley’s obit in the Philadelphia Inquirer leaves little clues to his life other than a widow and private interment at Greenmount Cemetery in Philadelphia… He married the former Mary Peters; they had three sons. He paid bills working as a laborer at a chair manufacturer and before that working at a stable. His parents were German immigrants; in 1880 he lived next door to the Peters family – that’s how he met his wife.

Philadelphia was a great place to learn baseball; in time Rickley landed on some of the good amateur nines of his city. In 1882, he’s with the Defiants playing the outfield and batting at the top of the order. In 1883, he’s playing with the Quickstep, batting clean up and playing third base.

For what it’s worth, Rickley was a decent local baseball player, but he got his lone MLB gig logging six games in June for the Union Association’s Philadelphia squad. The Keystones gave Rickley a shot after purloining him from Atlantic City. On the other hand, he batted third and scored a run in his first game, a win over the Washington Unions. The shortstop got five hits (two doubles) in 25 at bats and was back in the amateur ranks (he’d land with his old Defiant nine) where he likely belonged.

(By the way, that’s how my parents met – they lived in the same three-flat. Mom and her family lived upstairs, the flat owners lived on the main floor, and my dad moved into the lower level as he approached high school age. Mom fell instantly; dad took a little longer to figure it out.)

1870, 1880, 1910, 1910 US Census
PA Death Certificates

“The Active Victorious,” Reading Times, July 8, 1882: 1.
“Yesterday’s Ball Game,” Reading Times, September 7, 1883: 1.
“The Union Championship,” Philadelphia Times, June 10, 1884: 3.
“A Great Victory,” Williamsport Daily Gazette and Bulletin, July 5, 1884: 4.

1921 Jimmy Barrett

Barrett, not too many years from being replaced in the outfield by Ty Cobb after the 1905 season, was in his Detroit business office (he invested his baseball earnings in real estate) when he was hit by a bout of apoplexy, which killed him before help could arrive.

He was especially good with money – he left his widow an estate worth an estimated $400,000 (worth between $6 million and $7 million today).

“Jimmie Barrett Had Few Equals as an Outfielder,” Detroit Free Press, October 26, 1921: Sports, Page 1.
“Jimmy Barrett Left an Estate of $400,000,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 1921: 14.

1922 Pat Kilhullen

Kilhullen, who played wherever anyone was willing to sign him, was still an active player when he fell ill toward the end of the 1922 season. Returning home to Oakland until he was eventually hospitalized in San Leandro, complications from the various illnesses took him to the next league.

Kilhullen played in but a single game for the Pirates in 1914, coming in to catch in the 8th inning of a game against the Braves in Boston. He led off the top of the ninth, but a fine stop by Rabbit Maranville kept him from getting a hit.

“Bucco Pitchers Hit Hard in the Pinches,” Pittsburgh Gazette-Times, June 11, 1914: 10.
“Pat Kilhullen is Dead in Oakland,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 26, 1922: Sports, Page 1.

1927 Tom Brown

Brown is probably not on your memory list, but the Liverpool native had a really long and productive career as both a player and manager (well, maybe not as much as a manager – I mean it was a weak Washington NL team). 17 seasons, nearly 2000 hits – a very nice career.

After his managing days, he took up selling premium cigars. However, the scourge of the era, tuberculosis, caught up with him and Brown died in a sanitarium in Washington D.C.

“Tom Brown Dies; Led D. C. Ball Club,” Washington Evening Star, October 26, 1927: 3.

1941 Bill Phillips

Phillips not only pitched in the majors (mostly for Cincinnati), but he later managed teams in the Federal League. When that ended, he returned to Charleroi, Pennsylvania and took up business there. He was gaining on his 73rd birthday when he fell ill – after two months (and just 15 days shy of his birthday) he passed to the next league.

“Former Red Pitcher Dies,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 27, 1941: 15.

1942 Jimsey Roussell

Rousell was a Negro League outfielder with some hitting skill. He’s not to be found in the Negro League Encyclopedia, but I found him in box scores playing for Birmingham in 1929. Researchers have identified nearly 100 games in which he played for either the Black Barons or the Memphis Red Sox, where he hit .295, but without much power or plate discipline. With the Red Sox, he hit .332 with good numbers of doubles and triples; given that he played center field, he must have been pretty fast…

That said, he hit in the middle of the lineup, so it’s likely we just don’t know enough about Roussell’s skill set. Born and passed from this world in New Orleans…

1945 Ernie Baker

Ernest Goold Baker pitched in relief in one game on August 18, 1905, the first game of a Reds double header in Boston. Baker pitched four innings, gave up seven hits and a homer to Cozy Dolan (his second of the game) and the score ended 12 – 0 in Boston’s favor. (To be fair, Baker fanned Dolan the next time he faced him.)

Anyway – his MLB career ended after that game and he returned to Michigan where he became a farmer, married Nina Mae Van Scoter, had some kids, and lived the good life. Stomach cancer did what a history of heart disease couldn’t – and he moved to the next league.

Michigan Death Certificate, Michigan Marriage Records
World War I Registration Card

1948 Jerry Kane
1949 Tim Bowden
1963 Jim Lindsey
1978 Molly Craft
1979 Morrie Schick
1981 Pete Reiser
1984 Joe Wiggins
1991 Joe Bokina
1991 George Brunet
1994 George Fallon
1995 Milt Laurant
1996 Harry Shuman
2008 Rafael Batista
2010 Rudy Rufer
2011 Bert Cueto
2012 Les Mueller
2017 Ross Powell
2021 Tim Thompson

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

1964 After a year of rotating managers, the Cubs hire Leo Durocher as their new manager.

1986 A slow roller hit by Mookie Wilson somehow gets past the floppy glove of Bill Buckner, allowing the Mets to steal game six of the World Series.

2005 Geoff Blum’s homer gives the White Sox the lead in the 14th inning; when Chicago finishes off Houston, the game ends in a record five hours and 41 minutes…

2024 Freddie Freeman hits a game winning grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Dodgers a Game 1 win over the Yankees to open the World Series.

TRANSACTION WIRE:

1902 Herman Long jumped from Boston to the New York Highlanders.

1932 St. Louis signed former star Rogers Hornsby as a free agent.

1955 The White Sox sent Jim Busby and Chico Carrasquel to the Indians for Larry Doby.

1967 Houston signed amateur free agent outfielder Cesar Cedeno.

1972 Kansas City sends Jim Rooker to Pittsburgh for Gene Garber.

1973 The Cubs send ace Fergie Jenkins to the Rangers for Vic Harris and Bill Madlock.

1973 San Diego sends Mike Caldwell to the Giants for Willie McCovey and Bernie Williams.

1977 The Cubs send Jose Cardenal to the Phillies for Manny Seoane. (Who?)

1978 San Diego sends Oscar Gamble, Dave Roberts and cash to the Rangers for Mike Hargrove, Bill Fahey, and Kurt Bevacqua.

2006 The Cubs sign amateur free agent infielder Starlin Castro.