<— NOV 07     NOV 09 —>

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1853 John Farrow

Spent most of his life living in New Jersey, the long time catcher used to show off his mangled hands to patrons of the hotel and bar he operated with his son, John Jr.  He played locally in his teens and was invited to play with the Resolutes of Elizabeth in the National Association in 1873, then Baltimore in 1874.  After nearly a decade playing catcher for semi-pro and professional teams around his home of Perth Amboy, he got one last chance playing frequently with Baltimore in the American Association in 1884.  Farrow, now a widow and living with his son, fell ill in 1914.  With his son’s family ready to ring in the New Year, Farrow took his last breath shortly before midnight on December 31st.

1869 Joe Peitz
1870 Bill Hoffer
1876 Danny Shay
1892 Pete Cordova
1893 Dave Black
1895 Kenneth Thomson (Mike) Knode
1896 Stanley Raymond (Bucky) Harris
1898 Otto Mitchell
1901 Frank Bernard (Beauty) McGowan
1907 Tony Cuccinello
1908 John Stoneham
1914 Johnny Dawson
1915 Wayne Ambler
1916 Elijah Williams
1916 Percy Forrest
1920 Wally Westlake
1922 Bob Brady
1930 Mike Roarke
1937 Rex Johnston
1940 Joe Nossek
1944 Ed Kranepool
1952 Jerry Remy
1952 John Denny
1954 Gary Lucas
1958 Paul Wilmet
1958 Bobby Moore
1962 John Fishel
1962 Rey Palacios
1963 Dwight Smith
1965 Jeff Blauser
1967 Henry Rodriguez
1967 Eric Anthony
1968 Jose Offerman
1969 Shane Halter
1973 Edgardo Alfonzo
1976 Carlos Casimiro
1976 Victor Alvarez
1977 Nick Punto
1980 Victor Marte
1985 Darwin Barney
1987 Bryan Shaw
1988 Yasmani Grandal
1989 Giancarlo Stanton

I got to watch him in Jupiter, FL playing High A ball.  If you hit, say, 25 homers in the Florida State League, that’s legitimate power.  Giancarlo, then known as Mike Stanton, hit 39.  He’s to right fielders what George Brett was to third basemen – one of those guys who keeps losing time to injuries, though Stanton’s have been pretty serious injuries.

1991 Nick Kingham
1996 Ljay Newsome

Made his debut with the Mariners in August, 2020.  In 499+ innings in the minors, Newsome walked just 62 batters…  A 26th round pick of the Mariners out of Chopticon High School in Morganza, MD, the La Plada, Maryland native is known as the “Quiet Assassin.”

1999 Mike Burrows
2003 Moises Ballesteros

OBITUARIES:

1894 King Kelly

Kelly was returing to Boston from New York when he got sick on the boat – it was pneumonia, and it killed him. Kelly was as great a name in baseball in the 1880s as anyone – popular and talented, his sale from Chicago to Boston was a legendary transaction, and he had his own chant: Slide, Kelly, Slide!

“Death of Kelly,” Boston Globe, November 9, 1894: 7.

1911 Oscar Bielaski

Bielaski suffered from heart trouble for years; he was walking the streets of Washington DC when he had the heart attack that felled him. After his baseball days, he had worked for the Navy Department in the capitol.

“Old Ball Player Stricken in Street,” Washington Herald, November 9, 1911: 2.

1911 Frank Gatins

This son of Irish immigrants was born and died in Johnstown, PA – Gatins died of uremia according to his PA death certificate.

1912 Cupid Childs

Childs contracted Bright’s Disease and was in bad shape by the fall of 1912. Teams and teammates chipped in at various benefits to help his family… When he passed, Childs was just 45.

The bulk of Child’s career was spent with Cleveland and he was a fine infielder in the 1890s. He once led the league in runs scored, and then the next two years he scored more than a run per game played…

“‘Cupid’ Childs Dying,” Boston Globe, October 8, 1912: 7.
“‘Cupid’ Childs’ Benefit,” Boston Globe, November 2, 1912: 7.

1918 Larry Chappell

Chappell was still an active player in 1918 – until he joined the Army. However, he caught influenza during the pandemic and ultimately died of pneumonia.

“Death Overtakes Larry Chappell,” Spokane Chronicle, November 13, 1918: 13.

1929 Red Bittmann

Henry Peter Bittmann had been ill for about a year – likely caused by the heartbreak of losing his wife, the former Amelia Dzieranowski, in 1928. He had a six-year professional baseball career, peaking with a four-game run with the Kansas City Cowboys in 1889. After that, he returned to Cincinnati where he was the armory custodian for some 38 years.

“Armory Custodian’s Funeral Tuesday,” Cincinnati Post, November 9, 1929: 11.

1931 Sam Brown

Brown caught for Boston in 1906 and 1907 at a time when the Braves had a whole bunch of guys with last names that began with the letter B. (9 in 1907 alone.) Apparently a back injury brought his career to a swift end. He took up shop with the H. C. Frick Coke Company as the shop superintendent until a heart attack felled him at 54.

“Sam Brown Caught Pfeffer, Needham, and Lindaman While Catching for Boston Braves,” The Daily Courier (Connellsville, PA), November 11, 1931: 8.

1931 Frank Meinke

Meinke played a full season with Detroit as their lead pitcher and frequent shortstop in 1884 – but lost three quarters of his decisions as a pitcher and he hit .164 with 89 strikeouts in his 92 games (not much today, but a high number back then). He played in a single game for Detroit the next year, but that was it.

Moving back to his native Chicago, he was a foreman with a city road crew for a number of years before his death. He had a son, Robert, who played for the Reds and another son, Edward, who had a nice minor league career.

“Meinke, Pitcher for Detroit in ‘Eighties, Dies,” Chicago Tribune, November 9, 1931: 25.
“Old Detroit Mound Star, Meinke, Dies,” Detroit Free Press, November 9, 1931: 13.

1934 Reddy Grey

Romer Carl Grey was the brother (and frequent travel partner) of one Zane Grey, the more famous writer. That said, this Grey also published books on fishing (among other topics). He’s here, though, because he was the better baseball player of the brothers (Pirates, one game in 1903).

The Grays were born in Zanesville, Ohio; the Zane for whom that city was named was an ancestor of the brothers. They were both born Gray, however, but when a run of bad luck cost their father his savings, he moved his family to a different city and changed the spelling of the last name. Romer Grey died of heart dilation, leaving behind a wife (the former Rebecca Smith). He’s resting at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, California now.

An excellent bio of Grey (and the relationship between the two brothers) can be found here.

1937 Henry Mullin
1940 James Womack
1942 Jim Handiboe
1951 Claude Ritchey
1954 Carl Rolling
1957 Fred Anderson
1957 Joe Connor
1962 Alcibiades Palma
1966 James Buford
1970 Ed Murray
1972 Harry Child
1973 Bob Chipman
1975 Vern Morgan
1975 Ray Shepardson
1975 Les Backman
1976 Herbert Buster
1977 Jim Gladd
1977 Bob Griffith
1977 Bucky Harris (see birthday, above)
1978 Steve Gerkin
1980 Dale Jones
1989 Johnny Lanning
1990 Earl Torgeson
1993 Hank Leiber
1999 Coley Logan
2012 Lee MacPhail
2013 Rod Miller
2016 Marlan Coughtry
2017 Don Prince
2018 Ron Negray

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

1928 Massachusetts votes to allow professional sports to play games on Sundays.

TRANSACTION WIRE:

1955 Washington sends Mickey Vernon, Bob Porterfield, Tom Umphlett, and Johnny Schmitz to the Red Sox for Tex Clevenger, Karl Olson, Dick Brodowski, Neil Chrisley, and Al Curtis.

1967 The Mets get Art Shamsky from the Reds for the low price of Bob Johnson…

1974 San Diego sends Cito Gaston to the Braves for Danny Frisella.

1979 The Yankees are signing free agents – this time it’s Bob Watson and Rudy May.

1990 Los Angeles signs free agent outfielder Darryl Strawberry.

1999 Toronto sends Shawn Green and Jorge Nunez to the Dodgers for Raul Mondesi and Pedro Borbon.