BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1843 Jimmy Wood
One of the pioneers of baseball, a fine player and later manager of repute. He actually started in the 1860s with the Eckfords of Brooklyn and lasted into the 1870s where he manned second base (second in reputation then only to Ross Barnes), batted well over .300, and managed teams for the first three years of the National Association. After the 1873 season, an accident contributed to an abscess on his right leg. (He had a boil and tried to cut it out with a pen knife; his hand slipped and he cut into his bone and whatever poison he had travelled throughout his leg.) His leg never healed and it was eventually amputated, ending his career. He still managed in 1874 and 1875, but after that he was done. The Brooklyn native wound up in San Francisco where he died in 1927 one day shy of his 84th birthday.
“Jimmy Wood Will Never Play Base Ball Again,” Chicago Tribune, July 11, 1874: 7.
“A Base Ball Player Loses His Leg,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 11, 1874: 1.
1863 Dave McKeough
Catcher who got a chance to play with Rochester of the American Association in 1890, when there were three major leagues. Smallish (5-7, 160) but skilled behind the plate, he put in a few years in the minors on either side of his 1.5 year career (he went to Philadelphia in the American Association for half of 1891) before putting away the spikes and becoming a plumber. Even his plumbing career was about eight years long – he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on July 11, 1901 and died in his hometown of Utica, NY.
1868 George Fox
1870 Tommy Raub
1877 Matt Broderick
1882 Ed Reulbach
1884 Charley Moore
1887 Jim Stanley
1889 Willie Mitchell
1891 Johnny O’Connor
1892 George Dickerson
1892 Dean Sturgis
1894 Ernie Alten
1895 Jake Miller
1898 Charlie High
1900 Eppie Barnes
1900 Mike Cvengros
1901 Ed Coleman
1902 Morris Hiram (Red) Badgro
1905 Paul Stanford (Buddy) Dear
1908 Les Munns
1911 Junie Barnes
1911 Walter Alston
1912 Harry Arthur (Cookie) Lavagetto
1916 Marty Marion
1918 Dwain Clifford (Lefty) Sloat
1919 Pete Wojey
1920 Charlie Ripple
1921 Bob Savage
1922 George Lerchen
1925 Niles Jordan
1925 Cal McLish
1929 Nino Escalera
1940 Cecil Perkins
1944 Jim Ray
1948 George Foster
1952 Dan Warthen
1954 Dan Schatzeder
1956 Tom Filer
1961 Herm Winningham
1962 Tim Jones
1963 Greg Harris
1965 Jeff Tackett
1965 Julio Machado
1966 Greg McMichael
1966 Larry Walker
1967 Reggie Sanders
1970 Kirk Rueter
1985 Eddy Rodriguez
1986 A. J. Morris
1988 Dan Straily
1991 Yhonathan Barrios
1992 Javier (El Mago) Baez
1992 Taylor Guerrieri
1992 Bobby Poyner
OBITUARIES:
1899 Ed Gastfield
1902 Fred Dunlap
1922 Jim Snyder
1924 Dummy Stephenson
1924 Dolly Stark
1927 Germany Smith
1927 Danny Shay
Requires a full length bio… Born Daniel Shea, he changed his name to Shay later. He was a nasty drunk and a bit of a hustler (apparently a very good better at the racetrack). He shot an African-American busboy while partying, which killed his career as a manager. After getting sick in 1926, he fell despondent and shot himself in a Kansas City hotel. He somehow survived the night and died the next day. Will write this up fully and give it the treatment it deserves.
1942 Frank Connaughton
1949 Hanson Horsey
Horsey got into one game with the 1912 Cincinnati Reds, where he was shelled for 10 runs on 14 hits and three walks in four innings of work. Ouch. He spent about 15 years, though, plying his trade in the minor leagues and semi-professional leagues before becoming a well respected minor league umpire and umpire instructor.
Millington, Md., Dec. 1 (AP) – Hanson Horsey, umpire-in-chief of the Class D Eastern Shore Baseball League, died unexpectedly at his home here today. He was 60.
Horsey, who took a lifelong interest in baseball, was a pitcher in the old Federal League. For many years, he had officiated at college games and took the Eastern Shore League assignment when the loop was reactivated after World War II.
He had operated a lunch room in this Kent County town until about a year ago.
Horsey is survived by his widow and a son, Hanson Horsey, Jr.
“Hanson Horsey Dies At Home”, Hagerstown Morning Herald, 02 December 1949, Page 27.
Horsey was known for his wit during rhubarbs with managers and players. When one pitcher complained about balls and strikes, he remarked that it was easy to follow the junk thrown by the pitcher. “I shut one eye to rest it and work the other one…” When a fan asked who was umpiring the game, Hanson replied to his constantly complaining questioner, “You are – but I’m getting paid for it.”
Horsey’s lowest moment came early in his baseball umpiring career. He had been drinking when he lost control of the vehicle he was driving and crashed into a telephone pole. A passenger, Victor Stradley, Jr., died from a skull fracture sustained in the accident.
Horsey’s son died while living in Ireland in 1972, leaving behind his mother, Marion L. Horsey – her real middle name was Eugenia, and the L stood for Lockerman, which was her maiden name… Months later, her husband and son both gone, Marion also passed away in 1973.
“Rookie Umpires Need Break; Horsey Tells Shore Fandom”, Wilmington News Journal, 11 May 1946, Page B-25.
“Hanson Horsey, Jr. (OBIT)”, Wilmington New Journal, 30 January 1972, Page 50.
“Fine Driver Of Death Car $120”, Wilmington Evening Journal, 10 April 1925, Page 21.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/horseha01.shtml
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/137883922
1950 Bob Hall
1953 Klondike Douglass
1954 Kid O’Hara
1973 Skinny Graham
1975 Nellie Fox
1975 Dave Koslo
1976 George Earnshaw
1978 Nick Cullop
1981 Tony Piet
1991 Buster Mills
1992 Chile Gomez
1992 Sam Lowry
1999 Gene Baker
2000 Terry Wilshusen
2002 Dave McNally
2009 Tommy Henrich
2017 Ernie Fazio
YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!
1964 Houston changes their name from the Colt 45s to the Astros, taking advantage of their proximity to the nearby NASA plant. (And because, well, having a firearms name wasn’t good for business.)
TRANSACTION WIRE:
1948 The Athletics sign free agent Wally Moses.
1952 Pittsburgh takes Roy Face from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft.
1954 New York and Baltimore complete the largest trade in terms of players, with the Yankees sending 10 players to the Orioles for seven returning players. Among those involved were Gus Triandos, Gene Woodling and Kal Segrist, who moved from the Yankees to the Orioles, and Don Larsen, Bob Turley, and Darrell Johnson who left Baltimore for the Yankees.
1965 Kansas City sends Jim Landis and Jim Rittwage to the Indians for Phil Roof and Joe Rudi.
Also that day, the Pirates got Matty Alou from the Giants for Ozzie Virgil and Joe Gibbon. Oddly, Alou would be traded from Oakland to the Yankees on this day in 1972…
1967 Los Angeles sent Maury Wills to the Pirates for Bob Bailey and Gene Michael.
1969 Oakland took Manny Trillo from the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft.
1970 The White Sox sent Luis Aparicio to the Red Sox for Luis Alvarado and Mike Andrews.
1987 San Francisco signs free agent outfielder Brett Butler.
1997 Arizona sends Travis Fryman and Tom Martin (and cash) to the Indians for Matt Williams.
1998 Los Angeles sends Roger Cedeno and Charles Johnson to the Mets for Todd Hundley and Arnie Gooch.
2003 Arizona sends six players (including Craig Counsell and Lyle Overbay) to the Brewers for Richie Sexton, Shane Nance, and (later) Noochie Varner.
Mighty Casey Baseball 