<— DEC 05     DEC 07 —>

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1859 Frank Shaffer

Barely a major leaguer, as he played six games for Altoona when Altoona was granted a franchise in the Union Association in 1884.

“Shaffer, who will play on third base, comes from the Detroit, though he first played with Smith in the Jenning’s of Pittsburgh. He is five feet eleven inches in length and weighs 160. He is a diamond setter by trade.”

“Base Ball Briefs,” Altoona Tribune, February 7, 1884: 3.

1865 William H (Pat) Whitaker
1867 John Henry (Tun) Berger
1873 Harry Wolverton
1881 Dave Rowan
1885 Jack Stansbury
1886 Peter Raymond (Hap) Morse
1893 Hack Eibel
1894 Christian Frederick Albert John (Bruno) Betzel
1894 Walter Mueller
1896 Bob Larmore
1896 Frank Luce
1899 John Bertrand (Jocko) Conlan
1903 Tony Lazzeri
1909 Stan Hack
1913 Bill Kirksieck
1913 Roy Welmaker
1914 Cecil Washington (Turkey) Tyson
1920 Gus Niarhos
1925 Rance Pless
1927 Tommy Brown
1934 Dan Dobbek
1937 Freddie Velazquez
1938 Amado Samuel
1942 Arnold Umbach
1944 Tony Horton
1945 Larry Bowa

Years ago – I might have been 17 years old – my friend Jeff Bernau and I absolutely convinced some younger kids at a school baseball field that my dad was Larry Bowa. I had dark curly hair, was built like a shortstop, and Larry would have been old enough to be my dad as it was.

Then Jeff tried to tell them that his dad was Leon Durham, which was obviously not true. And that ruined our ruse.

1945 Jay Dahl
1950 Tim Foli
1952 Chuck Baker
1952 Jeff Schneider
1953 Gary Ward
1954 Mike Parrott
1955 Luis Rosado
1957 Steve Bedrosian
1959 Larry Sheets
1963 Lance Blankenship
1964 Kevin Campbell
1966 Terry McDaniel
1967 Kevin Appier
1971 Jose Contreras
1971 Adam Hyzdu
1972 Rick Short
1972 Neil Weber
1977 Kevin Cash
1978 Chris Basak
1978 Jason Bulger
1980 Ehren Wassermann
1986 Ryan Tucker
1988 Adam Eaton
1991 Mike Mayers
1992 Cam Gallagher
1993 Taylor Jones
1995 Allen Cordoba
1996 Justin Dean

OBITUARIES:

1905 Jack Leary

Leary lived a rather interesting life. His obituaries mentioned that as a youth he travelled with a circus in Canada until he was injured in an accident… He played baseball all through New England; his MLB career included seven stops in five seasons (1880-1884). He was but 49 when called to the next league.

“Old Player Dead,” Waterbury Democrat, December 7, 1905: 9.

1911 Ed Glenn

This is Ed Glenn the Cubs prospect who lost a shot at a career due to a lifelong problem with alcohol, and not the Ed Glenn I wrote about here.

The last few months of Ed Glenn’s life make for interesting reading but not necessarily good reading… In August, Glenn was arrested for assaulting his brother. Shortly after that, he took a job as a mechanic for a local railroad.

While working on a locomotive, something happened and he fell into the locomotive pit – somehow sustaining a severe head injury. Glenn was removed to his family’s home in Ludlow, Kentucky and died the next day. The family didn’t immediately agree with the coroner’s decision that the death was accidental, so they ordered a formal inquest and autopsy (which hadn’t been performed at the time of Glenn’s death). From the looks of it, accidental death remained the cause but Glenn’s family sued the Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Texas Pacific Railroad for negligence (in failing to properly protect him from falling into the pit) – which made it to federal court a few months later. The case was returned to the local circuit court where a judge ruled in favor of the railroad, noting the family had failed to prove negligence had occurred.

“Goes to Grand Jury for Attack on Brother,” Kentucky Post, August 4, 1911: 7.
“Died of Injuries After Fall in Pit,” Kentucky Post, December 7, 1911: 2.
“Suspect Murder and Ask Coronor to Hold Inquest,” Kentucky Post, December 9, 1911: 1.
“Ask $25,000,” Daily Public Ledger (Maysville, KY), March 7, 1912: 4.
“Circuit Court News,” Cincinnati Enquirer, March 22, 1912: 10.
“Circuit Court News,” Cincinnati Enquirer, February 1, 1913: 15.

1911 John Hamill
1942 Amos Rusie

Rusie’s health began failing after an automobile accident years earlier, but when his wife of 50 years died, it took but two months for Rusie’s heart to give out. He died in a Seattle hospital.

“Amos Rusie, First Speed Ball Pitcher, Passes On in Seattle,” Miami Daily News, December 7, 1942: 3B.

1943 Charley Hall
1943 George Magoon
1948 Bill Dammann
1950 Jing Johnson
1952 Don Hurst
1955 Honus Wagner
1956 Jim Mullen
1959 Wid Conroy
1962 Dutch Hoffman
1964 Bobby Keefe
1965 Frank Crossin
1975 Jim Stroner
1976 Mandy Brooks
1977 John Pomorski
1985 Burleigh Grimes
1987 Jim Johnson
1989 Art Parks
1993 Ray Thomas
1997 Lou Clinton
1999 Roy Talcott
2002 Clarence Beers
2017 Tracy Stallard
2018 Al Gallagher

“Dirty Al” was the first San Francisco native to play for the Giants… His nickname followed a generally unkempt appearance and willingness to get dirty in so many different ways.  Managed the Durham Bulls for a while, too.

2018 Jose Castillo (and)
2018 Luis Valbuena

Castillo and Valbuena were driving together after a Venezuelan Winter League game in Caracas when a group of highway bandits ran their SUV off the road, then robbed and killed them (another passenger, Carlos Rivera, survived).  According to reports, the team preferred that players ride on the team bus, which is usually protected by armed security.

Sanchez, Fabiola. “Valbuena, Castillo die in car crash in Venezuela,” Shreveport Times, December 8, 2018: B4.

2023 Vic Davalillo
2023 Mike Wegener
2023 Dave Wehrmeister

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

1920 A US Court of Appeals reverses a prior decision to award cash to the Baltimore franchise of the Federal League, thus upholding the reserve clause.

1941 Mel Ott takes over for Bill Terry as manager of the New York Giants.

1960 A new franchise for the American League is awarded to Gene Autry and placed in Los Angeles.

TRANSACTION WIRE:

1921 New York sends George Burns, Mike Gonzalez and $150K to the Reds for Heinie Groh.

1938 New York sends Dick Bartell, Gus Mancuso and Hank Lieber to the Cubs for Billy Jurges, Frank Demaree, and Ken O’Dea.

A year later, Bartell would be moved by the Cubs to the Tigers for Billy Rogell.

1959 The White Sox sent Norm Cash, John Romano and Bubba Phillips to the Indians for Minnie Minoso, Dick Brown, Jake Striker, and Don Ferrarese.

1973 Houston sends Jimmy Wynn to the Dodgers for Claude Osteen and David Culpepper.

Also, Minnesota swaps catcher George Mitterwald with Chicago’s Randy Hundley.

1976 Milwaukee is busy… George Scott and Bernie Carbo are sent to Boston for Cecil Cooper. And, Jim Colburn and Darrell Porter head to the Royals for Jamie Quirk, Jim Wohlford and (later) Bob McClure.

1979 Kansas City sends Al Cowens and Todd Cruz (and later Craig Eaton) to the Angels for Willie Aikens and Rance Mulliniks.

1982 Oakland sends Tony Armas and Jeff Newman to the Red Sox for Carney Lansford, Garry Hancock, and Jerry King.

1984 Chicago sends LaMarr Hoyt and two minor leaguers to the Padres for Ozzie Guillen, Tim Lollar, Bill Long, and Luis Salazar.

1988 Cleveland sends Julio Franco to the Rangers for Jerry Browne, Oddibe McDowell, and Pete O’Brien.

1989 San Diego gets Joe Carter from Cleveland for Sandy Alomar, Jr., Carlos Baerga and Chris James.

2010 San Diego sends Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox for Anthony Rizzo, Casey Kelly, Rey Fuentes and (later) Eric Patterson.

2016 The White Sox send Chris Sale to the Red Sox for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Victor Diaz, and Luis Alexander Basabe.