<— JULY 29     JULY 31 —>

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1860 Harry Miller

Born July 30, 1860, the Camden, New Jersey native played just one game in the majors, pitching all nine innings of a 19 – 7 loss to the Chicago Colts on October 9, 1884. The Chicago Tribune noted, “Miller, the Philadelphia pitcher, was very wild, but when he put the ball over the plate he was hit hard. In the sixth and seventh innings Chicago had eighteen men at the bat, though but six of the twelve runs were earned.” He also struck out three of the four times he batted.

“Base-Ball,” Chicago Tribune, October 10, 1884: 10.

Ouch. Better things were ahead. Two years later, he was a third ward police officer in Camden, a post he held until his death from a heart ailment on May 25, 1919.

“Policeman Miller Claimed by Death,” Camden Post-Telegram, May 26, 1919: 1.

1863 Tod Brynan
1869 George Wheeler
1870 Bill Merritt
1890 Charles Dillon (Casey) Stengel
1894 Chuck Ward
1894 Bill Cunningham
1900 Paul Fitzke
1905 Hal Finney
1906 Johnnie Tyler
1908 Frankie Pytlak
1910 Eddie Snead
1912 Charlie Uhlir
1912 Carl Doyle
1912 Johnny Rizzo
1914 Steve Peek
1915 Jerry Witte
1918 Jack Conway
1922 Manuel Stewart
1922 Joe Coleman
1923 Charley Hall
1923 Paul Minner
1925 Bill Moisan
1925 Bill Glynn
1928 Bill Hall
1928 Joe Nuxhall
1930 Gus Triandos
1939 Vic Davalillo
1941 Bob Barton
1944 Pat Kelly
1944 Doug Rader
1947 Jim Spencer
1952 Mickey Mahler
1954 Ellis Valentine
1957 Steve Trout
1957 Clint Hurdle
1958 Scott Fletcher
1959 Ricky Horton
1959 Mike Jones
1960 Steve Ellsworth
1962 Tom Pagnozzi
1963 Jeff Shaver
1965 Todd Haney
1966 Mike Anderson
1971 Ron Blazier
1971 Calvin Murray
1975 Oswaldo Mairena
1975 Matt Erickson
1980 Edwin Moreno
1985 Dylan Axelrod
1986 Scott Diamond
1989 Jesse Hahn
1989 Matt Skole
1993 Jake Faria
1993 Jared Walsh
1994 Cody Poteet
1995 Jorge Palacios
1996 Steele Walker
1997 Jake McCarthy
1997 Javier Assad
2001 Carlos Duran
2001 Justin Martinez
2002 Jackson Jobe

OBITUARIES:

1928 Charlie Becker

Buck Becker was a DC area pitcher who logged a few games over two seasons with the Nationals in 1911 and 1912. To be fair, he wasn’t half bad, but he allowed runs at a higher pace than the deadball era allowed.

Becker got his career playing on the fields of the US capital. He played on a team called the Vigilants, a neighborhood team that “played prairie ball against other ambitious nines…” – usually for a side bet of $5 or $10 bucks. In 1909, he was signed by Reading of the Tri-State League (for $100 a month) where he went 9 – 7.

He spent the following spring with Macon in the Southern Association, but failed to make the team. In fact, he was traded to Youngstown for a shortstop. He played a single game for Youngstown in 1909, but injured his back in that game and returned home. Over the second half of 1910 and into 1911 he played semi-professionally with a Navy Yard team, which is where Senators Manager Jimmy McAleer scouted him. To acquire Becker, McAleer had to purchase his rights from Youngstown, which he did.

From reports, the tall (6′-2.5″) and lean (about 175 pounds) left-handed Becker threw side-armed. He had decent control in that he didn’t walk many men, but he also didn’t strike many out. That said, he wasn’t necessarily nervous on a major league stage. In his maiden voyage he faced the Chicago White Sox and allowed just one run on three hits in a complete game win. The Sox tried bunting against him – but he fielded all four chances cleanly.

After finishing 3 – 5 in 1911, Becker didn’t show the same command in 1912. He was dispatched to Atlanta in the Southern Association where he pitched for parts of two seasons before returning home to Washington.

Instead, he took up bartending to pay the bills and married – though it, like his major league career, it had some good points, but wasn’t necessarily successful (no children, divorced).

Becker was born October 14 – but the year is fair game to guess. Baseball-Reference says 1889, Becker listed 1890 on his WWI Draft Registration Card, and his tombstone says he was born in 1888. His father, John, was a barkeeper from Germany; his mother, the former Ida Ferguson, raised six children of which four lived to adulthood.

To Charles’ credit, he served during World War I where his 79th Infantry Division participated in the Meuse-Argonne campaign. Becker himself served in the 315th ambulance corps. However, he was gassed during his time there and his lungs never fully recovered. It was thought that the lung damaged by that gassing contributed to his contracting tuberculosis, which affected him for the remaining ten years of his life. Rightfully, he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

1900, 1910, 1920 US Census
World War I Draft Registration Card

“Charles ‘Buck’ Becker,” Washington Herald, August 1, 1928: 7.

Image Source

1933 Frank Allen
1941 Mickey Welch
1941 Howie Shanks
1942 Jim Baskette
1943 Charlie Fritz
1947 Ed Seward
1947 Chick Robitaille
1953 Leon Chagnon
1955 Dave Rowan
1956 Tommy Sewell
1960 Eugene Jones
1964 Jabbo Andrews
1966 Harry Hedgpeth
1969 Flint Rhem
1976 Jack Knight
1980 Joe Lucey
1986 Mickey Heath
1991 Allen Conkwright
1993 Bob Wright
2003 Gene Hasson
2005 Ray Cunningham
2008 Porter Vaughan
2014 Dave Bakenhaster
2016 Jose Arcia
2016 Alan Brice

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

1917 In a game against Washington Ossie Vitt, Ty Cobb, and Bobby Veach had five hits in a 16 – 4 win. They combined to score twelve runs, too. (See Detroit Free Press box score at right.)

1968 Washington’s Ron Hansen completes an unassisted triple play against Cleveland – the eighth in history. In the bottom of the first Joe Azcue lined to Hanson, stepped on second to double Dave Nelson, then tagged Russ Snyder who was coming from first.

“Indians Rip Nats By 10 – 1,” Newport News Daily Press, 31 July 1968: 15.

1973 Rangers pitcher Jim Bibby throws a no-hitter to beat Oakland, 1 – 0.

1980 J. R. Richard suffers a career ending stroke, despite being recently released from a hospital after tests showed nothing was wrong.

TRANSACTION WIRE:

1890 Cleveland spends $300 wisely, purchasing Cy Young from Canton of the Tri-State League.

1908 Philadelphia spends $1000 wisely, purchasing Shoeless Joe Jackson from Greenville of the Carolina Association. Of course, Mack had outfielders, so he sent Jackson to Cleveland exactly two years later as the player to be named later in the Bris Lord for Morrie Rath deal.

1924 Philadelphia spends $2000 wisely, purchasing Jimmie Foxx from Easton of the Eastern Shore League.

1979 In a deal that was essentially Oscar Gamble for Mickey Rivers, the Yankees got Gamble, Ray Fontenot and Gene Nelson for Rivers and three guys who never made the majors.

1985 Texas signs amateur free agent outfielder Sammy Sosa.

1996 Boston sends Jamie Moyer to Seattle for Darren Bragg.

2004 Tampa Bay sends Victor Zambrano and Bartolome Fortunato to the Mets for Scott Kazmir and Jose Diaz.

2013 Detroit sent Avisail Garcia to the White Sox and Brayan Villarreal to Boston. The White Sox sent Jake Peavy to the Red Sox, and the Red Sox sent Jose Iglesias to Detroit and three minor players to the White Sox.