<— NOV 16 NOV 18 —>

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1845 Tom Foley

When I first published this page/post, Foley’s birthdate wasn’t listed here – so somewhere between then and now someone must have found the details of his birth… Welcome to the page, Tom.

1853 Bill Hawes
1857 Thomas H. (Pat) Deasley
1867 George Stallings
1868 Ezra Lincoln
1876 Claude Elliott
1879 Charlie Gibson
1885 George William (Rube) Ellis
1886 Fred Beck
1888 Lew McCarty
1889 Ernest Lewis (Tex) Vache
1889 Willie Jensen
1892 Gene Steinbrenner
1892 Don Flinn
1893 Joe Goodrich
1895 George Scott
1896 Sam Post
1897 Walter John (Rube) Lutzke
1897 Davey Claire
1900 Ossie Orwoll
1901 Eddie Taylor
1902 Ted Waters
1906 Rollie Stiles
1913 Lee Stine
1919 Ray Lamanno
1923 Mike Garcia
1927 Dick Weik
1929 Norm Zauchin
1933 Dan Osinski
1933 Orlando Pena
1936 Gary Bell
1938 Aubrey Gatewood
1943 Bruce Von Hoff
1944 Tom Seaver
1945 Bill Harrelson
1947 Tom Dettore
1952 Dave Frost
1959 Brad Havens
1959 Brian Milner
1962 Ray Chadwick
1964 Mitch Williams
1965 Paul Sorrento
1966 Jeff Nelson
1969 Ben Weber
1971 Billy McMillon
1973 Mickey Lopez
1973 Eli Marrero
1974 Jim Mann
1977 Alex Graman
1978 Darnell McDonald
1978 Val Pascucci
1982 Ty Taubenheim
1983 Scott Moore
1983 Trevor Crowe
1983 Ryan Braun
1983 Nick Markakis
1986 Everth Cabrera
1988 Shane Greene
1989 Hector Sanchez
1989 Seth Lugo
1990 Elias Diaz
1993 JT Brubaker
1994 Adonis Rosa
1996 Hunter Stratton
1996 Daniel Lynch IV
1999 Miguel Vargas

OBITUARIES:

1897 Frank McGinn

No longer a ballplayer, McGinn was a bookkeeper for a meat packing company in Cincinnati when he fell ill. People weren’t necessarily concerned, given that Frank was 28 years old, but he had a hemorrhage in his lung and it killed him.

1902 Watch Burnham

According to his MI death certificate, George Walter Burnham died of paresis related to syphilis. Dementia is a symptom of the late stages of that disease – and they didn’t have penicillin in those days. The previous month, he had left his home to take up residence at some hotel when people noticed that he was acting strangely and in a way that made people uncomfortable. He was taken to the Dearborn Retreat, an insane asylum in Eloise, Michigan, where he passed away. He left behind a wife, the former Lillian Summers.

Burnham never played major league baseball, but he did manage Indianapolis for 28 games (winning but six) in 1887. He had helped organize that team, but a slow start, players being unhappy, and his father being injured in a train accident led Burnham to resign (or asked to resign).

His nickname came about because, while an umpire, he purchased a gold watch and had it given to him on the diamond before a game in Cleveland as a token of esteem from his ‘friends’ – or something like that. To be fair, Burnham had been a successful and wealthy businessman in Indianapolis. In his later years he was a successful advertising salesman.

Interesting genealogical trivia… George can trace his lineage back to a Thomas Burnham, who came to the United States in the 1630s from Gravesend, England. The family was a rather prominent family in Connecticut for a number of years.

“Manager Burnham Resigns,” Indianapolis Journal, May 3, 1887: 7.
“A Verdict for $6,000,” Indianapolis News, December 26, 1902: 1.
“‘Watch’ Burnham May Be Committed to Insane Asylum,” Detroit Free Press, October 23, 1902: 10.
“‘Watch’ Burnham Dead,” Cleveland Leader, November 19, 1902: 9.

1934 Kid McLaughlin
1935 Fred Wood
1935 Carl Cashion
1937 Bill Merritt
1937 John Hibbard
1940 John McCloskey
1943 Morten Clark
1958 Mort Cooper
1961 Benny Kauff
1963 Merito Acosta
1963 Lewis Means
1968 Earl Hamilton
1977 Roger Peckinpaugh
1980 Eppie Barnes
1980 Hersh Martin
1981 Red Shea
1982 Johnny Davis
1984 Dewey Creacy
1987 Paul Derringer
1989 Jack Cusick
1991 Smead Jolley
1998 Casey Jones
1992 Clarence Moore
2002 Ulysses Redd
2003 Pete Taylor
2008 Floyd Weaver
2012 Freddy Schmidt
2013 Zeke Bella
2014 Ray Sadecki
2016 Angelo LiPetri
2023 Lou Skizas
2023 Ron Bryant
2024 Eric Wilkins

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

1913 Wilbert Robinson becomes manager of Brooklyn, where he would win a pair of pennants and eventually get a call to the Hall of Fame.

1965 Lt. General William Eckert replaces Ford Frick as commissioner of baseball. According to Eckert, he hadn’t seen a major league game in over a decade…

1983 The first active players jailed for drug convictions come from Kansas City, as Willie Wilson, Willie Aikens, and Jerry Martin begin drug sentences.

1992 Expansion Draft Day!!! Colorado took David Nied first, followed by the Marlins taking Nigel Wilson. Perhaps the biggest name – though not at the time – was Florida drafting infielder (and soon to be a converted reliever) Trevor Hoffman from the Reds with the eighth overall pick.

TRANSACTION WIRE:

1893 Washington sent Billy (Dummy) Hoy to the Reds for Mike Sullivan.

1924 Philadelphia purchases Mickey Cochrane from Portland of the PCL for the low, low price of $35,000 and five players.

1933 Chicago acquires Augie Galan from San Francisco of the PCL for the low, low price of six players.

1947 Boston gets Vern Stephens and Jack Kramer from the Browns for six players and $310,000 in cash.

1954 The Yankees and Orioles complete the largest trade, by body count, in baseball history. Ten Yankee players, including Gus Triandos and Gene Woodling head to Baltimore, while Don Larsen and Bob Turley headline the seven players heading to New York.

1969 The Cubs sent Oscar Gamble and Dick Selma to the Phillies for Johnny Callison and, later, Larry Colton.

1975 Atlanta sends Dusty Baker and Ed Goodson to the Dodgers for Lee Lacy, Tom Paciorek, Jerry Royster, and Jim Wynn.

Also, Texas sent Fergie Jenkins to Boston for Juan Beniquez, Steve Barr, and (later) Craig Skok.