Bill Cammeyer (1821)
Mike Griffin (1865)
Joe McGinnity (1871)
Bob Connery (1880)
Walter Schmidt (1887)
Vern Kennedy (1907)
Clyde Shoun (1912)
Hank Izquierdo (1931)
George Altman (1933)
Pat Corrales (1941)
Rick Langford (1952)
Steve McCatty (1954)
Paul Mirabella (1954)
Si-jin Kim (1958)
Chris Hoiles (1965)
Manny Alexander (1971)

Bill Cammeyer was involved in the early days of professional baseball.  He is credited as a pioneer who put a fence around his ballpark so he could charge admission.  He built a clubhouse, graded the diamond, created a very primitive set of stands for fans, and put a saloon inside the fence.

Bob Connery is the scout credited with discovering Rogers Hornsby and Tony Lazzeri.

Paul Mirabella was drafted by Minnesota in the sixteenth round in 1975, but did not sign.

Si-Jin Kim was a top pitcher in the first decade of Korean professional baseball.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR’s daughter.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 20 →

Nixey Callahan (1874)
Johnny Cooney (1901)
Al Benton (1911)
Hi Bithorn (1916)
Elbie Fletcher (1916)
Eddie Lake (1916)
Bob Broeg (1918)
Hal White (1919)
George Plimpton (1927)
Charley Pride (1938)
Pat Jarvis (1941)
Dwayne Murphy (1955)
Geronimo Berroa (1965)
Corky Miller (1976)
Tomo Ohka (1976)
Scott Podsednik (1976)
Fernando Rodney (1977)

Hi Bithorn was the first Puerto Rican to play in the major leagues, making his first appearance for the Cubs in 1942.

Sportswriter Bob Broeg covered the St. Louis Cardinals for forty years and was on the Hall of Fame Board of Directors for twenty-eight years.

Author George Plimpton introduced the world to Sidd Finch in 1985.

Country singer Charley Pride pitched in the minor leagues for parts of three seasons from 1953-1960.  He also played in the Negro Leagues for a couple of seasons as those leagues were nearing the end of their existence.

We would also like to wish a happy anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. Rhubarb_Runner.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 18 →

Fred Pfeffer (1860)
Oscar Stanage (1883)
Joe Fitzgerald (1897)
Charlie Root (1899)
Sammy Baugh (1914)
Hank Sauer (1917)
Pete Reiser (1919)
Vic Voltaggio (1941)
Cito Gaston (1944)
Kurt Russell (1951)
Tim Lollar (1956)
Frank Wren (1958)
Danny Ainge (1959)
John Smiley (1965)
Dan Masteller (1968)
Bill Mueller (1971)
Raul Chavez (1973)
Scott Downs (1976)
Robb Quinlan (1977)

Joe Fitzgerald had a long association with the Minnesota/Washington franchise, serving as bullpen catcher from 1945-1947, coach from 1948-1956, and scout from 1957 until he passed away in 1967.

Hall of Fame quarterback Sammy Baugh was an infielder in the minors for St. Louis in 1938, batting .200 in the American Association and the International League.

Vic Voltaggio was an American League umpire from 1997-1996.

Actor Kurt Russell spent three years in the low minors (1971-1973), batting .292 in 356 at-bats.

Frank Wren has been the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves.

NBA star Danny Ainge was a third baseman for Toronto from 1979-1981.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR's sister.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 17 →

Bobby Winkles (1930)
Dock Ellis (1945)
Cesar Geronimo (1948)
Phil Bradley (1959)
Bryan Oelkers (1961)
Steve Reed (1965)
Salomon Torres (1972)
Bobby Abreu (1974)
Dan Uggla (1980)
Rich Hill (1980)
Frank Mata (1984)

Bobby Winkles was the head baseball coach at Arizona State from 1959-1971, winning three College World Series titles. He also managed and coached in the major leagues.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Zack.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 11 →

Ed Willett (1884)
Dave Danforth (1890)
Andy Phillip (1922)
Bobo Holloman (1923)
Red Wilson (1929)
Galen Cisco (1936)
Jimmie Hall (1938)
J. R. Richard (1950)
Jeff Burroughs (1951)
Albert Hall (1958)
Joe Carter (1960)
Jose Cano (1962)
German Gonzalez (1962)
Mauro Gozzo (1966)
Jeff Kent (1968)
Tyler Ladendorf (1988)

A member of the basketball Hall of Fame, Andy Phillip played minor league baseball in 1947, 1949, and 1952, batting .281 in 123 games.

Bobo Holloman is sometimes referred to as the worst pitcher ever to throw a major league no-hitter.

The father of Robinson Cano, Jose Cano appeared in six games for Houston in 1989.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to strategery's son.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 7 →

Jimmy Ryan (1863)
Kenjiro Tamiya (1928)
George Alusik (1935)
Ollie Brown (1944)
Ben Oglivie (1949)
Tom Veryzer (1953)
Todd Benzinger (1963)
Scott Pose (1967)
J. R. Towles (1984)

Kenjiro Tamiya is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, playing from 1949-1963.  He began as a pitcher, and came within one out of pitching the first perfect game in Nippon Pro Baseball history.  A shoulder injury required him to switch to the outfield in 1952.  He was a seven-time all-star.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Moss.  Live Moss.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–February 11 →

Bug Holliday (1867)
Bob Cobb (1899)
Don Heffner (1911)
Danny Carnevale (1918)
Buddy Blattner (1920)
Dewey Soriano (1920)
Willard Marshall (1921)
Hoot Evers (1921)
Joe Black (1924)
Larry Dolan (1931)
Fritz Peterson (1942)
Bob Oliver (1943)
Aaron Cook (1979)

Bob Cobb was the president of the AAA Hollywood Stars from 1938-1957.  He later was involved in bringing an American League expansion team to Los Angeles.  In addition, he opened the famous Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles in 1928.

Danny Carnevale was a minor league player (1937-1953) and manager (1947-55, 1962-63, 1972; five league championships) and was also a scout for many years.

Dewey Soriano was a minor league pitcher in the 1940s.  He was later co-owner and president of the Seattle Pilots.

Larry Dolan has owned the Cleveland Indians since 2000.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to ubelmann.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–February 8 →