Tag Archives: deceased Twins

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 11

Roger Bresnahan (1879)
Ernie Nevers (1902)
Dan Topping (1912)
Frank Thomas (1929)
Jimmy Stewart (1939)
Danny Morris (1946)
Dave Cash (1948)
Tom Austin (1951)
Mike Fuentes (1958)
Brian Gorman (1959)
Mike Davis (1959)
Odalis Perez (1978)
Bobby Keppel (1982)
Jose Reyes (1983)
Brock Holt (1988)

Football great Ernie Nevers, born in Willow River, Minnesota, pitched for the St. Louis Browns for parts of three seasons (1926-1928).

Dan Topping was part-owner of the New York Yankees from 1945-1966.

Tom Austin is a long-time college baseball coach at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Outfielder Mike Fuentes was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1980, but did not sign.

Brian Gorman was a major league umpire from 1993-2021.

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

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 10

Jack Graney (1886)
Garland Braxton (1900)
Danny McFayden (1905)
Vic Harris (1905)
Mike Kreevich (1908)
Frank Demaree (1910)
Chuck Thompson (1921)
Hank Foiles (1929)
Carmen Cozza (1930)
Ed Palmquist (1933)
Kazuhisa Inao (1937)
Johnny Edwards (1938)
Ken Singleton (1947)
Elias Sosa (1950)
Gerry Hunsicker (1950)
Francisco Barrios (1953)
Floyd Bannister (1955)
Scott Ullger (1955)
Pokey Reese (1973)
Al Alburquerque (1986)
Patrick Murphy (1995)

Jack Graney had a few unusual "firsts".  He was the first major leaguer to bat against Babe Ruth.  He was the first player to wear a number on his uniform.  He as also the first player to become a broadcaster.

Outfielder Vic Harris was a long-time Negro League player and manager, leading the Homestead Grays to nine Negro National League pennants.

Chuck Thompson was a long-time broadcaster for the Baltimore Orioles.

Outfielder Carmen Cozza played in the low minors in 1952-1953, batting .242.  He later became a college football coach, most notably at Yale.  Upon his retirement in 1996, he held the record for most coaching victories in the Ivy League (179) and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Kazuhisa Inao is one of the greatest pitchers in Japanese baseball history.

Gerry Hunsicker is a long-time baseball executive, working for the Mets, the Astros, and the Rays.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 9

Due to personal time constraints, this is a reprint from last year, which was a reprint from the year before, which was a reprint from the year before that, which has not been updated.  That means we have not yet done a biography for John Andreoli or Tony Wolters.  Sorry about that, guys.  Maybe next year.

Dude Esterbrook (1857)
Irish Meusel (1893)
Mike Ryba (1903)
Frank McCormick (1911)
Jimmy Newberry (1922)
Roy Smalley (1926)
Bill Virdon (1931)
Howie Gershberg (1936)
Jake Jacobs (1937)
Julio Gotay (1939)
Bruce Look (1943)
Tom Egan (1946)
Dave Parker (1951)
Tom Edens (1961)
Randy Winn (1974)
Joe Kelly (1988)
John Andreoli (1990)
Tony Wolters (1992)

Jimmy Newberry was the first black player in Japanese baseball.

Howie Gershberg was a long-time college and minor league pitching coach.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to SBG’s brother.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 8

Due to personal time constraints, this is a reprint from last year, which was a reprint from the year before, which has not been updated.

Cub Stricker (1859)
Van Lingle Mungo (1911)
Del Ennis (1925)
Eddie Gaedel (1925)
George Brunet (1935)
Joe Grzenda (1937)
Pete Magrini (1942)
Mark Belanger (1944)
Lenn Sakata (1954)
Don Robinson (1957)
Carmelo Castillo (1958)
Britt Burns (1959)
Kevin Gross (1961)
John Gibbons (1962)
Kevin Ritz (1965)
Dave Mlicki (1968)
T. J. McFarland (1989)

Sadly, Cub Stricker never played for the Cubs.

3' 7" Eddie Gaedel is the shortest person to play in a major league game, walking in his only plate appearance as part of a Bill Veeck promotion.  His great-nephew, Kyle Gaedele, was an outfielder in the Padres organization from 2011-15, reaching AA.  Kyle is listed at 6' 3".

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 2

Jack O’Connor (1866)
Frank Verdi (1926)
Bob Lillis (1930)
Larry Jackson (1931)
Bob Bennett (1933)
Jerry Lumpe (1933)
Gene Michael (1938)
Horace Clarke (1940)
Jim Maloney (1940)
Roger Freed (1946)
Jack O’Connor (1958)
Darnell Coles (1962)
Bryan Harvey (1963)
Mike Stanton (1967)
Kurt Abbott (1969)
Raul Ibanez (1972)
Neifi Perez (1973)
Jared Burton (1981)
Tim Stauffer (1982)

Bob Bennett was the baseball coach at Fresno State for many years, winning 1,302 games.

Roger Freed was drafted by Minnesota in 1966, but the pick was voided.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 1

Ted Breitenstein (1869)
Otto Miller (1889)
Hank Severeid (1891)
Guy Morton (1893)
Johnny Mostil (1896)
Ray Moore (1926)
Jack Kralick (1935)
Roy Majtyka (1939)
Dean Chance (1941)
Randy Hundley (1942)
Ken McMullen (1942)
Jeff Nelson (1965)
Derek Lowe (1973)
Carlos Zambrano (1981)
Andrew Stevenson (1994)

Roy Majtyka was a long-time minor-league manager, winning 1,832 games.

Jeff Nelson was a major league umpire from 1997-2023.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 30

Amos Rusie (1871)
Turkey Mike Donlin (1878)
Rube Oldring (1884)
Al Mamaux (1894)
Twink Twining (1894)
Laymon Yokely (1906)
Turk Lown (1924)
Mel Nelson (1936)
Mike Sadek (1946)
Dana DeMuth (1956)
Mike LaCoss (1956)
Mike Oquist (1968)
John Courtright (1970)
Scott Eyre (1972)
Manny Ramirez (1972)
Mark Kiger (1980)
Fernando Salas (1985)
Tony Watson (1985)
Zack Wheeler (1990)

Dana DeMuth was a major league umpire from 1983 to 2019.

Mark Kiger is the only player to have played in the major leagues in the post-season but never have played in a regular season game.  An infielder, he was added to the Oakland roster when Mark Ellis fractured a finger.  He appeared in two games in the 2006 ALCS but did not bat.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 27

Frank Snyder (1894)
Pinky Higgins (1909)
Terry Moore (1912)
George O’Donnell (1929)
Jerry Kindall (1935)
Fred Bruckbauer (1938)
Jim Holt (1944)
Gary Nolan (1948)
Terry Collins (1949)
Mark Connor (1949)
Mark Clear (1956)
Ed Nunez (1963)
John Jaha (1966)
Jeff Bagwell (1968)
Frank Thomas (1968)
Todd Hundley (1969)
Brad Boxberger (1988)
Garrett Richards (1988)
Jose Berrios (1994)

Terry Collins was the manager of Houston from 1994-96, of Anaheim from 1997-99, and of the Mets from 2011-2017.

Mark Connor pitched in the Twins’ minor league system from 1971-1972 before he suffered a career-ending arm injury.  He has been a pitching coach for the Yankees, Arizona, Toronto, Texas, and Baltimore.  He also was the head baseball coach at the University of Tennessee.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 26

Jim Frey (1931)
Joe Altobelli (1932)
Jim McKean (1945)
Darrell Evans (1947)
Kevin Kennedy (1954)
Rob Murphy (1960)
Jason Bere (1971)
Chris Latham (1973)
Travis Lee (1975)
Ben Zobrist (1981)
Kevin Mulvey (1985)

Among other things, Jim Frey was manager of Kansas City from 1980-81, manager of the Cubs from 1984-86, and general manager of the Cubs from 1988-91.

Jim McKean was an American League umpire from 1974-2001.  He also played in the CFL for five years.

Kevin Kennedy managed Texas from 1993-94 and Boston from 1995-96.  He was also a broadcaster for FOX.

Travis Lee was drafted by Minnesota with the second pick of the 1996 draft.  However, the Twins failed to make a formal contract offer within the time designated under the Basic Agreement, and Lee was declared a free agent.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 24

Fred Jacklitsch (1876)
Jack Pfiester (1878)
Joe Oeschger (1892)
Willy Miranda (1926)
Ellie Rodriguez (1946)
Rob Ducey (1965)
Carlos Hernandez (1967)
Todd Rizzo (1971)
Danny Bautista (1972)
Bartolo Colon (1973)
Brad Penny (1978)
Adam Conley (1990)

Adam Conley was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-second round in 2008 but did not sign.

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