Tag Archives: Hall of Famers

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 31

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Bill Hallman (1867)
Jack Stivetts (1868)
Big Jeff Pfeffer (1882)
Brick Owens (1885)
Tom Sheehan (1894)
Carson Bigbee (1895)
Mule Suttles (1900)
Marv Grissom (1918)
Dave Koslo (1920)
Moises Camacho (1932)
Moose Stubing (1938)
Balvino Galvez (1964)
Chien-Ming Wang (1980)
Jeff Mathis (1983)
Josmil Pinto (1989)

Brick Owens was a longtime major league umpire.  His first name was Clarence.  He got the nickname "Brick" after being hit by one while umpiring a game in Pittsburg, Kansas early in his career.

Mule Suttles is sometimes credited as the all-time Negro Leagues home run leader with 237.  He swung a fifty-ounce bat.

One of the top second basemen in the history of the Mexican League, Moises Camacho played  there from 1951-1975.  He was known as the Rogers Hornsby of Mexico.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 29

Cy Young (1867)
Duff Cooley (1873)
Bill Dietrich (1910)
Tommy Holmes (1917)
Ferris Fain (1921)
Denny McLain (1944)
Bill Castro (1952)
Tom Hume (1953)
Domingo Ramos (1958)
Mike Kingery (1961)
Billy Beane (1962)
Laz Diaz (1963)
Eric Gunderson (1966)
Brian Jordan (1967)
Alex Ochoa (1972)
Danny Kolb (1975)

Laz Diaz has been a major league umpire since 1999.

Danny Kolb was drafted by Minnesota in the seventeenth round in 1993, but did not sign.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 27

Miller Huggins (1878)
Effa Manley (1897)
Wes Covington (1932)
Bill Sudakis (1946)
Lynn McGlothen (1950)
Dick Ruthven (1951)
Dave Hostetler (1956)
Jaime Navarro (1967)
Tom Quinlan (1968)
Dee Brown (1978)
Michael Cuddyer (1979)
Brian Slocum (1981)
Buster Posey (1987)

Effa Manley was the owner of the Brooklyn Eagles and the Newark Eagles in the Negro Leagues.

Dick Ruthven was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 1972, but did not sign.

Brian Slocum was drafted by Minnesota in the fourteenth round in 1999, but did not sign.

We would like to wish a very happy birthday to Can of Corn.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Milt on Tilt.  Gone but not forgotten.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 26

Jack McCarthy (1869)
Bill Zuber (1913)
Ben Mondor (1925)
Harry Kalas (1936)
Mel Queen (1942)
Kevin Seitzer (1962)
Jarvis Brown (1967)
Jose Vizcaino (1968)
Shane Reynolds (1968)
Jason Maxwell (1972)
Eric Hacker (1983)

Ben Mondor was the owner of the Pawtucket Red Sox from 1977-2010.  He is a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame and the International League Hall of Fame and won numerous minor league Executive of the Year awards from various organizations.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 25

Frank Dwyer (1868)
Clyde Milan (1887)
John Fetzer (1901)
Dutch Leonard (1909)
Ryohei Hasegawa (1930)
Woodie Held (1932)
Frank Peters (1944)
Lee Mazzilli (1955)
Jeff Kunkel (1962)
Tom Glavine (1966)
Dan Wilson (1969)
Erik Schullstrom (1969)
Travis Fryman (1969)

John Fetzer was the majority owner of the Detroit Tigers from 1961-1983.

Ryohei Hasegawa was a star in Japan in the 1950s and was also a coach, manager, and broadcaster there.

Frank Peters was a minor league player and manager.  On August 31, 1974, while managing the Portland Mavericks, he had each player play each position for one inning.  Portland won the game over the Tri-City Ports, 8-7.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 24

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Kip Selbach (1872)
Roy Thomas (1874)
Fatty Arbuckle (1887)
Ernie Shore (1891)
George Sisler (1893)
Jesus Alou (1942)
Mark Marquess (1947)
Garry Templeton (1956)
Bruce Hurst (1958)
Wilson Alvarez (1970)
Steve Karsay (1972)
Jose Valverde (1978)
Corey Hart (1982)
Chad Gaudin (1983)

Silent film comedian Fatty Arbuckle was the owner of the Vernon Tigers of the Pacific Coast League from about 1918-1921.

Mark Marquess is the longtime head baseball coach of Stanford.

No players with connections to the Twins were born on this day; however, we would like to wish a very happy birthday to Mom SBG.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 23

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Mike Smith (1868)
Gavvy Cravath (1881)
Cy Slapnicka (1886)
Ray Kremer (1893)
Johnny Moore (1902)
Johnny Logan (1927)
Jim Lemon (1928)
Lee May (1943)
George Scott (1944)
Pat Bourque (1947)
Lanny Frattare (1948)
Bo Diaz (1953)
Mrs. A (1954)
Mike Remlinger (1966)
Chris Turner (1969)
Mark Buehrle (1979)

Cy Slapnicka was a long-time scout.  Players he is credited with signing include Bob Feller, Lou Boudreau, and Herb Score.  Somehow, "Cy Slapnicka" just sounds like a name a baseball scout should have.

Lanny Frattare was a radio broadcaster for the Pirates from 1976-2008.

Happy birthday to my Hall of Fame wife.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 22

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Jack Boyle (1866)
Ernie Quigley (1880)
Goldie Holt (1902)
Bob Elson (1904)
Marv Owen (1906)
Billy Goodman (1926)
Al Schroll (1932)
Gene Oliver (1935)
Frank Pulli (1935)
Dick Ellsworth (1940)
Ron Wojciak (1943)
Jake Brown (1948)
Eddie Bane (1952)
Bob Costas (1952)
Eric Rasmussen (1952)
Scott Bradley (1960)
Matt Sinatro (1960)
Rich Monteleone (1963)
Glenallen Hill (1965)
Sean Berry (1966)
Ramon Martinez (1968)
Cory Lidle (1972)
Mike Morse (1982)
Ike Davis (1987)

Ernie Quigley was a National League umpire for twenty-six years and then became the NL supervisor of umpires.

Goldie Holt is credited with teaching Charlie Hough to throw the knuckleball.

Bob Elson was a baseball broadcaster for over thirty years, mostly in Chicago.

Frank Pulli was a National League umpire from 1972-1999.

Ron Wojciak helped the Minnesota Golden Gophers win the College World Series in 1964 and played in the Twins’ farm system in 1965.  He passed away from lung cancer in 1966.

Jake Brown was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-third round in 1967, but he did not sign.

Scott Bradley was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 1978, but he did not sign.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 21

Jack Herbert (1877)
Mysterious Walker (1894)
Bill McGowan (1896)
Shanty Hogan (1906)
Tommy Davis (1939)
Manny Sanguillen (1944)
Al Fitzmorris (1946)
Bill Plummer (1947)
Fernando Arroyo (1952)
Luis Leal (1957)
Shawon Dunston (1963)
Tim McIntosh (1965)
Cristian Guzman (1978)
Aaron Hill (1982)

Jack Herbert was a minor league manager in the early 1900s.  Among the teams he managed were the Pekin Celestials, the Cedar Rapids Rabbits, and the Cairo Egyptians.

Bill McGowan was an American League umpire from 1925-1954.  He worked the first all-star game and worked eight World Series.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 19

Jose Mendez (1887)
Bill Wambsganss (1894)
Gee Walker (1908)
Bob Davids (1926)
Richie Ashburn (1927)
Al Solerno (1931)
Paul Powell (1948)
Tim Corcoran (1953)
Mike Norris (1955)
Ivan Calderon (1962)
Jason LaRue (1974)
David Ross (1977)
Clayton Kershaw (1988)

Jose Mendez was a star in Cuba and in the Negro Leagues, pitching from 1906-1925.

Bob Davids was one of the founders of the Society for American Baseball Research.

Al Solerno was an American League umpire from 1961-1968.  His firing was one of the things that led to the formation of the first umpires union.

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