Tag Archives: Hall of Famers

Happy Birthday–May 2

Eddie Collins (1887)
Bing Crosby (1904)
Joe Falls (1928)
Eddie Bressoud (1932)
Gates Brown (1939)
Clay Carroll (1941)
Keith Moreland (1954)
Dr. A (1956)
Felix Jose (1965)
Paul Emmel (1968)
Jerrod Saltalamacchia (1986)
Neftali Feliz (1988)

Entertainer Bing Crosby was part-owner and a vice president of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1947 into the 1960s.

Joe Falls was a long-time sportswriter in Detroit and had a weekly column in The Sporting News for many years.

Paul Emmel has been a major league umpire since 1999.

It appears that no players with connections to the Minnesota Twins were born on this day.  However, it is the birthday of my brother, who is the head of the Mining and Minerals Department at Virginia Tech.  Happy Birthday, Dr. A!

Happy Birthday–April 29

Frank Hankinson (1856)
Ernie Johnson (1888)
Steve Ridzik (1929)
Mickey McDermott (1929)
Ed Charles (1933)
Luis Aparicio (1934)
Akira Ohgi (1935)
Tom House (1947)
Rick Burleson (1951)
Ron Washington (1952)
Bob McClure (1952)
Steve Crawford (1958)
John Vander Wal (1966)
Sterling Hitchcock (1971)
Rafael Betancourt (1975)
Tony Armas (1978)

Akiri Ohgi was a long-time manager in Japan, winning nearly a thousand games.

Rick Burleson was drafted by Minnesota in the eighth round in 1969, but did not sign.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Papa MagUidhir.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 29

Happy Birthday–April 28

Red Lucas (1902)
Charlie Metro (1919)
Tom Sturdivant (1930)
Jackie Brandt (1934)
Pedro Ramos (1935)
Tom Browning (1960)
John Cerutti (1960)
Luis Quinones (1962)
Russ Morman (1962)
Barry Larkin (1964)
Jim Poole (1966)
Jorge Sosa (1978)
Sean Douglass (1979)
Yoslan Herrera (1981)
David Freese (1983)
John Gaub (1985)

John Gaub was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-fifth round in 2003, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 28

Happy Birthday–April 27

Hi Myers (1889)
Allan Sothoron (1893)
Rogers Hornsby (1896)
Horace Stoneham (1903)
Enos Slaughter (1916)
John Rice (1918)
Greg Kosc (1949)
Willie Upshaw (1957)
Patrick Lennon (1968)
Frank Catalanotto (1974)
Benj Sampson (1975)
Chris Carpenter (1975)
Pedro Feliz (1975)
Luis Perdomo (1984)

 Horace Stoneham was the owner of the Giants from 1936-1976.

John Rice was an American League umpire from 1955-1973.

Greg Kosc was an American League umpire from 1976-1999.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 27

Happy Birthday–April 26

Jack Barry (1887)
Ray Caldwell (1888)
Hack Wilson (1900)
Bernard Malamud (1914)
Virgil Trucks (1917)
Sal Maglie (1917)
Ron Northey (1920)
Granny Hamner (1927)
Amos Otis (1947)
Tom Norton (1950)
Mike Scott (1955)
Steve Lombardozzi (1960)
Curtis Wilkerson (1961)
Brian Anderson (1972)
Geoff Blum (1973)
Kosuke Fukudome (1977)
Joe Crede (1978)
Alejandro Machado (1982)

Bernard Malamud, of course, wrote the book "The Natural".

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 26

Happy Birthday–April 25

John Henry “Pop” Lloyd (1884)
George Fiall (1900)
Bill Grieve (1900)
Roy Parmelee (1907)
Bobby Estalella (1911)
Red Flaherty (1917)
Ed Vargo (1930)
Lew Krausse (1943)
Kerry Taylor (1950)
Greg Wells (1954)
Larry Pashnick (1956)
Tony Phillips (1959)
Darren Holmes (1966)
Joe Buck (1969)
Brad Clontz (1971)
Jacque Jones (1975)
Garrett Mock (1983)

Shortstop Pop Lloyd was called the Black Honus Wagner.

A member of the basketball hall of fame as part of the “Renaissance Five” team, shortstop George Fiall played in the Negro Leagues from 1918-1931.

Bill Grieve was an American League umpire from 1938-1955.

Red Flaherty was an American League umpire from 1953-1973.

Ed Vargo was a National League umpire from 1960-1983 and was an umpire supervisor from 1984-1997.

Kerry Taylor played for the GCL Twins in 1968.  He then went into the Army and was killed in the Vietnam War.

Some sources say that Joe Buck is a professional baseball broadcaster.

Garrett Mock was drafted by Minnesota in the fourteenth round in 2002, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 25

Happy Birthday–April 24

Bob Ewing (1873)
Howard Ehmke (1894)
Harry Harper (1895)
Andy Cooper (1896)
Ed Musial (1922)
Frank Lucchesi (1927)
Lou DiMuro (1931)
Terry Tata (1940)
Ivan Murrell (1943)
Bill Singer (1944)
Pat Zachry (1952)
Bill Krueger (1958)
Mike Blowers (1965)
Omar Vizquel (1967)
Todd Jones (1968)
Chipper Jones (1972)
John Barnes (1976)
Carlos Beltran (1977)
MISS SBG (2007)

Andy Cooper pitched in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1939.  He managed the Kansas City Monarchs to four consecutive Negro American League Championships from 1937-1940.  He also holds the Negro Leagues career record for saves with 29.

The brother of Stan Musial, Ed Musial played in the minors in 1941 and from 1946-1950.

Frank Lucchesi managed in the minors for twenty-three seasons and in the majors for seven seasons.

Lou DiMuro was an American League umpire from 1963-1982.

Terry Tata was a National League umpire from 1973-1999.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 24

Happy Birthday–April 20

Tommy Dowd (1869)
Charlie Hemphill (1876)
Charlie Smith (1880)
Mike Mowrey (1884)
Dave Bancroft (1891)
Roy Hofheinz (1912)
Preston Gomez (1923)
Tom Hutton (1946)
Milt Wilcox (1950)
Doug Clarey (1954)
Floyd Chiffer (1956)
Don Mattingly (1961)
Greg Brummett (1967)
Dan Smith (1969)
Todd Hollandsworth (1973)

Judge Roy Hofheinz was the leader of a group that brought an expansion team to Houston.

Dan Smith was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-second round in 1987, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 20

Happy Birthday–April 18

Frank Navin (1871)
Sam Crawford (1880)
Duffy Lewis (1888)
Jack Scott (1892)
Steve Blass (1942)
Mike Paul (1945)
Doug Flynn (1951)
Bobby Castillo (1955)
Rich Bordi (1959)
Jim Eisenreich (1959)
Dennis Rasmussen (1959)
Steve Dunn (1970)
Rico Brogna (1970)
Brian Buscher (1981)
Miguel Cabrera (1983)
Billy Butler (1986)

Frank Navin was the owner of the Detroit Tigers from 1908-1935.

Rich Bordi was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1977, but did not sign.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Mrs. CarterHayes.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 18