Tag Archives: Hall of Famers

Happy Birthday–July 19

Jim Donnelly (1865)
Earl Hamilton (1891)
Bob Meusel (1896)
Mark Koenig (1904)
Jackie Hayes (1906)
Phil Cavarretta (1916)
Billy Gardner (1927)
Jayson Stark (1951)
Dan Graham (1954)
Mark Carreon (1963)
David Segui (1966)
Gus Gandarillas (1971)
Preston Wilson (1974)
Yorvit Torrealba (1978)
Rick Ankiel (1979)
Yan Gomes (1987)
Luis Avilan (1989)
Patrick Corbin (1989)
Jermaine Palacios (1996)

Jayson Stark is a long-time baseball writer and was an ESPN commentator for several years.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 19

Happy Birthday–July 17

Hugh “One Arm” Daily (1847)
Ernest Barnard (1874)
Judge Emil Fuchs (1878)
Lou Boudreau (1917)
Henry Miller (1917)
Roy McMillan (1929)
Jerry Lynch (1930)
Toni Stone (1931)
Deron Johnson (1938)
Don Kessinger (1942)
Charley Steiner (1949)
Pete Ladd (1956)
Bobby Thigpen (1963)
Jason Jennings (1978)
Adam Lind (1983)
Cole Sands (1997)

Ernest Barnard was the general manager of the Cleveland Indians from 1903-1926.  He was also the second president of the American League.

Judge Emil Fuchs was the owner of the Boston Braves from 1923-1935.  He was a magistrate judge in New York City from 1915-1918.

Toni Stone was the first woman to play in the Negro Leagues.  She played from 1949-1954.

Charley Steiner has been broadcasting Los Angeles Dodger games since 2005.

The original WGOM was born on this day in 2004.

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

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 17

Happy Birthday–July 15

John Clapp (1851)
Dan McGann (1871)
Bubbles Hargrave (1892)
Shirley Povich (1905)
Bill Byrd (1907)
Jake Powell (1908)
Red Kellett (1909)
Bruce Edwards (1923)
Donn Clendenon (1935)
Mike Shannon (1939)
Kirt Manwaring (1965)
Brett Merriman (1966)
James Baldwin (1971)
Miguel Olivo (1978)
Chris Denorfia (1980)
Sherman Johnson (1990)

Shirley Povich was a sportswriter for the Washington Post from 1923-1993.  He continued to write for them for twenty-five years after he "retired".

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to brianS, kg2005, and Mom Beau.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 15

Happy Birthday–July 14

Jesse Tannehill (1874)
Happy Chandler (1898)
Johnny Murphy (1908)
Robert Creamer (1922)
Ralph Rowe (1924)
Bob Purkey (1929)
Billy McCool (1944)
Steve Stone (1947)
Danny Walton (1947)
Vic Rodriguez (1961)
Robin Ventura (1967)
Derrick May (1968)
Jose Hernandez (1969)
Tim Hudson (1975)

Albert "Happy" Chandler was the commissioner of baseball from 1945-1951.

Author Robert Creamer wrote a biography of Babe Ruth which is still considered to be one of the best baseball books ever.

Ralph Rowe was a coach for the Twins from 1972-1975.  He had been a minor league outfielder in 1942, 1947-1955, and 1957-1961, spending the last three years in the Twins' organization.  He was mainly a manager or coach in those years--I assume he only played if they ran into a shortage of players or something.  He managed in the Twins' organization from 1959-1960 and 1962-1971, winning league championships with Wilson in the Carolina League in 1963, Orlando in the Southern League in 1968, and Charlotte in the Southern League in 1969.  He also coached for Baltimore from 1981-1984.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 14

Happy Birthday–July 13

Tom York (1850)
George Bradley (1852)
Stan Coveleski (1889)
Lee Handley (1913)
Eliot Asinof (1919)
Fritz Dorish (1921)
Ruben Gomez (1927)
Daryl Spencer (1928)
Don Pavletich (1938)
Jack Aker (1940)
Buzz Stephen (1944)
Jerry Terrell (1946)
Bill Caudill (1956)
Mark Brown (1959)
Mike Fitzgerald (1960)
Pat Rapp (1967)
Ryan Ludwick (1978)
Shin-Soo Choo (1982)
Yadier Molina (1982)
D. J. LeMahieu (1988)
Tyler Skaggs (1991)
Cody Bellinger (1995)

Author Eliot Asinof played two seasons in the minor leagues.  He has written several books on baseball, most notably "Eight Men Out".

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to uncleWalt’s oldest child.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 13

Happy Birthday–July 10

Jimmy McAleer (1864)
Bobby Lowe (1865)
John Heydler (1869)
Dick Lundy (1898)
Wayne Blackburn (1914)
Paul Pryor (1927)
Gene Alley (1940)
Hal McRae (1945)
Bob Bailor (1951)
Andre Dawson (1954)
Buddy Groom (1965)
Lee Stevens (1967)
Marty Cordova (1969)
ByungHo Park (1986)
Ryan Wheeler (1988)
Scott Alexander (1989)
Will Smith (1989)
Jonny Deluca (1998)

John Heydler was the president of the National League from 1918-1934.

Wayne Blackburn was a minor league infielder from 1936-1956.  He drew over 1,400 walks in his career.

Paul Pryor was a National League umpire from 1961-1981 and is an alumnus of the author’s alma mater, the University of South Dakota.

Jonny Deluca was drafted by Minnesota in the 39th round in 2017 but did not sign.

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Happy Birthday–July 8

Hank O’Day (1862)
Ivey Wingo (1890)
Clint Brown (1903)
Salty Parker (1912)
Hector Lopez (1929)
Al Spangler (1933)
Darrell Brandon (1940)
Ken Sanders (1941)
Jim Ollom (1945)
Lerrin LaGrow (1948)
Alan Ashby (1951)
Terry Puhl (1956)
Bob Kipper (1964)
Jerome Walton (1965)
Bobby Ayala (1969)
Danny Ardoin (1974)
Jaime Garcia (1986)
Josh Harrison (1987)
Stephen Gonsalves (1994)

Hall of Fame umpire Hank O'Day was the home plate umpire in the first world series game in 1903.  He umpired in ten World Series.

Salty Parker was a long-time minor league manager and major league coach.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR’s daughter, Moss’ son, and FTLT's daughter.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 8

Happy Birthday–July 7

George Moriarty (1885)
Double Duty Radcliffe (1902)
Satchel Paige (1906)
Billy Herman (1909)
Sammy White (1927)
John Gordon (1940)
Bill Melton (1945)
Tommy Moore (1948)
Len Barker (1955)
Dan Gladden (1957)
Glenn Hoffman (1958)
Tim Teufel (1958)
Dave Burba (1966)
Jeff Shaw (1966)
Chuck Knoblauch (1968)
Matt Mantei (1973)
Cory Provus (1978)
John Buck (1980)
Brandon McCarthy (1983)

Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe played in the Negro Leagues for many years.  He got his nickname because he would sometimes catch one game of a doubleheader and pitch the other.  He played professionally until 1954, when he retired at age 52.  He is the oldest player to ever appear in a professional baseball game, throwing one pitch for the Schaumberg Flyers of the Northern League in 1999 when he was 96.  I'm no expert on the Negro Leagues, but it seems to me that he should be in the Hall of Fame.

John Gordon was a radio broadcaster for the Twins from 1987 through 2011.

Tommy Moore was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-eighth round in 1966, but did not sign.

Cory Provus was a radio broadcaster for the Twins from 2012-2023 and is a television broadcaster for them in 2024.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 7

Happy Birthday–July 5

Jack Farrell (1857)
Robert Brown (1876)
Charles Stoneham (1876)
Bump Hadley (1904)
Jack Krol (1936)
Curt Blefary (1943)
Gary Matthews (1950)
Rich Gossage (1951)
Dave Eiland (1966)
Tim Worrell (1967)
Bo Porter (1972)
Jesse Crain (1981)
Marco Estrada (1983)
Nick Anderson (1990)
Jorge Polanco (1993)
Shohei Ohtani (1994)

 Robert Brown owned various teams in Vancouver from 1910-45.  He was also president of the Western International League in 1953.  He is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Charles Stoneham owned the New York Giants from 1919 until his death in 1936.

Jack Krol was a long-time minor league manager and major league coach. coaching for St. Louis from 1977-80 and San Diego from 1981-86.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 5