Tag Archives: Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday–March 16

Bud Fowler (1847)
Blondie Purcell (1854)
Jerry Denny (1859)
Patsy Donovan (1865)
Jake Flowers (1902)
Buddy Myer (1904)
Lloyd Waner (1906)
Ken O'Dea (1913)
Tom Gorman (1919)
Clint Courtney (1927)
Hobie Landrith (1930)
Don Blasingame (1932)
Rick Reichardt (1943)
Rick Renick (1944)
Charles Hudson (1959)
Fieldin Culbreth (1963)
Abraham Nunez (1976)
Curtis Granderson (1981)

Bud Fowler was the first African-American to play professional baseball, playing in the minors in 1878 and from 1884-1894.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 16

Happy Birthday–March 15

Arlie "The Freshest Man on Earth" Latham (1860)
Doc Casey (1870)
Ralph Miller (1873)
Fred Lieb (1888)
Rosy Ryan (1898)
Jimmie Crutchfield (1910)
Bob Locker (1938)
Wayne Granger (1944)
Bobby Bonds (1946)
Jim Kern (1949)
Steve Stroughter (1952)
Mickey Hatcher (1955)
Harold Baines (1959)
Mike Pagliarulo (1960)
Kim Batiste (1968)
Robert Fick (1974)
Dan Perkins (1975)
Vladimir Nunez (1975)
Kevin Youkilis (1979)

Ralph Miller was the first major league player to live to be a hundred years old.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 15

Happy Birthday–March 14

Candy Nelson (1849)
Bill Holbert (1855)
Marty McManus (1900)
Jack Rothrock (1905)
Santos Amaro (1908)
Dave McKay (1950)
Butch Wynegar (1956)
Steve Lake (1957)
Jerry Willard (1960)
Kirby Puckett (1960)
Kevin Brown (1965)
Brent Gates (1970)
Matt Kata (1978)
Bobby Jenks (1981)

Santos Amaro is the father of Ruben Amaro Sr. and the grandfather of Ruben Amaro Jr.  He was a star player in Cuba and in Mexico and is a member of the Salon de la Fama.

Matt Kata was drafted by Minnesota in the twentieth round in 1996, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 14

Happy Birthday–March 12

Abraham Mills (1884)
Denny Lyons (1866)
Leroy Matlock (1907)
Jim Bragan (1929)
Vern Law (1930)
Durwood Merrill (1938)
Johnny Callison (1939)
Jimmy Wynn (1942)
Bill Butler (1947)
Larry Rothschild (1954)
Ruppert Jones (1955)
Dale Murphy (1956)
Mike Quade (1957)
Darryl Strawberry (1962)
Shawn Gilbert (1965)
Steve Finley (1965)
Raul Mondesi (1971)
Greg Hansell (1971) 
David Lee (1973)

Abraham Mills was president of the Mills Commission, which determined that Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball in Cooperstown, New York in 1839.

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Happy Birthday–March 9

Billy Southworth (1893)
Myril Hoag (1908)
Phil Seghi (1909)
Joe Paparella (1909)
Arky Vaughan (1912)
Jackie Jensen (1927)
Ron Kline (1932)
Jim Landis (1934)
Bert Campaneris (1942)
John Curtis (1948)
Darrel Chaney (1948)
Wendell Kim (1950)
Terry Mulholland (1963)
Benito Santiago (1965)
Vince Horsman (1967)
Aaron Boone (1973)
C. J. Nitkowski (1973)

American League umpire Joe Paparella holds the record for most games umpired in a season, 176 in 1962.

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Happy Birthday–March 8

Harry Lord (1882)
Pat Flaherty (1897)
Bobby Goff (1902)
Pete Fox (1909)
Ray Mueller (1912)
Al Gionfriddo (1922)
Carl Furillo (1922)
Jim Bouton (1939)
Jacques Doucet (1940)
Dick Allen (1942)
Jim Rice (1953)
John Butcher (1957)
Mark Salas (1961)
Lance Barksdale (1967)
Mike Moriarty (1974)
Juan Encarnacion (1976)
Hines Ward (1976)

If you have a few minutes to spare, I would very much recommend reading Harry Lord’s biography at baseball-reference.com.

Pat Flaherty pitched in the minors from 1917-1921.  He also played in the NFL from 1923-1928, was a major in the Air Force, and appeared in about 250 movies from 1934 to the 1950s.

NFL star Hines Ward was drafted by the Florida Marlins in 1994, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 8

Happy Birthday–March 7

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)

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

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

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 7