February 7
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on February 7.
[edit] Events
- 1881 - The Providence Grays rounds out its roster by signing pitcher Charley Radbourn, who missed most of last season with a bad arm.
- 1899 - Under a joint ownership arrangement, several Baltimore Orioles players are shifted to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, and that club transfers several to the Orioles. manager Ned Hanlon takes Willie Keeler, Joe Kelley, Hughie Jennings, and others with him, while John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson remain in Baltimore. The powerful new Brooklyn team is renamed as the Superbas.
- 1900 - Pitcher Jack Taylor, three-times a 20-game winner and 20-game loser, dies of Bright's disease in Staten Island, New York, at 26 of age.
- 1905 - In Lynn, Massachusetts, Rube Waddell prevents a fire by carrying a burning stove out of a store and throwing it into a snow bank. Three days later he flees nearby Peabody to escape charges of assaulting and injuring his wife's parents.
- 1908 - The St. Louis Browns purchase future Hall of Fame pitcher Rube Waddell from the Philadelphia Athletics. The Browns pay $5,000 for Waddell, who won 19 games with a 2.15 ERA in 1907. Waddell will win 19 games in 1908, while lowering his ERA to 1.89.
- 1916 - The Federal League's year-old suit charging antitrust violations by organized baseball is dismissed by mutual consent in U.S. District Court in Chicago by Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. No appellate decision is written and it will not be until 1922 when the courts rule on antitrust.
- 1917 - Tim Murnane, a first baseman on the original Boston National League team of 1876, and later a leading Boston baseball writer, dies in Boston at age of 64.
- 1926 - The Cincinnati Reds acquire catcher Val Picinich from the Boston Red Sox for cash.
- 1934 - The Cincinnati Reds players and officials set sail from New York City to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a month of spring training. They will finish the grapefruit season in Tampa, Florida.
- 1942 - The Cincinnati Reds stirs the hometown fans by selling popular catcher Ernie Lombardi to the Boston Braves, where he will win the National League batting title in 1942 with a .330 average.
- 1949 - New York Yankees superstar Joe DiMaggio signs a one-year contract worth $100,000, becoming the first player to earn a six-figure deal in major league history. In 1948, DiMaggio batted .320, while leading the American League in home runs and RBIs.
- 1958 - The Dodgers officially become the Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc.
- 1959 - Chicago White Sox president Mrs. Dorothy Rigney agrees to sell the team to Bill Veeck for a reported $2.7 million. Chicago insurance broker Charles O. Finley allows that he can match the price. Charles Comiskey will try to stop Veeck from buying the Sox, but will be unsuccessful.
- 1959 - Nap Lajoie dies of pneumonia at the age of 84. Lajoie, who also managed the Cleveland Indians from 1905 to 1909, hit a .338 batting average over a 21-year career and gained election to the Hall of Fame in 1937.
- 1961 - Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Jensen makes a return to the major leagues by signing a $40,000 contract. Jensen had retired in 1960 due to a fear of flying. The layoff will prove detrimental to Jensen, who will hit only .263 with 13 home runs in 1961.
- 1962:
- The Boston Red Sox hire former Indianapolis Clowns scout Ed Scott as their first full-time black scout.
- Lawyer Melvin Belli obtains a writ laying claim to Willie Mays, among other assets, unless the San Francisco Giants pay him the judgment awarded by a jury in January. Belli claims the club failed to file a motion for a new trial before the deadline.
- 1979 - Minor league pitcher Jesse Orosco becomes 'the player to be named later', going to the New York Mets in compensation for pitcher Jerry Koosman, who had been sent to the Minnesota Twins.
- 1983 - The Seattle Mariners select Cincinnati Reds minor league infielder Danny Tartabull as compensation for the loss of free agent pitcher Floyd Bannister to the Chicago White Sox.
- 1987 - For only the second time in major league history, a player is forced to take a pay cut due to salary arbitration, when the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser signs for $800,000, which is a twenty percent reduction from his 1986 salary. Hershiser was 14-14 with a 3.85 ERA in 1986.
- 1994:
- Former National Basketball Association star Michael Jordan signs a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. Jordan will report to spring training before being assigned to Class-AA Birmingham Barons. After one season in the minors, Jordan will return to the NBA.
- The Detroit Tigers sign free agent pitcher Tim Belcher.
- 1995 - Former major league pitcher Cecil Upshaw dies from a heart attack at the age of 52. The side-arming Upshaw saved 27 games in 1969, helping the Atlanta Braves win the National League West Division. In nine seasons, Upshaw made 348 appearances, all in relief.
- 1996 - Dave Winfield announces his retirement at the age of 44. Winfield compiled 3,110 hits, 465 home runs and 1,833 RBI during a 22-year career with the Padres, Yankees, Angels, Blue Jays, Twins and Indians. A 12-time All-Star, he joins Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Stan Musial as the only major league players with 3,000 hits and 400 home runs. Winfield will be elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001.
- 1999 - Veteran pitcher Dennis Martinez announces his retirement. The Nicaraguan right-hander won 245 games with 3,999.2 innings pitched over a 23-year career with the Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Braves. In 1991, he pitched a perfect game as a member of the Expos.
- 2005 - The Detroit Tigers sign All-Star right fielder Magglio Ordóñez for five-years for a reported $75 million. The contract for the free agent slugger, recovering from knee surgery, include options which could extend his stay in Detroit for an additional two years making the deal nearly $100 million.
- 2006:
- Venezuela won its first Caribbean World Series championship since 1989 by rallying for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Dominican Republic. 5 - 4. Alex Gonzalez singled in the tying run off Jorge Sosa and scored the game-winning run on Henry Blanco's pop-fly double. Series MVP Ramón Hernandez also hit a home run for Venezuela's Caracas Lions, who finished 6-0 in the Series. In their previous game against the Dominican's Licey Tigers (4-2), the Lions won 11-9 on Gonzalez's three-run homer off Sosa in the ninth inning. In today's opener, the Carolina Giants of Puerto Rico beat Mexico's Mazatlan Reindeers, 3 - 2, in 11 innings, to clinch third place in the Series (2-4). Mazatlan, the defending champion, went 0-6 and finished last. The Series will be hosted by Puerto Rico in 2007 as part of the annual rotation.
- 2008:
- The Tigres del Licey win their record 10th Caribbean Series title, beating the Aguilas Cibaeñas 8-2 in the finale behind the pitching of Ramon Ortiz and a balanced offense. Ortiz wins Caribbean Series MVP honors. In the other final game of the 2008 Caribbean Series, the Yaquis de Obregón score 5 runs in the 9th for a 7-5 victory over the Tigres de Aragua.
- The fallout from the Mitchell Report continues when Brian McNamee gives a 7-hour deposition to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Meanwhile, Roger Clemens lobbies congressmen and continues to claim McNamee lied about Clemens' use of steroids.
[edit] Births
- 1850 - Mike Hooper, outfielder (d. 1917)
- 1856 - Charlie Reipschlager, catcher (d. 1910)
- 1859 - John Fox, pitcher (d. 1893)
- 1862 - Charlie Dougherty, infielder (d. 1925)
- 1863 - Mike Jordan, outfielder (d. 1940)
- 1865 - Ted Kennedy, pitcher (d. 1907)
- 1866 - Tom Daly, infielder (d. 1938)
- 1867 - Ed Haigh, outfielder (d. 1953)
- 1876 - Pat Moran, catcher, manager (d. 1924)
- 1878 - Spike Shannon, outfielder (d. 1940)
- 1881 - Dave Williams, pitcher (d. 1918)
- 1885 - Barney Reilly, infielder (d. 1934)
- 1891 - Bill Dalrymple, infielder (d. 1967)
- 1893 - Charlie Jamieson, outfielder (d. 1969)
- 1894 - Charlie Jackson, outfielder (d. 1968)
- 1896 - Harold G. Hoffman, minor league executive (d. 1954)
- 1899 - Earl Whitehill, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1900 - Bill Riggins, Negro League infielder (d. ????)
- 1904 - Randy Reese, infielder (d. 1966)
- 1905 - Cy Moore, pitcher (d. 1972)
- 1906 - Art Jones, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1907 - Bill Steinecke, catcher (d. 1986)
- 1912 - Paddy Cottrell, scout (d. 1999)
- 1913 - Mel Almada, outfielder (d. 1988)
- 1919 - Stan Galle, infielder
- 1924 - Paul Owens, manager (d. 2003)
- 1926 - Jerry Lane, pitcher (d. 1988)
- 1926 - Danny Lynch, infielder (d. 1978)
- 1927 - Joe Lonnett, catcher
- 1927 - Al Richter, infielder
- 1928 - Al Smith, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2002)
- 1930 - Felipe Montemayor, outfielder
- 1936 - Frank Leja, infielder (d. 1991)
- 1936 - Franklin D. Williams, minor league outfielded (d. 2008)
- 1937 - Juan Pizarro, pitcher; All-Star
- 1938 - Johnny Werhas, infielder
- 1939 - Frank Kreutzer, pitcher
- 1947 - Ted Ford, outfielder
- 1950 - Burt Hooton, pitcher; All-Star
- 1950 - Tom Maggard, minor league catcher (d. 1973)
- 1951 - Benny Ayala, outfielder
- 1953 - Dan Quisenberry, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1998)
- 1955 - Damaso Garcia, infielder; All-Star
- 1955 - Charlie Puleo, pitcher
- 1957 - Carney Lansford, infielder; All-Star
- 1958 - Ralph Citarella, pitcher
- 1959 - Carlos Ponce, infielder
- 1964 - Bien Figueroa, infielder
- 1965 - Dan Simonds, minor league catcher and manager
- 1966 - Stu Cole, infielder
- 1967 - Lindsay Foster, minor league infielder
- 1974 - Adrian Brown, outfielder
- 1977 - Dave Borkowski, pitcher
- 1978 - Endy Chavez, outfielder
- 1978 - Ben Christensen, minor league pitcher
- 1979 - Eliezer Alfonzo, catcher
- 1979 - Humberto Cota, catcher
- 1979 - Jon Leicester, pitcher
- 1980 - Brad Hennessey, pitcher
- 1981 - Seth McClung, pitcher
- 1983 - Scott Feldman, pitcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1900 - Jack Taylor, pitcher (b. 1873)
- 1917 - Tim Murnane, infielder, manager (b. 1851)
- 1924 - George Kahler, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1937 - Charlie Bell, pitcher (b. 1868)
- 1937 - Jim Miller, infielder (b. 1880)
- 1942 - Joe Poetz, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1943 - Floyd Ritter, catcher (b. 1870)
- 1959 - Nap Lajoie, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1874)
- 1965 - Bruno Betzel, infielder (b. 1894)
- 1965 - Rube Peters, pitcher (b. 1885)
- 1967 - Joe Vitelli, pitcher (b. 1908)
- 1968 - Ollie Marquardt, infielder (b. 1902)
- 1977 - Art Ehlers, general manager (b. 1897)
- 1978 - Roy Grover, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1979 - Warren Giles Hall of Famer (b. 1896)
- 1991 - George DeTore, infielder (b. 1906)
- 1993 - Floyd Stromme, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1995 - Cecil Upshaw, pitcher (b. 1942)
- 1996 - Red Webb, pitcher (b. 1924)
- 1997 - Manny Salvo, pitcher (b. 1913)
- 1997 - Jim Walkup, pitcher (b. 1909)
- 2000 - Ed Linn, author (b. 1922)
- 2008 - Hank Nowak, minor league outfielder (b. 1917)
