February 8
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 8.
[edit] Events
- 1887:
- King Kelly meets with Chicago White Stockings owner Albert Spalding for contract talks. Kelly, who won the National League batting championship for the pennant-winning White Stockings, wants the bonus of $375 that Spalding promised for good behavior last year. Spalding refuses to give him the bonus or to rescind the additional $225 withheld from Kelly's salary as fines for drinking. Six days later, Kelly will be sold to the Boston Beaneaters.
- The National League franchise in St. Louis, MO is sold to a group from Indianapolis, IN for $12,000, including players. The Maroons will now become the Hoosiers.
- 1889 - In New York City, workers are dismantling fences at the Polo Grounds to cut a street through the property, leaving the New York Giants without a home for the coming season.
- 1901 - It is rumored that Nap Lajoie, National League leading hitter and Phillies top player, has jumped to the Philadelphia Athletics of the new American League.
- 1916 - The National League turns down a request from Brooklyn Dodgers owner Charles Ebbets, who had wanted to impose a limit of 2,000 seats that clubs can sell for 25 cents. The Boston Braves has 10,000 such seats, St. Louis Cardinals 9,000, Philadelphia Phillies 6,500, and Cincinnati Reds 4,000.
- 1927 - Pitcher Sad Sam Jones is traded by the New York Yankees to the St. Louis Browns in exchange for pitcher Joe Giard and outfielder Cedric Durst. Jones will be 8 - 14 in his only season in St. Louis.
- 1932 - Waite Hoyt is released by the Philadelphia Athletics and will sign with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
- 1940 - The St. Louis Browns make one of their best acquisitions ever when they purchase pitcher Elden Auker from the Boston Red Sox. Auker will become the ace of the Browns staff winning 44 games over the next three seasons.
- 1941 - The Detroit Tigers release future Hall of Fame Earl Averill and sign outfielder Hoot Evers, a star at the University of Illinois. Averill will eventually sign a contract with the Boston Braves but will hit only .118 in 17 at-bats, ending his major league career.
- 1942 - At California's Folsom prison, the annual game between major leaguers and the prison team is stopped when it is discovered that two prisoners have escaped. With the pros leading 24 - 5 at the end of seven innings, the game ends and guards go after the two lifers, who are found three hours later. The major leaguers include Ernie Lombardi, Tiny Bonham, Gus Suhr, Joe Marty, and Johnny Babich.
- 1956:
- The legendary Connie Mack dies at age 93. After managing Pittsburgh's National League club from 1894 to 1896, the former catcher became a prominent figure in Ban Johnson's Western League. A founder of the American League in 1901, Mack managed and owned the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1950, leading the team to five World Series titles and nine American League pennants. He won election to the Hall of Fame in 1937.
- The Washington Senators send pitcher Mickey McDermott and shortstop Bob Kline to the New York Yankees in exchange for catcher Lou Berberet, outfielder Whitey Herzog, and three more players.
- 1962 - The Federal Trade Commission accuses Topps Chewing Gum of illegally monopolizing the baseball card industry. In 1980, a court decision will open the door to competition.
- 1968 - The Cincinnati Reds trade catcher Johnny Edwards to the St. Louis Cardinals for infielder Jim Williams and catcher Pat Corrales.
- 1972 - Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard are elected to the Hall of Fame through the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues. The two former stars, who led the Homestead Grays to nine straight league championships from 1937 to 1945, become the second and third players to be selected by the Committee, joining Satchel Paige, who was elected in 1971.
- 1973 - MLB owners announce that "early bird" spring training camps are canceled until all bargaining with the Players' Association is concluded.
- 1978 - The Milwaukee Brewers purchase slugger Gorman Thomas from the Texas Rangers.
- 1982 - The Los Angeles Dodgers trade veteran second baseman Davey Lopes to the Oakland Athletics for minor leaguer Lance Hudson. The move breaks up the Dodgers infield, which had been intact since 1974. The other starting infielders, Steve Garvey (1B), Bill Russell (SS) and Ron Cey (3B) remain with the team.
- 1983 - One day after taking a job as director of sports promotions for the Claridge Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, Mickey Mantle is ordered to sever his ties with Major League Baseball by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. Mantle joins fellow Hall of Famer Willie Mays as players banned from baseball by Kuhn for involvement with legalized gambling.
- 1984 - After losing Type A free agent Tom Underwood to the Orioles, Oakland grab pitcher Tim Belcher from the Yankees as compensation. The number-one selection in the June 1983 draft, Belcher did not sign with Minnesota and was available in the January draft. The Yankees signed him on February 2, only to lose him because they had already submitted their list of 26 protected players.
- 1991 - Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens signs a four-year $21,521,000 contract extension, making him baseball's highest paid player.
- 1999 - Boston Red Sox outfielder Midre Cummings has his arbitration case heard by Elizabeth Neumeier. It is the first arbitration case in MLB history to be decided by a female arbitrator. Since the arbitration rule went into effect in 1974, all 409 cases have been decided by men.
- 2001 - The Aguilas Cibaeñas (Eagles of Cibao) of Dominican Republic defeats Mexico's , 5-3, to take its fourth Caribbean Series title for his country in the last five years. The Aguilas also won in 1997-98, and the Tigres del Licey (Licey Tigers) was the champion in 1999.
- 2002 - In Caracas, Venezuela, the Tomateros de Culiacan (Culiacan Tomato Growers) of Mexico defeats Puerto Rico's Vaqueros de Bayamón (Bayamon Cowboys) to win the 2002 Caribbean Series title.
- 2005 - Magglio Ordóñez, the last remaining premier free agent of the offseason, and the Detroit Tigers agree to a $75 million, five-year contract, a deal with two option years that could raise the total to $105 million over seven seasons.
- 2006 - Emil Brown defeated the Kansas City Royals in salary arbitration and will get his request for $1,775,000 rather than the team's offer of $1.4 million. Brown set career highs last season in average (.286), doubles (31), home runs (17) and RBI (86) for the Royals, who had the worst record in the major leagues at 56-106.
- 2008 - The Baltimore Orioles deal Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners for prospects Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Chris Tillman, Tony Butler and Kam Mickolio. Bedard was leading the 2007 AL in strikeouts before a rib injury cut his season short. Jones was a former first-round pick who hit 25 home runs in AAA in 2007 at age 22. Tillman was Seattle's minor league pitcher of the year in 2007.
[edit] Births
- 1854 - Charlie Householder, infielder (d. 1913)
- 1867 - Bug Holliday, outfielder (d. 1910)
- 1873 - John Richter, infielder (d. 1927)
- 1877 - Martin Glendon, pitcher (d. 1950)
- 1883 - Joe Cassidy, infielder (d. 1906)
- 1886 - Fred Blanding, pitcher (d. 1950)
- 1886 - Roy Ellam, infielder (d. 1948)
- 1889 - Gene Elliott, outfielder (d. 1976)
- 1890 - Ray Bates, infielder (d. 1970)
- 1892 - Manuel Cueto, outfielder (d. 1942)
- mid-1890s - Clarence Roper, minor league infielder/manager (d. 1974)
- 1899 - Bob Cobb, minor league owner (d. 1970)
- 1906 - Bruce Caldwell, outfielder (d. 1959)
- 1909 - William Prince, minor league pitcher and manager
- 1911 - Rae Blaemire, catcher (d. 1975)
- 1911 - Don Heffner, infielder, manager (d. 1989)
- 1914 - Mel Bosser, pitcher (d. 1986)
- 1914 - Bert Haas, infielder; All-Star (d. 1999)
- 1918 - Danny Carnevale, coach (d. 2005)
- 1918 - Cookie Cuccurullo, pitcher (d. 1983)
- 1918 - Butch Nieman, outfielder (d. 1993)
- 1920 - Buddy Blattner, infielder
- 1920 - Dewey Soriano, owner (d. 1998)
- 1921 - Hoot Evers, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1991)
- 1921 - Betsy Jochum, AAGPBL outfielder and pitcher
- 1921 - Willard Marshall, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2000)
- 1922 - Monty Basgall, infielder (d. 2005)
- 1924 - Joe Black, pitcher (d. 2002)
- 1925 - Milt Nielsen, outfielder (d. 2005)
- 1931 - Larry Dolan, owner
- 1939 - Harvey Branch, pitcher
- 1942 - Fritz Peterson, pitcher; All-Star
- 1942 - Costen Shockley, infielder
- 1943 - Bob Oliver, infielder
- 1944 - Isao Shibata, NPB outfielder
- 1946 - Oscar Brown, outfielder
- 1946 - Larry Burchart, pitcher
- 1949 - Phil Meyer, minor league pitcher
- 1951 - Steve Dillard, infielder
- 1964 - Edgar Diaz, infielder
- 1973 - Keith McDonald, catcher
- 1975 - Tony Mounce, pitcher
- 1976 - Jim Parque, pitcher
- 1976 - Adam Piatt, outfielder
- 1979 - Aaron Cook, pitcher; All-Star
- 1979 - Ryan Snare, pitcher
- 1983 - Chase Wright, pitcher
- 1983 - Mauro Zarate, pitcher
- 1983 - Burke Badenhop, pitcher
- 1984 - Young-min Ko, KBO infielder
- 1985 - Félix Pie, outfielder
- 1986 - Matt Bush, minor league infielder
[edit] Deaths
- 1892 - Spider Clark, outfielder (b. 1867)
- 1895 - Roger Carey, infielder (b. 1865)
- 1897 - Fleury Sullivan, pitcher (b. 1862)
- 1910 - Flip Lafferty, outfielder (b. 1854)
- 1910 - Cy Vorhees, pitcher (b. 1874)
- 1934 - Tom Sexton, infielder (b. 1865)
- 1936 - Jimmy Dygert, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1941 - Frank Beck, pitcher (b. 1860)
- 1943 - Dan Casey, pitcher (b. 1862)
- 1949 - John Carden, pitcher (b. 1921)
- 1951 - Harry Ables, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1956 - Roy Hitt, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1956 - Tom Hughes, pitcher (b. 1878)
- 1956 - Connie Mack, catcher, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1862)
- 1957 - Lee McElwee, infielder (b. 1894)
- 1960 - Punch Knoll, outfielder (b. 1881)
- 1961 - Bert Yeabsley, pinch hitter (b. 1893)
- 1962 - Charlie Meara, outfielder (b. 1891)
- 1965 - Ray Brown, Negro League pitcher (b. 1908)
- 1965 - Ray Kremer, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1966 - Gene Paulette, infielder (b. 1891)
- 1968 - Joe Matthews, pitcher (b. 1898)
- 1970 - John Churry, catcher (b. 1900)
- 1971 - Bobby Burke, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1973 - Roy Spencer, catcher (b. 1900)
- 1977 - Boardwalk Brown, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1978 - Josephine Kabick, AAGPBL pitcher (b. 1922)
- 1979 - Alex Gaston, catcher (b. 1893)
- 1982 - Eddie Turchin, infielder (b. 1917)
- 1983 - Rufe Clarke, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1992 - Fabian Gaffke, outfielder (b. 1913)
- 1992 - Wally Shannon, infielder (b. 1933)
- 1996 - Del Ennis, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1925)
- 1997 - Hal Warnock, outfielder (b. 1912)
- 1998 - Betty Foss, AAGPBL infielder (b. 1929)
- 1999 - Carl Sumner, outfielder (b. 1908)
- 2000 - Ben Catchings, minor league infielder (b.1912)
- 2002 - Steve Roser, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 2005 - Mike Bishop, catcher (b. 1958)
