February 25
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on February 25.
Events[edit]
- 1880 - Yale University chooses not to join the American College Baseball Association because of professional players on other teams.
- 1881 - Third baseman Jim O'Rourke signs with the Buffalo Bisons. He boasts that the contract is for $2,000, Buffalo puts the figure at $1,300.
- 1882 - Providence Grays players and their opponents will be expected to parade down the streets of Providence in full uniform, accompanied by a brass band, on game days in order to encourage attendance.
- 1889:
- The Tourists play their final game in Italy, with the All Americas winning, 7 - 4 in Florence.
- The National League Committee on Rules recommends that umpires be given authority to fine unruly players $10 for a first offense.
- 1905 - The Chicago Cubs go to Santa Monica, California for spring training, while most clubs go south or stay close to home.
- 1917 - The Chicago White Sox acquire first baseman Chick Gandil from the Cleveland Indians for $3,500.
- 1919 - Monte Irvin is born in Haleburg, Alabama. Irvin will become a star in the Negro Leagues before joining the New York Giants in 1949. He will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1973.
- 1925 - John McGraw arrives in Florida and is installed as president of a real estate development near Bradenton called Pennant Park. With streets named for early New York Giants heroes, and lots offered for $2,500 to $5,000, McGraw hires a fleet of salesmen and heads north. New York newspapers run a series of full-page ads featuring a picture of John McGraw with the bold caption "You've followed me, now follow me in real estate." A year later, the boom will go bust, washed away by two hurricanes. McGraw will incur a loss of $100,000 after paying off close friends, players, and other investors, and will be hounded by creditors.
- 1933 - Tom Yawkey buys the Boston Red Sox from Bob Quinn. Just four days earlier, Yawkey collected $7 million in inheritance. Yawkey will own the Red Sox for 44 years.
- 1934 - Former New York Giants manager John McGraw dies from prostate cancer in New Rochelle, New York, at age 60. McGraw led the Giants to nine National League pennants and three World Championships during a 33-year managing career. His last public appearance was in 1933 in the first All-Star Game ever as National League manager.
- 1940 - Ron Santo is born in Seattle, WA. He will be one of the greatest third basemen in history, playing 14 of his 15 major league seasons with the Chicago Cubs and hitting 342 home runs. He will elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011, barely a year after his death from diabetes.
- 1946:
- Back from the military, Ted Williams hits the first spring training pitch he sees for a home run.
- The Chicago White Sox hand out the first media guide to beat writers. Just 17 pages long, it is the creation of Marsh Samuel, according to historian Peggy Beck. The project intrigues Bill Veeck, owner of the Cleveland Indians, who hires Samuel away from the Sox to create a guide for the Tribe.
- 1951 - Smokey Joe Williams dies in New York City at age 62. Williams has been considered by many historians to be one of the game's greatest pitchers, even though he never played a game in the white major leagues. He spent his entire 27-year career (1905-1932) pitching in the Negro Leagues, Mexico and the Caribbean, but his path to Organised Baseball was barred by the color line. During his stellar career, he defeated five Hall of Fame pitchers in exhibition competition: Grover Alexander, Charles Bender, Waite Hoyt, Walter Johnson and Rube Marquard. In 1999, after extensive research on the early years of black baseball reveal his outstanding numbers, Williams will gain Hall of Fame honors himself.
- 1957 - The United States Supreme Court decides 6-3 that baseball is the only professional sport exempt from antitrust laws. The issue arises when pro football seeks similar protection from the laws.
- 1969 – A pension plan for Major League Baseball is agreed on, with players to receive $5.45 million per year. They also get a percentage of television revenues, a reduction in the years necessary to qualify for a pension from five to four (retroactive to 1959), and a lowered minimum age for drawing a pension from 50 to 45.
- 1972 - The St. Louis Cardinals trade future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Rick Wise. The trade will prove to be one of the best in the history of the Philadelphia franchise, as Carlton will win an amazing 27 games for the last-place Phillies this season. During his career with the Phillies, Carlton will collect 241 wins, four Cy Young awards and help the Phils win six NL East crowns, two National League pennants, and the 1980 World Series.
- 1973 - Players and owners come to terms on a three-year collective bargaining agreement. The new deal allows teams to open spring training on March 1st. Among the provisions of the agreement are a $15,000 minimum salary, salary arbitration, and the "ten and five" trade rule, which permits a player with ten years in the major leagues, the last five of which are with his current team, to veto any trade involving him.
- 1975 - The Baltimore Orioles trade first baseman Boog Powell, one of the most popular players in franchise history, to the Cleveland Indians for catcher Dave Duncan and a minor leaguer. In 14 seasons with the Orioles, Powell hit 303 home runs, helping the club to four World Series appearances. Powell will power 27 home runs for the Indians this season.
- 1981 - The Executive Board of the Players' Association votes unanimously to strike on May 29th if the issue of free agent compensation remains unresolved. That deadline will be extended briefly, however, when the Players' Association's unfair labor practices complaint is heard by the National Labor Relations Board.
- 1987 - Commissioner Peter Ueberroth bans pitcher LaMarr Hoyt from Major League Baseball for the 1987 season due to multiple drug-related incidents during the past year. The penalty will be reduced to 60 days and the San Diego Padres will be ordered to reinstate him by an arbitrator.
- 1994 - The Veterans Committee elects Phil Rizzuto to the Hall of Fame in one of the most controversial decisions in the Committee's history.
- 1998 - Free agent pitcher Jack McDowell signs a one-year contract with the Anaheim Angels.
- 1999:
- The Arizona Diamondbacks acquire second baseman Tony Womack from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for two players.
- Frank Robinson is hired by Major League Baseball to handle on-field disciplinary matters. Previously, such matters were handled by the individual league offices.
- 2002:
- Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Matt Williams breaks a bone in his left leg during a morning workout. Arizona does not issue a timetable for the return of the 36-year-old veteran.
- 84-year-old Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell announces this season will be his last as Detroit Tigers radio play-by-play announcer. The winner of the 1981 Ford C. Frick Award for baseball broadcasting excellence has worked for the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants and Baltimore Orioles before moving to Detroit during his 62-year career behind a microphone.
- 2003 - Toronto Blue Jays World Series hero Joe Carter is selected to be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on June 28th. Pete Rose, who collected his 4000th hit with the Montreal Expos, was one of the 46 nominees considered, but was not chosen by 75 per cent of the voters.
- 2005 - Kerry Konrad, a New York Yankees fan whose $2,325 bid won an eBay auction giving him the one-day naming rights to the Fleet Center Arena in Boston, wants to call it the "Derek Jeter Center," after the Yankees' shortstop and team captain. But instead, the Manhattan lawyer agrees to call it the "Jimmy Fund Center," after a Boston friend and Red Sox fan donated an additional $6,275 for the children charitable effort, bringing the total amount to $8,600, symbolizing the 86 years between Red Sox World Championships.
- 2010 - The Rangers void the contract of IF Khalil Greene, whom they signed as a free agent in January, citing "a recurrence of issues he's dealt with in the past", a reference to previous bouts of social anxiety disorder that forced Greene to make two stints on the disabled list while playing for the Cardinals last season.
- 2012:
- Oft-injured fireballing reliever Joel Zumaya suffers another setback, after throwing only 13 pitches in a batting practice session for the Twins. He leaves the mound in obvious pain and will be diagnosed tomorrow with a torn ligament in his elbow, putting him out for the season, and ending his career.
- The Division de Honor begins its season. CB Barcelona, replacing 2011 champion FC Barcelona as Barcelona's top team (after soccer powerhouse FC Barcelona withdrew sponsorship), beats Navarra Baseball, 2 - 0, in the opener.
- 2013 - Major League Baseball announces changes to its umpiring crews for the coming season, following the resignation of three veteran umpires, Derryl Cousins, Ed Rapuano and Tim Tschida, over the winter. Jim Joyce, Ted Barrett and Fieldin Culbreth are all named crew chiefs, while Vic Carapazza, Manny Gonzalez and Alan Porter are added to the full-time umpiring staff; all three have taken part in a number of games as fill-in umpires over the past few seasons.
- 2016 - Major League Baseball announces changes to the rules that touch on two aspects of play: first limiting the length of mound visits by coaches and managers, and the amount of time between innings, in order to speed up play; and second defining what constitutes a legal slide into a base. The latter is the result of a number of injuries last season to fielders attempting to complete a double play, notably Jung-ho Kang and Ruben Tejada.
- 2018 - Spring training is a time to clear out the cobwebs for everyone - including those who provide the entertainment between innings. Today, a Grapefruit League game between the Cardinals and Astros at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, FL is delayed for several minutes as the driver of a promotional car which made a drive-through around the field is unable to get it out as planned through a door in the outfield fence. A production truck is apparently parked too close behind the opening, making for too tight a turn. The driver tries to make something like a thirty-point turn before giving up and exiting through another gate at the opposing end of the field.
Births[edit]
- 1854 - Ed Cogswell, infielder (d. 1888)
- 1862 - Charlie Kelly, infielder (d. 1940)
- 1863 - Hezekiah Allen, catcher (d. 1916)
- 1872 - Bob McHale, outfielder (d. 1952)
- 1874 - Curley Maloney, minor league outfielder and manager (d. 1950)
- 1879 - Ryozo Hiranuma, college official; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1959)
- 1883 - Jack Hannifin, infielder (d. 1945)
- 1884 - Bob Bescher, outfielder (d. 1942)
- 1889 - Dave Morey, pitcher (d. 1986)
- 1889 - Elmer Rieger, pitcher (d. 1959)
- 1893 - Phil Slattery, pitcher (d. 1968)
- 1897 - Bob Vines, pitcher (d. 1982)
- 1899 - Bobby Anderson, infielder (d. 1975)
- 1899 - Stan Rees, pitcher (d. 1937)
- 1900 - Joe Burns, catcher (d. 1986)
- 1900 - Duke Gillespie, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1905 - Eddie Dwight, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1975)
- 1905 - Ormsby Roy, infielder/outfielder (d. 1959)
- 1908 - Al Hollingsworth, pitcher (d. 1996)
- 1911 - Masao Date, amateur player; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1992)
- 1911 - Roy Weir, pitcher (d. 1989)
- 1912 - Jim Hayes, pitcher (d. 1993)
- 1915 - Roy Weatherly, outfielder (d. 1991)
- 1916 - José Saint-Claire, minor league catcher and manager
- 1918 - George Diehl, pitcher (d. 1986)
- 1918 - Vance Kidwell, minor league infielder (d. 2012)
- 1919 - Monte Irvin, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 2016)
- 1921 - Andy Pafko, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2013)
- 1924 - Jack Lohrke, infielder (d. 2009)
- 1925 - Art Oliver, minor league infielder (d. 2014)
- 1927 - Woody Smith, minor league infielder and manager
- 1929 - Syd Thrift, general manager (d. 2006)
- 1931 - Jim Dunn, pitcher (d. 1999)
- 1934 - Johnny Schaive, infielder (d. 2009)
- 1936 - Ed Mathes, scout (d. 2010)
- 1936 - Jerry Reinsdorf, owner
- 1938 - Yasuo Kajimoto, NPB pitcher
- 1938 - Gerry Reimer, minor league first baseman/outfielder
- 1939 - Jaime Fabela, minor league outfielder and manager
- 1939 - Denny Lemaster, pitcher; All-Star
- 1940 - Danny Cater, infielder
- 1940 - Ron Santo, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 2010)
- 1941 - Dave Vineyard, pitcher
- 1944 - Stump Merrill, , manager
- 1947 - Ken Szotkiewicz, infielder
- 1948 - Jerry Wilson, college coach (d. 2017)
- 1950 - Masaaki Yamane, Japanese national team infielder
- 1951 - Cesar Cedeno, outfielder; All-Star
- 1954 - Bob Brenly, catcher, manager; All-Star
- 1955 - Pablo Peguero, scout (d. 2021)
- 1956 - Kevin Hickey, pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1956 - Ed Lynch, pitcher
- 1957 - Steve Perry, minor league pitcher
- 1959 - Ken Dayley, pitcher
- 1959 - Yujiro Miyako, NPB pitcher
- 1961 - Dana Kiecker, pitcher
- 1961 - Alejo O'Reilly, Cuban leagues infielder
- 1963 - Larry Arndt, infielder (d. 2014)
- 1963 - Joel McKeon, pitcher
- 1963 - Paul O'Neill, outfielder; All-Star
- 1963 - Deok-kyu Yun, KBO outfielder
- 1964 - Glenn Fairchild, minor league infielder
- 1964 - Ki-woong Kang, KBO infielder
- 1964 - Rich Rowland, catcher
- 1964 - Mark Stancel, minor league pitcher (d. 1993)
- 1964 - Bill Voeltz, minor league pitcher (d. 2006)
- 1965 - Dean Freeland, minor league outfielder
- 1966 - Chin-Fan Ho, CPBL infielder
- 1967 - Jose Moreno, minor league catcher and manager
- 1968 - David Hulse, outfielder
- 1969 - Huck Flener, pitcher
- 1969 - Les Norman, outfielder
- 1969 - Josman Robles, minor league infielder and manager
- 1970 - Alfonso Mota, minor league infielder (d. 2011)
- 1971 - Shigeo Tamaki, NPB pitcher
- 1974 - Shannon Stewart, outfielder
- 1975 - Jason Hill, minor league catcher
- 1977 - Ramon Ramirez, Panamanian national team pitcher
- 1978 - Seung-hwan Choi, KBO catcher
- 1979 - Josh Labandeira, infielder
- 1979 - Ryan Newman, minor league infielder
- 1981 - Elvis Morel, minor league infielder and manager
- 1981 - Robin van Doornspeek, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1981 - Vasili Spanos, minor league infielder
- 1982 - Matt Kutler, minor league outfielder
- 1983 - Jay Marshall, pitcher
- 1983 - Daron Roberts, minor league outfielder
- 1984 - Zaheer Bashir, Pakistani national team catcher
- 1984 - Michael Bertram, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Xavier Paul, outfielder
- 1986 - Erik Cordier, pitcher
- 1986 - Jun-woo Jeon, KBO outfielder
- 1986 - Patrick White, drafted outfielder
- 1987 - Bryan Evans, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Wenxin Gu, China Baseball League outfielder
- 1987 - Phil Irwin, pitcher
- 1987 - Chia-Rui Mai, CPBL pitcher
- 1987 - Henry Rodriguez, pitcher
- 1987 - Andrew Werner, pitcher
- 1988 - Nathan Adcock, pitcher
- 1988 - Conor Mullee, pitcher
- 1988 - Raúl Terrazas, Bolivian national team outfielder
- 1990 - Thari Diefenbach, Dutch women's national team infielder
- 1990 - Felix Pena, pitcher
- 1991 - Landon Adelman, New Zealand national team pitcher
- 1992 - Min-ho Park, KBO pitcher
- 1993 - Erick Castillo, catcher
- 1993 - Erick Fedde, pitcher
- 1993 - Štěpán Havlíček, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - Ángelo Mora, minor league infielder
- 1993 - Christian Sket, Croatian national team utility man
- 1995 - Adrián Almeida, minor league pitcher
- 1995 - Sampath Ruwan Kumara, Sri Lankan national team pitcher-outfielder
- 1996 - Aaron Fletcher, pitcher
- 1997 - Josh Stowers, minor league outfielder
- 1998 - Omar Estévez, minor league infielder
- 1999 - Rafael Marchan, catcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1891 - Jeremiah Reardon, pitcher (b. 1868)
- 1898 - Tom Power, infielder (b. 1869)
- 1916 - Art Allison, outfielder (b. 1849)
- 1926 - Otto Hess, pitcher (b. 1878)
- 1934 - John McGraw, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1873)
- 1937 - George Darby, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1944 - Bill Knowlton, pitcher (b. 1898)
- 1944 - Tommy Mills, college coach (b. ~1883)
- 1951 - Joe Williams, pitcher, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1886)
- 1955 - Ike Kamp, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1956 - Jack Lewis, infielder (b. 1884)
- 1962 - Max Bishop, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1962 - Tink Turner, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1963 - Bill Hughes, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1966 - Garland Braxton, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1969 - Russ Wrightstone, infielder (b. 1893)
- 1980 - Dick Whitworth, minor league pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1981 - Frank McCrea, catcher (b. 1896)
- 1986 - George Susce, catcher (b. 1907)
- 1997 - Cal Abrams, outfielder (b. 1924)
- 1998 - Joe Gallagher, outfielder (b. 1914)
- 1999 - Earl Huckleberry, pitcher (b. 1910)
- 2000 - Culley Rikard, outfielder (b. 1914)
- 2001 - Bitsy Mott, infielder (b. 1918)
- 2002 - Edward Martin, college coach (b. 1925)
- 2003 - Richie Lazar, umpire (b. 1928)
- 2003 - Fujio Ueda, NPB infielder (b. 1912)
- 2005 - Nick Colosi, umpire (b. 1927)
- 2005 - Don LeJohn, infielder (b. 1934)
- 2008 - Roy Wise, pitcher (b. 1923)
- 2011 - Bart Hunton, minor league infielder (b. 1982)
- 2012 - Dave Cheadle, pitcher (b. 1952)
- 2014 - Mike Proffitt, minor league pitcher (b. 1950)
- 2014 - Rick Smoliak, college coach (b. 1943)
- 2017 - Bumps Vaughan, college coach (b. 1926)
- 2018 - Charles Baird, minor league player and manager (b. 1923)
- 2018 - Dempsie Britt, minor league pitcher (b. 1929)
- 2020 - George Yankowski, catcher (b. 1922)
- 2021 - Alfredo Mariscal, minor league pitcher (b. 1942)
- 2022 - Al Autry, pitcher (b. 1952)
- 2023 - Dave Nicholson, outfielder (b. 1939)
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