January 3 – The Baltimore Orioles release veteran left-hander Harvey Haddix. The 40-year-old hurler, famed for throwing 12 perfect innings (before giving up a baserunner, a hit, and the game itself in the 13th) on May 26, 1959, is beginning a new career as a pitching coach for the 1966 New York Mets.
February 24 – The Orioles fly their starting catcher, Dick Brown, from their spring training camp to Baltimore to undergo tests to determine the cause of his severe headaches. Two weeks later, the 31-year-old Brown undergoes surgery to remove a brain tumor. Although he recovers from the operation, Brown's career is ended and he will ultimately succumb to the malady in April 1970.
March 5 – In what will prove to be one of the more influential off-the-field events in Major League history, United Steelworkers union official Marvin Miller is elected the Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). Under Miller's guidance, the players' union will make major gains such as salary increases, improvements in pension benefits, and the advent of free agency and salary arbitration. Miller will occupy his position from 1966 to 1982, as the players' union was transformed into one of the strongest unions in the United States.
March 17 – Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale escalate their threat of retirement by signing movie contracts. On March 30, they will end their 32-day holdout, signing for $130,000 and $105,000 respectively.
March 30
The Houston Astros activate veteran right-hander Robin Roberts. The 39-year-old future Hall-of-Famer had signed a coach's contract after the 1965 season, and given the opportunity to pitch himself back onto the Houston mound staff over spring training.
MLB officially enters the Southeastern U.S., as 50,671 fans show up at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium to watch the Braves' first home game. In 13 innings, the Braves fall to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3–2. Atlanta's Joe Torre hits the first homer in the ballpark, but the decisive blow is Willie Stargell's two-run blast off starting pitcher Tony Cloninger in the top of the 13th. Torre's second homer of the day, a solo shot in the home half, narrows the margin of defeat to one run.
April 19 – The California Angels play their first regular-season game in their new ballpark, Anaheim Stadium, in front of 31,660 fans. The Angels' Rick Reichardt scores the first run, with a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the second inning. The Angels fall to the Chicago White Sox and Tommy John, 3–1, with Marcelino Lopez taking the loss for the home side.
April 26 – The Los Angeles Dodgers place coach and veteran infielder Jim Gilliam on their 28-man roster. Gilliam will start 52 games at third base during the 1966 season and help the Dodgers win the NL pennant in his last year as an active player.
The Chicago Cubs trade minor-league third baseman Bobby Cox to the Atlanta Braves for spare outfielder Billy Cowan. Cox, 24, never plays for the MLB Braves but he will return to the team to become their Hall-of-Fame manager over 25 seasons between 1978 and 2010.
April 30 – The California Angels erase a 9–3, eighth-inning deficit by scoring 12 runs, as they defeat the Boston Red Sox, 16–9 at Fenway Park. During the 11-hit, late-game uprising, Rick Reichardt hits two home runs and drives in four.
May 1 – "Sudden Sam" McDowell, the Cleveland Indians' fireballing, 23-year-old left-hander, one-hits the visiting Chicago White Sox and earns his fourth win of the year (without a loss) with a 1–0 victory. Don Buford's third-inning double spoils the no no. McDowell himself singles twice in his three at bats off hard-luck loser Tommy John. Cleveland's record improves to 11–1, but, incredibly, the Indians are a half game behind the first-place, 12–1 Baltimore Orioles.
May 4
At Yankee Stadium, Indians shortstop Larry Brown and left-fielder Leon Wagner collide while chasing a fourth-inning pop fly hit by Roger Maris. Wagner sustains a concussion but misses only one game of action; however, Brown suffers a broken nose and fractured skull and he doesn't return to the Cleveland lineup until June 16. Maris's popup lands for a double, but Sonny Siebert fires a complete-game, 2–1 Tribe victory.
May 6 – In a head-to-head matchup between the Indians (now 14–1 and back in first place) and Orioles (who've fallen to 12–3) at Memorial Stadium, it takes 15 innings for Baltimore to outlast Cleveland, 3-2. The Tribe take a 2–1 lead in the visitors' half of the 15th, but the Orioles tie the game on rookie Davey Johnson's home run and win it on a "walk-off," RBI single by Boog Powell.
May 7 – One day after the New York Yankees' record falls to 4–16, general manager Ralph Houk fires Johnny Keane as manager and returns to manage the team himself. Dan Topping, Jr. replaces Houk as general manager. Houk had managed the Yankees to three consecutive American League pennants from 1961 to 1963 and a World Series title during the first two of those years, but his second stint will have a far less than successful beginning. Their talent and farm system both depleted, the Yankees, after finishing in sixth place in 1965, will finish dead last—their first time doing so since 1912.
May 16 – Detroit Tigers manager Chuck Dressen is hospitalized with his second heart attack in as many seasons. Third-base coach Bob Swift takes over as interim manager for the second consecutive year while Dressen recuperates.
San Francisco Giants' staff ace and future Hall-of-Famer Juan Marichal improves to 10–0 in 11 starts with a 5–3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field. Marichal has thrown nine complete games and four shutouts—including a 14-inning, complete game blanking of the Philadelphia Phillies May 26—and the three earned runs he allows today "balloon" his ERA from 0.59 to 0.80.
June 4 – The once-proud New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, lodged in eighth and ninth place in the ten-team American League, use 11 pitchers in all and battle for 16 innings at Fenway Park before the Red Sox' Jim Gosger blasts a walk-off home run with two men on base off Dooley Womack, giving Boston a 6–3 win.
The Baltimore Orioles (38–20) defeat the New York Yankees 2–1, while the Cleveland Indians (35–19) split a double-header, enabling the Orioles to take sole possession of first place in the American League standings by one game. They will remain the AL front-runner through the rest of the season.
July 3 – At Candlestick Park, Atlanta Braves pitcher Tony Cloninger hits two grand slams in a game against the Giants; he thus becomes the first National League player and only pitcher in major league history to do so. His nine RBI in a game also is a record for pitchers. The Braves win 17–3 and Cloninger improves his record to 9–7.
July 5 – Sandy Koufax wins his 15th game of 1966 (against three losses), shutting out the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium 1–0, with third baseman John Kennedy knocking in the winning run. Searching for right-handed thump off their bench, Los Angeles today also signs veteran slugger Dick Stuart, 33, released by the New York Mets on June 15.
Struggling at 37–46, the Cincinnati Reds replace first-year manager Don Heffner with third-base coach Dave Bristol. At 33, Bristol becomes the youngest manager in the majors.
July 14 – Detroit Tigers' interim manager Bob Swift, at the helm since May 16 when Chuck Dressen took a medical leave for treatment of a heart attack, is hospitalized with inoperable lung cancer; Frank Skaff, a Tiger coach, becomes the club's second interim manager of the 1966 season. The 51-year-old Swift, a former Tiger catcher, succumbs to cancer October 17.
July 21 – Against the Washington Senators in D.C., Minnesota Twins pitcher Jim Merritt strikes out 12 in a 1–0 shutout win. Seven of the dozen strikeouts are consecutive, in the middle innings, to set an American League record. The final out in Merritt's string is his mound opponent Jim Hannan, who ironically had struck out Merritt just prior to the strikeout streak beginning.
July 25 – During his Hall of Fame induction speech, Ted Williams publicly calls on baseball to induct former great players from the Negro leagues. He specifically calls for the induction of Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige. Williams' wish becomes true five years later when Paige is inducted into the Hall of Fame.
July 27 – At Dodger Stadium, Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers faces Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies in the first matchup of perfect-game pitchers. The Dodgers defeat the Phillies 2–1 in 12 innings with neither pitcher involved in the decision; both pitchers had worked 11 innings, with Koufax giving up four hits and striking out 16 and Bunning six hits and striking out 12.
July 28 – Rick Reichardt, the hard-hitting, 23-year-old California Angels left-fielder, is forced to the sidelines by kidney disease. After having one kidney removed in August, Reichardt misses all but one game for the rest of 1966—returning to pinch hit in the Halos' final regular season game on October 2. Fully recovered by 1967, he goes on to play in the majors through April 9, 1974, bashing 116 home runs in 997 career games.
August 1 – Jimmy Wynn, the Houston Astros' standout young centerfielder, breaks his arm crashing into the Connie Mack Stadium outfield wall chasing a long drive hit by the Philadelphia Phillies' Dick Allen. The drive stays in the yard, but Allen legs out an inside-the-park home run, delivering a "walk-off," ten-inning 6–5 Philadelphia victory. Worse yet, Wynn is sidelined for the remainder of the season and the Astros drop 35 of their last 58 games.
August 9 – With the Atlanta Braves sitting at 52–59, seventh in the ten-team National league, fourth-year skipper Bobby Bragan is replaced by coach Billy Hitchcock at the team's helm. Under Hitchcock, the Braves recover to win 33 of their last 51 games and squeak into fifth place and the first division in their debut season in Georgia.
August 10 – Chuck Dressen, the Detroit Tigers' manager on medical leave since May 16 after suffering a heart attack, dies in a Detroit hospital at age 71.
August 11 – Because of air-travel plans, both the visiting Houston Astros and home-side Chicago Cubs agree that—in today's doubleheader at Wrigley Field—no inning can begin after 5:30 p.m. The teams play seven full innings of the second game, and Houston leads 8–5, when the game is suspended. Because the Astros will not visit Chicago again during the 1966 season, the game will be resumed in the eighth inning at the Astrodome on August 26 with new umpires, and the Astros the "visiting" team. Houston will hold on to win, 9–8.
August 15 – The Baltimore Orioles' left-handed slugger Boog Powell hits three opposite-field homers over the left-field Green Monster at Fenway Park. Powell has 13 total bases in the game, won by Baltimore, 4–2, in 11 innings.
August 19 – Birdie Tebbetts resigns as manager of the Cleveland Indians and coach George Strickland finishes the year as interim skipper. Cleveland had started the season by winning 14 of its first 15 games, but had gone only 52–56 under Tebbetts since May 5. The book closes on the former catcher's MLB managerial career with a record of 748–705 (.515) for three teams over 11 seasons between 1954 and 1966.
August 29 – The Detroit Tigers' Denny McLain wins his 16th start of the season, even though he doesn't do it the easy way. He throws 229 pitches, walks nine, and allows eight hits. However, he strikes out 11 in a 6–3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
September 9 – Billy Herman is fired as manager of the 64–82 Boston Red Sox with his club in ninth place. Coach Pete Runnels will serve as interim pilot over the season's final 16 games. Herman, 57, a future inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame for his stellar career as a second baseman, has compiled a 128–182 record as the Bosox' skipper since October 3, 1964.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Pat Jarvis becomes the first strikeout victim of Nolan Ryan's MLB career in Ryan's debut game. The 19-year-old Texan has been recalled by the New York Mets after going 17–4 (2.36 ERA) with 307 strikeouts in 202 minor league innings.
September 16 – A Friday night game between the Kansas City Athletics and Washington Senators at District of Columbia Stadium is suspended in the third inning when the arc lights shut down at the five-year-old facility. The game is scoreless at the time; when it's resumed on Sunday, September 18, Athletics' starting pitcher Lew Krausse Jr. returns to the mound and pitches into the eighth inning to secure his 14th victory of 1966, 3–0.
September 18 – At Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees fall to last place after losing to the Minnesota Twins 5–3 in ten innings on pinch-hitter Bob Allison's three-run home run. The Yankees will stay in the cellar for the remainder of the season, finishing there for the first time since 1912.
September 23 – Phil Regan, ace short reliever of the Los Angeles Dodgers, improves his won–lost record to 14–1, throwing 22⁄3 perfect innings and enabling his first-place club to improve its NL lead to 2½ games over the Pittsburgh Pirates by sweeping a doubleheader against the last-place Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Although he's been jokingly given the nickname of "The Vulture" by Sandy Koufax for picking up "easy wins" during 1966,[1] Regan will have an almost-flawless stretch run starting September 1, appearing in 15 games, and going 2–0 with seven saves, 20 strikeouts, and an earned run average of 1.46 over 242⁄3 innings.
September 25 – In a battle of Jewish-American left-handers, Ken Holtzman of the Cubs has a no-hitter against the Dodgers' Sandy Koufax broken up on a Dick Schofield single leading off the ninth. Schofield later scores on a Maury Wills single; the two hits are all Holtzman allows in a 2–1 victory in what will be Koufax's final regular-season loss. The Cubs score their runs in the first when lead-off man Don Kessinger walks and scores on Glenn Beckert's triple one batter later, then Beckert scores when Jim Lefebvre drops Ernie Banks' pop-up for what would have been the third out.
Left-hander Larry Jaster, in his first full season with the St. Louis Cardinals, throws his fifth consecutive shutout victory over the pennant-bound Los Angeles Dodgers. In those 45 innings pitched, he permits 24 hits and eight walks. They are the only shutouts he tosses during 1966, and the five blankings tie him with five other hurlers for the NL lead.
The Boston Red Sox, ninth-place finishers in the American League, sign 37-year-old Dick Williams to a one-year contract as manager for 1967. The former MLB outfielder had led their Triple-A club, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, to two straight playoff championships. Williams will manage the "Impossible Dream" 1967 Red Sox to their first pennant in 21 years, kicking off a 21-year Hall of Fame career that includes two World Series titles as skipper of the 1972 and 1973Oakland Athletics.
September 30 – Three teams remain in the running for the National League pennant. The Dodgers, who have gone 20–9 on the month to take the lead, are 1½ games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates and three in front of the San Francisco Giants, who play each other in a three-game weekend series at Forbes Field.
October 2 – In the second game of a doubleheader at Connie Mack Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 6–3 to clinch the National Leaguepennant in their final regular-season game. In a battle of future Hall-of-Famers, Sandy Koufax bests Jim Bunning. The last victory of Koufax's career enables him to win his 27th game of 1966, the third time in four seasons in which he's won 25 or more games. Despite giving up three runs in the ninth, Koufax goes the distance and strikes out Jackie Brandt for the final out.
In Game 4 of the World Series, Dave McNally wraps up a brilliant pitching display, and the first World Series championship for the Baltimore Orioles, with a four-hit, 1–0 shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Series MVP Frank Robinson hits a home run off Don Drysdale for the only run of the game and gave Baltimore a sweep of the defending World Series champions.
The shutout completes a World Series record 332⁄3 scoreless innings pitched by Oriole hurlers, beginning with Moe Drabowsky throwing 62⁄3 innings in relief of McNally in Game 1, followed by shutouts by Jim Palmer and Wally Bunker—neither of whom had pitched a shutout during the regular season. The Orioles (who played from 1902–1953 as the St. Louis Browns) are the last of the original eight American League franchises to win their first World Series.
The Dodgers collect only 17 hits in the four games, and bat .142 as a team.
October 14 – Lee MacPhail leaves his high-ranking job in the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball to become the New York Yankees' executive vice president/general manager. MacPhail will head the Yanks' front office until December 31, 1973, when he becomes the fifth president of the American League en route to a plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame (elected 1998).
November 12 – The Los Angeles Dodgers complete an 18-game tour of Japan with a 9–8–1 record. The eight losses are the most for an MLB club touring the Far East.
November 14 – George Weiss retires as president of the New York Mets and is succeeded by his top aide, Bing Devine. Weiss will be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971 for his prior accomplishments as an executive with the New York Yankees, while Devine makes significant contributions to the 1969 "Miracle Mets" during his brief term as president/GM.
November 18 – Sandy Koufax announces his retirement from baseball due to arthritis in his left elbow. Six years later he would become the youngest player elected to the Hall of Fame.
December 1 – The Los Angeles Dodgers send six-time National League stolen base king Maury Wills to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for third baseman Bob Bailey and shortstop Gene Michael. Wills, 34, holds the MLB record for stolen bases in a season (104 in 1962 and 165 games played), but he had angered Dodger management when he left the team during its recent tour of Japan.
The White Sox acquire left-hander Jim O'Toole, a native Chicagoan, from the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Floyd Robinson. O'Toole is a former 19-game-winner and NL All-Star, and Robinson batted over .300 three times during the early 1960s.
December 20 – The Cleveland Indians trade shortstop Dick Howser to the New York Yankees for minor-league hurler Gil Downs and cash. Howser, 30, will spend over a dozen seasons with the Yanks as a player (1967–1968), third-base coach (1969–1978) and manager (1980).
December 31 – The Atlanta Braves make a trade with the Houston Astros. The Braves send Houston infielder Sandy Alomar Sr., pitcher Arnie Umbach and third baseman Eddie Mathews in exchange for outfielder Dave Nicholson and pitcher Bob Bruce. The trade ends Mathews' 15-year tenure as the Braves' third baseman; he is the only man who played for the franchise in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta.
January 1 – Oscar Dugey, 78, light-hitting infielder who appeared in 193 games for the Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies between 1913 and 1920; member of 1914 world-champion "Miracle Braves" and 1915 Phillies, who captured their first National League pennant.
January 3 – Luther Bonin, 77, outfielder for St. Louis of the American League and Buffalo of the "outlaw" Federal League who played 21 games in 1913–1914.
January 10 – Andy Reese, 61, played every position but pitcher and catcher—although primarily a left fielder and third baseman—over the course of his 331-game career with the New York Giants of 1927–1930.
January 14 – John "Tacks" Neuer, 88, left-handed pitcher who won four of six decisions, with three shutouts and a 2.17 earned run average, in his lone MLB trial as a member of the 1907 New York Highlanders.
January 14 – Sidney Weil, 74, owner of the Cincinnati Reds from 1929 to 1933.
January 15 – Stover McIlwain, 26, pitcher who appeared in two games as a teenager for the Chicago White Sox in 1957 and 1958.
January 15 – Walt Walsh, 68, pinch runner for two games with the 1920 Philadelphia Phillies.
January 20 – Leslie O'Connor, 76, lawyer and baseball executive; assistant to Commissioners of Baseball K. M. Landis (1921–1944) and Happy Chandler (1945); in between, acting commissioner as chairman of the MLB Advisory Council (1944–1945); subsequently general manager of Chicago White Sox (1945–1948) and president of Pacific Coast League (1956–1959).
January 22 – Joel Newkirk, 69, pitcher who appeared in three games with the 1919–1920 Chicago Cubs.
January 29 – Homer Summa, 67, right fielder who collected a .302 average over ten seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1920), Cleveland Indians (1922–1928) and Philadelphia Athletics (1929–1930); member of two-time world champion Athletics.
January 31 – Pat Donahue, 81, catcher who got into 119 games between 1908 and 1910 for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Naps.
February 2 – Ted Shaw, 59, left-hander who pitched for the Detroit Stars of the Negro National League from 1928 to 1930.
February 4 – Irvin Brooks, 74, outfielder for the Brooklyn Royal Giants of the Eastern Colored League from 1923 to 1927.
February 4 – Mike Milosevich, 51, shortstop in 124 games for the 1944–1945 New York Yankees.
February 8 – Gene Paulette, 74, who played in 500 big-league games, primarily as a first baseman, for the New York Giants, St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies over six seasons between 1911 and 1920.
February 10 – Willie Burns, 50, pitcher who hurled for seven different clubs over five seasons in the Negro leagues between 1935 and 1945.
February 14 – Jack Coffey, 79, infielder who played from 1909 to 1918 for the Boston Doves, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox who was also a longtime baseball head coach at Fordham University.
February 14 – Bill Stumpf, 73, infielder for New York of the American League, playing in 54 career games during 1912 and 1913.
February 17 – Finners Quinlan, 78, outfielder who played 13 games for the 1913 St. Louis Cardinals and 42 more for the 1915 Chicago White Sox.
February 18 – Marty McManus, 65, second baseman and third baseman who played 1,831 games from 1920 through 1934 for the St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Boston Braves; player-manager of the Red Sox in 1932 and 1933.
February 19 – Ed Mayweather, 56, two-time All-Star first baseman who played for three Negro leagues clubs, principally the Kansas City Monarchs and St. Louis Stars, between 1937 and 1942.
February 20 – Harry Geisel, 77, American League umpire from 1925 to 1942 who worked in 2,554 regular-season games, two MLB All-Star Games (1935, 1938), and three World Series (1930, 1934, 1936).
February 25 – Garland Braxton, 65, left-handed pitcher in 282 games for the Boston Braves, New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns between 1921 and 1933; led American League in earned run average (2.51) in 1928.
March 4 – Jack Niemes, 46, southpaw relief pitcher who worked in three games for the 1943 Cincinnati Reds.
March 6 – Dick Whitworth, 70, pitcher for the Chicago American Giants of the Negro National League in 1922 and 1924.
March 9 – Aaron Robinson, 50, All-Star catcher (1947) for the New York Yankees who succeeded Bill Dickey, then was replaced by Yogi Berra as the Bombers' starting receiver in 1948; played for the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox from 1948 through 1951.
March 9 – Elmer Steele, 81, pitcher in 75 games for Boston of the American League and Pittsburgh and Brooklyn of the National League between 1907 and 1911.
March 14 – Lee Magee, 76, outfielder-second baseman for seven big-league teams, principally the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees, in the nine seasons of 1911–1919, appearing in 1,015 games; player-manager of Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the "outlaw" Federal League for most of 1915; known for bitter battles with owners, and accused them of "blackballing" him after 1919 season; implicated, with Hal Chase, in gambling allegations investigated by Cook County grand jury called in 1920 to probe the "Black Sox" scandal.
March 15 – Chappie Geygan, 62, shortstop and third baseman who played in 40 games for the Boston Red Sox between 1924 and 1926.
March 18 – Frank Bennett, 61, pitcher in five games for the Boston Red Sox (1927–1928).
March 19 – Army Cooper, 66, pitcher who went 27–10 (3.98 ERA) for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League between 1928 and 1930.
March 20 – "Jughandle Johnny" Morrison, 70, pitcher who won 103 career games for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1920–1927) and Brooklyn Robins (1929–1930); member of 1925 world champions.
March 23 – Fred T. Long, 70, outfielder who played for Detroit (1920–1921, 1926) and Indianapolis (1925) of the Negro National League, then became a longtime and legendary head football coach at four historically black colleges in Texas and member of multiple college football and coaches halls of fame.
March 24 – George O'Brien, 76, catcher who played in two games for the 1915 St. Louis Browns; later a football coach and athletic director of Mount Union College in Ohio.
March 25 – Bill Morrisette, 71, pitcher who worked in 13 total games for the 1915–1916 Philadelphia Athletics and 1920 Detroit Tigers.
March 29 – Ted Waters, 63, outfielder who played for Atlantic City, the Hilldale Club, and Philadelphia of the Eastern Colored League between 1925 and 1928.
March 31 – Grady Adkins, 68, pitcher in 67 games for the 1928–1929 Chicago White Sox.
April 1 – John Sullivan, 76, outfielder who got into 162 total games for the Boston Braves (1920–1921) and Chicago Cubs (1921).
April 1 – Sam B. Taylor, 68, first baseman for the 1926 Dayton Marcos of the Negro National League; known as a longtime (1924 to 1961) head football coach at historically black U.S. colleges.
April 4 – Herb McQuaid, 67, relief pitcher for 1923 Cincinnati Reds and 1926 New York Yankees who made 29 career mound appearances.
April 5 – Sam Dodge, 76, pitcher in four games for the 1921–1922 Boston Red Sox.
April 6 – Rolla Mapel, 76, left-handed pitcher in four games for 1919 St. Louis Browns.
April 7 – Ambrose Reid, 67, outfielder, second baseman and third baseman in the Negro leagues between 1921 and 1932 who played primarily for the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants of the Eastern Colored circuit.
April 12 – Gussie Gannon, 92, southpaw who hurled in one game for the 1895 Pittsburgh Pirates.
April 12 – Joe Harris, 84, pitcher with the Boston Americans from 1905 to 1907; posted a 2–21 won–lost record in 1906, and followed that in 1907 by going 0–7; his career mark was 3–30 (.091 winning percentage) with a 3.35 earned run average.
April 19 – Maury Kent, 80, pitcher in 23 games during 1912–1913 for Brooklyn of the National League; coached multiple sports (especially baseball) in U.S. colleges (notably Northwestern University) until 1943.
April 22 – Lou Finney, 55, outfielder-first baseman who played in 1,270 games between 1931 and 1947 for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns and Philadelphia Phillies.
April 24 – Rinaldo Williams, 72, third baseman who played in four games for the 1914 Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League.
April 25 – Art Decatur, 72, pitcher who appeared in 153 games between 1922 and 1927 for the Brooklyn Robins and Philadelphia Phillies.
May 4 – Bob Elliott, 49, seven-time National League All-Star third baseman and 1947 NL Most Valuable Player whose 15-year MLB career (1939–1953) was primarily spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Braves; manager of 1960 Kansas City Athletics.
May 7 – Bing Miller, 71, outfielder who batted .311 in 1,820 games between 1921 and 1936 for the Washington Senators, Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Browns and Boston Red Sox, who won two World Series with the Athletics in 1929 and 1930; later a longtime coach.
May 9 – Flame Delhi, 73, pitcher who worked in one game for the 1915 Chicago White Sox.
May 14 – Tom Connolly, 73, third baseman/outfielder who appeared in 50 games for the 1915 Washington Senators.
May 18 – Lee Gooch, 76, outfielder/pinch hitter in 19 total games played for the 1915 Cleveland Indians and 1917 Philadelphia Athletics.
May 22 – Peewee Hauser, 77, 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)-tall shortstop for the 1910–1913 St. Louis Cardinals and 1915 Chicago Whales (Federal League).
May 26 – Bill Rumler, 75, catcher, outfielder and frequent pinch hitter who appeared in 139 games for the St. Louis Browns in 1914 and 1916–1917.
May 29 – Hippo Vaughn, 78, left-handed pitcher who won 178 games for the New York Highlanders (1908; 1910–1912), Washington Senators (1912) and Chicago Cubs (1913–1921), including five 20-win-or-more seasons for the Cubs; known for the May 2, 1917, game in which he and Cincinnati pitcher Fred Toney each threw nine innings of no-hit ball; the "double no-hitter" ended in the tenth when Vaughn surrendered two hits and an unearned run, and Toney notched a 1–0 no-hit victory.
May 30 – Dick Ward, 57, right-hander who hurled in four games for the 1934 Cubs and 1935 St. Louis Cardinals; posted a 25–9 won–lost mark for the 1934 Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League, one of the greatest minor league teams of all time.
June 1 – Dick Cox, 70, outfielder who hit .314 with 261 hits in 246 games for the 1925–1926 Brooklyn Robins, his only two MLB campaigns.
June 2 – Joe Casey, 78, reserve catcher/center fielder who appeared in 50 big-league games for the 1909–1911 Detroit Tigers and 1918 Washington Senators.
June 4 – Bernie Henderson, 67, who got into three games—two as a pitcher, one as a pinch hitter—for the 1921 Cleveland Indians.
June 4 – Ralph McConnaughey, 76, pitcher who worked in seven games for the 1914 Indianapolis Hoosiers of the Federal League.
June 8 – Jake Munch, 75, outfielder-first baseman in eight games for the 1918 Philadelphia Athletics.
June 9 – Wilmer Ewell, 70, catcher who played 32 games from 1925 to 1926 for Indianapolis of the Negro National League.
June 11 – Rube Curry, 67, pitcher who hurled in the Negro leagues between 1920 and 1933, notably for the Kansas City Monarchs, and member of three Negro World Series championship teams.
June 14 – Bill Walker, 62, left-handed pitcher for the New York Giants (1927–1932) and St. Louis Cardinals (1933–1936); member of 1934 world champion "Gashouse Gang"; two-time National League earned-run average champion, 1929 (3.09) and 1931 (2.26).
June 18 – Rollie Naylor, 74, pitcher for a succession of execrable Philadelphia Athletics teams, in 1917 and from 1919 through June 1924; lost 23 games in 1920.
June 20 – Denney Wilie, 75, outfielder/pinch hitter for the 1911–1912 St. Louis Cardinals and 1915 Cleveland Indians.
June 25 – Mose Solomon, 65, first baseman in two games for the 1923 New York Giants; minor-league slugger nicknamed "The Rabbi of Swat" and "The Jewish Babe Ruth".
June 26 – Lil Stoner, 67, pitcher in 229 games in the majors, 217 of them with the Detroit Tigers, between 1922 and 1931.
June 27 – Marty Krug, 77, third baseman who played for the Boston Red Sox (1912) and Chicago Cubs (1922); later, an MLB scout and minor-league manager.
July 1 – Goldie Rapp, 72, third baseman who appeared in 276 games for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies from 1921 to 1923.
July 2 – Ormond Sampson, 56, Bahamian-born shortstop/outfielder for four Negro leagues clubs between 1932 and 1941.
July 4 – Jesse Purnell, 85, third baseman who played seven games for the 1904 Philadelphia Phillies.
July 5 – Pete Fox, 57, outfielder for the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox who batted .298 lifetime in 1,461 games between 1933 and 1945; hit .327 for Tigers with 18 hits in 14 World Series games (1934, 1935, 1940), winning a ring in 1935.
July 6 – Sad Sam Jones, 73, pitcher who enjoyed a 22-year career (1914–1935) in the majors, posting a 229–217 record in 647 games for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox; member of 1918 world champion Boston and 1923 world champion New York clubs.
July 8 – George Branigan, 60, pitcher for the 1926 Cleveland Elites of the Negro National League.
July 9 – Mule Suttles, 66, All-Star first baseman of the Negro leagues who hit the first home run in the East-West All-Star game.
July 11 – Barney Lutz, 50, former minor league outfielder and manager; died while scouting a New York–Penn League game for the Baltimore Orioles.
July 12 – Edgar Wesley, 75, first baseman for three Negro National League clubs, principally the Detroit Stars, between 1920 and 1927; led NNL in home runs (11) in 1920 and batting average (.404) in 1925.
July 13 – Rip Vowinkel, 81, pitcher who worked in five games for the 1905 Cincinnati Reds.
July 15 – Tommy McMillan, 78, shortstop for the Brooklyn Superbas, Cincinnati Reds and New York Highlanders between 1908 and 1912; played 22 years in minor leagues.
July 16 – Elmer Yoter, 66, third baseman for the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs in 36 games over four seasons between 1921 and 1928; longtime minor league manager and MLB scout.
July 18 – Roy Moran, 81, Washington Senators outfielder who played in seven games in September 1912.
July 22 – Frank Delahanty, 83, light-hitting outfielder for New York (1905–1906) and Cleveland (1907) of the American League and Buffalo (1914) and Pittsburgh (1914–1915) of the "outlaw" Federal League; one of five Delahanty brothers to appear in the major leagues.
July 28 – Hal Dixon, 46, National League umpire from 1953 through 1959; in his final season, led NL in ejections (13) and worked in 1959 World Series; during career, he officiated in 989 league games and 1957 All-Star tilt.
July 30 – Harry Hedgpeth, 77, southpaw who threw one inning of one game for the Washington Senators on October 3, 1913.
August 1 – Hank Gowdy, 76, catcher who appeared in 1,050 games in the National League, 852 with Boston and remaining 198 with New York, over 17 seasons spanning 1910 to 1930; member of 1914 "Miracle Braves", when he helped win the World Series by batting .545 with six hits (five for extra bases) in four games; later a longtime coach; the only MLB player to have served in both World Wars.
August 3 – Earl Blackburn, 73, spare catcher for four NL teams, chiefly the Boston Braves, who got into 71 games over five seasons spanning 1912 to 1917.
August 4 – Pug Cavet, 76, left-handed pitcher whose 23-year professional career included 49 games for the Detroit Tigers (1911 and 1914–1915); won 290 games (and lost 244) in minor leagues.
August 8 – Taylor Sanford, 57, former minor-league infielder and manager and successful college baseball coach, who won 1955 NCAA baseball championship at the helm of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
August 10 – Chuck Dressen, 71, incumbent manager of the Detroit Tigers since June 18, 1963, and pilot of four other MLB clubs dating to 1934; led the Brooklyn Dodgers to pennants in 1952–1953; in his playing days, a third baseman who appeared in 646 games for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants between 1925 and 1933; also a coach for a dozen seasons between 1939 and 1959; member of three World Series champions (1933, 1947, 1959).
August 11 – Ellis Ryan, 62, principal owner of the Cleveland Indians from 1949 to 1952.
August 15 – George J. Burns, 76, outfielder who played in 1,844 games between 1911 and 1925, primarily with the New York Giants; led the National League in runs and walks five times each.
August 24 – Wheezer Dell, 80, pitcher who appeared in 92 career games for the 1912 St. Louis Cardinals and 1915–1917 Brooklyn Robins.
August 25 – Ray Rolling, 79, second baseman in five games for 1912 St. Louis Cardinals.
August 25 – Sam Zoldak, 47, left-handed pitcher who appeared in 250 games for the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Athletics between 1944 and 1952.
August 29 – Al DeVormer, 75, catcher for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and New York Giants between 1918 and 1927.
August 29 – Bobby Schang, 79, catcher whose 17-year pro career (1912–1928) was punctuated by getting into 82 major-league games with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1914–1915), New York Giants (1915) and St. Louis Cardinals (1927); brother of Wally Schang.
September 2 – Bill McCabe, 73, reserve outfielder and frequent pinch runner who appeared in 106 games for the 1918–1920 Chicago Cubs and 1920 Brooklyn Robins; appeared in 1918 and 1920 World Series.
September 5 – Frank Withrow, 75, backup catcher for the 1920 and 1922 Philadelphia Phillies.
September 9 – Bob Kelley, 49, Los Angeles sportscaster and voice of the expansion Angels during their maiden 1961 season in the American League; longtime voice of NFL Rams.
September 11 – Bill Cramer, 75, relief pitcher who allowed six hits and six runs—all of them unearned—in three innings pitched in his lone big-league appearance as a member of the Cincinnati Reds on June 25, 1912.
September 12 – Parson Perryman, 77, pitcher in 24 games for the 1915 St. Louis Browns.
September 12 – Bill Summers, 70, American League umpire from 1933 to 1959 who worked in eight World Series and a record seven All-Star games.
September 13 – Ralph Comstock, 78, pitched in the 1910s for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Rebels (of the "outlaw" Federal League) and Pittsburgh Pirates.
September 29 – Jack Rowan, 80, pitcher for four MLB teams over seven seasons between 1906 and 1914, chiefly as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.
October 2 – Jumbo Brown, 59, a 295 lb (134 kg) pitcher who worked in 249 games, 226 in relief, for five MLB teams between 1925 and 1941; led National League in saves (not then an official statistic) in 1940 and 1941.
October 4 – Mike Tresh, 52, catcher for the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians from 1938 to 1949 and the father of New York Yankees' Tom Tresh.
October 5 – Harry Hanson, 70, catcher who played a single game, at age 17, for the Yankees on July 14, 1913.
October 5 – John Reese, 71, outfielder who played in the Negro National League between 1920 and 1931, chiefly for the St. Louis Stars and Chicago American Giants.
October 6 – Bill Henderson, 64, pitcher in three games for the 1930 New York Yankees.
October 7 – George Magerkurth, 77, colorful and pugnacious National League umpire from 1929 to 1947 who worked in 2,814 NL games, four World Series and two All-Star games; ejected 101 men over the course of his career.
October 10 – Patsy Gharrity, 74, catcher who appeared in 676 big-leagues games for the Washington Senators (1916–1923; 1929–1930); longtime batterymate of Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson.
October 11 – Red Smith, 76, solid third baseman for Brooklyn and Boston of the National League from 1911 through 1919; in his only year with Boston, he was a member of the 1914 World Series champion "Miracle Braves".
October 17 – Bob Swift, 51, MLB catcher (1940–1953) for the St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers who was behind the plate when the diminutive Eddie Gaedel made his famous appearance as a pinch hitter on August 19, 1951; later, a coach for three MLB teams and acting manager of the Tigers for parts of the 1965 and 1966 seasons.
October 23 – Fred Fussell, 71, left-handed pitcher who worked in 80 games for the Chicago Cubs (1922–1923) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1928–1929).
October 23 – Jack Peerson, 56, shortstop/pinch hitter who batted .321 in 55 plate appearances for the 1935–1936 Philadelphia Athletics.
October 26 – Bill "Crungy" Cronin, 63, catcher in 126 games for 1928–1931 Boston Braves, who played professionally for 23 seasons.
October 29 – Al Grabowski, 65, pitcher who appeared in 39 total games for 1929–1930 St. Louis Cardinals.
October 30 – "Kewpie Dick" Barrett, 60, pitcher who appeared in 141 MLB games between 1933 and 1945 for four teams; legendary minor-league hurler, where he won 317 career games; seven-time 20-game winner for Seattle of the Pacific Coast League; The Sporting News' Minor League Player of the Year in 1942.
October 30 – Rex Cecil, 50, pitcher in 18 games for the 1944–1945 Boston Red Sox, including the Bosox' starting assignment on Opening Day 1945.
October 30 – Alex Pearson, 89, pitcher in 15 career games for the St. Louis Cardinals (1902) and Cleveland Naps (1903).
October 31 – Elmer Johnson, 82, backup catcher for the 1914 New York Giants.
November 2 – Lew Moren, 83, pitcher who worked in 141 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates (two total appearances in 1903–1904) and Philadelphia Phillies (139 games between 1907 and 1910).
November 7 – Rube Bressler, 72, one of only a few players in major league baseball history to successfully convert from a pitcher to a position player as a first baseman/outfielder, who played for the Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1914 and 1931.
November 8 – James Buford, 59, infielder for three Negro National League clubs, principally the Nashville Elite Giants, between 1930 and 1933.
November 12 – Mike Loan, 72, catcher who got into one MLB game on September 18, 1912, for his hometown Philadelphia Phillies.
November 21 – Hack Miller, 53, catcher who appeared in only seven total games for the 1944–1945 Detroit Tigers, but homered in his first major-league at bat.
November 24 – Tom Gulley, 66, outfielder who played briefly with 1923–1924 Cleveland Indians and 1926 Chicago White Sox.
November 29 – Richard King, 62, first baseman who saw infrequent action as a member of the Cincinnati and Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League in 1943, 1945 and 1948.
December 4 – Joe Willis, 76, left-hander who hurled for two of St. Louis' MLB teams, appearing in one game for the American League Browns (1911) and in 40 contests for the National League Cardinals (1911–1913).
December 8 – Bill Bolden, 73, pitcher who made three appearances for the 1919 St. Louis Cardinals.
December 10 – Emanuel Sampson, 56, outfielder with Cleveland (1940), Jacksonville (1941) and Birmingham (1941, 1946) of the Negro American League.
December 11 – Cliff Fannin, 42, pitcher in 164 games for the St. Louis Browns between 1945 and 1952.
December 12 – Herman Young, 80, third baseman/shortstop who played nine games for Boston of the National League in 1911.
December 16 – Morrow Massey, 66, outfielder who batted .310 in his brief, 17-game tenure with the 1930 Louisville Black Caps of the Negro National League.
December 20 – Doc Farrell, 64, utility infielder for six different teams between 1925 and 1935, including the Yankees' 1932 World Series champions.
From Wikipedia - Reading time: 41 min
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