Facing the possibility of an industry shutdown, and with stars such as Feller, Travis andHank Greenberg in military service, AL presidentWill Harridge asserts that his circuit hopes to carry on in 1942 to perform baseball's role as "an important recreational and morale portion of our national defense program." AL owners, he says, are prepared to meet in emergency session during this month and next, in response to any change in conditions caused by the war.[3]
January 14 – TheBoston Red Sox release coachMoe Berg at his request, enabling Berg, a master linguist who speaks at least nine languages, to take on a diplomatic assignment from theUnited States Department of State inLatin America.[4]Princeton alumnus Berg, 39, who played in all or part of 15 MLB seasons, primarily as a catcher, between1923 and1939, will go on to reputedly serve as a top spy for the U.S. duringWorld War II.
January 15 – PresidentFranklin Delano Roosevelt encouragesOrganized Baseball to continue despite the United States' entry intoWorld War II and hails the sport as a "recreational asset." In a letter toCommissionerKenesaw Mountain Landis, Roosevelt writes: "I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going."[5] His "green light" letter ensures that the 1942 season will go forward as planned and negates rumors of an industry shutdown in the near term.[6]
January 23 – In a letter to his team,Cincinnati Reds general managerWarren Giles, aWorld War I veteran, warns players against "shirking" their wartime service obligation. He writes: "We would rather finish last or not operate at all ... than have even one player who cannot justify his reasons for not being in the service."[8]
February 3 – FulfillingPresident Franklin Roosevelt's expressed request for more night baseball to entertain war workers during the 1942 season, MLB owners expand the maximum number of evening dates clubs may play from seven to 14, and 21 for theWashington Senators. However, venues such asYankee Stadium,Fenway Park,Briggs Stadium andWrigley Field continue to lack arc lights to host such contests.
February 9 – Philadelphia's National League franchise shortens its official nickname fromPhillies (in use since 1886) toPhils to differentiate itself from the popularcigar brand. The change lasts for this season only before the original moniker is restored.[9]
February 26 – The successful, three-year return to pennant contention of the1941 NL championBrooklyn Dodgers is reflected in its balance sheets when its chief creditor, theBrooklyn Trust Company, which manages 75% of Dodgers' stock on behalf of the estates ofCharles Ebbets andEdward J. McKeever, tells acounty probate court that the team has cleared all debts—over $500,000—accrued over recent years.[11] Brooklyn led all 16 MLB teams in home attendance in 1941, drawing 1.21 million fans toEbbets Field.[12] The bank will sell the shares held in trust beginning in 1944.
March 12 –Joe DiMaggio's ten-day holdout ends when theNew York Yankees' 27-year-old superstar and reigningAmerican League MVP agrees to a 1942 salary estimated at $42,500, a $5,000 raise from 1941's contract.
March 18 – FormerUCLA baseballlettermanJackie Robinson andNegro leagues pitcher/outfielderNate Moreland are invited to work out with theChicago White Sox, who hold spring training inPasadena, California. Sox managerJimmie Dykes praises Robinson's baserunning toPittsburgh Courier sportswriter Herman Hill, saying, "He stole everything but my infielders' gloves." Dykes goes on record to theCourier, adding, "Personally, I would welcome Negro players on the White Sox and I believe every one of the other 15 managers would do so likewise. As for the players, they'd all get along too."[13] However, Dykes is unable to even consider offering contracts to either, stating that it is a matter for club owners, league officials and theCommissioner of Baseball to allow it.[14]
March 30 – TheDetroit Tigers rid themselves ofBobo Newsom, pitching star of their1940 American League champions, selling the right-hander's contract to theWashington Senators for the handsome price of $40,000. Newsom, 34, won 20 or more games for three straight seasons (1938–1940), but slumped to a12–20 (4.60) mark in1941 and was embroiled in a contract squabble with Detroit's front office.
Lou Boudreau debuts as shortstop–manager of theCleveland Indians, going two-for-three with a double and scoring a run in Cleveland's 5–2 triumph over theDetroit Tigers atBriggs Stadium. Boudreau, 24 and starting his fourth full big-league season, is the second-youngest manager in MLB history.
May 3 – TheNational League's contentious early season continues, when umpires boot fiveDodgers in today's doubleheader against theSt. Louis Cardinals atSportsman's Park; the Cardinals sweep first-place Brooklyn, 14–10 and 4–2, to pull within 2½ games of the lead.
May 6 – Colorful, well-traveledBobo Newsom, now with theWashington Senators, tosses the first one-hitter of the 1942 MLB season, blanking his previous team, theDetroit Tigers, 7–0, atGriffith Stadium. Newsom walks four and the only safety he allows isDoc Cramer's third-inning triple.[17] Eight one-hitters will be thrown this season, but there will be nono-hitters.[18]
May 13
Jim Tobin of theBoston Braves almost single-handedly beats theChicago Cubs atBraves Field, 6–5, by pitching a five-hitter and hitting three consecutivehome runs. Tobin, whohit a pinch-homer the day before, becomes the only pitcher in modern history to collect three home runs in a Major League game. His fourth at-bat results in a fly ball caught against the fence in left field. Tobin's is one of two three-homer performances by MLB hitters in 1942; the other will belong toClyde McCullough of theChicago Cubs on July 26.[18]
TheSt. Louis Browns purchase the contract ofBabe Dahlgren, who became part of baseball lore when he replacedLou Gehrig at first base for the Yankees, thus ending the consecutive playing streak, from theChicago Cubs. Less than a week later, the Browns return him to the Cubs, who then sell his contract to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
June 14 – In the first game of a twin bill against theBrowns inthe Bronx,Joe Gordon of theNew York Yankees extends his consecutive-games hitting streak to 29, longest this year in the majors, with a sixth-inning single, before going 0-for-4 in the nightcap. During the streak, which began May 13, Gordon hits six homers and raises hisbatting average to .396; the Yanks go 24–5. Gordon, 27, is en route to the1942 AL Most Valuable Player Award and a berth in theHall of Fame.[18]
June 26 –Gene Stack, a 23-year-old minor-league right-hander who, on January 7, 1941, became the first player on an MLB roster drafted into military service, dies suddenly after pitching for hisU.S. Army base,Fort Custer (Michigan). Stack had won 19 games for Class DLubbock in theChicago White Sox organization in 1940 and was added to the ChiSox' 40-man roster after the season. His death, initially thought to have been caused by a heart attack, is attributed to pneumonia.[21]
June 30 – AtSportsman's Park,Mort Cooper of theSt. Louis Cardinals extends his MLB-best scoreless innings pitched streak to 33 beforeElbie Fletcher of thePittsburgh Pirates hits a two-out, first-inning homer. Cooper's skein, which included three straight shutouts, had started June 12.[18] He goes on to record a 4–2 victory today, his 11th triumph of the season, although hisearned run average climbs from 1.19 to 1.24.
With the All-Star break and July 4 weekend almost coinciding, the halfway mark of the 1942 MLB season appears to predict a coming rematch of the1941 World Series. In the AL, theNew York Yankees (50–26) lead theBoston Red Sox (46–30) by four. In the NL, theBrooklyn Dodgers (52–21) have built an 8½-game margin over theSt. Louis Cardinals (43–29).
July 8 – TheCardinals sell the contract of 33-year-old starting pitcherLon Warneke to his original team, theChicago Cubs. Warneke is a five-time NL All-Star, most recently in1941, when he won 17 games for St. Louis.
AtSportsman's Park,"Pistol Pete" Reiser, theBrooklyn Dodgers' brilliant, daredevil, 23-year-old centerfielder, fractures his skull and suffers a concussion when, flagging down a long drive hit by theCardinals'Enos Slaughter in the 11th inning of a six-all tie, he smashes head-first into the concrete outfield wall. Upon impact, Reiser collapses to the ground, the ball drops from his glove to remain in play, and Slaughter rounds the bases for aninside the park home run, delivering a hard-won doubleheader sweep for his Redbirds against their arch-foes. Reiser is hospitalized for four days "to rest," but returns to the Brooklyn lineup July 25. Plagued by double-vision and headaches, he hits only .244 in the season's final two months, his batting average drops from .350 to .310, and the Dodgers' pennant drive stalls.[22]
August 4 – Wartime "dim-out" restrictions dictate an abrupt halt to a 1–1 deadlock between theBrooklyn Dodgers andNew York Giants at thePolo Grounds in the visitors' half of the tenth frame—and wipe out aninside-the-parkgrand-slam homer just struck by the Dodgers'Pee Wee Reese. The score reverts to the bottom of the ninth inning and the game is ruled a tie.[24][25] When theSt. Louis Cardinals drop a 4–3 contest to theCincinnati Reds atCrosley Field, the Dodgers, now 73–30–1 and seemingly breezing to their second straightpennant, increase theirNational League lead to ten full games over the 62–39–1 Cardinals; it's the largest cushion Brooklyn will enjoy in 1942.
August 8 – AtForbes Field, theCardinals and hostPittsburgh Pirates play to a 16-inning, 5–5 tie before the rain-delayed game is called on account of darkness. St. Louis aceMort Cooper turns in a rare poor performance, but the Redbird bullpen fires 132⁄3 scoreless innings.[26] Individual statistics will count, but the teams will start from scratch on Monday, August 10.
August 9 – TheChicago Cubs andCincinnati Reds struggle for 18 innings before the visiting Cubs emerge victorious, 10–8, in the first game of a doubleheader atCrosley Field. The teams combine for 39 hits (with no homers for either side) in the majors' longest game, by innings played, of 1942.Dom Dallessandro's double offElmer Riddle provides the winning run.[16][27]
August 23 – In a benefit appearance before 69,136 fans,Babe Ruth, 47, dons aNew York Yankees' uniform for the first time in seven years for a hitting exhibition againstWalter Johnson, now 54, atYankee Stadium.[30] On Johnson's fifth pitch, Ruth hits a drive into the lower right field stands, and the crowd thunders its approval.[30] On the final pitch, Ruth smashes a towering, upper-deck shot that's just foul; he circles the bases anyway, doffing his cap and saluting the roaring crowd with every step.[30] Ruth and Johnson then leave the field together to a thunderous ovation. Their exhibition raises $80,000 for the Army-Navy relief fund.[30][31]
August 31
With a month to go in the regular season, apennant race emerges in theNational League. The red-hot, second-placeSt. Louis Cardinals, who went 25–8 in August, shave five full games off theBrooklyn Dodgers' formerly comfortable, 8½-length cushion. The Redbirds' record now stands at 85–44 with 25 games to play.
The 88–40 Dodgers, in a bid to strengthen their pitching staff, purchase itinerant right-handerBobo Newsom, a former three-time 20-game winner, from theWashington Senators.
September 11 –Chicago CubscatcherPaul Gillespie homers in his first major leagueat bat. In September 1945, he'll homer in his final MLB regular-season at bat and become the first player in MLB history to do both. Gillespie, however, will prolong his career in the1945 World Series, where he will go 0-for-6.
September 12
TheSt. Louis Cardinals climb into a first-place tie with theBrooklyn Dodgers in theNational League whenMax Lanier defeats Brooklyn for the fifth time in 1942, 2–1, atEbbets Field.Whitey Kurowski's second-inning, two-run homer gives Lanier the run support he needs. Both clubs are 94–46, with the scorching Cardinals erasing the Dodgers' ten-game lead by going 32–7 since August 4.[34] The Cardinals also capture the season series, 13 games to nine.
When the Cardinals arrive by train inPhiladelphia later today for a four-game series against the last-placePhils, 19-game-winning rightyJohnny Beazley suffers minor lacerations to his pitching hand when he's attacked by a knife-wielding assailant on the station platform. Beazley will take his regular turn in the rotation tomorrow despite the injury, dropping a 2–1 decision to the Phils atShibe Park.
September 13 – In the second game of a doubleheader atBraves Field,Lennie Merullo commits four errors in the second inning of theChicago Cubs' 12–8 victory over theBoston Braves. Merullo had just been informed that his wife had just delivered their first child, son Len Jr. The next day, Chicago newspapers suggest that the newborn be nicknamed "Boots" in honor of the occasion.
September 14
TheNew York Yankees, now 98–47, clinch their second consecutiveAmerican League pennant, their sixth in the past seven seasons, and their 13th since1921 with an 8–3 victory inCleveland. The Bombers lead the second-placeBoston Red Sox by ten games with nine left to play.
Vice presidentBranch Rickey strongly signals his imminent departure from theSt. Louis Cardinals when he refuses to discuss his immediate future with the team whose front office he has overseen since May 1925.[35] Rickey's lucrative contract expires at the end of the season, and ownerSam Breadon wants to cut his salary. Rickey's tenure—marked by his creation of baseball's most successfulfarm system—has seen the Cardinals become an NL dynasty that's currently on the verge of winning its sixth pennant since1926.
September 16 – TheBrooklyn Dodgers, who now lag behind theCardinals by two full games, face off-field issues, too, when four of their fans appear before a magistrate in Brooklyn–Queens Night Court to answer charges that they assaultedEbbets Field ushers in the stands an hour before today's game against thePittsburgh Pirates. The defense attorney asks the judge to subpoena Brooklyn managerLeo Durocher and playersMickey Owen andDixie Walker who, he claims, climbed into the stands and attacked the fans on behalf of the beleaguered ushers. The case is continued until October 5—after the projected completion of the1942 World Series.
September 23 –Larry MacPhail, who asgeneral manager (since1938) andclub president (since1939) of theDodgers has spearheaded the team's rejuvenation on the field and at the turnstiles, stuns Brooklyn by quitting both positions to return to active duty in theUnited States Army. The "Roaring Redhead" had signed a five-year contract extension earlier in 1942, a reflection of his manifold accomplishments as the Dodgers' chief executive: threefirst-division finishes and oneNL pennant between 1939 and1941.[36] His current team has won 100 of its first 150 games, but trails the first-placeCardinals by 2½ games; nevertheless, it's poised to lead all 16 MLB teams in home attendance for the third time in four years.[37] MacPhail, now 52, had served as anartillerycaptain duringWorld War I; on October 2, he will resume his Army career as alieutenant colonel.
September 26 –Bucky Harris steps down from his second term as manager of theWashington Senators after a 62–89, seventh-place finish. The future Hall of Famer began his career as the 27-year-old "Boy Manager" and second baseman of the1924 world-champion Senators. His latest stint with Washington began in1935 but has produced only one winning season. Coach and former stalwart third basemanOssie Bluege will be named to succeed Harris on October 10.
September 27
TheSt. Louis Cardinals clinch the NL pennant on the last day of the regular season, defeating theChicago Cubs, 9–2, in the first game of a doubleheader atSportsman's Park. The Cardinals also win Game 2 of the twin bill to finish with a record of 106–48, earning the most victories by any NL team sincePittsburgh's 110 wins in 1909. The Redbirds' pennant is their sixth overall, and first since1934.
Meanwhile, the second-placeBrooklyn Dodgers win their season finale, 4–3, againstPhiladelphia to finish 104–50—the first MLB pennant runner-up to win that many games since the1909 Cubs.
FormerNew York Yankees outfielderBen Chapman, who spent 1942 as the player–manager of theRichmond Colts of theClass BPiedmont League, is suspended for the entire 1943 season to come for attacking anumpire and punching him in the face during a heated argument in a September 16 playoff game.[38]
October 5 – After dropping the first game of theWorld Series to theNew York Yankees atSportsman's Park on September 30, theSt. Louis Cardinals win their fourth straight contest, 4–2, and capture the fourthworld title in their history.Johnny Beazley, who whipped the Yanks in Game 2 to start the Redbirds' championship streak, racks up another complete-game victory;Whitey Kurowski's, two-run, ninth-inning homer provides the winning runs. The Bombers are swept in all three games played atYankee Stadium, and drop their first Fall Classic since1926—when they also fell to the Cardinals; they had won eight consecutive Series appearances in the interim.[39]
The Cardinals' victory caps one of the hottest stretch-drive streaks in baseball annals; they've gone 48–10–1 since August 4, overcoming a ten-game deficit in theNational League standings, and did not lose two in a row after August 2.
October 9 – A report from theNational Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, governing body of the minor leagues, reveals severe challenges caused byWorld War II. Ten leagues, mostly in the lower classifications, shut down prior to the 1942 campaign, and five more halted play during the middle of the season. Minor-league czarWilliam G. Bramham says the minors will continue to operate in 1943, but warns that player shortages and travel restrictions will be crucial issues.
The suggestion, first reported in theNew York Herald–Tribune, that the eight-team National andAmerican leagues be realigned into regional Eastern and Western circuits for the duration ofWorld War II to save on fuel and travel expenses is derided as "silly" by MLB owners and executives.[41]
October 29 – TheBrooklyn Dodgers signBranch Rickey to a five-year contract as club president and general manager, replacingLarry MacPhail, now serving in theUnited States Army. Rickey, 60, had been business manager and vice-president of theSt. Louis Cardinals since May 1925; St. Louis ownerSam Breadon had allowed Brooklyn's board of directors to speak with Rickey about their executive vacancy earlier this month. The inventor of the modern farm system, Rickey's scouting and player development acumen has enabled the cost-conscious Cardinals to capture six NL pennants and four World Series titles during his 17 full seasons as head of their front office. At Rickey's introductory press conference, he notes that the Dodgers, who won 104 games this past season but lagged behind Rickey's world-champion Redbirds, need to develop younger players to remain competitive.[42] The 1942 Dodgers were the second-oldest team in the NL; Rickey's Cardinals, the second-youngest.[37]
November 24 – TheSt. Louis Cardinals select right-handerGerry Staley fromBoise of the Class CPioneer League in the minor league draft. In1947, Staley will begin a 15-season MLB career during which he makes fourAll-Star teams and wins 134 games, including 89 as a Cardinal.
November 28 – TheDetroit Tigers change managers, namingSteve O'Neill to succeedDel Baker. O'Neill, 51, is known primarily as the former workhorse catcher of theCleveland Indians between1911 and1923, and managed Cleveland to a 199–168 record between1935 and1937. Baker, 50, a former Tiger catcher and coach, has been at the Detroit helm since August 7, 1938, and led the1940 edition to the AL pennant.
December 1 – At the winter meetings inChicago, player shortages and potential travel restrictions are the order of the day.[44] TheSt. Louis Cardinals, who operate baseball's largestfarm system, reports that 67 varsity and minor-league players have joined the military in the eight weeks since the conclusion of the 1942 season. At the request of the federal Office of Defense Transportation (ODT), owners reduce 1943's regular-season travel by 25% by restricting road trips from four to three series for each team. The ODT's suggestions that spring training be moved from the warm-weather South and Southwest to locations closer to the 16 MLB clubs is initially resisted, however.[45]
The winter conclave ends with major league teams "reasonably assured" of a continued green-light policy, enabling them to continue to operate during wartime in 1943, provided government directives are heeded and frills, such as spring training, are curtailed.[44]
December 12 –Branch Rickey's first official trade as front-office boss of theBrooklyn Dodgers sees him obtain pitcherRube Melton, 25, from thePhiladelphia Phils for fellow right-handerJohnny Allen, 38, and $30,000. Melton went9–20 (3.70) in 42 games and 2091⁄3 innings pitched for the cellar-dwelling Phils last season.
January 4 –Herold Juul, 48, pitcher for the 1914 Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League.
January 8 –Harry Pearce, 52, second baseman who played from 1917 through 1919 for the Philadelphia Phillies.
January 22 –Louis Santop, 52, Hall of Fame catcher in the Negro leagues, an amazing .406 lifetime hitter and the first legitimate home run slugger in black baseball history.
January 31:
Henry Larkin, 82, 19th century first baseman and manager who hit .303 in 10 seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Infants/Indians and Washington Senators.
Ed Phelps, 62, catcher who played with four teams in 11 seasons spanning 1902–1913, and a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams who the 1902 and 1903 National League Pennants and played in the 1903 World Series.
Frank Luce, 45, outfielder who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1923 season.
Happy Finneran, 51, pitcher who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Brooklyn Tip-Tops, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees, in a span of five seasons from 1912 to 1918.
February 7 –Joe Poetz, 41, pitcher who played in two games for the New York Giants in 1926.
February 9 –John Fischer, 86, pitcher who played from 1884 to 1885 with the Philadelphia Keystones and the Buffalo Bisons.
February 16 –Orson Baldwin, 60, pitcher for the 1908 St. Louis Cardinals.
March 1 –Bill Delaney, 78, second baseman for the 1890 Cleveland Spiders of the National League.
March 3:
John Buckley, 72, pitcher who played with the Buffalo Bisons of the Players' League in 1890.
Clay Fauver, 69, pitcher who played for the Louisville Colonels of the National League in 1899, and also a distinguished college professor and athletic coach both in baseball and football.
Dan O'Connor, 73, Canadian first baseman who appeared in six games with the Louisville Colonels club who won the 1890 American Association pennant.
March 4 –Jack Hammond, 51, second baseman who played for the Cleveland Indians in 1915 and divided his playing time with Cleveland and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1922.
March 5 –Dutch Wetzel, 48, outfielder who played for the St. Louis Browns of the American League in the 1920 and 1921 seasons.
March 12 –Owen Conway, 51, third baseman who played for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1915 season.
March 13 –Gene Steere, 69, shortstop for the 1894 Pittsburgh Pirates.
March 26 –Jimmy Burke, 67, third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1903 to 1905 and player-manager of the club for part of 1905, who then moved to the Minor Leagues to manage several teams, returning to the majors to coach for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees between 1914 and 1933, while managing the St. Louis Browns from 1918 to 1920.
March 31 –Ray O'Brien, 47, backup outfielder for the 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates.
April 3 –John Rudderham, 78, left fielder who appeared in one game with the Boston Reds of the Union Association in its 1884 season.
April 8 –Pat Bohen, 51, pitcher who played from 1913 to 1914 for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
April 11 –Norm McNeil, 49, reserve catcher who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the 1919 season.
April 26:
Al Montgomery, 21, catcher who played for the Boston Braves in 1941.
Hack Simmons, 57, infielder and outfielder who spent two seasons in the American League with the Detroit Tigers (1910) and New York Highlanders (1912), before moving to the outlaw Federal League to play for the Baltimore Terrapins (1914–1915).
May 9 –Herm Malloy, 56, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers teams who won the American League pennants in the 1907 and 1908 seasons.
May 13 –C. J. McDiarmid, 72, executive with the St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds between 1907 and 1929; president and principal owner of Reds from 1927 to 1929.
May 15 –Larry Milton, 63, pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals in its 1903 season.
May 20 –Amby McConnell, 59, second baseman who played from 1908 through 1911 for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox, better known as the player thatlined into the firstunassisted triple play in Major League Baseball history (1909), and also for setting the Red Sox record for moststolen bases in a single-season by a rookie with 31 (1908), which stood until being broken byJacoby Ellsbury (2008).
May 25 –Bill James, 65, pitcher who played for five teams in all or part of eight seasons between 1911 and 1919, as well as one of the clean members on the1919 Chicago White Sox club which was made famous by theBlack Sox Scandal.
May 26 –Ed Gremminger, 68, third baseman who played for the Cleveland Spiders, Boston Beaneaters and Detroit Tigers in part of four seasons between 1895 and 1904.
May 28:
Charley Bassett, 79, infielder for five National League teams in a span of eight seasons from 1884 to 1892, who led the league's second basemen in assists in 1887, and fielding percentage in 1887 and 1890.
Mike Welday, 63, outfielder who played for the Chicago White Sox in the 1907 and 1909 seasons.
May 30:
Ed Burns, 54, catcher who played from 1912 to 1918 for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies.
Lee Fyfe, 62, umpire who officiated in the Federal League in 1915 and the National League in 1920.
June 1 –Danny Friend, 69, pitcher who played for theChicago Colts of the National League from 1895 through 1898.
June 10 –Matt Zieser, 53, pitcher for the 1914 Boston Red Sox.
June 26 –Gene Stack, 24, pitcher in the Chicago White Sox minor league system, who in December 1940 became the first player on a Major League roster to be drafted for World War II service; died from a heart attack after hurling for his base's (Fort Custer) team.
June 29 –Manuel Cueto, 50, Cuban outfielder who spent more than 20 years in professional baseball, including stints with theSt. Louis Terriers in 1914 and theCincinnati Reds from 1917 until 1919.
July 1 –Harry Spies, 76, first baseman and catcher who played for the Louisville Colonels and Cincinnati Reds during the 1895 season.
July 17 –Lefty Johnson, 79, outfielder for the Philadelphia Keystones, Indianapolis Hoosiers and Baltimore Orioles in parts of five seasons from 1884 to 1892.
July 20 –Rap Dixon, 39, All-Star outfielder in the Negro leagues from 1922 through 1937; a power hitter who could also hit for average as well as one of the fastest players and best defensive outfielders in Negro league history.
July 30 –Jim Baskette, 54, pitcher for the Cleveland Naps from 1911 until 1913.
November 8 –Birdie Cree, 60, outfielder who spent his entire career with the New York Highlanders/Yankees from 1908 to 1915, while hitting .292 in 742 games.
November 14 –Scrappy Carroll, 82, Outfielder for three teams from 1884 to 1887.
November 15 –Joe Gunson, 79, catcher/outfielder who played four seasons in the majors from 1884, 1889, 1892–1893.
November 24 –Frank Owen, 62, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox from 1901 to 1908, who posted an 82-67 with a 2,55 ERA.
November 30 –Slim Love, 52, pitcher who posted a 28-21 record with a 3.04 ERA in six seasons with the Senators, Yankees and Tigers.
December 1 –Frank Connaughton, 73, shortstop-outfielder who played in the National League for Boston (1894 and 1906) and New York (1896).
December 3 –Chad Kimsey, 36, appeared in 222 games, 198 as a pitcher, for the St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers over six seasons between 1929 and 1936.
December 5 –Val Picinich, 46, catcher in 1307 games for the Philadelphia Athletics, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates between 1916 and 1933.
December 6 –Amos Rusie, 71, Hall of Fame fireball pitcher whose powerful delivery was the main reason to move the pitching mound in 1893 from 50 feet to its present 60 feet, 6 inches; who retired with a 246-174 record, 1,950 strikeouts and 3.07 ERA in what was really an eight-year career with theNew York Giants, collecting 30 or more wins four consecutive seasons and winning 20 or more games eight successive times, while leading the National League in strikeouts five years and leading or tying for most shutouts five times, including a no-hitter, and the Triple Crown in 1894 with a 36-13 mark, 195 strikeouts and a 2.78 ERA en route to a 4–0 four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles in the firstTemple Cup Championship Series.
^Bazer, Gerald; Culbertson, Steven (2002)."When FDR Said 'Play Ball'".archives.gov. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. RetrievedJanuary 3, 2026.
Negro American League
Negro National League
