January 26 – After the city ofPasadena, California passed an ordinance requiring all people to wear masks in public due to theSpanish flu pandemic, aCalifornia Winter League game took place between the Pasadena andLa Habra teams in which all players and umpires wore masks.[1]
January 30 – The Cincinnati Reds hirePat Moran as manager when no word is received from managerChristy Mathewson, who is still in France.
January 31 – Future Hall of Fame memberJackie Robinson is born to Jerry and Mallie Robinson in Cairo, Georgia. Robinson will become the first African American player in 20th century major league history when he debuts for theBrooklyn Dodgers in1947.
February 1 – After winning an out-of-court settlement of his suit against the Brooklyn Robins for the balance of his salary ($2,150) when the 1918 season ended a month early, former MVPJake Daubert is traded to the Reds for OFTommy Griffith.
February 5 – Charges brought in 1918 by Reds owner Garry Herrmann and managerChristy Mathewson againstHal Chase for betting against his team and throwing games in collusion with gamblers are dismissed by National League president John Heydler.
February 19 – The Reds trade Chase to the New York Giants in exchange for first basemanWalter Holke and catcherBill Rariden.
February 21 – The New York Yankees acquire 35-year-old spitballerJack Quinn fromVernon (PCL), sending in exchange PHappy Finneran, 1BZinn Beck, and cash. Quinn will be named a designated spitballer when the wet pitch is outlawed, and in 1921 he will help the Yankees to their first American League pennant. Quinn won't call it quits until he's 50.
February 28 – The St. Louis Browns purchase the contract of catcherWally Mayer from theBoston Red Sox for the sum of $5,000.
March 1 – Philadelphia Athletics ownerConnie Mack makes one of his biggest player mistakes, trading 3BLarry Gardner, OFCharlie Jamieson, and PElmer Myers to Cleveland in exchange for OFBraggo Roth. Vet writer Ernest Lanigan predicts that Roth will lead the circuit in homers at Shibe Park, but Roth will be shipped on to Boston by midseason. Gardner will put in six more .300 years, and Jamieson will be a top leadoff man and .303 hitter for the next 14 years.
March 7 –Christy Mathewson, back from World War I, rejoins the Giants as pitching coach and heir apparent toJohn McGraw.
March 17 – The Boston Red Sox, minus holdoutsCarl Mays andBabe Ruth, sail from New York aboard the S.S. Arapahoe. The trip to spring training is stormy and most of the players will be seasick.
April 18 – TheBrooklyn Robins purchase the contract of outfielderLee Magee from the Cincinnati Reds. Magee would later be a key figure in Hal Chase's banishment from baseball when Magee confided to National League president John Heydler that Chase tried to bribe him to not hustle in a game.
April 19 – Legislation is passed by future New York City mayorJimmy Walker that allows teams in the state ofNew York to play baseball on Sundays. TheNew York Giants were the first team to take advantage of this change, losing 4–3 to thePhiladelphia Phillies in front of 35,000 fans at thePolo Ground.[2]
May 4 – The New York Giants play their first legal Sunday game at home, before 35,000 fans, losing to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4–3. More than 25,000 turn out in Brooklyn the same day. By early June, the Giants will outdraw their 1918 attendance.
Walter Johnson retires 28 consecutive batters during a 12-inning scoreless tie againstJack Quinn and the New York Yankees. Future football immortalGeorge Halas, batting leadoff for New York, goes 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.[4]
May 15 – The Cincinnati Reds bombAl Mamaux for 10 runs in the 13th innings to beat the Brooklyn Robins, 10–0. Reds RFGreassy Neale has a record 10 putouts.
June 14 – Chicago White Sox aceEddie Cicotte beats the Philadelphia Athletics for the 12th straight time en route to a 29–7 record and a 1.82 ERA.
The New York Giants sign free agent infielderFrankie Frisch. Without spending a day in the minor leagues, Frisch, who'd just graduated from Fordham, makes his MLB three days later versus Chicago.
June 23:
Boston Red Sox 1BStuffy McInnis makes his first error of the year after handling 526 chances.
Chicago White Sox CFHappy Felsch handles a record-tying 12 chances in a nine-inning game. OnlyHarry Bay of Cleveland in 1904 has been so busy.
July 1 – Going 5-for-5 in a 9–4 win over the Phillies, Brooklyn'sEd Konetchy gets his 10th straight hit, tyingJake Gettman's record set withWashington in 1897. Both will be topped byWalt Dropo in 1952.
July 6 –William Veeck, former sportswriter, replacesFred Mitchell as Chicago Cubs president, but Mitchell remains as manager for the team.
July 8 –Jack Coombs resigns as manager of the last-place Philadelphia Phillies. SluggerGavvy Cravath replaces him.
July 29 – TheNew York Yankees trade pitchersBob McGraw andAllen Russell to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later. The trade is completed the next day when the Red Sox ship pitcherCarl Mays to the Yankees.
Pictured isRay Caldwell before his move from theYankees to theIndians, whose eventful 1919 season included throwing a no-hitter and being struck by lightning during the 9th inning of a game.
August 2 –Fred Luderus, a first baseman for thePhiladelphia Phillies, breaks Eddie Collins' record for most consecutive games played. Luderus plays in his 479th straight game. The streak eventually comes to an end in the opening game for the 1920 season.
August 8 – The Pittsburgh Pirates tradeCasey Stengel to the Phillies forPossum Whitted, who will bat .389 for Pittsburgh in the last 35 games of the season.
Babe Ruth hits his 17thhome run,[7] the first of seven homers in 12 days, which will include his fourth grand slam, setting an AL record until 1961, when it would be broken byJim Gentile of theBaltimore Orioles. The Yankees overcomeMuddy Ruel's hitting into a triple play and beat the Tigers in 15 innings, 5–4.
Chicago White Sox CFHappy Felsch ties the major-league record with four OF assists in one game, but the Boston Red Sox beats Chicago 15–6.
The Brooklyn Robins waste no time in splitting a pair with the Chicago Cubs, losing 2–0 in an hour and 10 minutes, then winning 1–0 in one hour and seven minutes in the second game.
August 16 – The St. Louis Browns set an AL record with 53 total chances against the Philadelphia Athletics, but lose 7–4. The Browns have 26 assists and St. Louis 1BGeorge Sisler has 17 putouts. With no putouts, the St. Louis outfielders have the day off.
August 20:
Wichita OFJoe Wilhoit (Western League) fails to get a hit, ending a 69-game streak in which he collected 155 hits in 299 at bats for a .505 batting average. The previous record was 49 by Oakland's Jack Ness (Pacific Coast League) in 1915.
The New York Yankees purchase the contracts of outfielderBob Meusel from Vernon of the PCL, and pitcherRip Collins from Dallas in the Texas League. Both players would play key roles in the Yankees' 1921 AL Pennant team.
August 24 – Cleveland IndianspitcherRay Caldwell is hit by lightning during the ninth inning of his debut for the tribe. He quickly recovered, reportedly saying "Give me that danged ball and turn me toward the plate", before pitching the final out of the game.[8]
August 26 – New York Giants 1BHal Chase handles 35 chances against the Pittsburgh Pirates during a doubleheader.
August 28 –Bucky Harris makes his MLB debut for theWashington Senators, playing second base. Harris would eventually make the hall of fame as a manager.
September 2 – TheNational Commission recommends a best-of-nineWorld Series games. The lengthier World Series is seen as a sign of greed and is abandoned after three years, reverting to the seven-game format and has remained ever since.
September 10 – Cleveland Indians' pitcherRay Caldwell, struck by lightning 2 weeks earlier, no-hits his former teammates New York Yankees 3–0 at the Polo Grounds.[9]
September 16 –Dutch Ruether beats the New York Giants, 4–3, to clinch the Cincinnati Reds firstNL pennant and their first pennant of any kind since1882 during theirAmerican Association days.[10]
September 20 –Babe Ruth tiesNed Williamson's major-league home run mark of 27 with a game-winner offLefty Williams of the Chicago White Sox. Four days later, Ruth will hit his 28 over the roof of the Polo Grounds.
September 21 – In a period of rapidly played games, theCubs beat theBraves 3–0 in 58 minutes of playing time.[11] It takes theRobins 55 minutes to beat the Reds 3–1,[12] withSlim Sallee throwing 65 pitches, managing to topChristy Mathewson's 69-pitch complete game.
September 24:
TheChicago White Sox's 6–5 win over the St. Louis Browns clinches theAL pennant; the final margin will be 3½ games over the Cleveland Indians.[13]
The Brooklyn Robins defeat the Phillies twice onFred Luderus Day in Philadelphia. The second game is the 525th in a row played by the Phillies first baseman, who is presented with a diamond stickpin and gold watch between the games to commemorate his endurance effort. He will end the season with a consecutive-game streak of 553.[14]
Boston Red Sox pitcherWaite Hoyt throws nine perfect innings against the New York Yankees, but they score in the 13th in which he gives up 5 hits, ruining hisperfect game, and losing the game 2–1.[15]
September 27 –Babe Ruth hit his 29th home run and his first of the year in Washington, to become the first player to hit at least one home run in every AL park in the same season.[5]
September 28 – On the last day of the season,Jesse Barnes won his National League-leading 25th victory, 6–1, overLee Meadows and the Philadelphia Phillies atPolo Grounds. The game was played at a feverish pace and lasted a mere 51 minutes, a major league record that still stands as the shortest nine-inning game ever played.[16]
October 1 – Just before the start of theWorld Series, the highly favored Chicago White Sox became the betting underdogs. A year later the White Sox will become the Black Sox, and eight of them: pitchersEddie Cicotte andLefty Williams, outfieldersShoeless Joe Jackson andHappy Felsch, 1BChick Gandil, SSSwede Risberg, 3BBuck Weaver, and utility infielderFred McMullin, will be barred from baseball for taking part in throwing the Series. It will take that long for the story to unfold, as most observers at the time see nothing amiss when the Series opens in Cincinnati.
November 10 –Clark Griffith becomes a club owner and president when he joins Philadelphia grain broker William Richardson in buying controlling interest in the Washington Senators for $175,000. Griffith, unable to get financial help from the American League, mortgages his Montana ranch to raise funds.
The National League votes to ban the spitball's use by all new pitchers. The ban will be formally worked out by the Rules Committee in February.
With the opposition led by New York, Boston, and Chicago owners, the American League directors pass a resolution accusingBan Johnson of overstepping his duties. They demand that league files be turned over to them and that an auditor review all financial accounts.
December 26 – Although it will not be officially announced until January, the New York Yankees buyBabe Ruth from financially pressedHarry Frazee, paying $125,000 (one-fourth cash, plus $25,000 a year at six percent) plus guaranteeing a $300,000 loan with Fenway Park as collateral.
January 1 –Gene Curtis, 35, outfielder for the 1903 Pittsburgh Pirates.
January 3 –Al Schellhase, 54, outfielder for the 1890 Boston Beaneaters (NL) and the 1891 Louisville Colonels (AA).
January 3 –Art Rico, 23, Italian-born catcher who played from 1916 through 1917 for the Boston Braves of the National League.
January 6 –Jake Stenzel, 51, National League center fielder for four different clubs between 1890 and 1899, a five-time .300 hitter whose career batting average of .339 is the 12th highest in Major League history.
January 8 –Jim O'Rourke, 68, left fielder for Boston, Buffalo and New York who batted .314 lifetime and ended his career ranked second all-time in games, hits, runs, doubles and total bases; made first hit in major league history after four seasons in National Association, and later became oldest player ever to get a hit at age 54; led NL in hits, runs, home runs, triples and walks once each; later a minor league manager and executive.
January 23 –John Newell, 51, third baseman who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1891 season.
February 4 –Lefty Davis, 44, outfielder who hit .261 in 348 games with the Pirates, Highlanders, Reds and Superbas between 1901 and 1907.
March 1 –Bill Fouser, 63, second baseman for the 1876 Philadelphia Athletics.
March 1 –Hal McClure, 59, outfielder for the 1882 Boston Red Caps of the National League.
March 5 –Bill Yawkey, 44, owner of the Detroit Tigers from 1903 until his death, victim of the1918 flu pandemic; his nephewTom owned the Boston Red Sox from 1933 until his July 1976 death.
March 6 –Fred Demarais, 52, Canadian pitcher for the 1890 Chicago Colts of the National League.
March 7 –Phil Auten, 79, co-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1893 to 1900.
March 13 –Jim Toy, 60, played two seasons, 1887 & 1890, sometimes credited at the first Native American to play in the Majors.
March 30 –John Bates, 50, pitcher for the 1889 Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association.
March 28 –Steve Toole, 59, pitcher for the Kansas City Cowboys and the Brooklyn Grays/Gladiators teams between 1886 and 1890.
April 25 –Bill Higgins, 59, second baseman who played with the Boston Beaneaters of the National League (1888) and the St. Louis Browns and Syracuse Stars of the American Association (1890).
April 28 –Bill Ahearn, 61, catcher who played in one game for the Troy Trojans of the National League in 1880.
May 16 –Germany Schaefer, 42, second baseman who forced a rule change after stealing first base in reverse direction during a 1908 game while with the Tigers.
May 26 –Sadie Houck, 63, shortstop who played eight seasons from 1879 to 1887.
May 28 –Jack Wanner, 33, shortstop for the 1909 New York Highlanders of the American League.
June 5 –John McCloskey, 36, pitcher who played from 1906 to 1907 for the Philadelphia Phillies.
June 15 –Fred Tenney, 59, Union Association outfielder who played for the Washington Nationals, Boston Reds and Wilmington Quicksteps in the 1884 baseball season.
June 20 –William Stephen Devery, 65, former New York City police commissioner who, withFrank J. Farrell, bought the original Baltimore Orioles of the American League in 1902, moved them to New York as the Highlanders in 1903, and sold them (as the New York Yankees) toJacob Ruppert andTillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston in 1915.
June 22 –Joe Woerlin, 54, French shortstop who played in one game for the 1895 Washington Senators of the National League.
July 9 –Aleck Smith, 35, backup catcher for four different teams during nine seasons, and a member of the 1903 American League champions Boston Americans.
August 11 –Frank Todd, 49, pitcher for the 1898 Louisville Colonels of the American Association.
August 16 –Ed McKean, 55, shortstop for the Cleveland Spiders who batted .302 lifetime and had four seasons of 100 runs and 100 RBI; among first ten players to reach 2000 hits.
August 21 –Bob Clark, 56, catcher for the Brooklyn Grays/Bridegrooms, Cincinnati Reds and Louisville Colonels between 1886 and 1893.
September 8 –John Kerins, 52, first baseman/catcher and two-time manager from 1884 to 1890. Led the American Association in triples with 19 in1887.
September 20 –Cy Seymour, 46, center fielder for the Giants and Reds who batted .303 lifetime; led NL in batting, doubles, triples and RBI in 1905, also won 61 games as pitcher from 1896 to 1900.
September 22 –Harry Sullivan, 31, pitcher for the 1909 St. Louis Cardinals.
October 14 –Harry Blake, 45, outfielder who played from 1894 through 1899 for the Cleveland Spiders (AA) and the St. Louis Perfectos (NL).
October 30 –Bill Lattimore, 35, pitcher for the 1908 Cleveland Naps of the American League.
