1972 was tainted by aplayers' strike over pension and salary arbitration. The strike erased the first week and a half of the season, and the Leagues decided to just excise the lost portion of the season with no makeups. As a result, an uneven number of games were cancelled for each team; some as few as six, some as many as nine. The lack of makeups of those games, even when they affected playoffs, led to the Boston Red Sox losing the American League East by half a game to the Detroit Tigers.
1972 marked the first year for theTexas Rangers, who had moved toArlington from Washington, D.C. (where they played as the Washington Senators), after the1971 season. There would be no baseball in D.C. until2005. The team was one of the worst ever fielded by the franchise, losing 100 games for the first time since1964. ManagerTed Williams hated living in theDallas-Fort Worth area, and resigned at the end of the season.
January 13 –Bernice Gera wins a discrimination suit against organized baseball, opening the door for her to become the first female umpire in professional baseball.
March 16 – Reigning AL Cy Young- and MVP-award winnerVida Blue announces his retirement at age 22. The retirement will be a short one as Blue will rejoin theOakland Athletics in May.
April 1–13 – The firstplayers' strike in baseball history wipes 6–8 games off the schedule of each MLB team. It is agreed that those games will be canceled outright — not even played to resolve pennant races. This results in teams not being scheduled for the same number of games over the regular season; the imbalance will enable theDetroit Tigers to edge theBoston Red Sox by one-half game to win theAmerican League East championship. The strike results in the team owners adding salaryarbitration to thecollective bargaining agreement, and increasing pension fund payments.
April 2 –Gil Hodges, 47, manager of theNew York Mets since 1968 and a futureBaseball Hall of Famer as the star first baseman of theBrooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s, suffers a fatal heart attack after a day of golf with his coaching staff inWest Palm Beach, Florida. (SeeDeaths entry for this date below.) His unexpected death sends waves of shock and grief throughout baseball. Hodges'funeral mass is celebrated April 6 at his parish church inBrooklyn, where he has lived since 1948. One day later, Hall-of-Fame catcherYogi Berra, a Mets' coach, is named his successor at the club's helm.
The season is only 11 days old when theSan Diego Padres dismiss managerPreston Gómez and replace him with coachDon Zimmer. The Padres' only pilot since they entered MLB in1969, Gómez departs with a 180–316 (.363) record over all or parts of four seasons. For Zimmer, the San Diego job is his first managing assignment in the majors.
April 29 –Don Zimmer gets his first win as a manager, when the San Diego Padres defeat thePhiladelphia Phillies. The winning pitcher isSteve Arlin, who'll finish the season with a league-leading 21 losses. The losing pitcher wasSteve Carlton, who'll lead the NL in victories with 27.
May 14 – In front of aMother's Day crowd of 35,505 inShea Stadium,Willie Mays makes a triumphant homecoming to New York with theMets, belting a game-winning home run against his old teammates, theGiants. Leading off and playing first base, Mayswalks and scores in the first inning onRusty Staub's grand slam, then his solo homer in the fifth snaps a 4–4 tie. The final score: New York 5, San Francisco 4.
May 21 – TheNew York Mets win their 11th straight game, and 14th out of their last 15, defeating the homestandingPhillies, 4–3.Tom Seaver improves to 7–1 and the winning blow is struck byWillie Mays, with a two-run homer in the eighth inning. The win improves the Mets' record to 25–7, and they hold a six-game lead in theNational League East over the 18–12Pittsburgh Pirates.
June 1 –Paul Richards, vice president/player personnel andde facto general manager of theAtlanta Braves since August 31, 1966, is replaced by director of player developmentEddie Robinson as leader of the 18–22 team's front office.
June 3
In a move similar to Atlanta's two days earlier, thePhiladelphia Phillies, mired in a 2–18 slump, fire veteran general managerJohn J. Quinn and promote farm system bossPaul Owens to replace him. Owens will spend over a dozen years as GM and build the Phillies into a contender that wins fiveNational League East titles, two NLpennants, and, in1980, the firstWorld Series championship in franchise history.
July 5 – The 36–34Minnesota Twins change managers, replacing veteran skipperBill Rigney with coachFrank Quilici. Rigney, 54, is in the midst of his 17th season as an MLB pilot. Quilici, 33, a former Twins' infielder, has never managed before.
TheAngels'Nolan Ryan strikes out 16 and allows only one hit (a first-inning single toCarl Yastrzemski) in a 3–0 victory over theRed Sox. It's Ryan's second career one-hitter; the first of his all-time-record sevenno-hitters will happen on May 15, 1973.
TheLos Angeles Dodgers'Hoyt Wilhelm, 49, appears in his 1,070th and lastgame pitched in Major League Baseball, establishing a record that will last until 1998 and (as of 2024) is sixth all-time. The Dodgers release Wilhelm eleven days later.
Newly appointed general managerPaul Owens of thePhiladelphia Phillies (26–50, last in theNL East) fires third-year managerFrank Lucchesi and takes the reins of the team himself for the rest of the 1972 campaign.
Billy Williams of theChicago Cubs goes 8-for-8 in a doubleheader against theHouston Astros atWrigley Field, hitting home runs in both games and driving in four runs. The Cubs lose the first game 6–5, but win the nightcap 9–5.
July 14 – In a game between theDetroit Tigers andKansas City Royals atMunicipal Stadium, Detroit catcherTom Haller has his older brotherBill Haller looking right over his shoulder. It's the first time brothers have served as catcher and home plate umpire in the same MLB game. The Royals win 1–0.
July 18 – Against thePhiladelphia Phillies atSan Diego Stadium,Padres' pitcherSteve Arlin has ano-hitter broken up with two out in the ninth by aDenny Doyle single.[1] With two strikes on him, Doyle takes advantage of Padre managerDon Zimmer's decision to play third basemanDave Roberts in by slapping a ground ball that bounces over Roberts' head—a ball that Roberts could have fielded at normal depth. Doyle later advances to second on a balk, then scores on aTommy Hutton single. Arlin then retiresGreg Luzinski on a fly ball to come away with a two-hitter (one of three he pitches within 30 days; he also hurls a one-hitter June 23, 1972, during a season in which he finishes10–21,3.60) in a 5–1 Padre victory. This will be the closest any San Diego hurler comes to a no-hitter untilJoe Musgrove finally throws the franchise's first on April 8,2021.
July 24 –Leo Durocher, 66, steps down as manager of theChicago Cubs (46–44 and tied for third in their division). He is replaced byWhitey Lockman, who played for Durocher's 1950sNew York Giants and has been serving as the Cubs' director of player development.
AtAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium,Nate Colbert of theSan Diego Padres tiesStan Musial's 18-year record by hitting five home runs in a doubleheader against theAtlanta Braves. He hits two in the first game, won by the Padres 9–0, and three more in the nightcap, which San Diego also wins, 11–7. Musial had hit five home runs in a May 2,1954 doubleheader atBusch Stadium—with Colbert, then eight years old, in attendance.
August 2 – In an inter-leaguewaiver deal that will have massive implications in theAmerican League's late-season divisional pennant race, theDetroit Tigers claim 32-year-old left-handerWoodie Fryman from thePhiladelphia Phillies. Over the next two months, as a member of Detroit's starting rotation, Fryman will win ten of 13 decisions, including thedivision clincher October 3.
August 10–11 – In 19 innings, the first-placeOakland Athletics defeat the second-placeChicago White Sox 5–3 on a two-run home run byJoe Rudi. The game, played atOakland, begins at 7:30 p.m. PDT on August 10, but is halted by a 1 a.m. curfew in the 17th frame. When it resumes on Friday the 11th, it takes another two innings for a decision to be reached.Catfish Hunter gets the win in relief, then he starts the second game of Friday's twin bill, goes eight innings, and allows the game's only run in a 1–0 ChiSox victory. Oakland and Chicago remain one game apart in theAL West standings.
August 19 – Only recently recovered from arm miseries and plugged into theBoston Red Sox' starting rotation,Luis Tiant fires a two-hitter to defeat theChicago White Sox 3–0 atComiskey Park. It's the first of Tiant's four consecutivecomplete-gameshutouts that will lift the fourth-place, 56–55 Red Sox into contention for theAL East title. Through the last seven weeks of the 1972 season, Tiant will go 11–2 with 11 complete games, six shutouts and a 1.20 earned run average.
August 25
The visitingBaltimore Orioles rally for three runs in the ninth inning to overcome theOakland Athletics 5–3. The result affects both AL division races, as the Orioles climb into a first-place tie with theDetroit Tigers in theEast and the Athletics fall a full game behind theChicago White Sox in theWest.
Managerial heads continue to roll during the season, asHarry Walker, skipper of the 67–54Houston Astros, is relieved of his command. After coachSalty Parker handles the team on August 26, the Astros turn toLeo Durocher on the 27th, making him permanent field leader. The 67-year-old Durocher has spent only five weeks on the sidelines since his resignation from theChicago Cubs on July 23. Houston is the fourth, and final, stop in a managerial career that began in 1939. Counting the tragic death of theNew York Mets'Gil Hodges on April 2, the Astros are the eighth MLB team (out of 24) to change managers either immediately before or during the 1972 campaign.
August 31 – TheDetroit Tigers make a huge addition to their postseason-eligible roster by acquiring 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), 255 lb (116 kg) veteran sluggerFrank Howard from theTexas Rangers.
September 2 – AtWrigley Field,Chicago Cub pitcherMilt Pappasno-hits theSan Diego Padres 8–0. Pappas retires the first 26 batters and comes to within one strike of aperfect game with a 2–2 count to pinch-hitterLarry Stahl, but home-plate umpireBruce Froemming calls the next two pitches, both of which are close, balls. Undeterred, Pappas ends the game by retiring the next batter, ex-CubGarry Jestadt. Not untilCarlos Zambrano in2008 would the Cubs be involved in a no-hitter (either in pitching it or having it pitched against them), and the next no-hitter at Wrigley won't come untilCole Hamels of thePhiladelphia Phillies no-hits the Cubs in2015. The perfect game bid is also the only one, to date, to be broken up on a walk to the 27th batter.
September 28 – TheWhite Sox' faint division-championship hopes are extinguished when theOakland Athletics (90–60) sweep a three-games series from theMinnesota Twins at theOakland Coliseum. They take the third and final game when light-hitting shortstopDal Maxvill drives in the decisive run in the home half of the ninth. The White Sox, meanwhile, are idle after having lost back-to-back games on September 26–27 to theKansas City Royals. At 83–65, they trail the Athletics by five games with only five to play, but are mathematically eliminated anyway because of the strike-driven, asymmetric 1972 MLB schedule.
October 1 – With only theDetroit Tigers andBoston Red Sox still alive for theAmerican League East title, theBaltimore Orioles'Mike Cuellar spaces eight hits andBobby Grich homers offLynn McGlothen in the sixth inning to lead the Orioles to a 2–1 victory over the Red Sox atMemorial Stadium. It's a crucial setback for the Bosox, who now head into a three-game, season-ending series atTiger Stadium with just a half-game lead. To win the division, Boston (84–68) must take two out of three games in Detroit from the Tigers (84–69).
October 2
Detroit Tigers veteran left-handerMickey Lolich, hero of the1968 World Series, again comes up big in the clutch four years later, striking out 15 and defeating theBoston Red Sox 4–1 to give the Tigers a half-game lead in theAL East. The Bosox are victimized by a nightmarish mishap on the bases that befallsLuis Aparicio, their wily shortstop and normally a superior baserunner, in the third inning. Rounding third and poised to score the Red Sox' lead run on an extra-base hit byCarl Yastrzemski, Aparicio falls between third base and home plate. When he tries to retreat to third base, he finds Yastrzemski occupying the bag. Yaz is tagged out and the Bosox' rally is snuffed out.
In the first game of a doubleheader atJarry Park,Bill Stoneman of theMontreal Exposno-hits theNew York Mets 7–0. The no-hitter is 1) the second of Stoneman's career (the first having come on April 17,1969—only nine games into the Expos' existence), 2) the first no-hitter ever pitched in a regular season game in Canada, and 3) the latest, calendar-wise, that a regular-season no-hitter has been pitched, tied withAddie Joss' perfect game in1908.
October 3
TheDetroit Tigers clinch theAmerican League East asWoodie Fryman beatsLuis Tiant and theBoston Red Sox 3–1 for his tenth win. Detroit'sChuck Seelbach picks up his 14th save andAl Kaline singles in the winning run. It's Detroit pilotBilly Martin's second divisional championship in his three years as an MLB manager. When 85–70 Boston wins a meaningless final game October 4, the 86–70 Tigers' margin of victory is one-half game, an anomaly caused by the asymmetric 1972 schedule.
TheKansas City Royals fire managerBob Lemon and replace him with their Triple-A skipper,Jack McKeon. It's the 41-year-old McKeon's first MLB managerial opportunity after over two decades as a minor-league catcher and pilot and MLB scout. He'll become well known as "Trader Jack" McKeon as a general manager and, at 72, win aWorld Series as skipper of the2003 Florida Marlins.
October 8 – TheOakland Athletics win Game 2 of the1972 American League Championship Series 5–0 at theOakland Coliseum behindBlue Moon Odom'scomplete gameshutout to take a two-games-to-none lead over theDetroit Tigers. The contest turns ugly whenFred Scherman, a Tiger relief pitcher, throws twobrushback pitches to Oakland sluggerReggie Jackson in the fifth inning; Jackson responds by belting a two-rundouble to drive home the Athletics' fourth and fifth runs of the day. Then, in the seventh, another Tiger reliever,Lerrin LaGrow, throws inside toBert Campaneris, who is three for three with two runs scored, and hits the Oakland shortstop on the foot. Enraged, Campaneris fires his bat over LaGrow's head and charges the mound as the benches clear. Batter and pitcher are both ejected, and AL presidentJoe Cronin fines Campaneris and LaGrow and suspends them for the balance of the LCS. However, Cronin also rules that each player would be eligible to participate should his team move on to theWorld Series.
October 11
ThePittsburgh Pirates carry a 3–2 lead into the bottom of the ninth of the fifth and deciding game of theNLCS atRiverfront Stadium. Leading off, theReds'Johnny Bench homers to tie the game. His blast is followed by two singles and two outs. Then, with pinch runnerGeorge Foster at third base, the Pirates'Bob Moose unleashes a wild pitch, permitting the pennant-clinching run to score. The 4–3 triumph seals Cincinnati's sixth National League championship of the post-1901 era.
October 12 – For the first time since divisional play began in 1969, both League Championship Series come down to a decisive Game 5, when theOakland Athletics andDetroit Tigers resume their bitterALCS struggle atTiger Stadium. Detroit breaks the ice with anunearned run offBlue Moon Odom in the first inning. Then, in the second, Oakland'sReggie Jacksonsteals home to tie the game at one—but he pulls hishamstring in the process and is forced to leave the game. Two innings later, Oakland takes a 2–1 lead on anRBIsingle byGene Tenace. Odom and left-handerVida Blue (in a rare relief appearance) then shut down the Tigers for the rest of the afternoon. The Athletics win their tenthAmerican Leaguepennant, and their first since1931 when the club was based inPhiladelphia. However, Jackson'spulled hamstring will prevent him from appearing in the1972 World Series.
October 15 – Before Game 2 of the1972 World Series atRiverfront Stadium,MLB marks the 25th anniversary of theracial integration of its playing ranks by honoring pioneerJackie Robinson, who broke thecolor barrier in theNational League on April 15, 1947, andLarry Doby, who integrated theAmerican League that same year on July 5. In his remarks, Hall-of-Famer Robinson calls on baseball to open itsmanagerial ranks to Black candidates as well. It will be the 53-year-old Robinson's last public appearance; seriously ill withdiabetes and nearly blind, he will suffer a fatal heart attack at hisStamford, Connecticut home nine days later. (SeeDeaths entry for October 24.)
October 22 – TheOakland Athletics win theWorld Series with a 3–2 victory in Game 7 over theCincinnati Reds.Catfish Hunter gets the win in relief, andRollie Fingers thesave.Gene Tenace knocks in two of Oakland's three runs with a single in the first inning and a tie-breakingdouble in the sixth. Tenace, who had hit only five home runs during the regular season, slugs four in the Series and is named MVP. It's the Athletics' sixth world championship, and first in 42 years.
November 7 – With general managerPaul Owens resuming full-time front-office duties, thePhiladelphia Phillies appointDanny Ozark their field manager for 1973. Ozark, 48, is a 30-year veteran of theLos Angeles Dodgers' organization and has spent eight years onWalter Alston's coaching staff. His tenure in Philadelphia will yield threeNational League East titles, but no NL pennants, before he's fired August 29, 1979.
November 15 –Dick Allen of theChicago White Sox is a landslide winner of the 1972American League Most Valuable Player Award. An eight-year veteran of threeNL teams, Allen has had a huge impact in his first year in the Junior Circuit—leading it in homers (37), runs batted in (113), bases on balls (99), OBP (.420), slugging percentage (.603), OPS (1.023), and OPS+ (.199).
November 22 – Future Hall of Fame catcherJohnny Bench of theCincinnati Reds wins his second National League MVP Award in three years. Bench beats outChicago Cubs outfielderBilly Williams, who also ran second to Bench in the 1970 MVP balloting.
November 28 – In a blockbuster intrastate trade that satisfies both teams, theLos Angeles Dodgers send outfielderFrank Robinson, pitchersBill Singer andMike Strahler, and infieldersBobby Valentine andBilly Grabarkewitz to theCalifornia Angels for pitcherAndy Messersmith and third basemanKen McMullen. In 1973, Robinson will hit .266 with 30 home runs with 97 RBI in 147 games, and Singer will combine withNolan Ryan to strike out 674 batters, to set a 20th-century major league record for two pitching teammates. Messersmith will win 39 games in his next two seasons for the Dodgers and finish second in the 1974 NL Cy Young Award voting.
December 10 – TheAmerican League votes unanimously to adopt thedesignated hitter rule on a three-year experimental basis. The DH will replace the pitcher in the lineup unless otherwise noted before the start of the game. In the December1975 meeting, the AL will vote to permanently adopt the DH. The National League declines to follow suit.
January 2 –Glenn Crawford, 58, outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies in the 1940s.
January 15 –William Benswanger, 79, executive; son-in-law ofBarney Dreyfuss who served as president and chief executive of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1932 until the Dreyfuss family sold the team in August 1946.
January 19 –Joe Goodrich, 78, third baseman who played for the Washington Potomacs of the Eastern Colored League in 1923 and 1924.
January 21 –Dick Loftus, 70, outfielder for the Brooklyn Robins from 1924 to 1925, playing in 97 total games.
January 23 –Fred Nicholson, 77, outfielder/pinch hitter who batted .311 over 303 career games for the 1917 Detroit Tigers, 1919–1920 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1921–1922 Boston Braves.
February 2 –Dick Burrus, 74, first baseman and .291 lifetime hitter who played in 560 games for the 1919–1920 Philadelphia Athletics and 1925–1928 Boston Braves; made 200 hits in 1925.
February 4 –Joe Green, 74, pinch hitter who had a single professional at bat for the Philadelphia Athletics, on July 2, 1924.
February 6 –Frankie Zak, 49, shortstop and second baseman who played only 123 MLB games for wartime Pittsburgh Pirates (1944–1946), yet was selected to 1944 National League All-Star team.
February 9 –Chico Ruiz, 33, Cuban-born infielder who played in 565 games between 1964 and 1971 for the Cincinnati Reds and California Angels; on Kansas City Royals' winter roster at the time of his death.
February 12 –Jim Sullivan, 77, pitcher who hurled in 25 games for the Philadelphia Athletics (1921–1922) and Cleveland Indians (1923).
February 15 –Pep Goodwin, 80, infielder for the 1914–1915 Kansas City Packers of the "outlaw" Federal League; served as president of the Pacific Coast League in 1955.
February 17 –Lew Malone, 74, infielder in 133 games for the Philadelphia Athletics (1915–1916) and Brooklyn Robins (1917, 1919).
February 22 –Johnnie Oden, 69, third baseman who played from 1927 through 1932, chiefly with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro National League.
February 28 –Dizzy Trout, 56, two-time All-Star pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (1939–1952) who led the AL in wins in 1943 and was MVP runner-up the following year; also pitched briefly for Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, and was a member of the Tigers' broadcasting team.
March 4 –Watty Clark, 69, left-handed hurler who won 111 games over a dozen seasons between 1924 and 1937 for three MLB clubs, most notably Brooklyn; led National League pitchers in games lost (19) in 1929 but went 20–12 (3.49) for a first-division 1932 Brooklyn club.
March 6 –Stan Jok, 45, third baseman and pinch hitter in 12 games for the 1954 Philadelphia Phillies and 1954–1955 Chicago White Sox.
March 10 –George Cunningham, 77, pitcher/outfielder who appeared in 162 career games, 123 of them on the mound, for the 1916–1919 Detroit Tigers.
March 11 –Zack Wheat, 83, Hall of Fame left fielder who played 18 National League seasons (1909–1926) for Brooklyn; held the franchise's career records for games (2,322), hits (2,804), doubles (464) and triples (171); a lifetime .317 hitter who retired with the tenth-most hits in history; member of 1916 and 1920 NL champion Robins.
March 12 –Dutch Levsen, 73, pitcher whose mediocre six-season career with 1923–1928 Cleveland Indians included one standout campaign: 1926, when he went 16–13 with 18 complete games.
March 16 –Pie Traynor, 72, Hall of Fame third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1920–1935, 1937) who batted .320 lifetime and established a record for career games at third base; was named the best ever at his position in 1969; managed Pirates from June 19, 1934 through 1939.
March 18 –Frank Bushey, 65, Boston Red Sox pitcher who worked in 12 career games during the 1927 and 1930 seasons.
March 19 –Gordie Hinkle, 66, catcher who appeared in 27 games for the 1934 Red Sox; bullpen coach for the 1939 Detroit Tigers.
March 24 –Dick Coffman, 65, pitcher who toiled in 472 games over 15 seasons between 1927 and 1945 for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, New York Giants, Boston Bees and Philadelphia Phillies; with Giants, he became a relief pitcher who led the National League in games pitched (51) and saves (12) in 1938.
March 28
Donie Bush, 84, shortstop of the Detroit Tigers for 14 seasons who led the American League in walks five times and was a superlative bunter; later managed Pittsburgh to the 1927 National League pennant; also skippered three other MLB clubs between 1923 and 1933, and became prominent as a minor league manager and executive.
Cy Moore, 67, pitcher who worked in 147 National League games between 1929 and 1934 for Brooklyn and Philadelphia.
March 30 –Davy Jones, 91, outfielder for five clubs between 1901 and 1918, most notably the Detroit Tigers (1906–1912, 1918), where who organized a 1912 walkout to protestTy Cobb's suspension for attacking a heckler.
April 2 –Gil Hodges, 47, Baseball Hall of Fame, eight-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove first baseman for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1943 and 1947–1961); member of 1955 and 1959 world champions; drove in more runs than any other player during the 1950s; finished playing career with expansion New York Mets (1962–1963) and served as third full-time manager in the team's annals from 1968 until his death, leading the "Miracle Mets" to the 1969 World Series title; Mets retired uniform #14 to honor him after his passing; also managed the Washington Senators from May 23, 1963 through 1967.
April 3 –Alvin Crowder, 73, pitcher who had three 20-win seasons with the Senators, winning 26 and 24 games (in 1932–1933) and St. Louis Browns; led American League hurlers in winning percentage in 1928; known for his mastery against the Yankees.
April 7 –Larry Brown, 70, standout Negro leagues catcher, seven-time All-Star, and member of 1927 champion Chicago American Giants; played for five teams over 22 years between 1923 and 1947 and served as player-manager of the American Giants (1935) and Memphis Red Sox (1942–1943, 1945, 1947–1948).
April 8 –Gus Fisher, 86, left-handed-hitting catcher who appeared in 74 games for the 1911 Cleveland Naps and 1912 New York Highlanders of the American League.
April 9 –Roy Leslie, 77, first baseman in 160 career games during one-year stints for the 1917 Chicago Cubs, 1919 St. Louis Cardinals and 1922 Philadelphia Phillies.
April 16 –Lou Perini, 68, construction magnate and club owner (1944–1962) who moved the struggling Braves from his home city of Boston to Milwaukee in March 1953, finding instant success on the field and at the turnstiles and kicking off a two-decade spasm of franchise relocations and expansion in MLB; his Boston/Milwaukee Braves won three NL pennants and the 1957 World Series.
April 22 –Frank Drews, 55, second baseman who appeared in 95 total games for the wartime, 1944–1945 Boston Braves.
May 2 –Jack Smith, 76, outfielder who played all or part of 15 National League seasons (1915–1929) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves, getting into 1,406 games.
May 4 –Vic Sorrell, 71, pitcher who spent his entire 280-game career with the Detroit Tigers between 1928 and 1937; member of Tigers' 1935 World Series champs and 1934 AL pennant-winners.
May 11
Lynn King, 64, back-up outfielder who played in 175 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1935, 1936 and 1938.
Danny Schell, 44, outfielder/pinch hitter who appeared in 94 games for the 1954–1955 Philadelphia Phillies.
Suds Sutherland, 78, pitcher, pinch hitter and outfielder in 17 games for 1921 Detroit Tigers; in 13 mound appearances, he posted a 6–2 won–lost record.
May 15
John Milligan, 68, pitcher who played from 1928 through 1934 for the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Senators.
Dixie Parker, 72, catcher and pinch hitter in four games for the 1923 Phillies.
May 18 –Babe Barna, 57, outfielder who appeared in 207 career games for the Philadelphia Athletics, New York Giants and Boston Red Sox between 1937 and 1943.
May 19 –Felix McLaurin, 50, outfielder who played in the Negro leagues from 1942 to 1946, chiefly for the Birmingham Black Barons and New York Black Yankees.
May 20
Wally Dashiell, 70, shortstop who played one big-league game, on April 20, 1924, for the Chicago White Sox.
Hoge Workman, 72, pitcher for the 1924 Boston Red Sox, who also played and coached for Cleveland teams of the National Football League.
May 22 –Dick Fowler, 51, Canadian pitcher who won 66 games with the Philadelphia Athletics over ten seasons between 1941 and 1952, including a no-hitter on September 9, 1945, at Shibe Park against the St. Louis Browns.
May 24 –Bill Moore, 68, catcher for the 1927 Boston Red Sox.
May 25 –Charlie Henry, 72, pitcher in the Negro leagues between 1924 and 1929.
May 28
Al Gerheauser, 54, left-handed pitcher who worked in 149 career games for 1943–1944 Philadelphia Phillies, 1945–1946 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1948 St. Louis Browns.
Bob Hasty, 76, Philadelphia Athletics pitcher who appeared in 146 games in an MLB career that began on September 11, 1919 and ended on September 26, 1924.
May 29 –Moe Berg, 70, catcher who served as a spy for the U.S. government during and after his playing career; played in 663 games for five MLB teams between 1923 and 1939, batting .243 lifetime.
June 7 –Topper Rigney, 75, shortstop for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators who appeared in 694 games and twice batted over .300.
June 9 –Del Bissonette, 72, first baseman who twice batted .300 for the Brooklyn Robins and hit .305 lifetime in 604 games (1928–1931 and 1933); managed 1945 Boston Braves from July 31 through the end of the season.
June 12 –Lefty Phillips, 53, manager of the California Angels from May 27, 1969, through 1971; previously pitching coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1965 to 1968) and a longtime scout.
June 23 –Tom Long, 82, outfielder for the 1911–1912 Washington Senators and 1915–1917 St. Louis Cardinals; led National league in triples with 25 in 1915.
June 24 –Crush Holloway, 75, outfielder and aggressive, hard-sliding baserunner who played in the Negro leagues between 1921 and 1939, notably for the Baltimore Black Sox and Atlanta Black Crackers.
June 26 –Mike Kircher, 74, pitcher who made 14 appearances for the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals from 1919 to 1921.
July 2 –Rankin Johnson Sr., 84, pitcher in 72 total contests for the Boston Red Sox (1914), Chicago and Baltimore of the Federal League (1914 and 1915), and St. Louis Cardinals (1918); hisson was an MLB pitcher and minor-league executive.
July 3 –Leroy Herrmann, 66, pitcher who worked in 45 games for the Chicago Cubs (1932–1933 and 1935).
July 11 –Johnnie Tyler, 65, outfielder in 16 career games for the 1934–1935 Boston Braves.
July 17 –Al Spohrer, 68, catcher who played in 756 National League games—two for the 1928 New York Giants and 754 for the 1928–1935 Boston Braves.
July 20 –José María Fernández, 76, Cuban catcher whose Negro leagues playing career, including barnstorming tours and independent circuits, extended for 29 seasons between 1916 and 1947; managed New York Cubans of the Negro National League from 1939 to 1948, including 1947 Negro World Series champions.
July 21 –Harry McCurdy, 72, lefty-swinging backup catcher who appeared in 543 over ten seasons between 1922 and 1934 for four MLB clubs, batting .282 lifetime.
July 31 –Rollie Hemsley, 65, catcher who played in 1,593 games for seven MLB teams between 1928 and 1947; five-time American League All-Star; later a coach and minor league manager.
August 5 –Red McKee, 82, left-handed-hitting catcher who played in 189 games for the 1913–1916 Detroit Tigers.
August 7 –Red Anderson, 60, pitcher who appeared in 36 games over three seasons for the Washington Senators (1937 and 1940–1941).
August 13
Herman Besse, 60, southpaw twirler who went 5–15 with an ERA of 6.79 in 65 games for the Philadelphia Athletics (1940–1943, 1946).
George Weiss, 78, executive and cornerstone of the New York Yankees dynasty as farm director (1932–1947), then general manager (1947–1960), with the team winning 15 World Series titles over Weiss' 29 years; first team president of expansion New York Mets (1961–1966); named to Baseball Hall of Fame by Veterans Committee in 1971.
August 14 –Bricktop Wright, 63, outfielder/first baseman who played in 22 games for 1943 New York Black Yankees of the Negro National League; played professional basketball in the 1930s and 1940s.
August 15 –Jeff Pfeffer, 84, pitcher and 13-year (1911 and 1913–1924) MLB veteran who worked in 347 games for four teams, principally Brooklyn and St. Louis of the National League, won 158 games, and posted a 2.77 career ERA.
August 16 –Fred Bailey, 77, outfielder and pinch hitter for the 1916–1918 Boston Braves who played in 60 career games.
August 21 –Eddie Kenna, 74, catcher who appeared in 41 games for the 1928 Washington Senators.
August 24 –J. Roy Stockton, 79, St. Louis sportswriter from the 1910s to the 1950s, also a sportscaster and author of books on baseball.
August 25
Italo Chelini, 57, left-handed pitcher who made 24 appearances for the 1935–1937 Chicago White Sox.
Jack Crouch, 68, aptly named catcher who appeared in 43 big-league games for the St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds between 1930 and 1933.
August 26 –"Deacon Danny" MacFayden, 67, pitcher who worked in 465 games over 17 MLB seasons for the Boston Red Sox (1926–1932), New York Yankees (1932–1934), Boston Braves/Bees (1935–1939 and 1943), Pittsburgh Pirates (1940) and Washington Senators (1941); member of 1932 World Series champions.
August 27 –John Barnes, 69, lefty-swinging catcher who played for nine Negro National League teams (in 226 games) between 1922 and 1931.
August 29 –Clem Hausmann, 53, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics between 1944 and 1949.
August 30 –Hank Miller, 55, two-time Negro National League All-Star who pitched in 89 games, 88 of them for the Philadelphia Stars, between 1938 and 1948.
August 31 –Ivey Shiver, 65, outfielder who played in 21 MLB games as a member of the 1931 Detroit Tigers and 1934 Cincinnati Reds.
September 2 –Jim Brillheart, 68, who pitched in 68 MLB games for the Washington Senators, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox over four seasons between 1922 and 1931; longtime minor-league hurler who played in 29 pro seasons through 1951, and one of the few pitchers in baseball history to appear in over 1,000 career games.
September 3 –Tom Fisher, 91, pitcher who dropped 16 of 22 decisions for the 1904 Boston Beaneaters of the National League.
September 4 –Bob Bowman, 61, pitcher who compiled a 26–17 record and 3.82 ERA in 109 appearances with St. Louis Cardinals (1939–1940), New York Giants (1941) and Chicago Cubs (1942); gained notoriety by beaning newly acquiredJoe Medwick of Brooklyn on June 18, 1940, sparking a bench-clearing brawl.
September 6 –Charlie Berry, 69, American League catcher who played in 709 games over 11 seasons between 1925 and 1938; later an AL umpire from 1942 to 1962 who worked in five World Series and five All-Star Games; also played in the NFL and officiated numerous NFL championship games.
September 9 –Will Jackman, 76, pitcher who at age 39 led the 1935 Negro National League in games pitched, complete games, and games lost.
September 16 –Eddie Waitkus, 53, first baseman in 1,140 MLB games (1941, 1946–1955) for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles who was shot in 1949 by a teenaged female admirer who lured him to her hotel room; after his recovery, a key member of Phils' 1950 "Whiz Kids" pennant-winner; twice named to NL All-Star team.
September 19 –Les Bartholomew, 69, left-handed pitcher in nine career games for 1928 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1932 Chicago White Sox.
October 9 –Dave Bancroft, nicknamed "Beauty", 81, Hall of Fame shortstop for four NL teams, known for his defensive skill and also batting over .300 five times; captain of the New York Giants' pennant winners from 1921 to 1923, and World Series champion (1921–1922).
October 11 –Danny Taylor, 71, outfielder who appeared in 674 career games for three MLB clubs, notably Brooklyn, over nine seasons between 1926 and 1936.
October 19 –Butch Glass, 74, left-handed pitcher and occasional outfielder/first baseman who played for five Negro National League teams from 1923 to 1930.
October 20 –Allen Russell, 72, pitcher in 345 games for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators between 1915 and 1925 who led American League with nine saves in 1923; member of 1924 world champion Senators.
October 22 –Elbert Williams, 65, pitcher who appeared in the Negro leagues between 1929 and 1935.
October 24 –Jackie Robinson, 53, Hall of Fame second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers who broke Major League Baseball's color line in 1947 after beginning his professional career for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League; batted .311 in his ten-year National League career, leading the NL in batting average (.342) in 1949; also led his league in stolen bases in 1947 and 1949; 1947 Major League Rookie of the Year; 1949 NL Most Valuable Player; 1955 World Series champion; seven-time All-Star whose uniform #42 has been retired by every organized baseball team since 1997.
October 25 –Stretch Miller, 62, St. Louis sportscaster who was a member of the Cardinals' radio team from 1950 to 1954.
October 29 –Dutch Dietz, 60, pitcher in 106 games for Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies between 1940 and 1943.
November 3 –Phil Voyles, 72, outfielder who appeared in 20 games for the 1929 Boston Braves.
November 6 –Agustín Bejerano, 63, Cuban outfielder in the Negro leagues who played during the 1928 and 1929 seasons.
November 8 –Harry Child, 67, relief pitcher who worked in five games for the 1930 Washington Senators.
November 18 –Matthew Carlisle, 62, second baseman and shortstop who played in 395 Negro leagues games, 365 of them for the Homestead Grays; member of the 1943 Negro World Series champions.
November 26
George Jackson, 90, outfielder who appeared in 152 games from 1911 to 1913 as a member of the Boston Rustlers/Braves of the National League.
Wendell Smith, 58, sportswriter for Pittsburgh and Chicago newspapers since 1937 who became the BBWAA's first black member and helped ease Jackie Robinson's entry into the major leagues; also a Chicago sportscaster since 1964.
November 29 –Bernie Neis, 77, switch-hitting outfielder who played 677 career games for the Brooklyn Robins, Boston Braves, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox between 1920 and 1927.
December 2 –Rip Conway, 76, second baseman who appeared in 14 contests for the 1918 Boston Braves.
December 4 –John Henry Russell, 74, All-Star second baseman in the Negro leagues who played between 1924 and 1934, chiefly for the St. Louis Stars and Memphis Red Sox.
December 12 –Frog Holsey, 66, Negro leagues pitcher between 1928 and 1932, principally for the Chicago American Giants.
December 17 –Fred Bankhead, 60, second baseman who played in 243 games over 12 seasons (1937–1948) for three Negro leagues teams, chiefly the Memphis Red Sox; one of five baseball-playing brothers, includingDan Bankhead.
December 20 –Gabby Hartnett, 72, Hall of Fame catcher for the Chicago Cubs (1922–1940) who virtually clinched the 1938 pennant with his "Homer in the Gloamin'"; established career records for games and home runs as a catcher and was the NL's 1935 MVP; player-manager of Cubs from July 21, 1938 through 1940.
December 23 –Dutch Jordan, 92, second baseman for the 1903–1904 Brooklyn Superbas.
December 28 –Eddie Leishman, 62, longtime minor-league executive who served as first general manager of expansion San Diego Padres of the National League from 1968 until his death.
December 30 –Pee Wee Butts, 53, five-time All-Star shortstop who played in the Negro leagues from 1938 to 1942 and 1944–1948, primarily for the Baltimore Elite Giants.
December 31 –Roberto Clemente, 38, Pittsburgh Pirates' right fielder since 1955 and a national hero ofPuerto Rico; a lifetime .317 hitter, 12-time All-Star and winner of 12 Gold Gloves who was a four-time batting champion and the NL's 1966 MVP; collected his 3,000th regular-season hit September 30; two-time (1960, 1971) World Series champion and 1971 World Series MVP; elected to Baseball Hall of Fame within weeks of his death, the first Latin American player so honored, and the Pirates retired his uniform #21.
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