1947 in baseball

Champions

Major League Baseball

*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4–3)
*All-Star Game, July 8 at Wrigley Field: American League, 2–1

Other champions

*All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: Grand Rapids Chicks over Muskegon Lassies
*First College World Series: California
*First Little League World Series: Maynard, Williamsport, Pennsylvania
* Negro League World Series: New York Cubans over Cleveland Buckeyes (4–1)
* Negro League Baseball All-Star Game: West, 5–2
Winter Leagues
*Cuban League: Alacranes de Almendares
*Mexican Pacific League: Presidentes de Hermosillo
* Puerto Rican League: Leones de Ponce
* Venezuelan League: Sabios de Vargas

Awards and honors

*Baseball Hall of Fame
**Carl Hubbell
**Frankie Frisch
**Mickey Cochrane
** Lefty Grove
*Most Valuable Player
**Joe DiMaggio (AL)
** Bob Elliott (NL)
* Rookie of the Year
**Jackie Robinson (ML)
*The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
**Ted Williams (AL) – OF, Boston Red Sox
* The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
** Bucky Harris (AL) – New York Yankees

MLB statistical leaders

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

National League final standings

Negro league baseball final standings

Negro American League final standings

*Cleveland Buckeyes won the Pennant.

Negro National League final standings

Events

January

*January 18 – The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired baseman Hank Greenberg from the Detroit Tigers. The 36-year old veteran Greenberg led the American League in homers with 44 in 1946, as the Pirates will pair him with young slugger Ralph Kiner, who led the National League with 23 home runs in his rookie season. Greenberg will hit 25 homers in his farewell season, while Kiner will lead the major leagues with 51 home runs.
*January 21 – A rule change implemented by the Baseball Writers' Association of America that allows voting only for players after 1921 produces four new Hall of Famers: Mickey Cochrane, Frank Frisch, Lefty Grove and Carl Hubbell. Pie Traynor misses selection by only two votes.

February

*February 1 – MLB Commissioner Happy Chandler announces the creation of a pension plan for retired major leaguers. Any player with five years of experience will receive $50 a month at age 50 and $10 a month for each o the next five years. The plan extends to coaches, players and trainers active on Opening Day. The plan will be funded by $650,000‚ with the 16 teams providing 80% and the players the remaining 20%.

March

*March 1 – New managers in spring training camps are Billy Herman, with the Pittsburgh Pirates; Muddy Ruel, with the St. Louis Browns, Bucky Harris, with the New York Yankees and‚Johnny Neun with the Cincinnati Reds. Neun had ended the 1946 season as manager of the Yankees after both Joe McCarthy and Bill Dickey had quit.

April

*April 6 - The New York Yankees sign pitcher Lew Burdette as an amateur free agent.
*April 15 – Major League Baseball's color line is officially broken forever when Jackie Robinson makes his Major League debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field.
*April 22 - Ben Chapman, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, leads his team in racist chants directed at Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers.Happy Chandler, the commissioner of baseball, chastises Chapman for his actions.
*April 27 – It is Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium. Despite having throat cancer, Ruth speaks to the packed house, proclaiming, "The only real game, I think, in the world is baseball."
*April 29 - After signing with the New York Yankees the previous winter, Joe Medwick is released despite never playing a single game with the Yankees.

May

*May 3 – The St. Louis Cardinals send outfielder Harry Walker to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for outfielder Ron Northey. Although batting a paltry .200 with the Cardinals,‚Walker will hit .371 for the Phillies in 130 games to finish the season with a National League-leading .363 batting average.
*May 13 :
**Ted Williams hits two home over the Green Monster, for the first time in his career at Fenway Park,‚as the Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 19–6. Earlier in the day, Williams had promised a boy in the Malden hospital that he would hit a homer for him. Besides, Bobby Doerr hit for the cycle for the second time in his career, becoming‚the first Sox to do that. Doerr hit a double and one single in the nine-run eighth inning to complete his cycle. Bill Zuber is the winning pitcher over Earl Harrist.
**At Crosley Field,‚27,164 fans watch the Cincinnati Reds beat the Brooklyn Dodgers,‚ 7–5. It is estimated that nearly 9,000 of the fans are black‚attracted to the game because of Jackie Robinson. When Robinson came on the field, the Crosley Field organist plays the song ''Bye Bye Blackbird''.
*May 17- It is during a game at Forbes Field that Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Hank Greenberg asks Dodgers rookie Jackie Robinson if he's okay after a collision between the two earlier in the game. It's then that Greenberg gives Robinson a pep talk telling him to 'stick in there, he'd be fine.' Robinson takes the advice to heart and later writes that Greenberg was his "Diamond Hero." Robinson knows that Greenberg, who as a Jew, withstood his own trial by fire with racial taunts being hurled at him by fans and players.

June

*June 18 – Ewell Blackwell pitches a no-hitter, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6–0 win over the Boston Braves at Crosley Field. The offense is led by newcomer Babe Young who blasts two three-run homers, while rookie Frankie Baumholtz collects four hits and scores twice, and Grady Hatton adds a single, four walks and two runs scored.
*June 22 – Ewell Blackwell just misses pitching back-to-back no-hitters when Eddie Stanky of the Brooklyn Dodgers singles with one out in the 9th inning. Stanky's hit ends Blackwell's hitless-inning skein at 19. Blackwell wins the game, 4–0, for his ninth consecutive victory and improve his record to 11–2.
*June 28 – Walker Cooper of the New York Giants hits a home run in his sixth consecutive game to tie a record set by George Kelly in 1924. Cooper had two homers in the first game of the streak, while his shot today helps his brother Morton defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 14–6, for his first victory on a Giants uniform.
*June 29 – At Shibe Park, Ferris Fain lines an inside-the-park grand slam in the fifth inning, as the Philadelphia Athletics top the Boston Red Sox, 6–5.

July

*July 5 – Larry Doby makes his debut for the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first black baseball player to join the American League, and fully integrating Major League Baseball.
*July 8 – At Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, the American League defeats the National League, 2–1, in the All-Star Game.
*July 10 – Cleveland Indians pitcher Don Black tosses a no-hitter in a 3–0 win over the Philadelphia Athletics.
*July 19 – Hall of Fame Negro leagues player Willard Brown makes his major league debut with the St. Louis Browns. Brown would only appear in 21 games for St. Louis in his only major league season, batting .179 with one home run and six runs batted in.
*July 20 – With both Hank Thompson and Willard Brown in the starting line-up, the St. Louis Browns become the first major league club to field two black players at the same time. Both players play all nine innings of both games of a doubleheader with the Boston Red Sox.

August

*August 13 – The St. Louis Browns' Willard Brown clubs a pinch hit a two-run, inside-the-park homer against Detroit Tigers pitcher Hal Newhouser, to become the first African American player to hit a home run in American League history.
*August 20 – Washington Senators relief pitcher Tom Ferrick loses both games of a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians. While pitching with the St. Louis Browns the previous season, Ferrick won both games of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics on August 4.
*August 26 – Brooklyn Dodgers' Dan Bankhead became the first black pitcher in the majors. He homered in his first major league plate appearance, but didn't fare well on the mound. In 3 innings of relief, he gave up 10 hits and six earned runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the game, 16–3.

September

*September 1 – Jack Lohrke lead off the eighth inning with a home run off Red Barrett, giving the New York Giants and pitcher Larry Jansen a 2–1 victory over the Boston Braves in the opening game of the Labor Day doubleheader at the Polo Grounds. The 43,106 fans see history as Lohrke's homer is the Giants 183rd homer of the season, surpassing the record of 182 set by the famed 1936 New York Yankees. The Giants win the nightcap, 12–2 and finished the season with 221 homers, but struggle to finish fourth.
*September 3 – Bill McCahan of the Philadelphia Athletics no-hits the Washington Senators in a 3–0 victory.
*September 15 - At the age of 42, Red Ruffing give up twelve hits over seven innings in a 7-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox in what would be his final major league appearance. The future hall of fame player would be released two weeks later, ending his major league career.

October

*October 6 – The New York Yankees defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 5–2, in Game 7 of the World Series to win their eleventh World Championship, four games to three. This was the first World Series involving a nonwhite player, as Dodgers 1B Jackie Robinson had racially integrated Major League Baseball at the beginning of the season. It was also the first Series to be shown on television although coverage was limited to New York City and surrounding environs.

November

*November 27 – Triple Crown winner Ted Williams (.343 BA, 32 home runs, 114 RBI) is edged out by Joe DiMaggio (.315, 20, 97) for the American League MVP Award by one point. One BBWAA member fails to include Williams anywhere on his ballot.
*November 30 – Guillermo Vento became the first Venezuelan Professional Baseball League player to connect six hits in a single game. This record would eventually be matched by Pete Koegel (1974), Steve Carter (1991) and Ramón Flores (2014).A propósito de los seis hits de Ramón Flores
''Líder en Deportes'' (Spanish). Retrieved on December 1, 2015.

December

*December 11 – Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey announces that the club have signed an agreement with Florida entrepreneur Bud Holman and the city of Vero Beach to rent 104 acres of a former pre-war municipal airport. The Dodgers will pay $1 a year and take over the maintenance. In 1952, they will sign a new 20-year lease for $1 a year and, on March 11, 1953, a new field will be named Holman Stadium.

Births

January

*January 1 – Jimmie Lee Solomon
*January 4 – Ken Reynolds
*January 5 – Sandy Vance
*January 7 – Scott Reid
*January 12 – Leon Everitt
*January 12 – Gene Martin
*January 12 – Paul Reuschel
*January 15 – Gerry Schoen
*January 15 – Tony Solaita
*January 18 – Sachio Kinugasa
*January 21 – Bob Reynolds
*January 21 – Bill Stein
*January 22 – Senichi Hoshino
*January 23 – Kurt Bevacqua
*January 27 – John Lowenstein
*January 27 – Tim Plodinec
*January 30 – Matt Alexander
*January 31 – Nolan Ryan

February

*February 1 – Jim McKee
*February 1 – Danny Thompson
*February 3 – Joe Coleman
*February 5 – Barry Raziano
*February 7 – Ted Ford
*February 16 – Terry Crowley
*February 20 – Tom Buskey
*February 21 – Terry Ley
*February 21 – Charley Walters
*February 25 – Ken Szotkiewicz

March

*March 2 – Jim Nettles
*March 4 – Bruce Miller
*March 5 – Kent Tekulve
*March 7 – Jim Howarth
*March 10 – Darcy Fast
*March 12 – Bill Butler
*March 12 – Greg Garrett
*March 14 – Mike Strahler
*March 16 – Tom Bradley
*March 19 – Garry Jestadt
*March 19 – Ángel Mangual
*March 19 – Don Rose
*March 21 – Bill Plummer
*March 23 – Pat Bourque

April

*April 4 – Ray Fosse
*April 14 – Joe Lahoud
*April 17 – Tsutomu Wakamatsu
*April 21 – Al Bumbry
*April 23 – Pat Jacquez
*April 26 – Amos Otis
*April 28 – Lute Barnes
*April 29 – Tom House
*April 29 – Jim Williams
*April 30 – Jim Clark

May

*May 5 – Larry Hisle
*May 10 – John Cumberland
*May 10 – Tim Hosley
*May 12 – Vic Albury
*May 12 – Bob Heise
*May 13 – Steve Kealey
*May 14 – Dick Tidrow
*May 22 – Rich Hinton
*May 26 – Darrell Evans

June

*June 4 – Doug Griffin
*June 7 – Don Money
*June 7 – Thurman Munson
*June 10 – Ken Singleton
*June 16 – Joe Decker
*June 25 – José Ortiz

July

*July 4 – Jim Minshall
*July 4 – Jim Nelson
*July 6 – Néstor Chávez
*July 6 – Lance Clemons
*July 11 – Ron Cook
*July 12 – Scipio Spinks
*July 14 – Steve Stone
*July 14 – Danny Walton
*July 15 – Enrique Romo
*July 22 – Cliff Johnson
*July 22 – George Lauzerique
*July 25 – Mick Kelleher
*July 25 – Mickey Scott
*July 30 – Jim Spencer
*July 31 – Pete Koegel
*July 31 – Earl Stephenson
*July 31 – John Vukovich

August

*August 1 – Tony Muser
*August 4 – Ken Poulsen
*August 5 – Bernie Carbo
*August 6 – Jim Dunegan
*August 8 – José Cruz
*August 9 – Buddy Hunter
*August 13 – Jerry Crawford
*August 13 – Fred Stanley
*August 15 – Billy Conigliaro
*August 18 – Bucky Guth
*August 18 – Lowell Palmer
*August 22 – Bill Burbach
*August 27 – Jim York
*August 31 – Boots Day

September

*September 1 – Craig Skok
*September 2 – Mel Behney
*September 3 – Bill Gilbreth
*September 7 – Dave Wallace
*September 11 – Larry Cox
*September 12 – John Montague
*September 13 – Mike Adamson
*September 14 – Harry Parker
*September 16 – Gary Ross
*September 17 – Candy Harris
*September 18 – Bill Champion
*September 20 – Pete Hamm
*September 21 – Jim Todd
*September 24 – Norm Angelini
*September 26 – Norm McRae

October

*October 1 – Buzz Capra
*October 1 – Remigio Hermoso
*October 3 – Chuck Scrivener
*October 4 – Glenn Adams
*October 6 – Jerry Bell
*October 6 – Rich Hacker
*October 6 – Steve Kline
*October 6 – Charlie Vaughan
*October 9 – Bob Moose
*October 10 – Roger Metzger
*October 11 – Rick James
*October 11 – Charlie Williams
*October 17 – Jim Hutto
*October 20 – Rafael Robles
*October 26 – Bill Gogolewski

November

*November 4 – Loyd Colson
*November 6 – Chris Arnold
*November 6 – Skip Pitlock
*November 7 – Yutaka Fukumoto
*November 7 – Don Newhauser
*November 8 – Lewis Yocum
*November 12 – Ron Bryant
*November 13 – Gene Garber
*November 17 – Tom Dettore
*November 19 – Bob Boone
*November 22 – Sandy Alderson
*November 22 – John Morlan
*November 23 – Dwain Anderson
*November 23 – Tom Hall
*November 23 – Frank Tepedino
*November 26 – Larry Gura
*November 26 – Richie Hebner
*November 27 – John Harrell

December

*December 3 – Wayne Garrett
*December 3 – Gerry Pirtle
*December 7 – Johnny Bench
*December 9 – Jerry Cram
*December 10 – Ted Martínez
*December 11 – Greg Shanahan
*December 13 – Dave Hamilton
*December 15 – Ken Crosby
*December 17 – Charlie Sands
*December 21 – Elliott Maddox
*December 26 – Carlton Fisk
*December 28 – Aurelio Rodríguez
*December 31 – Manny Muñiz

Deaths

January

*January 2 – Joe Koukalik, 66, one of four Austrian players in Major League Baseball history, who pitched eight innings in one baseball game for the Brooklyn Superbas in the 1904 season.
*January 15 – Jimmy Sheckard, 68, left fielder and leadoff hitter who played for eight different teams in a span of 17 seasons between 1897 and 61913, most notably for the Chicago Cubs from 1906 to 1912, a period in which the Cubs won four National League pennants and two World Series titles in 1907 and 1908.
*January 20 – Josh Gibson, 35, Negro leagues All-Star catcher who is considered by baseball historians as one of the best power hitters and catchers in the history of any league, including Major League Baseball, becoming the second Negro league player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame behind Satchel Paige.
*January 21 – Jimmy Walsh, 60, third baseman who played from 1910 through 1915 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Terrapins and St. Louis Terriers.
*January 29 – Del Gainer, 60, solid first baseman and line drive hitter who played for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals (1922) during ten seasons between 1909 and 1992.
*January 31 – Johnny Kling, 71, catcher who was key part of the great Chicago Cubs dynasty from the early 1900s.

February

*February   5 – Ed Callahan, 89, outfielder and shortstop who played in 1894 for the St. Louis Maroons, Kansas City Cowboys and Boston Reds clubs of the outlaw Federal League.
*February   9 – Dan Barry, 60, American League umpire in 1928 who worked 132 games in his lone AL season; one of only six umpires to eject Lou Gehrig from a game; former sportswriter.
*February 10 – Carney Flynn, 72, pitcher who played with the Cincinnati Reds in 1894 and for the New York Giants and Washington Senators in 1896.
*February 10 – George Whiteman, 64, outfielder for the 1918 Boston Red Sox World Champions.
*February 13 – Sam Shaw, 83, pitcher who played with the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association in 1888 and for the Chicago Colts of the National League in 1893.
*February 19 – Hooks Warner, 52, third baseman who played for the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates in part of four seasons spanning 1916–1921.
*February 23 – George Brickley, 52, two-sport athlete who played as an outfielder for the 1913 Philadelphia Athletics, and later played football as a tailback for the Cleveland Tigers and the New York Brickley Giants.
*February 24 – Jack Glasscock, 89, flashy fielding shortstop of the 19th century, and the sixth player to collect at least 2,000 hits.
*February 27 – Ensign Cottrell, 58, pitcher who played from 1911 to 1915 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Braves and New York Yankees.
*February 27 – Jack Calhoun, 67, third baseman the 1902 St. Louis Cardinals.
*February 28 – Clarence Stephens, 83, pitcher who played with the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1886 and for the Cincinnati Reds in 1891.
*February 28 – Ike Fisher, 75, catcher and third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies in its 1898 season, who later managed and owned the Nashville Vols club of the Southern Association.

March

*March   2 – Dewey Metivier, 48, pitcher who played for the Cleveland Indians from 1922 to 1924.
*March   7 – Dan McGarvey, 57, left fielder who played for the Detroit Tigers in the 1912 season.
*March 20 – Mike Mowrey, 62, outstanding third baseman during the '' Deadball Era'', who played from 1905 through 1915 for five different National League clubs, and was a member of the Brooklyn Robins team that defeated the strong Boston Red Sox in the 1916 World Series.
*March 22 – Tony Von Fricken, 77, pitcher for the 1890 Boston Beaneaters.
*March 26 – Jim Bluejacket, 59, pitcher who played from 1914 to 1915 with the Brooklyn Tip-Tops and for the Cincinnati Reds in 1916.
*March 27 – Pete Lister, 65, first baseman who played in 22 games for the Cleveland Naps during the 1907 season.
*March 28 – Johnny Evers, 65, Hall of Fame second baseman who along shortstop Joe Tinker and first baseman Frank Chance formed the most famous double play combination in Major League history, which is memorialized in the legendary poem '' Baseball's Sad Lexicon'', as the trio led the Chicago Cubs during the glory years of 1906–1910 to four National League pennants and two World Series.

April

*April   1 – Mike Lynch, 71, center fielder for the 1902 Chicago Orphans of the National League.
*April   2 – Charlie Jones, 72, a fine defensive outfielder with a strong arm, who played for the Boston Americans, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators and St. Louis Browns between 1901 and 1908.
*April   4 – Jot Goar, 77, pitcher who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1896 and for the Cincinnati Reds in 1898.
*April 12 – Tom Sullivan, 87, pitcher for the Columbus Buckeyes and Kansas City Cowboys in parts of four seasons spanning 1884–1889.
*April 20 – Jack Rothfuss, 75, first baseman for the 1897 Pittsburgh Pirates.
*April 21 – Steamer Flanagan, 66, outfielder who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1905.
*April 25 – John Walsh, 68, third baseman who played for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1903 season.

May

*May   1 – Kitty Bransfield, 72, first baseman who played for the Boston Beaneaters, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs in a span of 12 seasons from 1898 to 1911.
*May   1 – Ray Brubaker, 54, veteran minor league player and manager; died in the dugout from a heart attack while managing the Terre Haute Phillies in an Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League game.
*May   2 – Ossie France, 88, pitcher for the 1890 Chicago Colts of the National League.
*May   5 – Ty LaForest, 30, Canadian third baseman who played for the Boston Red Sox in 1945, one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II conflict.
*May   6 – Ferdie Moore, 51, first baseman who played for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1914 season.
*May   7 – Michael McDermott, 83, pitcher who played for the Louisville Colonels of the American Association during the 1889 season.
*May 18 – Hal Chase, 64, outstanding first baseman whose big league career lasted from 1905 to 1919, who was the most notoriously corrupt player in Major League history and was barred from baseball after a reputed long history of fixing games.
*May 19 – Tex Hoffman, 53, third baseman for the 1915 Cleveland Indians.
*May 23 – Harry Bemis

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