1972 in baseball

Labor strife and more moving

1972 was tainted by a players' 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 the Texas Rangers, who had moved to Arlington from Washington, D.C. (where they played as the Washington Senators), after the season. There would be no baseball in D.C. until . The team was one of the worst ever fielded by the franchise, losing 100 games for the first time since . Manager Ted Williams hated living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and resigned at the end of the season.

1972 would mark the Kansas City Royals' final year at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, as the next year they would move to Royals Stadium (later named Kauffman Stadium) at the Truman Sports Complex in suburban Kansas City.

The World Series was won by the Oakland Athletics, the first of three straight behind the bats of Reggie Jackson and Bert Campaneris, and the pitching cadre of Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and Vida Blue. The year ended on a sad note when Roberto Clemente died in an airplane crash off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on New Year's Eve, while participating in aid efforts after the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake.

Champions

Major League Baseball

*World Series MVP: Gene Tenace
*All-Star Game, July 25 at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium: National League, 4–3 (10 innings); Joe Morgan, MVP

Other champions

*Amateur World Series: Cuba
*College World Series: USC
*Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Hankyu Braves (4–1)
*Big League World Series: Orlando, Florida
*Little League World Series: Taipei, Taiwan
*Senior League World Series: Pingtung, Taiwan
Winter Leagues
*1972 Caribbean Series: Leones de Ponce
* Dominican Republic League: Águilas Cibaeñas
*Mexican Pacific League: Algodoneros de Guasave
*Puerto Rican League: Leones de Ponce
*Venezuelan League: Tigres de Aragua

Awards and honors

*Baseball Hall of Fame
**Yogi Berra
**Josh Gibson
**Lefty Gomez
**Will Harridge
**Sandy Koufax
**Buck Leonard
**Early Wynn
**Ross Youngs
*Most Valuable Player
**Dick Allen, Chicago White Sox, 1B (AL)
**Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds, C (NL)
*Cy Young Award
**Gaylord Perry, Cleveland Indians (AL)
**Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
* Rookie of the Year
**Carlton Fisk, Boston Red Sox, C (AL)
**Jon Matlack, New York Mets, P (NL)
*Gold Glove Award
** George Scott (1B) (AL)
**Doug Griffin (2B) (AL)
**Brooks Robinson (3B) (AL)
**Ed Brinkman (SS) (AL)
**Ken Berry (OF) (AL)
** Paul Blair (OF) (AL)
**Bobby Murcer (OF) (AL)
**Carlton Fisk (C) (AL)
**Jim Kaat (P) (AL)
**Wes Parker (1B) (NL)
**Félix Millán (2B) (NL)
**Doug Rader (3B) (NL)
**Larry Bowa (SS) (NL)
**César Cedeño (OF) (NL)
**Roberto Clemente (OF) (NL)
** Willie Davis (OF) (NL)
**Johnny Bench (C) (NL)
**Bob Gibson (P) (NL)

Statistical leaders

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

National League final standings

Events

January–March

*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.
*January 19 – The Baseball Writers' Association of America elects Sandy Koufax, Yogi Berra and Early Wynn to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Koufax makes it in his first try and, at age of 36, is the youngest honoree in history.
*January 20 – The Chicago Cubs trade Johnny Callison to the New York Yankees for Jack Aker.
*February 8 – Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces that the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues has selected Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard for the Hall of Fame.
*March 16 – Reigning Cy Young and MVP award winner Vida Blue announces his retirement. It will be a short one as he will join the Oakland Athletics in May.

April–June

*April 1 – 13 – The first players' strike in baseball history wipes 6–8 games off the schedule of each MLB team. It is agreed that those games will be canceled (i.e., not even played to resolve pennant races). This results in teams not being scheduled for the same number of games in the 1972 season; the schedule imbalance would lead to the Detroit Tigers edging the Boston Red Sox by only one-half game to win the American League East Division championship. The strike results in the team owners adding salary arbitration to the collective bargaining agreement, and increasing pension fund payments.
*April 2 – With the sudden death of Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra is named manager of the New York Mets.
*April 16 – At Wrigley Field, Burt Hooton of the Chicago Cubs no-hits the Philadelphia Phillies 4–0.
*April 21 – At Arlington Stadium, Frank Howard hits the first home run in Texas Rangers history, a solo shot against Clyde Wright of the California Angels.
*May 11 – The San Francisco Giants trade Willie Mays to the New York Mets for minor league pitcher Charlie Williams and cash.
*May 14 – In front of a Mother's Day crowd of 35,000 in New York's Shea Stadium makes a triumphant return to New York with the Mets, hitting a game-winning home run against his old teammates (the Giants). He scores in the 1st inning on Rusty Staub's grand slam and his solo homer in the 5th inning snaps a 4–4 tie. The final score: Mets 5, Giants 4.
*May 16 – Philadelphia Phillies rookie outfielder Greg Luzinski blasts a 500-foot home run off the Liberty Bell at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium.
*May 28 – The Milwaukee Brewers fire manager Dave Bristol, replacing him with Del Crandall. Coach Roy McMillan takes over until Crandall arrives and guides the team to a 4–1 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
*June 18 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules 5–3 in favor of Major League Baseball in the lawsuit brought by Curt Flood, upholding the reserve clause.
*June 24 – In the first game of a doubleheader between the visiting Auburn Phillies and Geneva Senators of the Class A New York–Pennsylvania League, Bernice Gera becomes the first woman to umpire a professional baseball game. She resigns between games after being verbally abused by some spectators and by some involved in the game.

July

*July 2 – San Francisco's Willie McCovey hits his 14th career grand slam home run to pace the Giants 9–3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Pitcher Randy Moffitt wins his first major league game and receives a congratulatory telegram from his sister Billie Jean King, who is playing at Wimbledon.
*July 4 – For the second time in his career, Tom Seaver of the New York Mets has a no-hitter broken up in the ninth. The bid is foiled in the first game of a doubleheader against the San Diego Padres at Shea Stadium single with one out, the only hit Seaver will allow in a 2–0 Met victory. Seaver had a bid for a perfect game broken up in the ninth against the Chicago Cubs in .
*July 9 – Rich Reese of the Minnesota Twins ties a major league record in hitting his third pinch-hit grand slam home run.
*July 11
** At Oakland, Boston's Marty Pattin has his no-hit bid foiled when Reggie Jackson hits a 1-out single in the 9th inning. Boston wins 4–0.
** Billy Williams of the Chicago Cubs goes 8-for-8 in a doubleheader against the Houston Astros at Wrigley Field, hitting home runs in both games and driving in 4 runs. The Cubs lose the first game 6-5 but win the nightcap 9-5.
** Mickey Stanley hit a crucial 9th inning home run as the Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers 6-5 to stay in the American League East race.
*July 14 – In a game between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals in Kansas City, the Tigers' catcher, Tom Haller, has his older brother Bill Haller right over his shoulder; the first time brothers have served as catcher and home plate umpire in the same Major League game. The Royals win 1–0.
*July 18 – Against the Philadelphia Phillies at San Diego Stadium, San Diego Padre pitcher Steve Arlin has a no-hitter broken up with two out in the ninth by a Denny Doyle single.Arlin misses no-hitter by a strike as ball bounces over Roberts' head
/ref> With two strikes on him, Doyle takes advantage of Padre manager Don Zimmer's decision to play third baseman Dave 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 a Tommy Hutton single. Arlin then retires Greg Luzinski on a fly ball to come away with a two-hitter (one of three he pitches on the season; he also hurls two one-hitters during a season in which he finishes 10–21) in a 5–1 Padre victory. This will be the closest any Padre comes to a no-hitter until Joe Musgrove finally pitches the franchise's first, doing so on April 8, .
*July 24 – Leo Durocher steps down as manager of the Chicago Cubs and is replaced by Whitey Lockman.
*July 25 – At Atlanta Stadium, the National League wins the All-Star Game over the American League 4–3, behind hometown hero Hank Aaron's two-run home run and Joe Morgan's 10th-inning RBI single. Morgan is named MVP. It is the seventh time the classic has gone into extra innings.
*July 31 – Minnesota Twins hurler Bert Blyleven gives up two inside-the-park home runs to Dick Allen of the Chicago White Sox. The next time this feat occurs in the major leagues, Blyleven is again on the mound—watching teammate Greg Gagne circling the bases twice on October 4, 1986.

August-September

*August 1 – At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Nate Colbert of the San Diego Padres ties Stan Musial's 18-year record by hitting five home runs in a doubleheader against the Atlanta 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, doubleheader—with Colbert, then eight years old, in attendance.
*August 17 - Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies won his 15th consecutive game with a 9-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
*August 29 – Jim Barr of the San Francisco Giants retires the first twenty batters in today's game. Added to the last twenty one batters he retired in his previous game, it establishes a record for consecutive batters retired. It will be tied in 2007 by relief pitcher Bobby Jenks.
*September 2 – At Wrigley Field, Chicago Cub pitcher Milt Pappas no-hits the San Diego Padres 8–0. Pappas retires the first 26 batters and comes to within one strike of a perfect game with a 2–2 count to pinch-hitter Larry Stahl, but home-plate umpire Bruce Froemming calls the next two pitches, both of which are close, balls. Undeterred, Pappas ends the game by retiring the next batter, ex-Cub Garry Jestadt. Not until Carlos Zambrano in 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 until Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies no-hits the Cubs in . The perfect game bid is also the only one, to date, to be broken up on a walk to the 27th batter.
*September 8 – Ferguson Jenkins wins his 20th game for the 6th straight year in a 4–3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia.
*September 15 – Steve Carlton beats the Montreal Expos 5–3, raising his record to 24–9. The rest of the Philadelphia Phillies pitchers have a combined record of 26–80.
*September 20 – Milt Pappas wins his 200th game as a major leaguer, defeating the Montreal Expos 6–2 at Wrigley Field.
*September 21 – The Pittsburgh Pirates clinch the National League East title with a 6–2 victory over the Mets.
*September 22 – The Cincinnati Reds clinch the National League West crown with a 4–3 road victory over the Houston Astros.
*September 30 – During the Pirates' 5–0 win over the Mets at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, Roberto Clemente hits a double off New York's Jon Matlack in the 4th inning to get his 3,000th and final regular season hit in the major leagues.

October–December

*October 2 – In the first game of a doubleheader at Jarry Park, Bill Stoneman of the Montreal Expos no-hits the New York Mets 7–0. The no-hitter is 1) the second of Stoneman's career (the first having come on April 17, —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 with Addie Joss' perfect game in 1908.
*October 3 – The Detroit Tigers clinch the American League East as Woodie Fryman beats Luis Tiant of the Boston Red Sox 3–1 for his 10th win. Detroit's Chuck Seelbach picks up his 14th save and Al Kaline singles in the winning run for Detroit.
*October 8 – The Oakland Athletics won Game 2 of the 1972 American League Championship Series 5–0 over the Detroit Tigers. A key moment from that game occurred when Oakland's Bert Campaneris who was having a great series hurled his bat at Detroit Tiger pitcher Lerrin LaGrow. Campaneris was fined and suspended for the rest of the series.
*October 11 – The Pittsburgh Pirates carry a lead into the bottom of the ninth of the final game of the NLCS. The Reds' Johnny Bench homers to tie the game. After some runners reach base, the Pirates' pitcher, Bob Moose, unleashes a wild pitch, permitting the pennant clinching run to score.
*October 22 – The Oakland Athletics win the World Series with a 3–2 victory in Game Seven over the Cincinnati Reds. Gene Tenace, who had only five home runs in the regular season, hit four in the Series and is named MVP.
*November 8 – The St. Louis Cardinals bring Tim McCarver back to St. Louis, sending Jorge Roque to the Montreal Expos in exchange.
*November 22 – Future Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds wins his second National League MVP Award in three years. Bench beats out Chicago Cubs outfielder Billy Williams, who also ran second to Bench in the 1970 MVP balloting.
*November 25 – Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente wins his 12th consecutive Gold Glove Award and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Wes Parker his sixth in a row. Neither will play in 1973.
*November 27 – In a great trade for New York, the Cleveland Indians swap third baseman Graig Nettles and catcher Jerry Moses to the New York Yankees for catcher John Ellis, infielder Jerry Kenney, and outfielders Charlie Spikes and Rusty Torres.
*November 28 – In a blockbuster intrastate trade satisfactory for both teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers send Frank Robinson, Bill Singer, Mike Strahler, Bobby Valentine and Billy Grabarkewitz to the California Angels in exchange for Andy Messersmith and Ken McMullen. In 1973, Robinson will hit .266 with 30 home runs with 97 RBI in 147 games, and Singer will combine with Nolan Ryan to strike out 674 batters, to set a 20th-century major league record for two pitching teammates. Messersmith will win 39 games in the next two seasons for the Dodgers and finish second in the 1974 Cy Young Award voting.
*December 10 – The American League votes unanimously to adopt the designated 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 December 1975 meeting, the AL will vote to permanently adopt the DH. The National League declines to follow suit.
*December 31 – Roberto Clemente and 4 other people die in a plane crash off the coast of Puerto Rico en route to delivering relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

Births

January

*January 1 – Rafael Roque
*January 2 – Garrett Stephenson
*January 9 – Jay Powell
*January 11 – Jermaine Allensworth
*January 12 – Rich Loiselle
*January 13 – Akinori Otsuka
*January 17 – Walt McKeel
*January 18 – Keith Glauber
*January 18 – Mike Lieberthal
*January 20 – Matt Beech
*January 20 – Tim Kubinski
*January 21 – Alan Benes
*January 25 – José Macías
*January 27 – Greg Martinez
*January 28 – Steve Falteisek
*January 28 – Chris Peters
*January 28 – Tsuyoshi Shinjo
*January 28 – Bryan Ward
*January 29 – Morgan Burkhart
*January 29 – Julio Mosquera

February

*February 1 – Rich Becker
*February 2 – Jared Fernandez
*February 2 – Melvin Mora
*February 11 – Brian Daubach
*February 20 – Shane Spencer
*February 22 – John Halama
*February 23 – Rondell White

March

*March 1 – Omar Daal
*March 1 – Jimmy Hurst
*March 3 – Mike Romano
*March 4 – Bruce Aven
*March 4 – Mark Wegner
*March 10 – Rob Stanifer
*March 11 – Salomón Torres
*March 12 – George Arias
*March 20 – Jason McDonald
*March 22 – Cory Lidle
*March 24 – José Cabrera
*March 24 – Steve Karsay
*March 25 – Howard Battle
*March 26 – Jason Maxwell
*March 27 – Creighton Gubanich
*March 27 – Adam Melhuse
*March 29 – Alex Ochoa
*March 30 – Wilson Heredia

April

*April 3 – Steve Soderstrom
*April 4 – Guillermo Garcia
*April 4 – Jeff Sparks
*April 4 – Matt Wagner
*April 6 – Marty Malloy
*April 10 – Shayne Bennett
*April 11 – Robin Jennings
*April 11 – Bobby M. Jones
*April 11 – Jason Varitek
*April 12 – Paul Lo Duca
*April 12 – Alfonso Márquez
*April 14 – Roberto Mejía
*April 15 – Ricky Otero
*April 16 – Antonio Alfonseca
*April 17 – Gary Bennett
*April 21 – Keith Williams
*April 24 – Chipper Jones
*April 25 – Micah Franklin
*April 26 – Brian Anderson
*April 26 – Francisco Córdova
*April 26 – Felipe Lira
*April 27 – Chad Zerbe

May

*May 1 – Bobby Chouinard
*May 1 – Fausto Cruz
*May 3 – Darren Dreifort
*May 4 – Manny Aybar
*May 10 – Marino Santana
*May 11 – Cam Cairncross
*May 18 – Jaime Bluma
*May 18 – Mike Jerzembeck
*May 19 – Scott McClain
*May 24 – Danny Bautista
*May 24 – Gabe González
*May 28 – Tilson Brito
*May 28 – Joe Rosselli
*May 30 – Scott Eyre
*May 30 – Manny Ramírez
*May 31 – Dave Roberts

June

*June 2 – Raúl Ibañez
*June 2 – Chance Sanford
*June 3 – Bryan Rekar
*June 5 – Mike Coolbaugh
*June 6 – Tony Graffanino
*June 6 – Brooks Kieschnick
*June 6 – Jeff Williams
*June 13 – Darrell May
*June 15 – Tony Clark
*June 15 – Ramiro Mendoza
*June 15 – Andy Pettitte
*June 19 – Kazuhiro Wada
*June 20 – Paul Bako
*June 20 – Juan Castro
*June 22 – Miguel del Toro
*June 25 – Carlos Delgado
*June 30 – Garret Anderson
*June 30 – Jim Stoops

July

*July 5 – Bo Porter
*July 6 – Greg Norton
*July 11 – Mark Little
*July 12 – Kelly Wunsch
*July 13 – Clint Sodowsky
*July 15 – Wilson Delgado
*July 16 – Robbie Beckett
*July 19 – Brian Smith
*July 21 – Kimera Bartee
*July 24 – Shawn Wooten

August

*August 1 – Freddy García
*August 3 – Wendell Magee
*August 4 – Steve Bourgeois
*August 5 – John Wasdin
*August 6 – Duane Singleton
*August 7 – Kerry Lacy
*August 9 – Dusty Allen
*August 9 – Jeff Zimmerman
*August 11 – Andrew Lorraine
*August 14 – David Manning
*August 15 – Chris Singleton
*August 17 – Jeff Abbott
*August 19 – Jed Hansen
*August 20 – Mike Porzio
*August 21 – Dean Crow
*August 22 – Steve Kline
*August 23 – Raul Casanova
*August 24 – Mike Grzanich
*August 24 – Kurt Miller
*August 24 – Chris Prieto
*August 25 – Andy Abad
*August 25 – Mike Welch
*August 28 – Jay Witasick
*August 30 – José Herrera

September

*September 1 – Kevin Orie
*September 2 – Pat Watkins
*September 4 – Darrell Einertson
*September 5 – Jimmy Haynes
*September 7 – Jason Isringhausen
*September 7 – Willie Morales
*September 9 – Mike Hampton
*September 9 – Félix Rodríguez
*September 13 – Nelson Cruz
*September 13 – Chan Perry
*September 14 – David Bell
*September 16 – Brian Tollberg
*September 17 – Brady Raggio
*September 21 – Scott Spiezio
*September 21 – Shannon Withem
*September 23 – Pep Harris
*September 26 – Fumiya Nishiguchi
*September 30 – Curtis Goodwin
*September 30 – José Lima

October

*October 2 – Rafael Carmona
*October 2 – Trey Moore
*October 4 – Adam Riggs
*October 5 – Yamil Benítez
*October 5 – Aaron Guiel
*October 6 – Valerio de los Santos
*October 6 – Benji Gil
*October 8 – Willie Adams
*October 9 – Steve Gibralter
*October 10 – Mike Holtz
*October 10 – Ramón Martínez
*October 19 – Keith Foulke
*October 19 – Joe McEwing
*October 19 – Marc Newfield
*October 23 – Giomar Guevara
*October 26 – Armando Almanza
*October 27 – Brad Radke
*October 29 – Richie Barker
*October 31 – Chris Clemons

November

*November 2 – Travis Miller
*November 3 – Armando Benítez
*November 6 – Deivi Cruz
*November 6 – Matt Skrmetta
*November 7 – Travis Smith
*November 10 – Shawn Green
*November 10 – Greg LaRocca
*November 11 – Danny Rios
*November 12 – Homer Bush
*November 15 – Darwin Cubillán
*November 22 – Luis Andújar
*November 22 – Jay Payton
*November 25 – Ramón Fermín
*November 28 – Geraldo Guzmán
*November 28 – José Parra

December

*December 5 – Cliff Floyd
*December 5 – Mike Mahoney
*December 6 – Rick Short
*December 6 – Neil Weber
*December 7 – Chris Dale
*December 8 – Jolbert Cabrera
*December 11 – Frank Rodriguez
*December 14 – Marcus Jensen
*December 16 – Charles Gipson
*December 18 – Chris Seelbach
*December 21 – LaTroy Hawkins
*December 21 – Dustin Hermanson
*December 25 – Erik Hiljus
*December 27 – Mike Busby
*December 28 – Einar Díaz
*December 29 – Jim Brower

Deaths

January

*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 of Barney 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 1924–1925, 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

*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, utility 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 runnerup the following year; also pitched briefly for Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, and was a member of the Tigers' broadcasting team.

March

*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 the Brooklyn Robins and Dodgers; 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 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.
*March 28 – 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 with the Detroit Tigers who organized a 1912 walkout to protest Ty Cobb's suspension for attacking a heckler.

April

*April 2 – Gil Hodges, 47, Baseball Hall of Fame, eight-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove first baseman for the Brooklyn and 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; 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 (1945–1962) 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 and 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

*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.
*May 11 – Danny Schell, 44, outfielder/pinch hitter who appeared in 94 games for the 1954–1955 Philadelphia Phillies.
*May 11 – 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.
*May 15 – 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.
*May 20 – 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.
*May 28 – Bob Hasty, 76, Philadelphia Athletics pitcher who appeared in 146 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

*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 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 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 26 – Mike Kircher, 74, pitcher who made 14 appearances for the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals from 1919 to 1921.

July

*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); his son 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 in the Negro leagues whose playing career extended for at least 14 seasons between 1916 and 1947; managed New York Cubans 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

*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).
*August 13 – 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

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