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1977 in baseball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See also: 1977 Major League Baseball season and 1977 Nippon Professional Baseball season

The following are the baseball events of the year 1977 throughout the world.

Years in baseball
1977 in sports

Champions

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Major League Baseball

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League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS) 		World Series
      
East NY Yankees 3
West Kansas City 2
AL NY Yankees 4
NL Los Angeles 2
East Philadelphia 1
West Los Angeles 3

Other champions

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Winter Leagues

Awards and honors

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MLB statistical leaders

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American League National League
AVG Rod Carew MIN .388 Dave Parker PIT .338
HR Jim Rice BOS 39 George Foster CIN 52
RBI Larry Hisle MIN 119 George Foster CIN 149
Wins Dave Goltz MIN,
Dennis Leonard KCR
& Jim Palmer BAL		 20 Steve Carlton PHI 23
ERA Frank Tanana CAL 2.54 John Candelaria PIT 2.34
SO Nolan Ryan CAL 341 Phil Niekro ATL 262
SV Bill Campbell BOS 31 Rollie Fingers SDP 35
SB Freddie Patek KCR 53 Frank Taveras PIT 70

Major league baseball final standings

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Events

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January

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February

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March

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April

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May

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June

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July

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August

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September

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October

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November

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December

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Movies

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Births

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January

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February

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March

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April

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May

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June

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July

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August

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September

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October

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November

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December

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Deaths

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January

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  • January 1 – Mary Carey, 51, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League infielder
  • January 1 – Danny Frisella, 30, Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher who posted a 5–2 (2.74 ERA) record with a team-best nine saves in 1976; spent ten years in MLB and saved 57 career games for five teams, notably the New York Mets
  • January 2 – Max Wilson, 60, left-handed pitcher who worked in 12 games for the 1940 Philadelphia Phillies and 1946 Washington Senators
  • January 6 – Mike Miley, 23, California Angels shortstop and 1974 first-round draft pick, who played 84 total games for them in 1975 and 1976
  • January 9 – Howard Lohr, 84, outfielder who played 21 career games for the 1914 Cincinnati Reds and 1916 Cleveland Indians
  • January 10 – Vic Frazier, 72, pitcher for the Chicago White Sox (1931–1933 and 1939), Detroit Tigers (1933–1934) and Boston Bees (1937); went 23–38 (5.77) in 126 career games
  • January 11 – Tex Carleton, 70, pitcher who won 100 games, losing 76, for the St. Louis Cardinals (1932–1934), Chicago Cubs (1935–1938) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1940); member of 1934 "Gashouse Gang" world champions and two other National League pennant-winners; as a Dodger, threw a no-hitter against Cincinnati on April 30, 1940
  • January 11 – Stu Holcomb, 66, college football and basketball coach (Miami of Ohio, Purdue) and athletic director (Purdue, Northwestern) who served from September 1970 into late July 1973 as general manager of MLB's Chicago White Sox
  • January 13 – Red Ostergard, 80, minor-league outfielder who went 4-for-11 (.364) as a pinch hitter for the 1921 White Sox in his lone MLB stint
  • January 16 – Jim Hamilton, 54, shortstop/third baseman who played 19 games for the 1946 Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League
  • January 16 – Baby Doll Jacobson, 86, center fielder for the St. Louis Browns and four other American League clubs between 1915 and 1927 who batted .311 lifetime, with 1,714 hits
  • January 17 – Ernie Wingard, 76, left-handed pitcher who made 145 appearances for 1924–1927 St. Louis Browns
  • January 19 – Don Hendrickson, 63, relief pitcher who appeared in 39 games for 1945–1946 Boston Braves
  • January 29 – Hod Ford, 79, infielder for 15 seasons (1919–1933) with five NL teams, principally the Boston Braves and Cincinnati Reds; batted .263 in 1,446 games

February

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  • February 3 – Chi-Chi Olivo, 48, Dominican relief pitcher who worked in 96 games for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in four seasons between 1961 and 1966; brother of Diomedes Olivo (who died on February 15)
  • February 4 – Nemo Leibold, 84, outfielder in 1,268 games for four AL teams, principally the Chicago White Sox, from 1913 to 1925; batted .300 twice; later a minor league manager
  • February 7 – Arthur Ehlers, 80, baseball executive; general manager of Philadelphia Athletics (1951–1953) and Baltimore Orioles (1954)
  • February 8 – Boardwalk Brown, 87, pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics (1911–1914) and New York Yankees (1914–1915); won 17 games for 1913 world champions, although he did not appear in the World Series
  • February 15 – Diomedes Olivo, 58, brother of Chi-Chi Olivo and father of Gilberto Rondón; left-handed relief pitcher who broke into the majors at age 41 and appeared in 85 career games for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1960 and 1962) and St. Louis Cardinals (1963); later a Cardinals' scout
  • February 16 – Rudolph Ash, 76, outfielder who appeared for the Chicago American Giants of the Negro National League in 1920 and the Hilldale Club and Newark Stars of the Eastern Colored League in 1926
  • February 16 – Ken Nash, 88, who appeared in 35 games as a pinch hitter and infielder for the 1912 Cleveland Naps and 1914 St. Louis Cardinals
  • February 18 – George Zackert, 92, pitcher in five games for the 1911-1912 Cardinals
  • February 19 – Mike González, 86, Cuban catcher, coach and manager; his playing career encompassed 17 seasons and 1,042 games played for five National League clubs between 1912 and 1932; coached for St. Louis Cardinals for 13 seasons (1934 to 1946) and twice (in 1938 and 1940) served as acting manager of Redbirds; earned five World Series rings as a Cardinal player and coach; longtime fixture as manager and club owner in Cuban Winter League, and one of the first Latin Americans to forge a long post-playing career in MLB
  • February 26 – Harry Welchonce, 93, who appeared in 26 games as an outfielder and pinch hitter for the 1911 Philadelphia Phillies

March

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  • March 3 – Tenny Edwards, 73, catcher/infielder in 22 games for the 1937 St. Louis Stars of the Negro American League
  • March 3 – Stubby Overmire, 57, 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) left-handed pitcher who appeared in 266 games for three American League clubs, primarily the Detroit Tigers, over a decade (1943–1952); member of 1945 World Series champ Tigers who also fashioned a long, post-playing career as a coach, scout and minor-league skipper for Detroit
  • March 9 – Spike Merena, 67, pitcher who worked in four contests for the 1934 Boston Red Sox; in three MLB starting assignments, he tossed two complete games and one shutout
  • March 13 – Hap Glenn, 63, third baseman who played in 20 games for the 1938 Atlanta Black Crackers of the Negro American League
  • March 28 – Jelly Gardner, 81, outfielder who played a dozen seasons (1920–1931), primarily for the Chicago American Giants; led 1922 Negro National League in stolen bases
  • March 30 – Barney Olsen, 57, centerfielder who played in 24 games for the 1941 Chicago Cubs

April

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  • April 3 – Hank Steinbacher, 64, outfielder for the Chicago White Sox from 1937 to 1939; batted .331 with 132 hits in 106 games in 1938
  • April 4 – Sam Hill, 50, outfielder for the Chicago American Giants of the Negro American League (1946–1948); played in two All-Star games in 1948
  • April 6 – Frank Rooney, 92, first baseman who appeared in 12 games for the 1914 Indianapolis Hoosiers of the "outlaw" Federal League
  • April 9 – Roxie Lawson, 70, pitcher who hurled in 208 games for the Cleveland Indians (1930–1931), Detroit Tigers (1933 and 1935–1939) and St. Louis Browns (1939–1940)
  • April 12 – Philip K. Wrigley, 82, owner of the Chicago Cubs from January 26, 1932, until his death; over those 45 years, his teams won four National League pennants, all between 1932 and 1945; kept arc lights and night games out of Wrigley Field; organized the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943; served as vice president of the NL from 1947 to 1966; his father and son were his predecessor and successor as Cubs' owner
  • April 12 – Hal Leathers, 78, middle infielder who played nine games with the 1920 Cubs; contrary to surname, he made seven errors in 43 MLB chances for a poor fielding percentage of .837
  • April 12 – Tim McCabe, 82, pitcher who went 5–1 (2.92 ERA) in 22 appearances for the 1915–1918 St. Louis Browns
  • April 14 – Lionel Decuir, 62, catcher who appeared in 37 games in the Negro leagues between 1937 and 1940, 35 of them for the Kansas City Monarchs
  • April 19 – Fred Carisch, 95, catcher/first baseman who got into 226 total games for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1903–1906), Cleveland Naps (1912–1914) and Detroit Tigers (1923); coach for the Tigers in 1923–1924
  • April 22 – Rube Yarrison, 81, pitcher in 21 contests for the 1922 Philadelphia Athletics and 1924 Brooklyn Robins
  • April 27 – Ernie Neitzke, 82, outfielder (eight games) and pitcher (two games) in 11 contests for the 1921 Boston Red Sox
  • April 28 – Al Smith, 69, left-handed pitcher who won 99 games for the New York Giants, Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians (1934–1945); known as starting pitcher who halted Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak on July 17, 1941; in 1943, won 17 games for Indians and was named to the American League All-Star squad
  • April 30 – Elam Vangilder, 81, pitcher for 1919–1927 St. Louis Browns and 1928–1929 Detroit Tigers, appearing in 367 total games

May

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  • May 5 – Bill Marshall, 66, second baseman who played for the Boston Red Sox (one game in 1931) and Cincinnati Reds (six games in 1934)
  • May 8 – Frankie Pytlak, 68, good-hitting catcher who played in 795 games for Cleveland Indians (1932–1940) and Boston Red Sox (1941 and 1945–1946); batted .300 or better four times
  • May 11 – Johnnie Chambers, 65, pitcher who appeared in two games for the 1937 St. Louis Cardinals
  • May 11 – Oscar Horstmann, 85, pitcher who worked in 50 games for the 1917–1919 Cardinals
  • May 13 – Adam DeBus, 84, shortstop/third baseman for the 1917 Pittsburgh Pirates who played in 38 games
  • May 14 – Lou Maguolo, 77, legendary scout who covered the Midwestern U.S. for the St. Louis Browns and New York Yankees between 1936 and 1975
  • May 23 – Sam Bohne, 80, infielder who played 663 games for three National League clubs, principally the Cincinnati Reds, in seven seasons spanning 1916 and 1926
  • May 26 – Johnny Kucab, 57, relief pitcher for the 1950–1952 Philadelphia Athletics, appearing in 59 games; in one of his three career starts, he hurled a complete-game, 5–3 win on October 1, 1950, earning Connie Mack his 3,729th and final victory as a Hall of Fame manager

June

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  • June 2 – Milt Steengrafe, 79, pitcher who appeared in 16 games for the Chicago White Sox in 1924 and 1926
  • June 10 – Turk Farrell, 43, hard-throwing pitcher who won 106 games, mainly with the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Colt .45s/Astros, over 14 seasons (1956–1969); four-time NL All-Star; biological father of Richard Dotson
  • June 15 – Big Bill Lee, 67, two-time All-Star pitcher who had a pair of 20-win seasons for the Chicago Cubs (1935 and 1938); in the latter year, led NL in earned run average (2.66); won 169 games over 14 seasons, 11 of them for the Cubs
  • June 18 – Johnny Frederick, 75, slugger who hit .308 with 85 HR and 377 RBI in six seasons (1929–1934) for the Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers
  • June 26 – Jack Berly, 74, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1924), New York Giants (1931) and Philadelphia Phillies (1932–1933) who appeared in 65 MLB games
  • June 28 – Otto Bluege, 67, middle infielder who appeared in 109 games for the 1931–1932 Cincinnati Reds, then a longtime scout; brother of Ossie Bluege

July

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  • July 11 – Shag Crawford, 60, National League umpire who worked in 3,120 games from 1956 to 1975, plus three World Series and three All-Star games; father of umpire Jerry Crawford
  • July 16 – Milt Stock, 84, third baseman who played in 1,628 games over 14 seasons (1913–1926) for four National League clubs, including 1915 NL champion Philadelphia, and batted .300 five times; later, both a minor-league manager and executive and an MLB coach; father-in-law of Eddie Stanky
  • July 20 – James H. Lemon, 74, co-owner and club president of the Washington Senators from 1963 through 1967, and owner/board chairman in 1968, when he sold the club to Bob Short, who moved it to Arlington, Texas, in 1972
  • July 20 – Red Longley, 67, outfielder, catcher and third baseman who was a stalwart member of the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League, playing for them for ten seasons spanning 1937 to 1947
  • July 27 – Billy Holm, 65, catcher who appeared in 119 MLB games during World War II for the 1943–1944 Chicago Cubs and 1945 Boston Red Sox

August

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  • August 9 – George Milstead, 74, pitcher who worked in 36 total games for 1924–1926 Chicago Cubs
  • August 12 – Bubber Jonnard, 79, back-up catcher for four clubs in 103 total games spread over six years between 1920 and 1935; later a coach and scout; twin brother of Claude Jonnard
  • August 16 – Charlie Barnabe, 77, southpaw who was winless in seven decisions over 24 games pitched for the 1927–1928 Chicago White Sox
  • August 16 – Al Javery, 59, pitcher who hurled in 205 games for the Boston Bees/Braves from 1940 to 1946; two-time (1943 and 1944) National League All-Star
  • August 16 – Joe Kelly, 90, light-hitting outfielder who batted .224 in 376 career games for three National League clubs (1914, 1916–1919)
  • August 19 – Bob Klinger, 69, pitcher who compiled a 66–61 record for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1938–1943) and Boston Red Sox (1946–1947); losing pitcher in decisive Game 7 of 1946 World Series
  • August 19 – Russ Taylor, 51, Montreal sportscaster who was the #2 play-by-play broadcaster for the Expos' English-language radio team from their maiden MLB season, 1969, through 1976
  • August 19 – Chuck Wortman, 85, weak-hitting shortstop for the Chicago Cubs from 1916 to 1918 who batted .186 in 161 career games; batted once in 1918 World Series
  • August 24 – Leo Cristante, 50, relief pitcher who appeared in 30 MLB games for the 1951 Philadelphia Phillies and 1955 Detroit Tigers
  • August 28 – Silvio García, 63, Cuban shortstop for the New York Cubans of the Negro National League (1936, 1940, 1946–1947); played in four All-Star games during his latter two seasons.
  • August 30 – Leo Hannibal, 66, who played in 22 games, 18 as a pitcher, for four Negro leagues teams between 1932 and 1938

September

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  • September 2 – Chucho Ramos, 59, Venezuelan outfielder who collected five hits in ten at-bats over four May 1944 games for the Cincinnati Reds
  • September 7 – Buster Maynard, 64, outfielder who appeared in 224 games over five campaigns (1940, 1942–1943 and 1946) with New York Giants
  • September 8 – Oral Hildebrand, 70, pitcher who won 83 games over a ten-year (1931–1940), 258-game career for the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns and New York Yankees; chosen to American League squad for the first All-Star game in 1933; member of 1939 World Series champion Yankees
  • September 14 – Beau Bell, 70, right fielder for St. Louis Browns (1935–1939), Detroit Tigers (1939) and Cleveland Indians (1940–1941) who led AL in hits (218) and doubles (51) in 1937; selected to AL All-Star team that season, and batted .297 lifetime in 767 MLB games; later coached at Texas A&M
  • September 19 – Paddy Livingston, 97, catcher for Cleveland (1901, 1912) and Philadelphia (1909–1911) of the American League and Cincinnati (1906) and St. Louis (1917) of the National League, getting into 206 career games; at his death, the oldest major leaguer and the only survivor among players who appeared in the AL's inaugural season; member of 1910 World Series champion Athletics
  • September 24 – Sherm Lollar, 53, seven-time American League All-Star catcher (1950, 1954–1956 and 1958–1960) who won first three Gold Gloves awarded (1957–1959); appeared in 1,752 games over 18 seasons for the Cleveland Indians (1946), New York Yankees (1947–1948, including 1947 World Series champions), St. Louis Browns (1949–1951) and Chicago White Sox (1952–1963) and batted .264 lifetime with 155 homers; later a coach, including service on 1966 Series champion Baltimore Orioles
  • September 26 – Ernie Lombardi, 69, eight-time National League All-Star catcher (1936–1940, 1942–1943, 1945); played in 1,853 career games for four NL clubs, mainly the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants, between 1931 and 1947; member of Reds' 1940 World Series champs; batted .306 lifetime with 190 homers; 1938 NL Most Valuable Player; only catcher to win two batting titles (1938 and 1942), he caught Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no-hitters in 1938; posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 1986
  • September 30 – Del Pratt, 89, second baseman for four AL teams between 1912 and 1924 who led Junior Circuit in RBI in 1916 with St. Louis Browns; batted over .300 in his last five seasons, and collected 1,996 career hits

October

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  • October 1 – Pat Patterson, 80, third baseman/shortstop who went 14-for-35 (.400) over 23 games in his lone MLB audition with the World Series-bound 1921 New York Giants
  • October 8 – Clarence Miles, 80, Baltimore attorney and lead member of the ownership group that purchased the St. Louis Browns in September 1953 and moved them to Maryland as the modern Orioles franchise; served as club president in 1954 and 1955 before selling his share of the team
  • October 10 – Jim Lyle, 77, pitcher who made only one MLB appearance on October 2, 1925 for AL champion Washington Senators but won 212 games in the minor leagues
  • October 13 – Joe Bratcher, 79, hard-hitting outfielder who batted .331 in a dozen minor league seasons (1920–1931), but played only four MLB games (and went hitless in his one official at bat) for the 1924 St. Louis Cardinals
  • October 14 – Bing Crosby, 74, actor, singer and sportsman who was a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from August 1946 until his death
  • October 17 – Cal Hubbard, 76, umpire in the American League from 1936 to 1951, and supervisor of AL arbiters from 1952 to 1969, who developed modern systems of umpire positioning; NFL defensive tackle from 1927 to 1936; only man to be selected to the Baseball (1976) and Pro Football (1963) halls of fame
  • October 23 – George Gerken, 74, outfielder/pinch hitter who played 44 games for 1927–1928 Cleveland Indians
  • October 24 – Bill Lewis, 73, catcher/pinch hitter who batted .327 in 101 at bats in a reserve role for St. Louis (1933) and Boston (1935–1936) of the National League
  • October 27 – Carlisle Littlejohn, 76, pitcher in 26 games for the 1927–1928 St. Louis Cardinals
  • October 27 – Red Lynn, 63, pitcher who worked in 85 career games for the Detroit Tigers (1939), New York Giants (1939–1940) and Chicago Cubs (1944)
  • October 28 – Ralph Cleage, 79, outfielder who appeared in 23 games for the 1924 St. Louis Stars of the Negro National League
  • October 30 – Bill Drake, 82, pitcher who worked in 190 Negro National League games between 1920 and 1930, principally for St. Louis and Kansas City; led NNL in games lost (14) in 1920 and games won (17) the following year; nicknamed "Plunk" for his willingness to pitch inside

November

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  • November 4 – Pinky Pittenger, 78, backup infielder/outfielder who played from 1921 through 1929 for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds
  • November 8 – Jim Gladd, 55, catcher in four games for the 1946 New York Giants
  • November 8 – Bob Griffith, 65, pitcher and occasional outfielder who hurled in 105 games in the Negro National League between 1934 and 1948; batted .265 in 135 games played
  • November 8 – Bucky Harris, 81, Hall of Fame manager of five teams for 29 seasons between 1924 and 1956 who won the third-most games (2,157) in history; managed Washington Senators for 18 seasons over three terms, winning 1924 World Series as "Boy Wonder" rookie skipper; led Yankees to 1947 title; also won AL pennant in his sophomore managing campaign in 1925, but his Senators dropped that year's Fall Classic; skippered Detroit Tigers twice and Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies for one year each, and late in his career was general manager of 1959–1960 Bosox; as second baseman (1919–1929 and 1931), led AL in double plays five times
  • November 9 – Fred Haney, 79, player, manager, executive and broadcaster; infielder in 622 games with four MLB clubs over seven seasons in the 1920s; as a manager, he helmed two horrible teams, the 1939–1941 St. Louis Browns and 1953–1955 Pittsburgh Pirates, finishing last five times in six years; in June 1956, he became skipper of the contending Milwaukee Braves and led them to the 1957 World Series championship, 1958 National League pennant, and 1959 NL tie-breaker series before stepping down; returning to his native Los Angeles, he was the first general manager of the expansion Angels and served from December 1960 through 1968; in between these assignments, he was radio play-by-voice for minor-league Hollywood Stars (1943–1948) and color man for NBC-TV Game of the Week (1960)
  • November 9 – Jack Ogden, 80, pitcher who appeared in 123 games in five seasons spanning 15 years (1918–1932) for the New York Giants, St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds
  • November 16 – José Acosta, 86, Cuban pitcher whose 16-season professional career included 55 games pitched for the 1920–1922 Washington Senators
  • November 17 – Roger Peckinpaugh, 86, shortstop in 2,012 games for four American League teams between 1910 and 1927 who was named the 1925 league MVP in his last full season; starting shortstop of 1924 World Series champion Washington Senators; in 1914, at age 23, he became youngest manager in MLB history when on September 15 he was named interim pilot of the New York Yankees (leading them to a 10–10 record); later, served as manager (1928–1933 and 1941) and general manager (1941–1946) of Cleveland Indians
  • November 21 – Ron Willis, 34, relief pitcher who, in his official rookie season, helped lead the 1967 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals to the NL pennant, topping Redbirds in games pitched (65), notching ten saves (second on the club), and posting a 2.67 ERA; overall appeared in 188 games (all in relief) over all or parts of five MLB seasons (1966–1970) for the Cardinals, Houston Astros and San Diego Padres
  • November 24 – Mayo Smith, 62, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies (1955–1958), Cincinnati Reds (1959) and Detroit Tigers (1967–1970) who led Detroit to the 1968 World Series title; posted a 663–613 lifetime record; an outfielder in his playing days who spent one year in majors, 1945, with wartime Philadelphia Athletics
  • November 25 – Andy Childs, 72, second baseman and pinch hitter in 22 games for Indianapolis (1937) and Memphis (1938) of the Negro American League
  • November 28 – Bob Meusel, 81, outfielder for the "Murderers' Row" New York Yankees of 1920–1929; batted over .300 seven times, including a career-high mark of .337 in 1927, hit for the cycle three times, appeared in six World Series (winning three rings), and led American League in home runs (33) and runs batted in (134) in 1925; brother of Irish Meusel
  • November 29 – George Herbert Walker Jr., 72, New York investment banker and minority owner of the Mets from their founding in 1961 until just before his death; uncle and a namesake of the 41st President of the United States

December

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  • December 1 – Dobie Moore, 82, star shortstop for the Negro Leagues' Kansas City Monarchs (1920–1926) who batted .347 lifetime
  • December 3 – Bill Bonness, 53, southpaw pitcher who made two appearances for the 1944 Cleveland Indians
  • December 4 – Johnny Rizzo, 65, outfielder who played five seasons (1938–1942) for four National League clubs; knocked in 111 runs during his rookie year, trailing only Hall of Famers Joe Medwick and Mel Ott
  • December 7 – Denny Sothern, 73, center fielder who appeared in 357 games over five campaigns between 1926 and 1931 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Robins
  • December 8 – Art Ewoldt, 83, third baseman who played nine games for the 1919 Philadelphia Athletics
  • December 11 – Berith Melin, 59, outfielder, one of the original Rockford Peaches founding members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in its 1943 inaugural season
  • December 18 – Leniel Hooker, 58, pitcher whose nine-year (1940–1948) career was spent almost entirely with the Newark Eagles; led Negro National League in winning percentage (.857) in 1942
  • December 25 – Ken Guettler, 50, minor league baseball slugger of the 1940s and 1950s; eight-time home run champion who, in 1956, led the Double-A Texas League in homers (62) and runs batted in (143)
  • December 26 – Al Mahon, 68, southpaw pitcher who appeared in three April and May contests for 1930 Philadelphia Athletics.
  • December 29 – Jimmy Brown, 67, infielder and leadoff hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals (1937–1943) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1946); member of 1942 World Series champions and 1943 National League All-Star; with his playing career essentially ended by World War II, he became an MLB coach and minor-league manager
  • December 30 – Halsey Hall, 79, longtime Minneapolis–Saint Paul sportswriter and broadcaster; after 27 years as radio voice of the minor-league Minneapolis Millers, joined broadcast team of relocated Minnesota Twins in 1961 and stayed through 1972

References

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  1. ^ Franz Lidz (June 25, 1984). "A Sultan Of Swat He's Not: San Francisco's Duane Kuiper has hit one home run in nine seasons". Sports Illustrated.
  2. ^ Wancho, Joseph. "Ron Blomberg". sabr.org. The Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  3. ^ "Dick Drago Height, Weight, Transactions, etc."
  4. ^ "Dick Drago"
  5. ^ "Baseball-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  6. ^ Durso, Joseph (December 9, 1977). "Matlack, Milner Go In Four-Team Trade [Winter Meetings Roundup]". timemachine.nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  7. ^ Gammons, Peter (November 14, 1977). "There's a Rub in the Hub". vault.si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
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