Four expansion teams joined Major League Baseball for this season: the San Diego Padres, the Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Pilots, and the first MLB team in Canada, the Montreal Expos. To accommodate the additional teams, the two leagues were split into two divisions of East and West. For the first time, extra post-season playoff series were added prior to the World Series, at this juncture best-of-five series between the East and West division leaders in each league.
January 2 – In response to major-league owners' continued refusal to increase their contributions to the players' pension fund commensurately with their television broadcast revenues, the Major League Baseball Players Association urges players not to sign any new contracts.
February 4 – Bowie Kuhn, 42, attorney for the National League's law firm, becomes the fifth permanent Commissioner of Baseball following a two-month-long search process. His term will continue through September 30, 1984, and especially be identified with changing player-owner relations and labor strife. Kuhn will be posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 2008.
February 17 – Spring training opens without 400 players who have decided to boycott it over the pension-fund impasse.
February 21 – Hall of Fame hitter Ted Williams returns to uniform as manager of the Washington Senators. Enticed by new owner Bob Short, Williams leads the 1969 Senators to the only winning season they will enjoy in their 11-year history.
February 26 – The boycott ends when owners accept most of the players' terms.
March 16 – A plane crash in Maracaibo, Venezuela kills 155 people including first baseman Carlos Santeliz, the Venezuelan League Rookie of the Year, on his way to the Braves' spring training camp. Another fatality is pitcher Látigo Chávez, en route to the Giants' camp. Chávez (1–0) was 12–5 with Double-A Waterbury in the Eastern League (1967), including seven shutouts. Pitcher Pablo Torrealba was also scheduled to take the flight, but missed it and took a later one.
March 17 – The Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals announce a one-for-one trade of All-Stars, with the Braves swapping Joe Torre for the Cardinals' Orlando Cepeda. Torre, 28, will convert from catcher to third base and win the 1971National League Most Valuable Player Award; Cepeda, 31, is only two years removed from his 1967 NL MVP season. Both will become members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, although Torre (a nine-time All-Star and .297 lifetime hitter with 252 homers as a player) will be selected to recognize his managerial career.
April 9 – Billy Williams hits four consecutive doubles to tie the Major League record during an 11–3 win over the Phillies at Wrigley Field. The Cubs score seven runs in the seventh inning.
April 10 – At Shea Stadium, Tommie Agee hits a tremendous home run halfway up in the left field upper deck, a feat that will never matched in the stadium's 45-year history.
The Houston Astros, held hitless the day before by Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds, answer back as Don Wilson pitches a 4–0 no-hitter, with 13 strikeouts, over the Reds. Houston ties a National League record with just one assist in Wilson's second career no-hitter. In his previous start against Cincinnati, on April 22, Wilson gave up six runs in five innings in a 14–0 loss. The back-to-back no-hitters are only the second in Major League history, the feat having been accomplished just the year before by Gaylord Perry and Ray Washburn.
Al López, 60, hands over the managerial reins of the Chicago White Sox (8–9 in 1969) to Don Gutteridge, a longtime coach. His retirement gives López a career record of 1,410–1,004 (.584) with two American Leaguepennants in 17 seasons as skipper of the Cleveland Indians (1951–1956) and the White Sox (1957–1965, 1968–1969). That record, plus his 1,919 games caught over 19 seasons as one of MLB's premier catchers of the 1930s and 1940s, earns López a 1977 berth in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
May 13 – Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs reaches the 1,500 runs batted in milestone while driving in seven runs in a 19–0 shellacking of the expansion San Diego Padres. Hard-throwing right-hander Dick Selma earns the victory as the Cubs tie a modern-day record for the most one-sided shutout in National League history.
May 26 – In the throes of a ten-game losing streak, and sitting in last place in the AL West at 11–28, the California Angels fire Bill Rigney, the only manager the team has had since its debut in 1961. Lefty Phillips, former pitching coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers, replaces him.
June 14 – At Fenway Park, the Oakland Athletics lash 25 hits and put up three separate five-run innings in a 21–7 beat down of the Red Sox. Young Oakland outfielder Reggie Jackson goes five for six, including his 21st and 22nd homers of the season, and knocks in ten runs.
June 22 – The Cubs score four runs in the ninth inning to defeat the Montreal Expos 7–6 in the first game of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field. The decisive blow is Jim Hickman's two-run walk-off homer.
June 26 – Jim Hickman's home run in the tenth inning defeats the Pittsburgh Pirates 7–5 at Wrigley Field. On the spur of the moment Ron Santo leaped in the air and clicked his heels 3 times on the way to the clubhouse. The victory dance became a hit with euphoric Cub fans.
July 8 – With three runs in the ninth inning, the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 4–3, cutting Chicago's lead in the National League East to four games. Chicago's Ron Santo rips into center fielder Don Young for two misplays in the outfield; Santo apologizes the next day for criticizing Young, who had left early and didn't take the team bus. Santo is later booed in his first game back at Wrigley Field.
July 17 – Jim Kaat improves to 10–6 with an 8–5 victory for the Minnesota Twins over the Chicago White Sox despite committing three errors. The Hall-of-Fame southpaw is in the midst of a streak of 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards for his fielding (1962–1977).[2]
July 26 – Randy Hundley drives in all three Cub runs, including a walk-off single in the 11th inning, to lead the Cubs to a 3–2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field.
July 27 - In the most one-sided shutout in Baltimore Orioles history, the Os defeat the Chicago White Sox, 17–0, at Memorial Stadium. Jim Hardin pitches a two-hit shutout, walking none, and hits a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth off of Gary Bell to make it 13–0. The Orioles will plate four more runs and belt out 20 hits. Bobby Knoop has both hits for the White Sox. Hardin retires the last 20 batters in a row that he faces. In Baltimore's 100th game of the season, they are 69–31 and lead the Detroit Tigers by 12½ games in the newly formed American League East.
July 30 – After losing the first game of a doubleheader with the Houston Astros 16–3 at Shea Stadium, the New York Mets trail 7–0 in the third inning of the nightcap when Houston's Johnny Edwards gets a base hit to left field. Outfielder Cleon Jones, an All-Star who will hit .340 in 1969, is slow to retrieve the ball and then makes a "lackadaisical" throw (according to Retrosheet) back to the infield.[3] The result is a double that makes the score 8–0. Mets manager Gil Hodges emerges from the dugout, walks past Nolan Ryan on the mound and all the way to left field to confer with Jones. Then Hodges returns to the dugout, with Jones following a few paces behind him, and replaces Jones in left with Ron Swoboda. Jones will be kept out of the lineup for the next two games and used only as a pinch hitter in the two contests after that. Newspapers report that Jones was benched for failure to hustle, with Hodges deciding to do so publicly to show that he will not tolerate lack of effort on his team, even from its star player.
August 1 – Willie Davis of the Los Angeles Dodgers began his 31-game hit streak this day. Coming into this game Willie was batting .260 - by the time the streak ended on September 4 Willie was batting .318 - during the streak Willie hit .459 and broke the Dodgers franchise record of 29 games set by Zack Wheat. Willie Davis' 31-game hit streak was the third-longest in NL history and as of 2023 remains the Dodgers' record.
August 5 – The Pittsburgh Pirates' Willie Stargell hits the first home run completely out of Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles pitcher Alan Foster surrenders the 506-foot blast. To date, it's the longest home run in Dodger Stadium history. (Stargell will hit another homer out of Dodger Stadium, off Andy Messersmith in 1973.) The mammoth home run comes in the seventh inning and breaks a 3–3 tie, a three-run home run by Andy Kosco having tied the game for the Dodgers in the bottom of the sixth; Pittsburgh scores seven more runs in the ninth inning and defeats Los Angeles 11–3.
Citing damage to his right shoulder, Don Drysdale retires from the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is the last player still playing for the Dodgers who also played in Brooklyn.
At Baltimore, the Orioles' Mike Cuellar allows only one hit, a top-of-the-ninth single to César Tovar, and beats the Minnesota Twins 2–0. For the second time this season, Tovar saves the Twins from being no-hit against Baltimore. He broke up a no-hitter by Dave McNally in the ninth inning during a game in May.
August 19 – At Wrigley Field, Ken Holtzman of the Chicago Cubsno-hits the Atlanta Braves 3–0 with no strikeouts. Only one other pitcher in major league history, Sad Sam Jones in 1923, has hurled a no-hitter without the benefit of a strikeout. Holtzman survives a scare in the seventh as Hank Aaron's fly ball to deep left field leading off the inning appears to be going over the wall for a home run; however, a stiff wind cuts into the ball and enables Billy Williams to catch it at the warning track. Aaron grounds out to Cubs' second baseman Glenn Beckert for the game's final out.
September 9 – During the Mets' 7–1 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Shea, a black cat jumps on the field and runs past Ron Santo in the on-deck circle.
September 10 – A loss by the Chicago Cubs, and a doubleheader sweep by the New York Mets, gives the Mets their first lead of the National League East Division. The Mets will not relinquish their lead from this point, as the Cubs suffer a legendary collapse.
September 18 – Despite leading the Oakland Athletics to an 80–69 record, the franchise's best showing in at least two decades, manager Hank Bauer is replaced by John McNamara at the team's helm. It is owner Charles O. Finley's ninth managerial change in nine years, and Bauer's second enforced departure from the job (he had skippered Finley's Athletics from June 19, 1961 through 1962).
The Minnesota Twins survived a ninth-inning scare as they beat the Kansas City Royals 4–3 to clinch the American League West title on Harmon Killebrew's 47th home run and Cesar Tovar's two run-scoring singles.
September 24 – After seven losing seasons, the New York Mets clinch the National League East Division title as Donn Clendenon hit two home runs in a 6–0 Mets win over Steve Carlton and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets have won 38 out of their 49 games dating from August 14. The Cubs will finish the season eight games behind the Mets, and not win the division until exactly 15 years from this day.
September 25 – The Pittsburgh Pirates (84–73 and third in the NL East) dismiss their second-year manager, Larry Shepard. Coach Alex Grammas takes the helm as temporary skipper for the season's final five games.
October 8 - After firing Dave Bristol as manager despite an 89–73 season, the Cincinnati Reds hire Sparky Anderson to replace him. During the next seven seasons, Anderson, who will make his major league managerial debut in 1970, will guide the team known as the "Big Red Machine" to five National League West titles, four National League pennants, and back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976.
October 15 – Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver is warned during Game 4 of the 1969 World Series by umpireShag Crawford not to argue balls and strikes. After receiving this warning, Weaver follows Crawford to home plate, and immediately is ejected. The Mets would win 2–1 in 10 innings for a 3–1 lead in the World Series.
October 16 – The Baltimore Orioles are ahead 3–0 in Game 5 of the World Series at Shea Stadium when Dave McNally strikes New York Mets batter Cleon Jones in the foot with a pitch. However, home plateumpireLou DiMuro ruled that the ball missed Jones. Mets manager Gil Hodges emerges from the dugout to argue and shows DiMuro the shoe-polish-smudged ball. DiMuro reverses his call, and awards Jones first base. The following batter, Donn Clendenon, hits a two-run home run to pull the Mets within a run of Baltimore. The homer is Clendenon's third of the Series). Following an Al Weis solo home run in the seventh to tie the game, the Mets score two in the eighth for a 5–3 lead. Jerry Koosman pitches a complete game for the Mets, who win the World Series in five games. Clendenon is named World Series MVP.
Kansas City Royals outfielder Lou Piniella, who hit .282 with 11 home runs and 68 RBI, is named American League Rookie of the Year over pitcher Mike Nagy (12–2, 3.11 ERA), outfielder Carlos May (.281, 18, 62) and pitcher Ken Tatum (7–2, 1.36).
December 6 – The MLB Restructuring Committee issues its recommendations, which include strengthening the office of the Commissioner of Baseball, reducing the power of the league presidents, adopting interleague play, combining the umpire staffs of each circuit, and standardizing league rules to make them consistent. It will take decades for each recommendation to be implemented, and MLB rules will not be made consistent until 2023, when the National League adopts the designated hitter rule, which debuted in the American League in 1973.
January 5 – Tiny Osborne, 75, 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), 215 lb (98 kg) pitcher who worked in 142 games for the Chicago Cubs (1922–1924) and Brooklyn Robins (1924–1925); father of Bobo Osborne.
January 5 – Larry Pratt, 81, catcher for Boston (American League) in 1914, then Brooklyn and Newark (both of the "outlaw" Federal League) in 1915.
January 6 – Larry Cheney, 82, three-time 20-game winning pitcher for the Chicago Cubs (1911–1915), Brooklyn Robins (1915–1919), Boston Braves (1919) and Philadelphia Phillies (1919); led National League hurlers with 26 victories in 1912.
January 6 – Hank Olmsted, 89, pitcher for the 1905 Boston Americans.
January 6 – Clint Rogge, 79, pitcher who as a rookie won 17 games for the 1915 Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federal League; later, hurled in six contests for 1921 Cincinnati Reds.
January 6 – Jim Viox, 78, Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman who played in 506 games from 1912 to 1916.
January 7 – Bill Lobe, 56, minor-league catcher who spent nine years (1951–1959) as bullpen coach of the Cleveland Indians.
January 18 – Ray Kennedy, 73, second baseman turned executive and scout; general manager of Pittsburgh Pirates (1946), farm system director of Pirates (1947–1948) and Detroit Tigers (1949–1951), and player personnel director of Kansas City Athletics (1955); appeared in one MLB game as a player for the St. Louis Browns (1916).
January 21 – Dick Terwilliger, 62, pitcher who threw three scoreless innings of relief in his lone MLB appearance on August 18, 1932, as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.
January 23 – Al Bridwell, 85, shortstop whose apparent game-winning single for the New York Giants in a 1908 contest led to the controversial play in which baserunner Fred Merkle was eventually called out for not touching second base.
January 27 – Al Schweitzer, 86, reserve outfielder for 1908–1911 St. Louis Browns.
January 29 – Dolly King, 55, star Long Island University athlete and outfielder for the Homestead Grays and New York Black Yankees of the Negro National League in 1944; also played professional basketball.
January 30 – Sam Bennett, 84, catcher/outfielder for Dayton and St. Louis of the Negro National League over five seasons spanning 1920 to 1925.
February 1 – Razor Ledbetter, 74, pitcher who threw a scoreless inning of relief in his lone MLB appearance as a Detroit Tiger on April 16, 1915.
February 2 – Ray Schmandt, 73, backup first- and second baseman for 1915 St. Louis Browns and 1918–1922 Brooklyn Robins; appeared in 1920 World Series.
February 5 – Hack Spencer, 83, St. Louis Browns pitcher who worked in one game on April 18, 1912.
February 13 – Shags Horan, 73, reserve outfielder who appeared in 22 games for 1924 New York Yankees.
February 16 – Mul Holland, 66, pitcher who had trials with three National League clubs during three seasons spanning 1926 to 1929.
February 18 – Jack Zeller, 85, executive and scout; general manager of the Detroit Tigers from 1938 to 1945; later, director of scouting of the Boston Braves.
February 19 – Doc White, 89, Chicago White Sox pitcher (1903–1913) whose record of five consecutive shutouts (September 12–30, 1904) was broken by Don Drysdale in 1968; led 1906 American League in ERA (1.52) and a member of the World Series champion "Hitless Wonders", going 1–1 in the 1906 World Series against the crosstown Cubs; won 27 games, tops in the AL, in 1907.
February 23 – Bubbles Hargrave, 76, catcher who hit .310 lifetime in 852 career games for the Chicago Cubs (1913–1915), Cincinnati Reds (1921–1928) and New York Yankees (1930); National League batting champion (.353) in 1926, first catcher to win a batting title in post-1901 era.
February 23 – Bill Swift, 60, pitcher who posted a 95–82 (3.58) record in 336 MLB games for four clubs, principally the Pittsburgh Pirates, between 1932 and 1943.
February 25 – Russ Wrightstone, 75, versatile infielder/outfielder (primarily a third- and first baseman) who appeared in 929 games for 1920–1928 Philadelphia Phillies and 1928 New York Giants.
March 10 – Max Rosenfeld, 66, outfielder who got into 42 games with Brooklyn of the National League between 1931 and 1933.
March 12 – Joe Engel, 76, left-handed pitcher who appeared in 102 MLB games, 99 of them for the Washington Senators, between 1912 and 1920, then longtime Washington scout and operator of the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Senators' top farm team; namesake of Engel Stadium.
March 14 – Heinie Zimmerman, 82, third baseman who played 1,456 games for Chicago Cubs (1907–1916) and New York Giants (1916–1919) who won the NL triple crown in 1912; barred from baseball in 1919 for his role in fixing games.
March 16 – William Bell, 71, All-Star pitcher of the Negro leagues who posted the highest career winning percentage (114–52, .687) in Black baseball; managed Newark of Negro National League over three separate one-year terms (1936, 1938, 1948).
March 16 – Néstor Chávez, 21, pitcher who played for the 1967 San Francisco Giants.
March 16 – Andy Rush, 79, pitcher who made four appearances for 1925 Brooklyn Robins.
March 17 – Jim Mains, 46, native of Maine who pitched in one game for the wartime Philadelphia Athletics on August 22, 1943.
March 17 – Poindexter Williams, 71, catcher who played for six teams in the Negro National League, primarily the Birmingham Black Barons, between 1921 and 1933; also managed Birmingham and Louisville of the NNL.
March 18 – Rafael Almeida, 81, Cuban third baseman who played in 102 games for the 1911–1913 Cincinnati Reds; one of first three Cuban-born players in MLB during its post-1901 era.
March 18 – Jack Bradley, 75, who appeared in two games as a catcher and pinch hitter for the 1916 Cleveland Indians.
March 19 – Josh Swindell, 83, pitcher who twirled in four games for the 1911 Cleveland Naps.
March 19 – Lonnie Torian, 73, pitcher for the 1920 St. Louis Giants of the Negro National League.
March 20 – Jim Clark, 81, outfielder who played 16 games for 1911–1912 St. Louis Cardinals.
March 21 – Everett Booe, 77, outfielder who appeared in 125 games for Pittsburgh of the National League (1913) and Indianapolis and Buffalo of the Federal League (1914).
March 21 – Pinky Higgins, 59, third baseman for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers for 14 years between 1930 and 1946; held American League record for career games at that position; three-time All-Star; later manager (1955–1959 and 1960–1962) and general manager (1963–1965) of the Red Sox.
March 22 – Floyd Speer, 56, relief pitcher who worked in a total of three games for the wartime 1943–1944 Chicago White Sox.
March 23 – Oris Hockett, 59, outfielder for 1938–1939 Brooklyn Dodgers and 1941–1945 Cleveland Indians, appearing in 551 career games; 1944 American League All-Star.
April 2 – Ben Cardoni, 48, pitcher who was winless in six decisions and 36 career games for the 1943–1945 Boston Braves.
April 2 – Bill Force, 73, pitcher who appeared in 186 games between 1921 and 1929 for the Detroit Stars and Baltimore Black Sox of the Negro leagues.
April 3 – Charley Stanceu, 53, pitcher who worked in 39 career games for the New York Yankees (1941 and 1946) and Philadelphia Phillies (1946).
April 4 – Les Wilson, 83, outfielder who played for the 1911 Boston Red Sox.
April 4 – Chuck Ward, 74, shortstop for 1917 Pittsburgh Pirates and utility infielder for 1918–1922 Brooklyn Robins.
April 7 – Si Rosenthal, 65, outfielder who played for the Red Sox from 1925 to 1926.
April 8 – Win Noyes, 79, pitcher in 49 MLB games for the Boston Braves (1913), Philadelphia Athletics (1917, 1919) and Chicago White Sox (1919).
April 9 – Frank Scanlan, 78, Philadelphia Phillies southpaw and former Notre Dame baseballer, who pitched in six MLB games during August and September of 1909; brother of Doc Scanlan.
April 10 – Scotty Robb, 60, one of few mid-century umpires employed by both major leagues; worked in 662 National League games and two All-Star games between August 28, 1947 and May 4, 1952, when he resigned; then joined American League arbiter crew and officiated in 207 contests from May 13, 1952 to June 28, 1953.
April 11 – Al Kaiser, 82, outfielder in 155 games for Chicago and Boston of the National League (1911–1912) and Indianapolis of the Federal League (1914).
April 13 – William Walsingham Jr., 59, front-office executive; vice president of St. Louis Cardinals (1942–1955) and executive VP of Baltimore Orioles (1957–1958).
April 19 – Harry Cassady, 88, outfielder who played briefly for the 1904 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1905 Washington Senators.
April 19 – Bob "Rip" Collins, 59, catcher who appeared in 50 career games for the Chicago Cubs (1940) and New York Yankees (1944).
April 21 – Clarence Palm, 61, catcher in the Negro leagues whose career spanned 1927 to 1946; member of champion 1928 St. Louis Stars.
April 23 – Freddie Moncewicz, 65, backup shortstop for the 1928 Boston Red Sox.
April 27 – Harry Taylor, 61, first baseman who played 10 games with the 1932 Chicago Cubs.
April 28 – Joe Burg, 86, third baseman/shortstop who appeared in 13 late-season games for the 1910 Boston Doves of the National League.
April 29 – Ed Monroe, 74, pitcher who made ten appearances for the 1917–1918 New York Yankees.
April 30 – Colonel Snover, 73, left-hander who pitched in two games for New York Giants in September 1919.
May 1 – Gary Wilson, 90, second baseman for the 1902 Boston Americans.
May 2 – Steve Larkin, 58, pitcher who appeared in two games during May 1934 for the Detroit Tigers.
May 5 – Eddie Cicotte, 84, pitcher who won 208 games for the Tigers, Red Sox and White Sox, but was thrown out of baseball as one of the eight "Black Sox" involved in fixing the 1919 World Series; he was the first of the eight to come forward, confessing his involvement and testifying before the grand jury.
May 7 – Ray Mack, 52, light-hitting second baseman for Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs who played in 791 games from 1938 to 1944 and 1946–1947.
May 15 – Frank "Shag" Shaughnessy, 86, U.S.-born outfielder and Notre Dame graduate who played in nine American League games for Washington (1905) and Philadelphia (1908) and coached for the 1928 Detroit Tigers; pivotal figure in both the U.S. and Canada in minor league baseball (manager between 1909 and 1936, inventor of the "Shaughnessy playoffs" in 1936, and president of the International League from 1936 to 1960); also an influential gridiron football coach, and general manager of hockey's original Ottawa Senators; posthumously elected in 1983 to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
May 17 – Pants Rowland, 91, manager of the 1917 World Series champion Chicago White Sox, later president of the Pacific Coast League from 1944 to 1954, then longtime vice president of Chicago Cubs.
May 19 – Jim Tobin, 56, good-hitting knuckleball pitcher who hurled in 287 career games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Bees/Braves, and Detroit Tigers between 1937 and 1945; threw no-hitter against Brooklyn on April 27, 1944; batted .230 with 17 homers and 102 RBI in 796 career at bats; hit three homers in a game for Boston on May 13, 1942, and made 109 career appearances as a pinch hitter in addition to his mound duties.
May 20 – Lee Allen, 54, historian at the Baseball Hall of Fame since 1959, former sportswriter.
May 20 – Charlie Pickett, 86, pitcher who worked in two games for the St. Louis Cardinals in June 1910.
May 21 – Dennis Burns, 70, pitcher who worked in 41 games for the 1923–1924 Philadelphia Athletics.
May 25 – Jim Riley, 74, Canadian infielder who played in six total MLB games for the St. Louis Browns (1921) and Washington Senators (1923); the only athlete in sports history to play both Major League Baseball and in the National Hockey League.
May 26 – Harland Rowe, 73, third baseman who played 17 games for 1916 Philadelphia Athletics.
May 27 – Lou Jackson, 33, outfielder who played 34 total games for the 1958–1959 Chicago Cubs and 1964 Baltimore Orioles; achieved success in Nippon Professional Baseball, smashing 68 home runs over three seasons (1966–1968).
May 28 – Gus Getz, 79, infielder for five big league clubs, principally Boston and Brooklyn of the National League, over seven seasons between 1909 and 1918.
June 3 – Cobe Jones, 61, shortstop who got into 26 games for the 1929–1930 Pittsburgh Pirates; later, a scout.
June 10 – Charlie Fuchs, 55, World War II-era pitcher who hurled in 47 games for the Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Browns and Brooklyn Dodgers between 1941 and 1944.
June 17 – Byron Houck, 77, pitched in 118 major league games; as a member of 1912–1913 Philadelphia Athletics, he went 14–6 for the 1913 World Series champs, then jumped to the "outlaw" Federal League, where he hurled for the 1914 Brooklyn Tip-Tops; returned to the American League in 1918 as a St. Louis Brown.
June 24 – John Perrin, 71, right fielder for 1921 Boston Red Sox; later a fullback/quarterback for the NFL Hartford Blues.
June 28 – Sammy Gee, 41, shortstop who appeared in 13 games for the 1948 New York Cubans of the Negro National League.
June 29 – Ted McGrew, 89, minor league player and manager, National League umpire (1930–1931, 1933–1934), then a longtime scout for numerous MLB teams.
June 30 – Milt Gray, 55, catcher who appeared in two May 1937 games for the Washington Senators.
July 2 – Art Scharein, 64, infielder who played 205 games for the 1932–1934 St. Louis Browns.
July 2 – Clarence Woods, 77, pitcher for the 1914 Indianapolis Hoosiers of the Federal League.
July 3 – Hunky Shaw, 84, minor league third baseman/outfielder who went hitless in his only MLB at bat as a pinch hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 16, 1908.
July 3 – Harry Spratt, 80, infielder for Boston (National League) in 1911 and 1912.
July 4 – Lew Drill, 92, catcher/outfielder for Washington, Baltimore and Detroit of the American League (1902–1905), appearing in 293 games.
July 5 – Ed Hemingway, 76, reserve second- and third baseman for the 1914 St. Louis Browns, 1917 New York Giants and 1918 Philadelphia Phillies.
July 8 – Bill Carrigan, nicknamed "Rough", 85, player-manager (1913–1916) and backup catcher (1906, 1908–1916) for the Boston Red Sox' world champions in 1912, 1915 and 1916; later returned as pilot of terrible Red Sox teams between 1927 and 1929.
July 8 – Red Rolfe, 60, third baseman for New York Yankees (1931 and 1934–1942), and member of five World Series champions; three-time AL All-Star; manager of Detroit Tigers from 1949 to July 4, 1952; the Dartmouth College alumnus was also an Ivy League baseball coach (Yale) and athletics director (Dartmouth).
July 13 – Pat French, 75, outfielder and pinch hitter in three games for the 1917 Philadelphia Athletics.
July 16 – Doc Waldbauer, 77, pitcher who worked in two games for the Washington Senators in September 1917.
July 19 – Otto Vogel, 69, outfielder who appeared in 111 games for 1923–1924 Chicago Cubs.
July 19 – Al Williams, 55, pitcher who appeared in 46 total games for 1937–1938 Philadelphia Athletics.
July 23 – Roy Mahaffey, 65, pitcher in 224 games—197 for the Athletics—for three MLB clubs over nine seasons between 1926 and 1936; member of Philadelphia's 1930 World Series champions.
July 27 – Glenn Elliott, 49, southpaw reliever who pitched in 34 games for the 1947–1949 Boston Braves; scout for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1960 until his death.
July 29 – Douglas Sydnor, 49, World War II-era outfielder who appeared in 13 Negro National League games in 1943 and 1944.
July 30 – Flint Rhem, 68, pitcher who won 20 games (losing 7) for the 1926 world champion St. Louis Cardinals and went 105–97 over 12 National League seasons (1924–1928 and 1930–1936) with Cardinals, Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.
August 5 – Ralph Caldwell, 85, southpaw who pitched in 13 career games for the 1904–1905 Philadelphia Phillies.
August 5 – Verdo Elmore, 69, outfielder who played in seven games for the 1924 St. Louis Browns.
August 9 – Glenn Myatt, 72, lefty-swinging catcher who appeared in 1,004 games between 1920 and 1936 for four MLB clubs, principally the Cleveland Indians.
August 11 – William Marriott, 75, third baseman who played in 265 total games for the Chicago Cubs (1917, 1920–1921), Boston Braves (1925) and Brooklyn Robins (1926–1927).
August 15 – Howie Williamson, 64, minor-league outfielder who made ten pinch hitting appearances for 1928 St. Louis Cardinals.
August 17 – Frank Shellenback, 70, spitball pitcher who played for 1918–1919 Chicago White Sox and won 295 games in the Pacific Coast League; as a minor-league manager, he signed teenager Ted Williams to his first pro contract; later a longtime pitching coach.
August 19 – Álejandro Carrasquel, 57, Venezuelan pitcher who posted a 50–39 (3.73) record in 258 games for the Washington Senators (1939–1945) and Chicago White Sox (1949); uncle of Chico Carrasquel.
August 19 – John Hollison, 99, southpaw who pitched in one game for the Chicago Colts of the National League on August 13, 1892.
August 30 – Stew Bolen, 66, left-hander who went 3–13 (6.09 ERA) in 41 career games with the 1926–1927 St. Louis Browns and 1931–1932 Philadelphia Phillies.
August 30 – Tim McKeithan, 62, pitcher who worked in a total of ten games over parts of three seasons (1932–1934) with Philadelphia Athletics.
September 2 – Jim West, 64, three-time All-Star first baseman for seven clubs (primarily the Baltimore Elite Giants, Philadelphia Stars and Birmingham Black Barons) representing three different Negro leagues between 1930 and 1948.
September 3 – Bill Culp, 82, who pitched in four games for the 1910 Philadelphia Phillies.
September 5 – Harry O'Neill, 72, Canadian pitcher who appeared in four MLB games for the 1922–1923 Philadelphia Athletics.
September 10 – Billy Barbeau, 87, third baseman who played 199 MLB games for the 1905–1906 Cleveland Naps, 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1909–1910 St. Louis Cardinals.
September 11 – Dick Carter, 53, third-base coach of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1959 to May 30, 1960; previously, scouted for Phils and played and managed in their farm system.
September 12 – Ed Schorr, 77, pitcher for the 1915 Chicago Cubs.
September 14 – Jackie Tavener, 71, shortstop who played all or parts of six seasons between 1921 and 1929 for the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians.
September 18 – Joe Grace, 55, outfielder who appeared in 484 games over six seasons between 1938 and 1947 with the St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators.
September 28 – Norm McMillan, 73, infielder for four MLB clubs in six seasons spanning 1922 to 1929; most notably, the regular third baseman for pennant-winning 1929 Chicago Cubs; started all five games of 1929 World Series, going two for 20 with two walks.
September 29 – Tommy Leach, 91, third baseman and center fielder, primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who led the NL in runs twice and home runs once.
September 30 – Jim Galvin, 62, minor league catcher who played briefly for the 1930 Boston Red Sox, seeing action in two pinch-hitting assignments; later, a police detective in Atlanta, Georgia.
September 30 – Hank Thompson, 43, third baseman who was the third black player in MLB history as a member of the 1947 St. Louis Browns; in 1949, he and Monte Irvin broke the New York Giants' color line; member of Giants' 1954 World Series champions.
October 2 – Gordon Cobbledick, 70, sportswriter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer from 1928 to 1964.
October 2 – Danny O'Connell, 42, infielder who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Braves, New York/San Francisco Giants and Washington Senators across ten MLB seasons from 1950 to 1962.
October 6 – Desmond Beatty, 76, shortstop/third baseman in two games for the 1914 New York Giants.
October 6 – Roy Crumpler, 73, left-handed pitcher who appeared in five career games for the 1920 Detroit Tigers and 1925 Philadelphia Phillies.
October 8 – Willie "The Knuck" Ramsdell, 53, knuckleballer who pitched in 111 career games for Brooklyn Dodgers (1947–1948, 1950), Cincinnati Reds (1950–1951) and Chicago Cubs (1952); led National League in games lost (17) in 1951.
October 9 – Don Hoak, 41, fiery third baseman on 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates World Series championship teams; played 11 seasons in National League for five clubs; selected to 1957 NL All-Star team; managed Triple-A Columbus Jets during 1969 season.
October 9 – Ray Lucas, 61, pitcher who worked in 22 total games for the 1929–1931 New York Giants and 1933–1934 Brooklyn Dodgers.
October 13 – Harry Huston, 85, catcher in two games for the 1906 Philadelphia Phillies; University of Kansas alumnus who, at age 21, served as head football coach of Southwestern College, also in Kansas.
October 16 – Larry Boerner, 64, pitcher who posted an 0–4 (5.02) record in 21 games for the 1932 Boston Red Sox.
October 21 – Ray Richmond, 73, St. Louis Browns pitcher who appeared in eight total games in 1920–1921.
October 23 – Monk Dubiel, 51, pitcher who appeared in 187 career games for 1944–1945 New York Yankees, 1948 Philadelphia Phillies and 1949–1952 Chicago Cubs.
October 24 – Jack Bentley, 74, left-handed pitcher and first baseman who posted a 46–33 (4.01) record on the mound and a .291 batting average in 584 at bats at the plate for the Washington Senators (1913–1916), New York Giants (1923–1926 and 1927), and Philadelphia Phillies (1926); in 1923, he batted .427 (38 for 89 in 52 games, including batting .476 in 22 plate appearances as a pinch hitter) and went 13–8 (4.48) for NL champion Giants; had a brilliant minor-league career with Baltimore Orioles (1919–1922).
October 26 – Jim Blackburn, 45, World War II combat veteran and Prisoner of War who pitched for postwar Cincinnati Reds, making 18 career appearances during the 1948 and 1951 seasons.
October 27 – Charlie Jamieson, 76, standout outfielder for Cleveland Indians (1919–1932) and two other AL cubs; batted .303 lifetime in 1,779 games, eclipsing .300 mark ten times and leading Junior Circuit in hits (222) in 1923; member of Cleveland's 1920 World Series champions.
October 28 – Dave Callahan, 81, outfielder who played 19 MLB games for the 1910–1911 Cleveland Naps; stole 445 bases during his 17-year career in minor leagues.
October 28 – Joe Rullo, 53, second baseman who appeared in 51 total MLB games for wartime 1943–1944 Philadelphia Athletics.
November 1 – Joe Mellana, 64, third baseman and pinch runner who played in four games for 1927 Philadelphia Athletics.
November 1 – George Winn, 72, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (1919) and Cleveland Indians (1922–1923).
November 4 – Charlie King, 56, who pitched for the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Philadelphia Stars of the Negro National League in 1937–1938.
November 5 – Hardin Barry, 78, who pitched in three contests for the 1912 Philadelphia Athletics.
November 7 – Chick Galloway, 73, shortstop who played 1,076 games for the 1919–1927 Athletics and 1928 Detroit Tigers.
November 10 – Cecil Duff, 72, pitcher who appeared in three games for the 1922 Chicago White Sox.
November 10 – George Foss, 72, pinch hitter and third baseman for the 1921 Washington Senators.
November 10 – Augie Swentor, 69, third baseman who went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter for the White Sox on September 12, 1922, his only MLB appearance.
November 12 – Eddie Hurley, 61, American League umpire from 1947 to 1965; officiated in 2,826 regular-season contests, four World Series and three All-Star games; was behind the plate in St. Louis on August 19, 1951, when Eddie Gaedel came to bat in Bill Veeck's famous stunt; led AL umpires in ejections three times over a 19-year career.
November 11 – Stump Edington, 78, 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) outfielder who batted .302 in 53 at bats for the 1912 Pittsburgh Pirates in his lone MLB opportunity.
November 14 – Curt Roberts, 40, first black player in Pittsburgh Pirates history (debuting April 13, 1954); second baseman who played in 171 games over three seasons (1954–1956) with Bucs.
November 15 – Billy Southworth, 76, Hall of Fame manager who won 1,044 regular-season games as skipper of the St. Louis Cardinals (1929 and 1940–1945) and Boston Braves (1946–1951); captured World Series titles in 1942 and 1944 and National League pennants with St. Louis (1943) and Boston (1948); his .597 career winning percentage is second, all-time, to Joe McCarthy; in his playing days, an outfielder who appeared in 1,192 games in 13 seasons for five teams between 1913 and 1929, and batted .297.
November 16 – Vin Campbell, 81, outfielder who played 546 games during a career spent with the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, and two Federal League clubs (Indianapolis and Newark) over six seasons between 1908 and 1915.
November 20 – Paddy Baumann, 83, second baseman and third baseman who got into 299 games for the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees between 1911 and 1917.
November 20 – Elmer Wilson, 74, second baseman for St. Louis (1925) and Dayton (1926) of the Negro National League.
November 24 – Phil Gallivan, 62, pitcher who appeared in 54 career games for the Brooklyn Robins (1931) and Chicago White Sox (1932, 1934).
November 24 – Pablo Morales, 64, Venezuelan professional baseball executive for more than three decades, and former owner of the Leones del Caracas club.
November 26 – Emil Kush, 53, pitcher who won 21 of 33 decisions for the Chicago Cubs (1941–1942 and 1946–1949).
November 27 – Clem Llewellyn, 74, who pitched one scoreless inning in relief for the New York Yankees on June 18, 1922; University of North Carolina alumnus who became a lawyer and county judge after baseball.
November 29 – Bun Hayes, 66, pitcher for five Negro leagues clubs, primarily the Baltimore Black Sox, from 1928 to 1930 and 1932–1935.
November 30 – Connie Creeden, 54, outfielder whose only MLB appearances came as a pinch hitter in five games for the 1943 Boston Braves.
November 30 – Eddie Eayrs, 79, outfielder/southpaw pitcher and Brown University graduate who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1913), Boston Braves (1920–1921) and Brooklyn Robins (1921).
November – Billy Horne, 53, nicknamed "Little Grumbler", All-Star second baseman and shortstop who played for three Negro leagues clubs between 1938 and 1946.
December 3 – Roy Wilson, 83, left-hander who pitched in one game for the Chicago White Sox on April 18, 1928.
December 5 – Joe Rabbitt, 69, outfielder/pinch runner in two contests for the 1922 Cleveland Indians.
December 7 – Lefty O'Doul, 72, left fielder who batted .349 with 1,140 hits in his 970-game career; won two National League batting titles—1929 (.398) and 1932 (.368)—after converting from pitching; his 254 hits led Senior Circuit in 1929 and is tied (with Bill Terry) for most hits in a season in NL annals; winningest manager in Pacific Coast League history, and earned additional fame as the "father" of professional baseball in Japan.
December 10 – Mike Cunningham, 87, pitcher who made five appearances for the 1906 Philadelphia Athletics.
December 10 – Jack Tobin, 77, diminutive — 142 lb (64 kg) — but hard-hitting right fielder who batted .309 and amassed 1,906 hits over a 13-year career (1914–1916 and 1918–1927) spent mostly with St. Louis Browns; led American League in triples (18) in 1921; later a Browns' coach.
December 11 – Ollie Fuhrman, 83, catcher who hit .333 for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1922.
December 13 – Jack Kibble, 77, switch-hitting third baseman who appeared in five games for the Cleveland Naps in September 1912.
December 14 – Johnnie Scroggins, 47, pitcher for the 1947 Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League.
December 23 – Ted Menze, 72, outfielder and pinch hitter in two games for the St. Louis Cardinals in September 1918.
December 30 – Herman Howard, 59, left-handed pitcher in the Negro leagues from 1937 to 1940 and in 1946.
