January 7 – The Class BThree–I League, a mainstay mid-level minor circuit in the American Midwest that operated for 55 years between 1901 and 1961, disbands. Many of its member teams will join the Midwest League, a lower-level circuit that is upgraded to a new, consolidated Class A ranking in 1963.
March 1 – Detroit Tigers pitcher Sam Jones, 36, undergoes surgery for the removal of two malignant growths in his neck. He has cobalt treatments during the 1962 season, but appears in 30 games for Detroit between April and September. He continues to pitch in MLB into 1964, and remains effective in Triple-A into 1967. However, in 1971, four years after he retires from the mound, a recurrence of the cancer takes Jones' life at age 45.
March 23 – Cincinnati Reds president and general manager William O. DeWitt Sr. buys the franchise itself from the estate of its late owner, Powel Crosley Jr., who died in March 1961. The reported purchase price is $4.27 million.
March 24 – Veteran third baseman Andy Carey finds his way to the Los Angeles Dodgers after he refuses to report to the Philadelphia Phillies. On December 15, 1961, Carey had been traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Phillies with pitcher Frank Barnes for hurler Taylor Phillips and infielder Bo Sadowski. Today, the White Sox send pitcher Cal McLish to Philadelphia, and take back Carey's contract. The ChiSox then trade Carey to the Dodgers for infielder Ramón Conde and minor-league outfielder Jim Koranda. Carey, 30, a three-time World Series champion with the New York Yankees, reports to the pennant-contending Dodgers and appears in 53 games for them in 1962, his final MLB season.
April 3 – The Twins release second baseman Billy Martin, 33, ending his playing career. However, Martin will remain with the franchise as a scout and coach, and in 1969 he will begin his MLB managing career by leading the Twins to the American League West Division championship.
In the first regular-season game ever at Dodger Stadium, the Cincinnati Reds spoil the Los Angeles Dodgers' opening-day party by beating them 6–3 before 52,564 fans. Veteran outfielder Wally Post breaks a 2–2 tie with a three-run home run in the seventh inning off Johnny Podres, the first official homer to be hit in the new stadium.
In their MLB debut, and the first Major League Baseball game played in the state of Texas, the Houston Colt .45s defeat the Chicago Cubs 11–2 behind the slugging of outfielder Román Mejías, who belts two homers and drives home six runs. The game is played at Colt Stadium, a temporary facility that will be supplanted by the nearby Astrodome in 1965.
April 12 – In his Major League debut, left-hander Pete Richert of the Los Angeles Dodgers ties Karl Spooner's record by striking out the first six batters he faces. Richert enters the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium with two out in the second inning and strikes out Vada Pinson for the final out. He then records a four-strikeout third inning; the victims are Frank Robinson, Gordy Coleman (who reaches first on a John Roseboro passed ball), Wally Post and Johnny Edwards. To date, Richert is the only pitcher to strike out four batters in one inning in his debut. His record-tying sixth strikeout is of Tommy Harper leading off the fourth inning. The Dodgers defeat the Reds 11–7 with Richert gaining the victory, having struck out seven batters, walking none, and allowing no hits in 31⁄3 innings.
April 23 – The New York Mets earn their first-ever victory, 9–1 over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field behind Jay Hook's complete game. The Mets' record now stands at 1–9; the Pirates, having won their first ten games of 1962 (including five triumphs over the Mets), boast a 10–1 mark.
April 24 – Casey Stengel is fined $500 by CommissionerFord Frick for appearing in a Rheingold's beer commercial in full Mets uniform. Appearing in the ad with Stengel was Kathy Kersh, who will achieve fame as Cornelia, one of the Joker's women on the TV series Batman.
May 1 – In Year 2 of the Chicago Cubs' "College of Coaches" era, El Tappe, who served as the Cubs' rotating "head coach" (or de facto manager) for the month of April, is succeeded by Lou Klein after the Cubbies drop 16 of their first 20 games. Klein's tenure will last 30 games until he rotates out of the top job on June 3.
May 12 – Mets relief pitcher Craig Anderson wins both ends of a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Braves. His success will be short-lived, because Anderson will lose his next 16 decisions of 1962 and 19 straight decisions overall. In fact, he will never win another game in the major leagues.
May 15 – The Los Angeles Angels release veteran left-hander Joe Nuxhall. The following month, Nuxhall will return to the Cincinnati Reds' organization, where he will soon successfully resume his MLB pitching career and eventually become a beloved, long-time member of their broadcast team.
May 26 – The Detroit Tigers' All-Star right fielder, Al Kaline, batting .336 in 36 games so far, breaks his collarbone making a game-saving catch in a 2–1 victory over the New York Yankees. Kaline doesn't return to the lineup until July 23. The Tigers go 26–31 in his absence and are never a factor in the 1962 pennant race.
June 5 – The Chicago Cubs' "College of Coaches" roulette wheel turns again when Charlie Metro becomes the team's third "head coach" of 1962. However, unlike his ten rotating predecessors' since 1961, his term will last uninterrupted through 112 games and the end of season.
June 17 – Marv Throneberry appears to a triple in the first inning in a game against the Chicago Cubs. However, the Cubs protest the play, saying that Throneberry never touched second base. The appeal is confirmed by the second base umpire and Throneberry is declared out. The Mets go on to lose 8–7.
June 18:
At the Polo Grounds, Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hits a home run over the center field wall. The shot, a grand slam, comes off Jay Hook in the Braves' 7-1 victory over the New York Mets and is the second in back-to-back days, and the third overall, to clear that wall. The day before, Lou Brock of the Chicago Cubs had hit one over the center field wall off the Mets' Al Jackson in the first game of a doubleheader. Joe Adcock had been the only other player to hit a home run over the Polo Grounds' center field wall, doing so for the Braves against the New York Giants on April 29, 1953.
At Dodger Stadium, Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals legs out a single off of Sandy Koufax in the second inning, giving him his 5,855th career total base, which breaks Ty Cobb's 37-year-old all-time record. The Cardinals would lose to the Dodgers 1–0.
June 23 – Larry Doby becomes the first former major league player to sign with a team in Japan. Doby signed with the Chunichi Dragons of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. However, Doby struggles and only hits .225 in what will be his final professional season.
June 27 – In Pittsburgh, the Mets' Richie Ashburn singles in the fourth inning against Bob Friend. It is Ashburn's 2,500th career hit, and he is the 39th player in history to reach that level. The Pirates win the game, 6-5, in 10 innings.
June 30 – At Dodger Stadium, Sandy Koufax no-hits the New York Mets 5–0. He begins the game by striking out the first three batters (Richie Ashburn, Rod Kanehl and Félix Mantilla) on nine pitches. The no-hitter is the first by a Dodger since the franchise's move from Brooklyn after the 1957 season, as well as the only one to feature an immaculate inning to date. Koufax will go on to pitch no-hitters in each of the next three seasons, including his perfect game in 1965; his record of four career no-hitters will be broken by Nolan Ryan in 1981.
July 9 – At a meeting held in conjunction with the All-Star Game, the major league players request a reduced schedule for the 1963 season. They also vote unanimously to continue playing two All-Star Games each year.
July 10 – At newly opened D.C. Stadium, John F. Kennedy becomes the only U.S. president ever to throw the ceremonial first pitch at an All-Star Game, as the National League beats the American League, 3–1, in the first All-Star Game of 1962. Highlights include Maury Wills scoring two of the NL's three runs, Roberto Clemente rapping three hits, and Willie Mays making an amazing game-ending catch. Wills receives the first All-Star MVP honors.
July 11 – For the first time since 1938, when Lloyd and Paul Waner pulled the trick, brothers Hank and Tommie Aaron hit home runs in the same inning. Both were hit in the last of the ninth, and Hank's grand slam provides the winning margin in an 8–6 Braves win over the Cardinals.
July 14 – Unfortunately for Ralph Branca, it is 11 years too late and it doesn't count anyway. In the New York Mets' first Old-Timers' Game, reliever Ralph Branca faces Bobby Thomson, the man who hit the historic 1951 home run against him to give the Giants the 1951 pennant. This time Branca gets Thomson out on a fly ball to center field. In the real game itself, the Dodgers thrash the Mets, 17–0.
July 17 – At Crosley Field, Sandy Koufax is forced to leave the mound after only one inning against the Cincinnati Reds. Suffering from a finger ailment known as Raynauds' Syndrome, which began when he was hit by a pitch in a game on April 28, the future Hall of Famer (14–4, 209 strikeouts and 2.15 ERA going into today) will miss more than two months of action and lose his last three decisions. His absence and subsequent struggle prove costly to his first-place Los Angeles Dodgers, who will go only 30–26 in August and September and end the 162-game season in a dead heat with their rivals, the San Francisco Giants.
July 20 – The Cardinals' Minnie Miñoso returns to action for the first time since May 11, when he fractured his skull and broke his right wrist running into an outfield wall. On August 19, he is hit by a pitch by the Mets' Craig Anderson in the 6th and suffers a broken bone in his left forearm.
July 26 – Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves sets the National League record for home runs by a pitcher, when he hits his 31st off New York's Craig Anderson. Spahn also deals the Mets their 11th straight loss in a 6–1 Milwaukee victory.
September 5 – John Kennedy, a 21-year-old rookie for the Washington Senators, homers in his first MLB at-bat off left-hander Dick Stigman at D.C. Stadium. He makes headlines because he shares his name with the 35th President of the United States, and both men were born on May 29 (though 24 years apart). Infielder Kennedy will forge a 12-year MLB career with five clubs.
September 12 – Washington Senators right-hander Tom Cheneystrikes out 21 Baltimore Orioles hitters over 16 innings in a 2–1 triumph at Memorial Stadium. He throws 228 pitches, and may have suffered a career-shortening injury, but Cheney's record still stands for most Ks by a pitcher in a single game.[2]
September 23 – At Busch Stadium, Maury Wills of the Dodgers pilfers two bases against the St. Louis Cardinals to eclipse Ty Cobb's for stolen bases in a season, which had stood at 96 for 47 years. Cobb's and Wills' records were each set over 156 league games. With his season elongated by the three-game NL tie-breaker series, Wills will purloin 104 bags in 165 games in 1962.
September 27 – The expansionHouston Colt .45s make two seventh-inning runs stand up, as they triumph over first-place Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. A four-inning, scoreless effort by veteran Houston reliever Jim Umbricht earns him the win. The loss is the first of a catastrophic five-game slide that sees the Dodgers fritter away a two-game lead over the San Francisco Giants by the end of the National League's regular-season schedule.
October 6 – Former shortstop and fan favorite Johnny Pesky, 43, is promoted to manager of the Boston Red Sox, replacing Pinky Higgins, who moves upstairs to general manager. Pesky had been managing Triple-ASeattle, the Bosox' top farm club.
October 11 – The New York Mets purchase the contracts of minor-league infielder Ron Hunt from the Milwaukee Braves, and catcher Norm Sherry and outfielder Dick Smith from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hunt, 21, proves to be the most impactful acquisition, becoming the Mets' regular second baseman in 1963 en route to a 12-year NL career.
The St. Louis Cardinals obtain All-Star outfielder George Altman and pitcher Don Cardwell from the Chicago Cubs for former All-Star pitchers Larry Jackson and Lindy McDaniel; two backup catchers, Jimmie Schaffer and Moe Thacker, also swap teams. Altman will have a disappointing 1963 campaign in his only season as a Redbird, and Jackson will win 24 games for the 1964 Cubs, but the Cardwell acquisition gives the Cardinals a key piece in a momentous November 19 transaction.
November 19 – St. Louis Cardinals general manager Bing Devine sends hurler Don Cardwell (obtained in October) and shortstop Julio Gotay to the Pittsburgh Pirates for All-Star shortstop Dick Groat (the National League MVP for 1960) and reliever Diomedes Olivo. Newly hired Cardinals consultant Branch Rickey, convinced that Groat is too old at age 32, strongly criticizes Devine's trade, but Groat will remain the NL's All-Star shortstop in 1963 and 1964. In the former year, he will bat .319 with 201 hits and 43 doubles and finish #2 in the 1963 MVP race; in the latter year, he is a key team leader during the Cardinals' 1964 pennant drive and World Series triumph.
November 20 – The Chicago White Sox release future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn. The 42-year-old veteran right-hander won his 299th MLB game on September 8 and must go for #300 in a different uniform in 1963.
November 21 – Always in search of right-handed power, the Boston Red Sox acquire slugging first baseman Dick Stuart from the Pittsburgh Pirates, along with relief pitcher Jack Lamabe, for pitcher Don Schwall (1961's AL Rookie of the Year) and 25-year-old catcher Jim Pagliaroni. Stuart, 30, will live up to his reputation for home-run power and terrible defensive play during his two seasons in Boston.
The Boston Red Sox trade 1962 AL batting-average champ Pete Runnels (.326) to the Houston Colt .45s for Román Mejías, who led the first-year expansion team in hits (162), home runs (24), slugging percentage (.445) and runs batted in (76). The veteran players struggle in their new leagues, however, and both are out of the majors by the end of 1964.
MLB officials and player representatives agree to return to a single All-Star Game in 1963. The players' pension fund will receive 95 percent of the one game's proceeds (rather than 60 percent of the two games).
December 13 – The Red Sox and Houston Colt .45s trade veteran outfielders, with Boston sending Carroll Hardy to Houston for Dick Williams. The 33-year-old Williams will spend two seasons as a Boston reserve, then begin his Hall-of-Fame managerial career in the Red Sox farm system in 1965.
January 5 – Dick Lundy, 63, All-Star shortstop, second baseman and manager in the Negro leagues between 1916 and 1940; unofficially batted .484 in 1921, led Eastern Colored League in RBI (with 76) in 1927, and captured batting title of East–West League (.381) in 1932.
January 5 – Frank Snyder, 68, catcher who appeared in 1,392 games for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants from 1912 to 1927, including Giants' 1921–22 World Series champions; spent 1933–1941 as a Giants' coach, including 1933 champs.
January 6 – Billy Purtell, 76, infielder—chiefly a third baseman—who played in 335 career contests for the Chicago White Sox (1908–1910), Boston Red Sox (1910–1911) and Detroit Tigers (1914).
January 7 – Ad Brennan, 74, left-hander who pitched for four clubs, chiefly Philadelphia of the National League and Chicago of the "outlaw" Federal League, from 1910 to 1915 and in 1918.
January 7 – Dutch Lerchen, 72, shortstop for the 1910 Boston Red Sox.
January 10 – Fred Bratschi, 69, backup outfielder for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox between 1921 and 1927.
January 10 – Tillie Shafer, 72, infielder and pinch hitter who played in 283 games for the New York Giants (1909–1910, 1912–1913); appeared in both 1912 and 1913 World Series on losing teams.
January 14 – Les Mann, 68, outfielder for five NL teams who in the 1914 World Series drove in Game 2's only run in the top of the 9th and scored the winning run in the 12th inning of Game 3 for the "Miracle Braves".
January 14 – Pep Young, 54, second baseman who played in 730 games over ten seasons for three National League clubs, chiefly the Pittsburgh Pirates, between 1933 and 1945.
January 18 – Bob Barrett, 82, third baseman who played 239 MLB games for the Chicago Cubs (1923–1925), Brooklyn Robins (1925 and 1927) and Boston Red Sox (1929).
January 22 – Lefty Russell, 71, pitcher who dropped five of six career decisions over 13 games as a member of the 1910–1912 Philadelphia Athletics.
January 26 – Steve O'Neill, 70, workhorse catcher for the 1911–1923 Cleveland Naps/Indians and member of 1920 World Series champions; later managed the Detroit Tigers to the 1945 title; also skippered Indians, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies between 1935 and 1954; one of four brothers to play in majors.
January 27 – Joe Vosmik, 51, All-Star outfielder (1935) for five MLB teams (1930–1941 and 1944), principally his hometown Indians, who hit .307 lifetime and exceeded the .300 mark six times; led American League in hits (216), doubles (47) and triples (20) in 1935; also led AL in hits (201) in 1938.
January 27 – Jim Shaw, 68, reliable starter and reliever on Washington Senators' pitching staff from 1913 to 1921; won 15 or more games four times; led 1919 American League in games pitched, innings pitched, and saves; also led Junior Circuit in saves in 1914.
January 27 – Bob Steele, 67, Canadian southpaw who posted a 16–38 won–lost mark and a 3.05 earned run average in 91 career appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants from 1916 to 1919.
January 28 – Steve Melter, 76, pitcher who appeared in 23 games, 22 in relief, for the 1909 St. Louis Cardinals.
January 30 – Ray Roberts, 66, pitcher who worked in three games for the 1919 Philadelphia Athletics.
February 6 – Ernest Lanigan, 89, statistician, sportswriter and historian who in the 1890s devised the run batted in and other statistics, in 1922 wrote the sport's first comprehensive biographical encyclopedia; later historian at the Hall of Fame for ten years.
February 8 – Charlie Meara, 70, outfielder for the 1914 New York Yankees.
February 9 – Tex Burnett, 62, catcher/first baseman/outfielder who appeared for nine different Negro leagues clubs over 12 seasons between 1922 and 1941.
February 9 – Bernie Duffy, 68, pitcher for the 1913 Pittsburgh Pirates.
February 10 – Roy Walker, 68, pitcher who worked in 91 career games for the Cleveland Naps/Indians (1912, 1915), Chicago Cubs (1917–1918) and St. Louis Cardinals (1921–1922).
February 12 – Dick Wheeler, 64, outfielder and pinch hitter in three games for the 1918 Cardinals.
February 22 – Paul Speraw, 68, whose 16-year professional career included one game in MLB as a third baseman for the St. Louis Browns on September 15, 1920.
February 24 – Max Bishop, 62, second baseman for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1924 to 1933, member of Philadelphia's AL pennant winners from 1929 to 1931 and 1929–1930 World Series champions; coach at the U.S. Naval Academy since 1938.
February 25 – Tink Turner, 72, pitcher who appeared in one game (hurling two innings) for last-place 1915 Philadelphia Athletics; spent 1924 season as a St. Louis Cardinals coach.
March 1 – Hal Janvrin, 69, infielder who appeared in 759 games over ten seasons for four clubs between 1911 and 1922, notably the Boston Red Sox, where he was a member of the 1915 and 1916 world championship squads.
March 1 – Horace Jenkins, 70, outfielder who played between 1910 and 1921 for a series of Chicago-based Negro leagues teams.
March 4 – George Mogridge, 73, left-handed hurler who won 132 games over a 15-year MLB career between 1911 and 1927 with five teams, notably the 1915–1920 New York Yankees and 1921–1925 Washington Senators; key contributor to Senators' 1924 world champions.
March 12 – Fred Beck, 75, first baseman/outfielder for Boston, Cincinnati and Philadelphia of the National League (1909–1911) and Chicago of the "outlaw" Federal League (1914–1915), whose ten home runs tied him for the NL long-ball championship in 1910.
March 16 – Sumpter Clarke, 64, outfielder who played 37 total games for 1920 Chicago Cubs and 1923–1924 Cleveland Indians.
March 16 – Harry Feldman, 42, pitcher who worked in 143 games for the 1941–1946 New York Giants.
March 16 – George Orme, 70, backup outfielder who played for the 1920 Boston Red Sox.
March 17 – Kay Rohrer, 39, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League catcher for the 1945 Rockford Peaches champion team.
March 18 – Elmer Bliss, 87, pitcher, then outfielder, in two total games for the New York Highlanders; in the former, he threw seven shutout innings against Detroit on September 28, 1903, to earn a relief victory; in the latter, he went 0-for-1 as a batter as a defensive replacement in right field against Cleveland on May 11, 1904.
March 20 – John Black, 72, first baseman who batted but .151 in 54 games and 186 at-bats for the 1911 St. Louis Browns.
March 22 – Lee DeMontreville, 87, shortstop/second baseman for 1903 St. Louis Cardinals.
March 22 – "Oyster Joe" Martina, 72, pitcher who went 349–277 in 833 career games in the minor leagues, but played only 24 games and one season (1924) in the majors as a member of the World Series champion Washington Senators.
March 22 – Red Thomas, 63, outfielder who collected eight hits in 30 at-bats in eight games for the Chicago Cubs in September 1921.
March 29 – Otto Miller, 72, catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers/Superbas/Robins from 1910 to 1922, including two NL champions (1916, 1920).
March 30 – Charlie French, 78, second baseman/shortstop/outfielder who played 105 games for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox in 1909 and 1910.
March 30 – Mutt Williams, 69, pitcher who hurled in six total games for the 1913–1914 Washington Senators.
April 4 – Snooks Dowd, 64, infielder who appeared in 16 MLB games, chiefly as a pinch runner, for the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics in 1919 and the Brooklyn Robins in 1926.
April 5 – Vince Shupe, 40, first baseman for the 1945 Boston Braves, and one of many players who only appeared in the majors during World War II.
April 10 – Milt Watson, 72, right-hander who pitched in 90 games from 1916 to 1919 for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies.
April 13 – Bill Akers, 57, infielder for 1929–1931 Detroit Tigers and 1932 Boston Braves who got into 174 career games.
April 21 – Bill Norman, 51, outfielder for the Chicago White Sox in 1931–1932, longtime minor league pilot, and manager of the Tigers from June 11, 1958 through May 2, 1959.
April 23 – Bob Turner, 35, centerfielder for the 1944 Newark Eagles of the Negro National League.
April 30 – Al Demaree, 77, pitcher who won 80 games for four NL teams, later a noted sports cartoonist.
April 30 – Russ Miller, 62, pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1927 and 1928; went 0–12 (5.42 ERA) in the latter season, and 1–13 (.071 winning percentage) lifetime.
May 8 – Buster Burrell, 95, 19th-century catcher who played in 122 total games for the 1891 New York Giants and 1895–1897 Brooklyn Bridegrooms.
May 10 – Lefty Willis, 56, pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1925 to 1927.
May 23 – Rip Radcliff, 56, All-Star outfielder who batted .311 during his ten-season, 1,081-game career for the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers; led AL in hits in 1940.
May 24 – Barney Morris, 51, two-time All-Star pitcher in the Negro leagues between 1932 and 1948; member of 1947 Negro World Series champion New York Cubans.
May 24 – Rabbit Nill, 80, infielder who appeared in 296 games between 1904 and 1908 for the Washington Senators and Cleveland Naps.
May 28 – George Anderson, 72, outfielder for 1914–1915 Brooklyn Tip-Tops (Federal League) and 1918 St. Louis Cardinals, appearing in 269 total games.
June 1 – Jim Faulkner, 62, left-hander who compiled a 10–8 won–lost mark (3.75 ERA) in 43 career games for the 1927–1928 New York Giants and 1930 Brooklyn Robins.
June 2 – Art Stokes, 65, pitcher who appeared in a dozen games for 1925 Philadelphia Athletics.
June 7 – George Shively, 69, Negro league baseball left fielder from 1910 to 1924.
June 11 – Bert Abbey, 92, 19th-century pitcher who hurled for Washington, Chicago and Brooklyn of the National League between 1892 and 1896.
June 11 – Fred Dewitt, 61, first baseman/centerfielder who appeared for the Kansas City Monarchs, Cleveland Tigers and Memphis Red Sox of the Negro National League between 1927 and 1929.
June 13 – Red Lanning, 67, outfielder and southpaw pitcher who appeared in 19 total games (six on the mound) for the horrendous 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, losers of 117 of 153 games.
June 24 – Steve Basil, 69, American League umpire from 1936 to 1942 who worked 1,037 regular season games, the 1937 and 1940 World Series, and the 1938 and 1940 All-Star games.
June 27 – Charlie Schmutz, 71, pitcher who made 19 appearances for the 1914–1915 Brooklyn Robins.
June 28 – Mickey Cochrane, 59, Hall of Fame catcher for Philadelphia Athletics (1925–1933) and Detroit Tigers (1934–1937); American League MVP in 1928 and 1934, and batted .320 lifetime; member of Philadelphia's 1929–1930 World Series champions who managed Tigers to the 1934 AL pennant and 1935 World Series title, posting a 348–250 (.582) record before stepping down on August 6, 1938.
June 28 – Cy Morgan, 83, pitcher who spent a decade in the majors between 1903 and 1913 with four clubs, notably the 1909–1912 Athletics, where he was a member of their 1910–1911 World Series champions.
July 1 – Sam Mayer, 69, who appeared in 11 games, primarily as an outfielder, for the 1915 Washington Senators.
July 1 – Ewing Waddy, 51, southpaw who went 2–7 hurling for the 1932 Indianapolis ABCs of the Negro Southern League and 1933 Indianapolis–Detroit Stars of the Negro National League.
July 2 – Josh Clarke, 83, outfielder in 233 games over five major-league seasons between 1898 and 1911 for Louisville, St. Louis and Boston of the National League, and Cleveland of the American League.
July 3 – Jimmy Walsh, 76, native of Ireland and outfielder for the 1916 Boston Red Sox world champions, who also hit better than .300 ten times in the International League, winning the league batting title in 1925 and 1926.
July 4 – Abe Kruger, 77, pitcher who hurled in two contests for Brooklyn of the National League in 1908.
July 9 – Moose McCormick, 81, outfielder who played in 429 games over five National League seasons for New York, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia between 1904 and 1913.
July 12 – Mary Moore, 40, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League pitcher and member of the 1948 Rockford Peaches champion team.
July 14 – Howard Craghead, 54, pitched for the Cleveland Indians in the 1931 and 1933 seasons.
July 17 – Sport McAllister, 87, versatile, turn-of-the-century outfielder/infielder who appeared in 418 games, 415 of them with the Cleveland Spiders and Detroit Tigers, between 1896 and 1903.
July 18 – Carl Holling, 66, pitched for the Detroit Tigers in the 1920s.
July 20 – Donald Lee Barnes, 68, principal owner of the St. Louis Browns from 1936 to 1945; his 1944 Browns won that franchise's only American League pennant.
July 23 – Ralph Shinners, 66, outfielder for the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals from 1922 to 1925, and later a manager in the AAGPBL.
July 29 – Burt Shotton, 77, speedy outfielder who appeared in 1,387 games for the St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators and St. Louis Cardinals between 1909 and 1923; managed Brooklyn Dodgers to National League pennants in 1947 and 1949; also piloted Philadelphia Phillies from 1928 to 1933.
August 6 – Bob Williams, 78, backup catcher for the 1911–1913 New York Highlanders/Yankees who appeared in 46 career games.
August 7 – Bill Pierce, 72, first baseman and catcher in Black baseball and the Negro leagues during the period of 1910 to 1924; player-manager of 1922 Baltimore Black Sox.
August 11 – Jake Volz, 84, pitcher for the Boston Americans, Boston Beaneaters and Cincinnati Reds between 1901 and 1908.
August 19 – Myron H. Wilson, 74, principal owner of the Cleveland Indians from 1952 to 1956 and club president from 1952 until his death.
August 25 – Skipper Friday, 64, pitcher who appeared in seven games for 1923 Washington Senators.
August 30 – Mutt Wilson, 66, pitcher in three games for 1920 Detroit Tigers; that season, he also compiled an unusual 23–21 won–lost record in 53 games in the lower minors.
September 1 – Hank Garrity, 54, catcher for the 1931 Chicago White Sox.
September 1 – Duke Shirey, 64, pitcher for the 1920 Washington Senators.
September 4 – Pete Washington, 59, centerfielder who played in the Negro leagues between 1923 and 1936.
September 5 – John Potts, 75, appeared in 41 games as an outfielder and pinch hitter for Kansas City of the Federal League in 1914.
September 10 – Bill Herring, 68, pitcher for the 1915 Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League.
September 12 – Spottswood Poles, 74, star outfielder whose prime years (1909–1923) were spent in Black baseball before organization of the Negro leagues began in 1920; credited with a lifetime batting average of over .400, and sometimes called "the Black Ty Cobb," who played during the same era.
September 18 – Joe Green, 84, player-manager of the 1920–1921 Chicago Giants of the Negro National League.
September 23 – Ted Stockard, 59, infielder for Cleveland (1927–1928) and Indianapolis (1931) of the Negro National League.
September 23 – Tom Sullivan, 66, southpaw who pitched in three games for the Philadelphia Phillies in May 1922.
September 24 – Joe Cambria, 72, Italian-born minor league player and club owner who became a pioneering scout covering Cuba for the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins franchise from the 1930s until his death; signed stars Tony Oliva, Camilo Pascual and Zoilo Versalles, and many other MLB standouts.
September 27 – Johnny Scalzi, 55, minor-league second baseman who appeared in two games as a pinch hitter and pinch runner for 1931 Boston Braves.
September 27 – Stan Sperry, 48, second baseman who played in 80 career games for the 1936 and 1938 Philadelphia Athletics.
September 30 – Cap Crowell, 70, pitcher who went 2–11 (5.27 ERA) in 19 total games for terrible Athletics teams of 1915 and 1916.
September 30 – Cecil "Squiz" Pillion, 68, left-hander who also pitched for horrific 1915 Athletics, working in two August games.
October 2 – Earl Yingling, 73, who appeared in 140 big-league games as a left-handed pitcher, outfielder and pinch hitter for four clubs, chiefly the Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds, over five seasons spanning 1911 to 1918.
October 3 – Don Songer, 63, left-hander who pitched in 71 career games for the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants from 1924 to 1927.
October 5 – Jack Cummings, 58, good-hitting, seldom-used catcher/pinch hitter who batted .341 lifetime in 89 games and 151 plate appearances for 1926–1929 New York Giants and 1929 Boston Braves.
October 6 – Dick Gossett, 72, catcher in 49 contests for the New York Yankees over all or parts of the 1913–1914 seasons.
October 8 – Ralph Head, 69, right-hander who went 2–9 (6.66 ERA) in 35 games for 1923 Philadelphia Phillies.
October 11 – Bill Bell, 28, pitcher who worked in five total games for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1952, 1955); former minor-league phenom who threw three no-hitters in 15 starts for Bristol of the Class D Appalachian League earlier in 1952.
October 11 – Dusty Decker, 50, shortstop/second baseman who played in the Negro leagues (1932, 1937) and was a star college football quarterback—nicknamed "The Human Catapult"—at historically black Fisk University.
October 12 – Rube Geyer, 78, pitcher for the 1910–1913 St. Louis Cardinals.
October 13 – Gus Hetling, 76, third baseman who appeared in two games for the Detroit Tigers in October 1906.
October 15 – Possum Whitted, 72, utility man for 1914 "Miracle Boston Braves" World Series champions; appeared in 1,025 career games, primarily as an outfielder and third baseman, for the Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Robins between 1912 and 1922.
October 16 – Ray Powell, 73, outfielder for 1913 Detroit Tigers and 1917–1924 Boston Braves; led National League in triples (18) in 1921.
October 17 – Olaf Henriksen, 74, Boston Red Sox reserve outfielder (1911–1917) who was a member of three World Series champions (1912, 1915, 1916); as of 2022, the only MLB player to have been born in Denmark.
October 20 – Tim Murchison, 66, southpaw pitcher who appeared in three total games for 1917 St. Louis Cardinals and 1920 Cleveland Indians, allowing only three hits and one unearned run in six innings of work; longtime scout.
October 23 – Elbert Norman, 65, shortstop for the 1927 Cleveland Elites of the Negro National League.
October 31 – Larry Goetz, 67, National League umpire from 1936 to 1956, worked in 3,225 NL contests, three World Series and two All-Star Games.
November 12 – Harvey Smith, 91, third baseman who appeared in 36 games for the 1896 Washington Senators of the National League.
November 14 – Dick Hoblitzel, 74, first baseman on Red Sox champions of 1915–1916.
November 16 – Hugh High, 75, outfielder for the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees between 1913–1918; brother of Andy and Charlie High.
November 18 – Ed Moyer, 77, pitcher in six games for the 1910 Washington Senators.
November 21 – Whitey Hilcher, 53, pitcher who appeared in 31 games for the Cincinnati Reds over four seasons spanning 1931 to 1936.
November 26 – Al Carson, 80, pitcher who appeared in two games for the Chicago Cubs in May 1910.
November 27 – Bob Peterson, 78, catcher for the Boston Americans between 1906 and 1907.
November 28 – Harry Moran, 73, left-hander who appeared in 68 games for Buffalo (1914) and Newark (1915) of the "outlaw" Federal League; earlier, hurled in five contests for the 1912 Detroit Tigers.
November 29 – Red Kress, 55, coach for the 1962 New York Mets; also coached for Detroit Tigers, New York Giants, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels for 14 seasons between 1940 and 1961; previously an AL shortstop during the 1930s.
December 1 – Owen Smaulding, 65, World War I veteran and standout Black athlete who played on integrated sports teams at the University of Washington and University of Idaho and pitched for the Kansas City Monarchs, Chicago American Giants, Cleveland Tigers and Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro National League in 1927–1928; became a teacher after his playing career.
December 2 – Frank Kane, 67, outfielder and pinch hitter for the 1915 Brooklyn Tip-Tops (Federal League) and 1919 New York Yankees.
December 2 – John Scott, 75, shortstop for the 1914 Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federal League.
December 3 – George Scott, 67, pitcher who worked in two games for the 1920 St. Louis Cardinals.
December 4 – Ben Cantwell, 60, pitcher for New York Giants, Boston Braves/Bees, and Brooklyn Dodgers who appeared in 316 games between 1927 and 1937; won 20 games, losing ten, for 1933 Braves squad, then, two years later posted a 4–25 won–lost record pitching for a horrendous Boston club that lost 115 of its 153 games played.
December 4 – John Joseph Coffee, alias Jack Smith, 69, one of the replacement amateur players called into action by the Detroit Tigers when the team staged a wildcat strike in support of the suspended Ty Cobb on May 18, 1912; "Smith" played errorless ball at third base for two innings of Detroit's 24–2 loss to Philadelphia, but did not record a plate appearance.
December 6 – Dutch Hoffman, 58, Chicago White Sox' centerfielder during the 1929 season, appearing in 107 games.
December 7 – Bobo Newsom, 55, colorful, much-traveled All-Star pitcher who won 211 games with nine different teams between 1929 and 1953, including five stints with the Washington Senators; starred in a losing cause for the Detroit Tigers in the 1940 World Series; three-time 20-game winner (1938 through 1940) and three-time 20-game loser (1934, 1941, 1945).
December 7 – J. G. Taylor Spink, 74, publisher and editor of The Sporting News since 1914 and a tireless champion of the sport.
December 8 – Bill Gatewood, 81, Negro leagues pitcher who appeared for as many as 21 teams over a 24-year span (1906–1929); led Negro National League in games won (15) in 1920.
December 14 – Bob Katz, 51, pitcher who made six appearances for the wartime-era 1944 Cincinnati Reds.
December 14 – Champ Osteen, 85, infielder who played in 83 career games for the 1903 Washington Senators, 1904 New York Highlanders and 1908–1909 St. Louis Cardinals.
December 14 – Dan Woodman, 69, pitcher who appeared in 18 contests for Buffalo of the Federal League in 1914–1915.
December 20 – Charlie Luskey, 86, outfielder/catcher in 11 games for the American League's maiden 1901 edition of the Washington Senators.
December 27 – Jake Flowers, 60, infielder between 1923 and 1934 for three National League teams; later an MLB coach.
December 29 – Tiny Graham, 70, 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)-tall first baseman who played 25 games for 1914 Cincinnati Reds.
December 30 – Joe Boley, 66, shortstop for the Philadelphia Athletics (1927–1932) and Cleveland Indians (1932); key contributor to Philadelphia's 1929 and 1930 world championships and 1931 American League title.
December 31 – Al Mamaux, 68, pitcher who posted back-to-back 20-plus win seasons for the 1915–1916 Pittsburgh Pirates; also hurled for the Brooklyn Robins and New York Yankees during his 12 seasons in MLB.
December 31 – Del Mason, 79, right-hander who compiled a 5–16 (3.72) career record in 32 total games for the 1904 Washington Senators and 1906–1907 Cincinnati Reds.
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