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On January 14 in Baseball History...

• • 1919 - John McGraw, Charles A. Stoneham, and Tammany politician Judge Francis X. McQuade buy controlling interest in the Giants from the John Brush estate. Having drawn just 265,000 fans in 1918, the club is sold at a bargain price. The trio will spend many days in courtrooms fighting among themselves, as well as fending off government charges about Stoneham's business practices.
    
  • 1940 - Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis gives free agency to 91 Detroit players and farm hands. Citing cover-ups of the movement of players within its organization, Landis hands freedom to Roy Cullenbine, Benny McCoy, Lloyd Dietz, and Steve Rachunok from the parent roster and orders $47,250 paid as compensation to 14 players. Johnny Sain is one of 23 players who will later make it to the major leagues.
    
  • 1954 - Baseball and Hollywood are officially linked as former Yankees great Joe DiMaggio marries actress Marilyn Monroe.
    
  • 1970 - Johnny Murphy, the Mets general manager who had seen his team rise from the N.L. cellar to the world championship, dies of a heart attack at age 61. Murphy was a star relief pitcher for the Yankees in the 1930s and early 1940s.
    
  • 1976 - Ted Turner completes his purchase of 100 percent of the Atlanta Braves.
    
  • 1987 - Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams are elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA. Hunter made his name as the ace of the Oakland A's staff in their championship years and made his fortune as one of the first free agents. Williams set a N.L. record by playing in 1,117 consecutive games and accumulating 426 home runs and a batting title.

Baseball Birthdays on January 14...

• • 1856 - Fair, George
  • 1856 - Foley, Curry
  • 1867 - Kling, Bill
  • 1868 - Newell, John
  • 1869 - Shreve, Lev
  • 1871 - Madison, Art
  • 1874 - Taylor, Jack
  • 1880 - Livingston, Paddy
  • 1882 - Alberts, Cy
  • 1885 - Perrine, Nig
  • 1891 - Shovlin, John
  • 1892 - Meyer, Billy
  • 1894 - Decatur, Art
  • 1898 - Wheeler, Dick
  • 1899 - Miller, Ralph
  • 1902 - Jolley, Smead
  • 1903 - Scarritt, Russ
  • 1911 - Gornicki, Hank
  • 1915 - Joyce, Bob
  • 1922 - Biasatti, Hank
  • 1923 - Johnson, Ken
  • 1930 - Daley, Pete
  • 1937 - Siebert, Sonny
  • 1939 - Valdespino, Sandy
  • 1939 - Talton, Tim
  • 1942 - Campbell, Dave
  • 1943 - Clark, Ron
  • 1943 - Marshall, Dave
  • 1947 - Parker, Billy
  • 1951 - Thomas, Derrel
  • 1952 - Forster, Terry "Though he was never an All-Star, never won any awards, Terry Forster had a pretty interesting big-league career. In addition to leading the American League in saves with the ’74 White Sox, winning a championship ring with the ’81 Dodgers, and making 614 appearances (most of them in relief) over the course of 16 years in the majors, the left-hander was also the last A.L. pitcher to steal a base in a regular-season game before the introduction of interleague play, and his .397 career batting average (31 hits in 78 at-bats) remains the highest of any player with 50 or more at-bats and/or at least 15 years of major-league experience. Not a bad legacy, especially for a player who people, er, largely remember today for being dubbed a 'fat tub of goo' by David Letterman." - Epstein, Dan. Fox Sports
  • 1952 - Gross, Wayne
  • 1954 - Boone, Danny "Besides a below average fastball, (Danny) Boone throws a curve, slider, knuckler and screwball. The latter is one of his most effective pitchers." - The Sporting News (June 13, 1981, Phil Collier)
  • 1957 - Brizzolara, Tony
  • 1959 - Keener, Jeff
  • 1960 - Jones, Ross
  • 1961 - Redfield, Joe
  • 1962 - Green, Gary
  • 1967 - Fletcher, Paul
  • 1970 - Cooke, Steve
  • 1973 - Brohawn, Troy
  • 1973 - Myers, Rod
  • 1974 - Frank, Mike
  • 1976 - Daneker, Pat

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BIRTHDAYS
1885 Grover Lowdermilk, Lowdermilk had a career that spanned the second half of the Deadball Era. From 1909 to 1920 Lowdermilk was an adequate pitcher with occasional flashes of steadiness for six different teamsborn in Sandborn, Illinois (d. 1968)


1891 Ray Chapman (Cleveland Indians) and only MLB player to die from an injury received during a MLB game, born in Beaver Dam, Kentucky (d. 1920)


1920 Steve Gromek, born in Hamtramck, Michigan (d. 2002)


1943 Mike Marshall pitcher (MLB All-Star 1974, 75; NL Cy Young Award 1974; Montreal Expos, LA Dodgers, Atlanta Braves), born in Adrian, Michigan (d. 2021)


1949 Luis Alvarado, born in Lajas, Puerto Rico (d. 2001)

1969 Delino DeShields infielder, 1990-2002 (Texas, Montreal Expos, LA Dodgers, and 3 other teams), born in Seaford, Delaware


1970 Michele Granger softball pitcher (Olympic gold 1996), born in Anaheim, California


1974 Ray King, American pitcher, 1999-2008 (Milwaulkee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, and 6 other teams), born in Chicago, Illinois
1980 Matt Holliday, born in Stillwater, Oklahoma
1982 Armando Galarraga born in Cumaná, Venezuela

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1936 Horace Stoneham becomes president of the New York Giants, succeeding his dad, Charles, who died nine days ago. The 32-year-old will hold the position for the next 40 years before selling the team to Bob Lurie and Bud Herseth in 1976.

1942 "I honestly feel it would be best for the country to keep baseball going." - U.S. PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, responding to Commissioner Landis' inquiry about the sport's future. In his famous 'Green Light letter,' President Franklin D. Roosevelt answers Commissioner Landis's query about playing baseball in the wake of the Second World War. FDR responds that playing the sport would be suitable for Americans and encourages baseball owners to have more games at night to allow war workers to attend games.

1957 The Kratter Corporation grants Walter O'Malley an additional two years on the three-year lease on Ebbets Field agreed to last year. The extension, perhaps prompted by the Dodgers owner's uncertainty about Los Angeles' ability to secure the land to build a stadium in the city if the team moved to the West Coast, means the ball club could stay in Brooklyn until 1961.

1958 The Yankees announce an unprecedented 140 games will be televised this season on WPIX in a package reportedly worth significantly more than a million dollars. The decision to telecast such a large number of games, including 63 road contests, was prompted by the Dodgers and Giants' departure to California.

 

1963 By an overwhelming 20–2 vote, the New York City Council named the new stadium in the Queens for William A. Shea, the attorney who brought the National League back to the Big Apple. The ballpark, known initially as Flushing Meadow Park Municipal Stadium, serves as the Mets' home for 44 seasons.

1964 Willie Mays, the highest-paid player in baseball, signs the $105,000 contract offered by the Giants. The perennial All-Star center fielder will have another outstanding season, batting .308, hitting 40 home runs, and driving 123 runs in for the Jints.

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1964 Baseball's executives select New York City as the site of the game's inaugural free-agent draft, a controversial measure approved during the winter meetings that gives teams with the worst records the earlier picks to the talented amateur players. With the first pick in the draft's history, the A's will select ASU outfielder Rick Monday when the process begins on June 8 at the Hotel Commodore.

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1967 Green Bay defensive back Tom Brown becomes the first major leaguer to play in the Super Bowl. The outfielder and first baseman for the Senators in 1963 is best remembered for his last-minute interception of Cowboy quarterback Don Meredith's Hail Mary pass in the NFL Championship game, making Green Bay a participant in the first-ever Super Bowl.

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1981 Cardinal right-hander Bob Gibson, receiving 337 votes of the 401 BBWAA ballots cast (84%) in his first year of eligibility, is the only player elected to the Hall of Fame this year. Well-known Dodgers Don Drysdale and Gil Hodges, as well as Twins' slugger Harmon Killebrew fall short of the votes needed for induction.

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1990 Free agent Cecil Fielder, returning from a stint in Japan where he hit 38 homers for the Hanshin Tigers, signs a one-year deal worth $1,250,000 with Detroit. 'Big Daddy,' father of future major leaguer Prince, will hit 245 home runs and drive in 758 runs during his seven seasons in the Motor City.

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1994 During their winter fan festival, the Brewers unveil a new logo and different team colors, with navy, green, and metallic gold replacing royal blue and yellow. The changes, first since the 1978 season, also include Germanic lettering in place of the standard block and the first alternate uniform in the club's history, a navy jersey with the club's primary logo below the word Brewers across the chest.

2002 The Braves trade outfielder Brian Jordan (.295, 25, 97), pitcher Odalis Perez (7-8, 4.91), and a minor leaguer to the Dodgers to acquire All-Star outfielder Gary Sheffield (.311, 36, 100). The deal ends Sheffield's stormy four-year tenure with L.A., who, before spring training, insulted teammates, derided management, and became upset when the club refused to double the value of his contract.

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2008 Representatives Henry Waxman and Tom Davis announce they have sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate if Miguel Tejada lied to House committee staff when questioned about Orioles teammate Rafael Palmeiro's use of steroids. The former American League MVP, traded to the Astros in the offseason, could face jail time if found guilty because making false statements to Congress is a felony.

 

2009 Derek Lowe signs a four-year deal with the Braves reportedly worth $60 million. The 35-year-old right-hander will be the ace of Atlanta's new-look rotation, which includes the recently acquired Javier Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens, and Kenshin Kawakami, who pitched in Japan last season for the Chunichi Dragons.

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2009 The Brewers, avoiding arbitration, agree to a $4 million, one-year deal with Dave Bush, who finished the season strong, posting a 7-3 record with a 3.23 ERA in his final 18 regular season starts. The 29-year-old right-hander was the only Milwaukee pitcher to win a postseason game when the team beat Philadelphia at Miller Park, 4-1, in Game 3 of the ALDS.

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2009 The Padres sign 33-year-old veteran infielder David Eckstein to a one-year contract worth $850,000 with an additional $150,000 available in incentives. The 2006 World Series MVP, who split last season, playing mostly shortstop in 94 games, with the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks, agreed to the discounted deal with San Diego on the condition that he would play primarily second base for the Friars.

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2009 The Dodgers, who had restructured Andruw Jones's contract earlier in the month, placed their expensive center fielder on waivers rather than pursuing a trade for the five-time All-Star. The highest-paid player in the franchise history, who signed a two-year, $36.2 million deal during the 2007 offseason, was a complete bust in his one season with the team, hitting a meager .158 with just three home runs and 14 RBIs in 209 at-bats.