1960 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1960 throughout the world.

Overview of the events of 1960 in baseball
Years in baseball
  • ← 1957
  • 1958
  • 1959
  • 1960
  • 1961
  • 1962
  • 1963 →
1960 in sports
  • Air sports
  • American football
  • Aquatic sports
  • Association football
  • Athletics
  • Badminton
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Canadian football
  • Chess
  • Climbing
  • Combat sports
    • Sumo
  • Cricket
  • Cycling
  • Dance sports
  • Darts
  • Equestrianism
  • Esports
  • Field hockey
  • Flying disc
  • Golf
  • Gymnastics
  • Handball
  • Ice hockey
  • Ice sports
  • Korfball
  • Lumberjack sports
  • Mind sports
  • Modern pentathlon
  • Motorsport
  • Orienteering
  • Paralympic sports
  • Precision sports
    • Shooting
  • Racquetball
  • Roller sports
  • Sailing
  • Skiing
  • Speedway
  • Rugby league‎
  • Rugby union
  • Snooker
    • 1959–60
    • 1960–61
  • Strength sports
    • Weightlifting
  • Squash
  • Table tennis
  • Tennis
  • Triathlon
  • Volleyball
Allentown Red Sox' Opening Day at Breadon Field, 1960

Champions

Major League Baseball

Other champions

Winter Leagues

Awards and honors

MLB statistical leaders

  American League National League
Type Name Stat Name Stat
AVG Pete Runnels BOS .320 Dick Groat PIT .325
HR Mickey Mantle NY 40 Ernie Banks CHC 41
RBI Roger Maris NY 112 Hank Aaron MIL 126
Wins Chuck Estrada BAL
Jim Perry CLE		 18 Ernie Broglio STL
Warren Spahn MIL		 21
ERA Frank Baumann CHW 2.67 Mike McCormick SF 2.70
SO Jim Bunning DET 201 Don Drysdale LA 246
SV Mike Fornieles BOS
Johnny Klippstein CLE		 14 Lindy McDaniel STL 26
SB Luis Aparicio CHW 51 Maury Wills LA 50

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

Rank Club Wins Losses Win %   GB
1st New York Yankees 97   57 .630     --
2nd Baltimore Orioles 89   65 .578   8.0
3rd Chicago White Sox 87   67 .565   10.0
4th Cleveland Indians 76   78 .494   21.0
5th Washington Senators 73   81 .474   24.0
6th Detroit Tigers 71   83 .461   26.0
7th Boston Red Sox 65   89 .422   32.0
8th Kansas City Athletics 58   96 .377   39.0


National League final standings

Rank Club Wins Losses Win %   GB
1st Pittsburgh Pirates 95   59 .617     --
2nd Milwaukee Braves 88   66 .571   7.0
3rd St. Louis Cardinals 86   68 .558   9.0
4th Los Angeles Dodgers 82   72 .532   13.0
5th San Francisco Giants 79   75 .513   16.0
6th Cincinnati Reds 67   87 .435   28.0
7th Chicago Cubs 60   94 .390   35.0
8th Philadelphia Phillies 59   95 .383   36.0

Events

January

  • January 5 – The Continental League—the proposed third major league in North American professional baseball—gets an assurance of Congressional support from New York Senator Kenneth Keating.
  • January 11 – Centerfielder Richie Ashburn, the "heart and soul" of the Philadelphia Phillies for a dozen seasons, is traded to the Chicago Cubs for three players. Three years later, he will return as a member of the Phillies' broadcasting team and remain until his death in 1997.
  • January 26 – Reigning American League runs batted in champion and 1958 MVP Jackie Jensen, 32, announces his retirement from the Boston Red Sox because of airplane flight phobia. Jensen is a three-time All-Star as well as a three-time RBI champ (1955 and 1958, in addition to 1959), and the incumbent Gold Glove Award-winning rightfielder for the Junior Circuit. He will sit out the 1960 season, return to the Red Sox with diminished skills in 1961, then retire for good.
  • January 29 – The Continental League grants its eighth and final franchise to Buffalo. For the Western New York metropolis, the proposed debut of the CL in 1961 would restore Major League Baseball to the city for the first time since 1915, when the Buffalo Blues and its upstart Federal League disbanded.

February

March

  • March 12 – The Cincinnati Reds sign Cuban prospect Tony Pérez, 17, as an amateur free agent. Pérez would go on to be a seven time all-star and key member of the Big Red Machine of the 1970s and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
  • March 13 – The Chicago White Sox unveil new road uniforms with the players' names above the number on the back, another innovation by Sox owner Bill Veeck.
  • March 16 – In the midst of spring training, the Cleveland Indians trade catcher Russ Nixon to the Boston Red Sox for former All-Star catcher Sammy White and first baseman Jim Marshall. On March 25, White—who has opened a bowling alley in Boston—announces his retirement at age 32, cancelling the trade.
  • March 24 – Commissioner Ford Frick says he will not allow the Continental League to pool players in the Western Carolinas League as it would violate existing major-minor league agreements.
  • March 26 – A Baltimore Orioles–Cincinnati Reds series scheduled for Havana, Cuba, is moved to Miami, Florida by Baltimore club president Lee MacPhail. The Reds, with a farm club in Cuba, want the trip, but the Orioles fear increased political unrest in the area.
  • March 31 – By a vote of 8–1, the Professional Baseball Rules Committee turns down a Pacific Coast League proposal to use a designated hitter for the pitcher.

April

May

June

  • June 8 – Billy Jurges, second-year manager of the last-place Boston Red Sox, leaves the team, citing "illness." Two days later, Jurges is fired. After coach Del Baker handles the club through June 12, Jurges' predecessor as manager, Pinky Higgins, regains his old job and holds it through the end of the 1962 season.
  • June 12 – In a record-tying three-hour-and-52-minute, nine-inning game, Willie McCovey's pinch-hit grand slam, the first slam of his career, and Orlando Cepeda's three-run double pace the Giants to a 16–7 rout of the Milwaukee Braves.
  • June 13 – For the second time in three months, the Boston Red Sox acquire catcher Russ Nixon from the Cleveland Indians, this time sending pitcher Ted Bowsfield and outfielder Marty Keough to the Tribe. A March 16 transaction had to be cancelled when former Bosox catcher Sammy White retired rather than report to the Indians.
  • June 15 – Mexico City and Poza Rica combine to hit 12 home runs in one game, a Mexican League record.
  • June 17 – The San Francisco Giants fire fifth-year manager Bill Rigney in the midst of a 4–8 team slump. Surprisingly, they turn to 66-year-old scout Tom Sheehan as their new manager; he becomes the oldest rookie skipper in MLB annals. The move fizzles, however, as the Giants go only 46–50 under Sheehan and fall out of the National League's first division.
  • June 19 – In a brilliant pair of pitching performances, Orioles pitchers Hoyt Wilhelm and Milt Pappas throw shutouts to beat the host Detroit Tigers in a twin bill. Wilhelm allowed two hits in winning the opener, 2–0, over Jim Bunning, and Pappas allows three hits in winning the nightcap, 1–0, over Don Mossi. Jim Gentile and Ron Hansen collected home runs as catcher Clint Courtney, using the big glove designed by manager Paul Richards, is twice charged with batter interference, the first loading the bases in the 4th inning.
  • June 24 – Willie Mays belts two home runs and makes ten putouts to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 5–3 win at Cincinnati. Mays adds three RBI, three runs scored, and a single — and steals home.
  • June 26 – Hoping to speed up the election process, the Hall of Fame changes its voting procedures. The new rules allow the Special Veterans Committee to vote annually, rather than every other year, and to induct up to two players a year. The BBWAA is authorized to hold a runoff election of the top 30 vote getters if no one is elected in the first ballot.
  • June 29 – The Cleveland Indians buy the contract of pitcher Don Newcombe from the Cincinnati Reds.
  • June 30 – Dick Stuart blasts three consecutive home runs, as the Pirates split with the Giants. Stuart drives in seven runs and joins Ralph Kiner as the second Pirates player to hit three home runs in a game at Forbes Field.

July

August

  • August 2 – In an agreement with the major leagues, the Continental League abandons plans to join the American League and National League. Walter O'Malley, chairman of the NL Expansion Committee, says, "We immediately will recommend expansion and that we would like to do it in 1961." Milwaukee Braves owner Lou Perini proposes a compromise that four of the CL territories be admitted to the current majors in orderly expansion. Branch Rickey's group quickly accepts. The Continental League ends without playing a game.
  • August 3 – In an unusual move, Cleveland Indians GM Frank Lane trades managers with Detroit Tigers GM Bill DeWitt. The Indians' Joe Gordon (49–46) is dealt to the Tigers for Jimmy Dykes (44–52). For one game, until the pair can change places, Jo-Jo White pilots the Indians and Billy Hitchcock guides the Tigers.
  • August 4 – Reacting to an inside fastball that sails over his head, second baseman Billy Martin of the Cincinnati Reds engages Chicago Cubs' rookie southpaw Jim Brewer in an altercation on the Wrigley Field pitchers' mound. Martin punches Brewer in the face, breaking the orbital bone below his right eye. Brewer undergoes season-ending surgery two days later and files suit against Martin for $1.04 million, while National League president Warren Giles suspends Martin for five games and fines him $500. Brewer's lawsuit will be settled out of court.
  • August 7 – The Chicago White Sox win a pair from the Washington Senators, with reliever Gerry Staley picking up two victories. Staley will be 13–8, all in relief, with both wins and losses topping the American League relievers.
  • August 8 – A day crowd of 48,323, the largest day crowd ever at Comiskey Park, cheers White Sox pitcher Billy Pierce's four-hit victory over the Yankees, 9–1. Pierce faces just 31 batters.
  • August 9 – With fine relief pitching of Lindy McDaniel in the opener and a five-hitter by Curt Simmons in the nightcap, the St. Louis Cardinals sweep the Philadelphia Phillies, 5–4 and 6–0. Phillies Tony Taylor ties a major league record for a second baseman by going the entire doubleheader (18 innings) without a putout – the first to achieve the feat since Connie Ryan, of the Phillies, on June 14, 1953.
  • August 10 – Ted Williams blasts a pair of home runs and a double to pace the Red Sox to a 6–1 win over the Cleveland Indians. Williams has 21 homers for the season. The first of the two today, #512, moves him past Mel Ott into fourth place on the all-time list. After the game, Williams announces that he will retire at the end of the season.
  • August 18 – At County Stadium, Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves no-hits the Philadelphia Phillies 1–0. He faces the minimum 27 batters, a fifth-inning hit-by-pitch to Tony González being the only Phillies base runner; González is retired on Lee Walls' double play ground ball one batter later. Burdette also helps his own cause by scoring the only run of the game; after doubling to lead off the eighth, he scores on Bill Bruton's double one batter later.
  • August 20 – Ted Williams draws the 2,000th walk of his career in the Red Sox' split of a twi-night doubleheader with the Orioles. Williams joins Babe Ruth as the only major leaguers to collect 2,000 walks. Rickey Henderson in 2000, and Barry Bonds in 2003, will join the select 2,000 walks group.
  • August 23 – Following up his no-hitter, Lew Burdette fires his third shutout in a row, pitching the Milwaukee Braves to a 7–0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
  • August 27 – After pitching 322⁄3 shutout innings, Braves pitcher Lew Burdette gives up a Felipe Alou home run as San Francisco defeats the Braves 3–1.
  • August 30 – Boston Red Sox second baseman Pete Runnels goes 6-for-7, as Boston edges the Tigers in the 15-inning opener of a twin bill. Runnels' 15th-inning double brings Frank Malzone home with the winning run to win, 5–4. Runnels has three more hits in the nightcap victory, 3–2 in 10 innings. His six hits are the most in an American League game since July 8, 1955. With 9-for-11 in the doubleheader, Runnels ties the major league record.

September

  • September 2 – Boston's Ted Williams hits a home run off Don Lee of the Senators. Williams had homered against Lee's father, Thornton, 20 years earlier.
  • September 3:
  • September 6 – In his final game at Yankee Stadium, Ted Williams hits his 518th career home run in a Red Sox 7–1 win.
  • September 10 – In Detroit, the Yankees' Mickey Mantle hits a home run in the 6th inning, the ball clearing the right field roof and landing in the Brooks Lumber Yard across Trumbull Avenue. In June 1985, Mantle's blow was retroactively measured at 643 feet, and will be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records at that distance.
  • September 13 – Eighteen-year-old outfielder Danny Murphy becomes the youngest Chicago Cubs player to hit a home run when he clouts a three-run homer off Bob Purkey of the Cincinnati Reds, as the Reds win 8–6 at home. Murphy will play just 49 games for the Cubs from 1960 to 1962. He will come back as a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox in 1969-70.
  • September 15 – Willie Mays ties the modern major league record with three triples in a game against the Phillies. The last National League player to hit three triples in a game was Roberto Clemente, in 1958.
  • September 16:
    • At the age of 39, Warren Spahn notches his 11th 20-win season with a 4–0 no-hitter against the Phillies. Spahn also sets a Milwaukee club record with 15 strikeouts in handing the last-place Phils their 90th loss of the year.
    • The Baltimore Orioles (83–58) and New York Yankees (82–57) open a crucial four games series with the Orioles just .002 in back of New York. Three days later, during a doubleheader, the Yankees will sweep Baltimore. The faltering Birds, now four back, will end up in second place, eight games back.
  • September 18 – At Wrigley Field, Ernie Banks sets a record by drawing his 27th intentional walk of the season.
  • September 19 – The Chicago White Sox pennant hopes are damaged with a nightcap 7–6 loss to the Detroit Tigers, after they win the opener, 8–4. Pinch hitter Norm Cash scores the decisive run in game two. Cash thus ends the season by grounding into no double plays, becoming the first American League player since league records on this were started in 1940. Dick McAuliffe and Roger Repoz will duplicate this in 1968.
  • September 20 – Boston Red Sox outfielder Carroll Hardy pinch-hits for Ted Williams, who is forced to leave the game after fouling a ball off his ankle, and grounds into a double play. On May 31, 1961, Hardy will pinch hit for rookie Carl Yastrzemski, making him the only player to go in for both future Hall of Famers. Hardy also hit his first major league home run pinch-hitting for Roger Maris when both were at Cleveland (May 18, 1958).
  • September 25:
  • September 28 – In his last major league at bat, Ted Williams picks out a 1-1 pitch by Baltimore's Jack Fisher and drives it 450 feet into the right-center field seats behind the Boston bullpen. It is Williams' 521st and last career home run, putting him third on the all-time list. Williams stays in the dugout, ignoring the thunderous ovation at Fenway Park, and refused to tip his hat to the hometown fans. However, they would make up for that 39 years later.

October

  • October 2 – The Baltimore Orioles defeat the Washington Senators 2–1 at Griffith Stadium in the Senators' final game before their move to Minneapolis–St. Paul. Milt Pappas wins the pitchers' duel against Pedro Ramos, who gives up a home run to Jackie Brandt for the deciding run.
  • October 3 – The New York Yankees head into the World Series with a 15-game winning streak, the 8th longest streak in the American League this century, after Dale Long's two-run 9th-inning home run gives them an 8–7 win over the Boston Red Sox. The 193 home runs are an AL season record, three better than the 1956 Yankees. RBI leader Roger Maris drives in three runs, but falls one home run short of Mickey Mantle's league-high 40.
  • October 5 – In a portent of things to come, Bill Mazeroski's two-run 5th-inning home run off Jim Coates is the difference as Pittsburgh beats the Yankees 6–4 in its first World Series win since 1925. Roy Face survives a two-run 9th-inning Elston Howard home run to preserve Vern Law's victory.
  • October 6 – Mickey Mantle hits two home runs in a Yankees 16–3 victory at Forbes Field, evening the World Series. A seven-run 6th inning overwhelms Pittsburgh.
  • October 8 – At Yankee Stadium, Bobby Richardson collects six RBI, including a grand slam off reliever Clem Labine in a six-run first inning, and Whitey Ford pitches a four-hitter 10–0 shutout to give the Yankees a 2-1 World Series lead, spoiling Pittsburgh manager Danny Murtaugh's 43rd birthday.
  • October 9 – Vern Law wins again, thanks to his own RBI single and Bill Virdon's two-run hit. Roy Face retires the final eight batters in order. The Pittsburgh Pirates 3–2 win evens the 1960 World Series.
  • October 10 – Bill Mazeroski stars again. His two-run double stakes Harvey Haddix to a 3–0 lead. Roy Face is called on once more for another hitless effort to preserve a 5–2 win over the Yankees and 3-2 World Series lead for the surprising Pirates.
  • October 12 – In Game Six of the World Series, Whitey Ford preserves the Yankees hopes with a seven-hit shutout at Forbes Field. Bob Friend is bombed again as the Yankees coast, 12–0. Bobby Richardson's two run-scoring triples give him a Fall Classic record of 12 RBI.
  • October 13 – The Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the New York Yankees, 10–9, in Game 7 of the World Series, to win their third World Championship, and first since 1925, four games to three. In a 9–9 tie, Bill Mazeroski leads off the last of the ninth inning and hits what is arguably the most dramatic home run in Series history, off Yankees hurler Ralph Terry. The drama of Mazeroski's home run was heightened by the excitement that preceded the home run: A combined total of seven runs were scored by both teams in a wild and whacky bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth. An oddity in this game – it is the only World Series game this century with no strikeouts recorded. Another oddity, this one to the 1960 World Series itself – Mazeroski's home run makes this the only World Series in history won by a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the seventh and deciding game. Despite Mazeroski's heroics, however, Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson is named the Series MVP, as the Yankees outscore Pittsburgh, 55 to 27.
  • October 17 – The National League votes to admit Houston and New York City teams to the league in 1962, the first structural change since 1900, and to go to a 10-team league.
  • October 18 – Instituting a mandatory retirement age of 65, New York Yankees co-owners Dan Topping and Del Webb relieve Casey Stengel as the team manager. Stengel says, "I wasn't retired—they fired me." The veteran skipper has a 1,149-696 career record.
  • October 20 – Coach Ralph Houk, at age 41, is named to succeed Casey Stengel as the Yankees manager. Houk briefly led the Yankees in 1960 when Stengel was hospitalized.
  • October 25 – Gabe Paul, general manager of the Cincinnati Reds since October 1951, quits his post to join the expansion Houston Colt .45s as their first front-office boss. Although he doesn't stay long, Paul brings young Cincinnati executives Tal Smith and Bill Giles to Houston, and both play key roles in the team's early years.
  • October 26 – Trying to jump ahead of the National League, the American League admits Los Angeles and Minneapolis teams to the league with plans to have the new clubs begin competition in 1961 in the new 10-team league. Calvin Griffith is given permission to move the existing Washington Senators franchise to Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota. (An expansion team, also called the Senators, will be placed in Washington.) American League president Joe Cronin says the league will play a 162-game schedule, with 18 games against each opponent. The National League will balk, saying the two expansions are not analogous and that the American League was not invited to move into LA.
  • October 31 – The San Francisco Giants acquire Alvin Dark from the Milwaukee Braves in exchange for infielder Andre Rodgers. Dark retires as a player and is named to succeed Tom Sheehan as the Giants' manager for 1961.

November

  • November 2:
    • George Weiss, who had a hand in 15 World Series champions in 29 seasons with the New York Yankees — eight as farm system director (1932–1947) and seven as general manager (1948–1960) — is forced into retirement at age 66. A longtime assistant, Roy Hamey, replaces him.
    • Hank Greenberg asks for American League dates at the Los Angeles Coliseum, home of the National League Dodgers. Greenberg and Bill Veeck—the incumbent general manager and principal owner, respectively, of the Chicago White Sox—are expected to run the new Los Angeles club in the AL. On November 17, Greenberg will drop out of the bidding to run the new franchise.
    • Veteran executive Bill DeWitt steps down as president and de facto general manager of the Detroit Tigers and joins the Cincinnati Reds as vice president/GM. One year and a National League pennant later, DeWitt purchases the Cincinnati franchise from the estate of Powel Crosley Jr. Meanwhile, in Detroit, Rick Ferrell, Hall of Fame catcher, assumes the Tigers' GM responsibilities.
  • November 17 – Elwood "Pete" Quesada, retired United States Air Force general and head of the Federal Aviation Administration, becomes the founding principal owner of the expansion version of the Washington Senators. The undercapitalized and hastily organized franchise will struggle through two seasons before Quesada sells the Senators in January 1963.
  • November 21 – Bob Scheffing, ex-catcher who skippered the Chicago Cubs from 1957–1959, signs to manage the Detroit Tigers after the job is turned down by Casey Stengel.
  • November 22 – The American League proposes that both leagues expand to nine teams in 1961 and begin interleague play. It will delay entering the Los Angeles market if the National League agrees. (There will be expansion to 10 teams in the American League in 1961, followed by the National League doing so in 1962, but interleague play does not arrive until 1997.)
  • November 23 – Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Frank Howard is selected National League Rookie of the Year with 12 of 24 votes. The six-foot, seven-inch (2.01 m) Howard belted 23 home runs during the regular season.
  • November 26 – The relocated American League team in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis – Saint Paul chooses the appropriate nickname Twins to represent its franchise. The team recently moved from Washington, D.C., where they were known as the Senators.

December

Births

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deaths

January

  • January 1 – Tige Stone, 58, outfielder/pitcher who appeared in five contests for 1923 St. Louis Cardinals
  • January 2 – Ken Gables, 40, pitcher who worked in 62 total games for 1945–1947 Pittsburgh Pirates
  • January 5 – Clay Van Alstyne, 59, pitcher in six games for 1926–1927 Washington Senators
  • January 10 – Bunny Fabrique, 72, shortstop for the 1916–1917 Brooklyn Robins who got into 27 career big-league games
  • January 12 – Jimmy Lavender, 75, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs from 1912 to 1916, and for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1917
  • January 15 – Frankie Austin, 43, Panamanian shortstop who played in 251 games for the 1944–1948 Philadelphia Stars of the Negro National League; batted .337 lifetime and was selected to six All-Star teams
  • January 19 – Bob Fagan, 65, second baseman for the 1921 Kansas City Monarchs and 1923 St. Louis Stars of the Negro National League
  • January 20 – Gibby Brack, 51, outfielder/first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies who played in 315 games between 1937 and 1939
  • January 24 – Russ Ford, 76, Canadian pitcher who twirled for the New York Highlanders/Yankees (1909–1913) and Buffalo of the "outlaw" Federal League (1914–1915); three-time 20-game winner (1910, 1911, 1914) — including a 26-game-winning campaign for the 1910 Highlanders; inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (1987)
  • January 25 – Palmer Hildebrand, 75, catcher who appeared in 26 games for the 1913 St. Louis Cardinals
  • January 28 – Bill Warren, 75, Federal League catcher who played 31 games in 1914–1915 for Indianapolis and Newark

February

  • February 3 – Lem McDougal, 65, pitcher for the Chicago Giants of the Negro National League in 1920
  • February 6 – Noodles Hahn, 80, left-handed hurler for the Cincinnati Reds (1899–1905) and New York Highlanders (1906); won 22 or more games during four of his seven seasons with Cincinnati
  • February 11 – Fritz Clausen, 90, a 19th-century pitcher for the Louisville Colonels and Chicago Colts
  • February 11 – Roy Mack, 71, son of Connie Mack; vice president of the Philadelphia Athletics from 1936 to August 1950, and co-owner with his brother Earle from that point to November 1954, when the Mack brothers sold the Philadelphia franchise to banker and real-estate magnate Arnold Johnson (died March 6, 1960), who moved it to Kansas City for 1955
  • February 16 – Stuffy McInnis, 69, excellent fielding first baseman (committed only one error in 152 games and 1,652 chances for a .9994 fielding percentage in 1921); batted .307 lifetime for six clubs, most prominently with the Philadelphia Athletics' "$100,000 infield" (1909–1917); four-time World Series champion with A's (1911, 1913), Boston Red Sox (1918) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1925); managed National League Phillies to an abysmal 51–103 mark in 1927 then became a longtime college baseball coach
  • February 16 – Jasper Washington, 63, first- and third baseman who played in the Negro leagues between 1921 and 1933, notably for the Homestead Grays
  • February 18 – Fred Schemanske, 56, pitcher and pinch hitter for 1923 Washington Senators; went 2-for-2 (1.000) as emergency batsman, far outshining his one inning pitched and earned run average of 27.00
  • February 20 – George Leitner, 88, who pitched for the New York Giants, Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Blues and Chicago White Sox in 1901–1902; one of several deaf-mute MLB players at turn of 20th century
  • February 24 – Uke Clanton, 62, first baseman for the 1922 Cleveland Indians
  • February 27 – Arthur Coleman, 61, pitcher/outfielder/first baseman for the 1920 Dayton Marcos of the Negro National League

March

  • March 2 – Howie Camnitz, 78, pitcher who spent nine of his 11 MLB seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1904, 1906–1913); won 20 or more games three times for the Pirates, and was a member of 1909 World Series champions
  • March 3 – Toussaint Allen, 63, outfielder in the Negro leagues from 1914 to 1928
  • March 6 – Arnold Johnson, 54, Chicago-based businessman who purchased the Philadelphia Athletics in November 1954, transferred the franchise to Kansas City for 1955, and owned the team until his death
  • March 10 – Jim Holmes, 78, pitched in 18 career games as a member of the 1906 Philadelphia Athletics and 1908 Brooklyn Superbas
  • March 17 – Bob Thorpe, 24, pitcher who appeared in two games for the 1955 Chicago Cubs
  • March 18 – Dixie Howell, 40, relief pitcher for the 1940 Cleveland Indians, 1949 Cincinnati Reds and 1955–1958 Chicago White Sox; combat veteran of World War II who, starting in September 1944, spent six months in captivity as a POW; still an active player when he died from a heart attack during spring training drills in Florida
  • March 21 – Mack Stewart, 45, relief pitcher who appeared in 24 games for the 1943–1944 Chicago Cubs during World War II
  • March 22 – Gordon Rhodes, 52, pitcher who played from 1929 to 1936 for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics
  • March 26 – Dan Tipple, 70, pitcher who worked in three games for 1915 Yankees
  • March 29 – Kid Carsey, 87, pitcher/outfielder who played in 329 games (296 on the mound) for six clubs between 1891 and 1901; lost 37 games in one season (1891) as a pitcher for the Washington Statesmen of the then-major-league American Association; won 24 games for Philadelphia Phillies in 1895
  • March 30 – Joe Connolly, 65, outfielder for the New York Giants, Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox in the 1920s

April

  • April 17 – Ricardo Torres, 69, Cuban catcher who played in 22 games for the 1920–1922 Washington Senators; father of Gil Torres
  • April 19 – Vallie Eaves, 48, pitcher who appeared in 24 total MLB games for 1935 Philadelphia Athletics, 1939–1940 Chicago White Sox, and 1941–1942 Chicago Cubs
  • April 19 – Bob Osborn, 57, pitcher who went 27–17 (4.32) in 121 career games for Chicago Cubs (1925–1927 and 1929–1930) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1931)
  • April 22 – Johnson Hill, 69, third baseman who played in the Negro leagues between 1910 and 1927
  • April 30 – Oscar "Cannonball" Owens, 66, outfielder/pitcher in the Negro leagues of the 1920s; in the two seasons (1922, 1929) for which Baseball Reference lists his batting statistics, he hit .398 during his 61-game career (74-for-186)
  • April 30 – Herman Pillette, 64, pitcher in 106 games for 1923–1925 Detroit Tigers (and one contest for 1917 Cincinnati Reds); won 19 games for 1923 Tigers, then lost 19 for 1924 Bengals; father of Duane Pillette

May

  • May 1 – Lou Schettler, 73, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher who worked in 27 games in 1910
  • May 6 – Vern Bickford, 39, pitcher who won 66 games for the Boston/Milwaukee Braves (1948–1953), including a no-hitter on August 11, 1950, against the Brooklyn Dodgers
  • May 6 – Merlin Kopp, 68, outfielder for the 1915 Washington Senators and 1918–1919 Philadelphia Athletics
  • May 8 – Howie Camp, 66, outfielder in five games for 1917 New York Yankees
  • May 12 – Gus Felix, 64, outfielder for the Boston Braves (1923–1925) and Brooklyn Robins (1926–1927); finished third in the National League in putouts by a centerfielder in 1925
  • May 19 – Leo Fishel, 82, Columbia University alumnus and future lawyer who hurled for the 1899 New York Giants; said to be first Jewish pitcher in MLB history
  • May 19 – George Winkelman, 95, pitcher/outfielder for Washington of the National League in 1886
  • May 20 – Pat Collins, 63, catcher who appeared in 543 games for three MLB clubs over ten seasons spanning 1919 and 1929, most notably the 1926–1928 New York Yankees, when he contributed to three consecutive American League pennants and 1927–1928 World Series titles; most-used of three platoon catchers for 1927 "Murderers' Row" edition and started Games 1 and 4 of Bombers' 1927 Series sweep of Pittsburgh, going 3-for-3 in Series-clinching contest
  • May 21 – Leo Birdine, 65, pitcher/outfielder/third baseman who played in 129 games for the Birmingham Black Barons and Memphis Red Sox of the Negro leagues between 1927 and 1932
  • May 21 – George Cochran, 71, a third baseman for the 1918 Boston Red Sox
  • May 30 – George Hildebrand, 81, American League umpire from 1913 to 1934 who worked in four World Series; outfielder for Brooklyn in 1902, also credited with developing the spitball while in the minor leagues

June

  • June 1 – Harry Dean, 45, relief pitcher with two appearances and two innings pitched for 1941 Washington Senators
  • June 5 – Rip Jordan, 70, pitcher who appeared in majors for the 1912 Chicago White Sox and 1919 Washington Senators; went 21–2 (2.14 ERA) in his final minor-league campaign in 1921 Class B Sally League
  • June 10 – Vic Delmore, 44, National League umpire who worked 618 league games from 1956 through 1959; home plate umpire on June 30, 1959, when confusion over a foul tip resulted in two baseballs "in play" at the same time
  • June 10 – Charlie Fallon, 79, outfielder by trade who was a pinch runner for the 1905 New York Highlanders
  • June 12 – Art Wilson, 74, catcher whose 14-year (1908–1921) career was spent in three major leagues; appeared in 812 games for New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Boston of the National League, Chicago of the Federal circuit, and Cleveland of the American League
  • June 25 – Tommy Corcoran, 91, longtime shortstop, and captain of the Cincinnati Reds for 10 years
  • June 27 – Square Moore, 59, stocky pitcher who appeared in 76 games for five Negro National League teams between 1924 and 1928
  • June 28 – Louis "Bull" Durham, 83, pitcher for the Brooklyn Superbas, Washington Senators and New York Giants who got into nine games over four seasons between 1904 and 1909

July

  • July 3 – "Reindeer Bill" Killefer, 72, catcher who played 13 seasons (1909–1921) for three MLB clubs (St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs) and gained fame as Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander's favorite receiver; spent 48 years in professional baseball, including all or part of nine years as manager of the Cubs between 1921 and 1925 and Browns between 1930 and 1933; as a scout, signed the American League's first black player, Hall of Famer Larry Doby, for the Cleveland Indians in 1947
  • July 4 – Frank Parkinson, 65, second baseman and shortstop for the 1921–1924 Philadelphia Phillies, appearing in 378 MLB games
  • July 4 – Eddie Wall, 56, left-hander who pitched for the 1926 Cleveland Elites of the Negro National League
  • July 8 – Joe Krakauskas, 45, Canadian southpaw hurler who worked in 149 career games for Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians from 1937 to 1942 and in 1946
  • July 10 – Harry Redmond, 72, second baseman for 1909 Brooklyn Superbas
  • July 13 – Dan Kerwin, 86, minor-league veteran who got into two games as a left-fielder for the 1903 Cincinnati Reds, and went 4-for-6 (.667) in his only MLB action
  • July 13 – Mark Scott, 45, television play-by-play announcer for the 1956 Cincinnati Redlegs and minor-league Hollywood Stars, and host/producer of the 1959 TV series Home Run Derby, which was discontinued upon his death but remains in syndication
  • July 14 – Al Kellett, 58, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics in the 1920s
  • July 14 – Walter Thornton, 85, pitcher/outfielder for Chicago Colts/Orphans of the National League, 1895–1898; later became a street preacher
  • July 17 – Pat Duncan, 66, Cincinnati Reds outfielder who was the first player to homer over Crosley Field's left-field fence
  • July 18 – Terry Turner, 79, shortstop for the Cleveland Naps/Indians, who led American League shortstops in fielding percentage four times, ranks among the top 10 Cleveland all-timers in seven different offensive categories, and set team-records with 1,619 games played and 4,603 putouts that still stand
  • July 19 – Charlie Whitehouse, 66, southpaw who pitched in 25 games for Indianapolis and Newark (Federal League) in 1914–1915 and Washington (American League) in 1919
  • July 28 – Ken Landenberger, 31, minor league slugger and briefly a first baseman for the 1952 White Sox; manager of the Class D Selma Cloverleafs until mid-July 1960 when, stricken with acute leukemia, he stepped aside; he died by month's end
  • July 28 – Marty Kavanagh, 69, second baseman for the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals in the 1910s
  • July 30 – Eugene Jones, 38, left-hander who went 2–0 for 1943 Homestead Grays of the Negro National League
  • July 31 – Joe Klinger, 57, first baseman and catcher whose 12-year pro career was interrupted by two very brief MLB stints with 1927 New York Giants and 1930 Chicago White Sox

August

  • August 5 – George Chalmers, 72, native of Scotland and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher from 1910 to 1916, working in 121 games; started and lost Game 4 of the 1915 World Series
  • August 11 – Harry McChesney, 80, outfielder who played 22 games for 1904 Chicago Cubs
  • August 12 – Leo Murphy, 71, catcher for the 1915 Pittsburgh Pirates and manager of the AAGPBL Racine Belles
  • August 12 – Herlen Ragland, 64, southpaw who pitched in 12 games and played outfield in two more during his two years (1920–1921) in the Negro National League
  • August 14 – Fred Clarke, 87, Hall of Fame left fielder (1894–1911, 1913–1915) and player-manager of the Louisville Colonels (NL) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1897–1915) who batted .312 in his career, and became one of the first dozen players to make 2,500 hits and the first manager to win 1,500 games; led Pirates to 1909 World Series title.
  • August 14 – Henry Keupper, 73, left-hander for the 1914 St. Louis Terriers who led Federal League pitchers in games lost (20) in his only season
  • August 15 – Ed Wheeler, 82, infielder who appeared in 30 games for the 1902 Brooklyn Superbas
  • August 20 – George Perring, 76, infielder who played 513 games for the 1908–1910 Cleveland Naps (American League) and 1914–1915 Kansas City Packers (Federal League)
  • August 21 – John Kelleher, 66, backup infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Robins, Chicago Cubs and Boston Braves from 1912 to 1924
  • August 22 – Chet Carmichael, 72, pitcher for the 1909 Cincinnati Reds
  • August 23 – Jack Leiper, 92, lefty who hurled for the 1891 Columbus Solons of the American Association, then a major league
  • August 25 – Fred Crolius, 83, outfielder for Boston and Pittsburgh of the National League in 1901 and 1902, appearing in 58 games in all.

September

  • September 1 – Charlie High, 61, outfielder in 28 games for 1919–1920 Philadelphia Athletics; one of three brothers to play in majors
  • September 2 – Billy Maloney, 82, outfielder/catcher who played in 696 games for four clubs between 1901 and 1908
  • September 3 – Armando Marsans, 72, Cuban outfielder/first baseman and one of the first men from his native country to play in the majors; appeared in 655 games for four teams between 1911 and 1918
  • September 13 – Ralph Mattis, 70, outfielder in 36 games for the 1914 Pittsburgh Rebels (Federal League)
  • September 14 – Herman Watts, 40, southpaw who hurled for the New York Black Yankees and Cincinnati–Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro leagues in 1941–1942
  • September 18 – King Brockett, 80, pitcher/outfielder/third baseman who appeared in 54 games (50 on the mound) for the New York Highlanders of 1907, 1909 and 1911
  • September 22 – Joe Bernard, 78, pitcher for the 1909 St. Louis Cardinals
  • September 23 – Paul Hinson, 56, infielder who pinch-ran in three games for the 1928 Boston Red Sox; later a police officer in Oklahoma
  • September 27 – Jim Eschen, 69, outfielder/pinch hitter for 1915 Cleveland Indians who played in 15 midsummer games
  • September 28 – Danny Mahoney, 72, who pinch ran for the Cincinnati Reds on May 15, 1911, and failed to score a run in his lone MLB appearance
  • September 28 – Joe Martin, 49, third baseman who played eight MLB games for the 1936 New York Giants and 1938 Chicago White Sox
  • September 28 – Jess Orndorff, 79, catcher for the Boston Doves of the National League in 1907

October

  • October 2 – Jim Busby, 59, third baseman for the 1933 Indianapolis ABCs of the Negro National League
  • October 2 – Mike Kilroy, 90, pitcher for 1888 Baltimore Orioles and 1891 Philadelphia Phillies; brother of Matt Kilroy
  • October 4 – Jack Warhop, 76, submarine-style pitcher for the New York Highlanders/Yankees who appeared in 221 games between 1908 and 1915
  • October 9 – Oscar "Heavy" Johnson, 65, slugging catcher of the Negro leagues between 1920 and 1933; two-time Negro National League batting champion, hitting .370 lifetime, including two seasons (1922, 1923) during which he hit .406; won the league's Triple Crown in 1922
  • October 10 – Hub Hart, 82, lefty-swinging backup catcher for the 1905–1907 Chicago White Sox; member of 1906 World Series champions
  • October 15 – Jack Wallace, 70, catcher who appeared in two games for 1915 Chicago Cubs
  • October 16 – Arch McDonald, 59, broadcaster for the Washington Senators from 1934 to 1956, interrupted by one year (1939) in New York as voice of Yankees and Giants
  • October 18 – Irish McIlveen, 80, Belfast-born pitcher/outfielder who appeared in 53 total games for the 1906 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1908–1909 New York Highlanders
  • October 19 – Ed McCreery, 70, who posted a 1–0 record (11.25 ERA) in three tilts for the 1914 Detroit Tigers
  • October 20 – Lew Groh, 77, veteran minor-league infielder who appeared in two contests at age 35 for the 1919 Philadelphia Athletics; brother of Heinie Groh
  • October 21 – Oscar Tuero, 66, Cuban-born pitcher who made 58 appearances for the 1918–1920 St. Louis Cardinals; led 1919 National League hurlers in games pitched (45) and saves (4)
  • October 22 – Charlie Hartman, 72, pitcher for the 1908 Boston Red Sox
  • October 24 – Wilbur Fisher, 66, minor-league outfielder whose lone MLB appearance came as a pinch hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 13, 1916

November

  • November 2 – Everett Scott, 67, shortstop, primarily for the Boston Red Sox (1914–1921) and New York Yankees (1922–1925), who played in 1,307 consecutive games from 1916 to 1925, a record later broken by Lou Gehrig; four-time World Series champion, three times as a member of the Red Sox
  • November 3 – Bobby Wallace, 86, Hall of Fame shortstop for the Cleveland Spiders (1894–1898), St. Louis Cardinals (1899–1901, 1917–1918) and St. Louis Browns (1902–1916) who set several fielding records; managed the Browns from 1911 to June 1, 1912, and Cincinnati Reds from September 14, 1937, through season's end; scouted for the Reds for 33 years
  • November 9 – Al Nixon, 74, outfielder for the Brooklyn Robins (1915–1916, 1918), Boston Braves (1921–1923) and Philadelphia Phillies (1926–1928), appearing in 422 career games
  • November 11 – Red Causey, 67, "The Florida Flamingo", pitched in 131 games for the New York Giants, Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies from 1918 through 1922
  • November 12 – Merle Keagle, 37, All-Star female outfielder who set several single-season records in the AAGPBL
  • November 15 – Ray Gordinier, 68, right-hander who hurled in eight games for the 1920–1921 Brooklyn Robins
  • November 16 – Weldon Henley, 80, pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Superbas from 1903 to 1907, pitched no-hitter on July 22, 1905 against the St. Louis Browns
  • November 20 – Frank Brower, 67, outfielder/first baseman who appeared in 340 games for the Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians from 1920 to 1924
  • November 24 – Al Braithwood, 68, southpaw who pitched for the 1915 Pittsburgh Rebels of the "outlaw" Federal League
  • November 24 – Abbie Johnson, 89, Canadian 19th-century infielder who appeared in 74 games for Louisville of the National League in 1896 and 1897

December

  • December 10 – Ernie Quigley, 80, National League umpire from 1913 to 1937 who worked in six World Series, was later a league supervisor; member, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
  • December 18 – Art Nehf, 68, pitcher who won 184 games for four National League teams, principally the New York Giants and Boston Braves
  • December 20 – Kip Dowd, 71, pitcher for the 1910 Pittsburgh Pirates
  • December 22 – Jack Onslow, 72, manager of the Chicago White Sox from 1949 through May 26, 1950, and a longtime coach and scout; previously, catcher in 45 total games for 1912 Detroit Tigers and 1917 New York Giants
  • December 26 – Fred Knorr, 47, Michigan-based broadcasting executive and co-owner of the Tigers from 1956 until his death
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