This Week in Yankees History

January 27th - February 2nd

January 27th

1888 - Former Yankees reserve OF Alan Wickland (1919) was born. He hit .152 in 26 games in 1919.

1896 - Former Yankees P Milton Gaston (1924) was born. Milt went 5-3 in 29 games before being traded to the Browns in Urban Shocker trade.

1901 - Former Yankees P Fred “Lefty” Heimach (1928-29) was born. Fred went 13-9 in 48 games with the Yankees.

1921 - Yankees obtain shortstop John Mitchel from the Vernon for P Ernie Shore and Bob McGraw and C James “Tuck” Hannah. John hit .262 in 17 games before being traded to Red Sox in the Joe Dugan deal.

1978 - Former Yankees P Monte Pearson passed away (1908-1978). Monte was acquired by the Yankees in trade that sent P Johnny Allen to the Indians in 1935. He pitched for the Yankees from 1936-1940. His best season was in 1936; he went 19-7 and made the AL All Star team. He appeared in the 1936-39, World Series with the Yankees going 4-4. His Yankee pitching career record was 63-27. He was sold to the Reds in 1940.

1991 - Former Yankees back-up 1B Dale Long (1960, 1962-63) passed away (1926-1991). Dale was obtained from Giants in August of 1960. Dale hit .366 in 26 games for the Yankees. He was lost in the 1961 AL Expansion Draft to the new Senators. He was re-obtained from the Senators for OF Don Lock (Richmond). He hit .298 in 41 games. Dale was released by the Yankees during the 1963 season.

2003 - Former Yankees P Bob Kammeyer (1978-79) passed away (1950-2003).
Bob was drafted by the Yankees in the 21st round of the 1972 amateur player draft. Bob went 0-0 in 8 games for the Yankees in 1978-79. In 1980, Bob was named IL Pitcher of the Year, while pitching with the Columbus Clippers. Despite wining 16 games with the Clippers, he didn’t get a real chance to break into the Yankees starting rotation.

January 28th

1884 - Former Yankees P Tom Hughes (1906-07, 09-10) was born. Tom went 17-17 in 54 games with the Yankees.

1906 - Former Yankees INF Lyn Larry (1929-34) was born. Lyn was purchased from Oakland (PCL) in 1928. He had 3 good seasons with the Yankees, before slipping in 1932. In 1934, he would be sent to the Red Sox.

1916 - Former Yankees P Bob Muncrief (1951) was born. On November 16, 1950, Bob was drafted by the Yankees from the Cubs in the 1950 rule 5 player draft. He went 0-0 in 2 games with the Yankees.

2001 - Former Yankees OF/DH/1B Curt Blefary (1970-71) passed away (1943-2001). Curt was signed as a free agent by the Yankees in 1962. He was removed from the 40-man Yankee roster, when they acquired veteran INF Harry Bright during the 1963 season. Curt was immediately claimed by the Orioles. In 1965, he was the AL ROY award winner with the Orioles, hitting .260 with 22 HRs and 70 RBI’s. On December 4, 1969, Curt was traded by the Astros to the Yankees for 1B Joe Pepitone. Curt only hit .212 as a Yankee. On May 26, 1971, he was traded by the Yankees to the A’s for P Rob Gardner. He would play for the Orioles, Astros, A’s and Yankees during his 8 year ML career.

January 29th

1885 - Former Yankees INF George “Hack” Simmons (1912) was born. He hit .239 in 110 games in 1912.

1930 - The Red Sox sell former AL HR king Ken Williams to their rival Yankees for the waiver price. Williams, a lifetime .319 hitter, will be released prior to the start of the 1930 AL season; he will never again play in the ML.

1943 - The Yankees trade 2B Jerry Priddy and minor league P Milo Candini to the Senators for P Bill Zuber and cash consideration. Zuber, classified 4-F in the draft, will not have a winning season in New York, while Candini will go 11-7 in 1943.

1948 - MLB Commissioner Happy Chandler fines the Yankees, Cubs and Phillies $500 each for signing high school players.

1955 - Johns Williams Cox buys Yankee Stadium from the Topping-Webb partnership. He immediately sells the grounds to the Knights of Columbus. He will leave the Stadium to Rice University in 1962.

1960 - Former Yankees INF Steve Sax (1989-1991) was born. Steve was signed as a free agent replacing Willie Randolph at 2B. He hit .315, .260 and .304 as a Yankee, making the AL All Star team in 1989-90. On January 10, 1992, Steve was traded by the Yankees to the White Sox for Pitchers Melido Perez, Bob Wickman, and Domingo Jean.

1964 - Former Yankees P John Habyan (1990-1993) was born. On July 20, 1989, John was traded by the Orioles to the Yankees for OF Stanley Jefferson. John spent the rest of the 1989 season at Columbus. He went 11-9 in 154 games with 10 saves. On July 30, 1993, John was traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Yankees to the Royals. The Cubs sent P Paul Assenmacher to the Yankees. The Kansas City Royals sent Karl Rhodes to the Cubs.

1982 - The Yankees name Graig Nettles team captain. Nettles, becomes the 1st Yankees captain since Thurman Munson, who was killed in a August, 1979 airplane crash.

2007 - Former Yankees pitching coach and former MLB pitcher Art Fowler passed away. (1922-2007) He was Billy Martin’s longtime pitching coach.

January 30th

1923 - The Yankees raid the Red Sox again, obtaining P Herb Pennock exchange for INF Norm McMillan, P George Murray, OF Camp Skinner, and $50,000. Herb would win 162 games as a Yankee starter finishing a career WP of .643. Herb had 165 complete games in 346 games with 19 shutouts and 700 strikeouts. In 1924, he won 21-9 then in 1926, Herb posted a 23-11 mark. In the World Series, he went 3-2 in 10 games with a 1.95 ERA.

1948 - Former Yankee HOF P Herb Pennock (1923-1933) collapses and dies from a heart attack. Pennock, who was 53, had been serving as the GM of the Phillies since 1944. He would be inducted into HOF in 1948.

January 31st

1891- Former Yankees OF Tim Hendryx (1915-17) was born. Tom hit .246 in 153 games before being sent to the Browns.

1893 - Former Yankees reserve 1B George “Tigoa” Burns (1928-29) was born. He appeared in 13 games going 2 for 13, before being sent to the A’s.

1900 - Former Yankees C John “Honey” Barnes (1926) was born. John appeared in 1 game with 1 at bat drawing a walk in 1926.

1929 - Former Yankees P Duke Maas (1958-1961) was born. On June 15, 1958, he was traded by the A’s along with P Virgil Trucks to the Yankees for P Bob Grim and OF Harry Simpson. Duke would go 26-12 in 96 games with the Yankees. His best season was in 1959, going 14-8. He appeared in 2 World Series in 1958 and 1960 with no record. The Yankees lost him to the new LA Angels in the 1960 AL Expansion Player Draft in December of 1960. On April 4, 1961, Duke was traded by the Angels back to the Yankees for INF Fritz Brickell. Duke would only pitch in 1-game before arm problems shut him down for the 1961 AL season and eventually his MLB career.

1953 - The Yankees, Indians, and Red Sox retaliate at Bill Veeck, forcing the St. Louis Browns to play afternoon games to avoid sharing TV revenues. Veeck takes his plan to the AL office to make them pay. The plan is rejected.

1958 - Former Yankees INF Rafael Santana (1988-89) was born. On December 11, 1987, he was traded by the Mets along with Victor Garcia (minors) to the Yankees for OF Darren Reed, C Phil Lombardi, and P Steve Frey. Rafael hit .240 in 148 games in 1988, before going down with rotor cuff injury in spring of 1989. The Yankees released him in August of 1989.

1971 - The Special Veterans Committee selects 7 men for enshrinement in the HOF: former players Jake Beckley, Joe Kelley, Harry Hooper, Rube Marquard, Chick Hafey, and Dave Bancroft, as well as baseball executive George Weiss, who was the Yankees GM (1949-1960).

1977 - Joe Sewell, Amos Rusie, and Al Lopez are elected to the HOF by the Special Veterans Committee. Joe Sewell batted .312 over 14 seasons with the Indians and Yankees. He only struck out 113 times in his MLB career. Rusie won 246 games over 9 seasons from 1889 to 1898. Lopez won 4 fielding titles in 19 years as a ML catcher, but it was his .584 winning percentage in 17 seasons as a manager that got him into Cooperstown. He was the only AL Manager to win AL Flags with the Indians (1954) and White Sox (1959) during Manager Casey Stengel’s Yankees Dynasty run of 1949-1960.

February 1st

1921 - Former Yankees P (1950) and Scout (1956-58) Dave Madison) was born. Dave was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1947. Dave appeared in 1 game in 1950 with the Yankees with no record. On April 7, 1952, Dave was purchased by the Browns from the Yankees.

1924 - Yankees purchased OF Nick Cullop (1926) from Omaha. Nick appeared in 2 games with the Yankees before being sent to the Senators.

1926 - The Yankees sell 1B Wally Pipp (1915-1925) to the Reds. In 1925, a headache had forced Wally Pipp out of the Yankees starting lineup, resulting in his replacement by future HOF 1B Lou Gehrig. Pipp never started another game for the Yankees

1943 - Former Yankees OF Ron Woods (1967-71) was born. On June 14, 1969, Ron was traded by the Tigers to the Yankees for INF Tom Tresh. He was a weak hitting outfielder. On June 25, 1971, Ron was traded by the Yankees to the Expos for OF Ron Swoboda.

1944 - Former Yankees reserve OF Paul Blair (1977-79) was born. On January 20, 1977, Paul was traded by the Orioles to the Yankees for Outfielders Elliott Maddox and Rick Bladt. Paul was a late inning replacement for
Reggie Jackson in the OF.

1960 - Former Yankees P Cecilio Guante (1987-88) was born. On November 26, 1986, he was traded by the Pirates along with P Pat Clements and Rick Rhoden to the Yankees for P Doug Drabek, P Brian Fisher, and P Logan Easley. He went 8-8 in 79 games with 12 saves. On August 30, 1988, he was traded by the Yankees to the Rangers for P Dale Mohorcic.

1966 - Former Yankees P Darrin Chapin (1991) was born. Darrin was drafted by the Yankees in the 6th round of the 1986 amateur player draft. He went 0-1 in 3 games as a Yankee, before being traded on January 8, 1992, to the Phillies for a player to be named later. The Phillies would send INF Charlie Hayes to the Yankees to complete the trade.

1970 - The Veterans Committee selects former Commissioner Ford Frick along with former players Earle Combs and Jesse Haines to the HOF. Haines won 210 games for the Cardinals and pitched in 4 World Series. Although he played 100 games in a season just 9 times, Yankees CF Earl Combs accumulated 1,866 hits and batted .325. Frick was MLB commissioner from 1951-1965, but he is best remembered for suggesting that an asterisk be placed next to the name of anyone who broke Babe Ruth's HR record during the 8 additional games on the AL schedule in 1961.

1978 - Former Yankees INF Erick Almonte (2001, 2003) was born. Erick was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1996. During 2003 season, Erick filled in for the injured Derek Jeter at shortstop, hitting .260 in 31 games.

1999 - The Yankees trade highly touted 3B prospect Mike Lowell to the Marlins for 3 minor league pitchers: Mark J. Johnson, Ed Yarnall and Todd Noel. Lowell, was named minor league player-of-the-year last season, is expendable after Yankees 3B Scott Brosius' outstanding 1998 AL season performance.

February 2nd

1894 - Former Yankees OF Charles “Ray” Demmitt (1909) was born. Ray hit .246 in 123 games in 1909, before being traded to the Browns.

1908 - Former Yankees P Wes Farrell (1938-39) was born. The veteran pitcher went 3-4 in 8 games for the Yankees

1916 - Former Yankees C Mike Garbark (1944-45) was born. Mike hit .244 in 149 games with the Yankees.

1930 - The Yankees waived shortstop Leo Durocher, who batted only .246 in 1929. The future HOF manager will eventually sign with the Cincinnati Reds. He was caught by his Yankee roommate Babe Ruth stealing from him.

1933 - Former Yankees reserve OF Jack Reed (1961-63) was born. Jack was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1953.Jack hit his only MLB HR in 1962 to win a 22-inning game against the Tigers. His best season as a Yankee reserve was in 1962 hitting .307 in 43 games. He later managed in the Yankees farm system.

1936 - The BWAA announces the results of the 1st HOF vote. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Honus Wagner comprise the inaugural class of HOF members at Cooperstown, NY. Several other ML stars like P Cy Young fail to make the grade, but will enter the Hall in later elections.

1950 - Former Yankees P Dale Murray (1983-85) was born. On December 9, 1982, Dale was traded by the Blue Jays along with OF Tom Dodd to the Yankees for OF Dave Collins, 1B Fred Mc Griff (minors), P Mike Morgan, and cash. The Yankees had hope that Murray would help out their bullpen, but he wasn’t the answer, going just 2-6 in 62 games with only 1 save.

1958 - Former Yankees minor league INF Pat Tabler was born. Pat was drafted by the Yankees in the 1st round (16th pick) of the 1976 amateur playe draft. With All Star Willie Randolph entrenched at 2B for the Yankees, Pat was blocked in the Yankee infield. On August 19, 1981, Pat was traded by the Yankees to the Cubs for 2 players to be named later. The Cubs sent Pitchers Bill Caudill (April 1, 1982) and Jay Howell (August 2, 1982) to the Yankees to complete the trade.

1962 - Former Yankees P Pat Clements (1983-85) was born. On November 26, 1986, Pat was traded by the Pirates along with P Cecilio Guante and Rick Rhoden to the Yankees for P Doug Drabek, P Brian Fisher, and P Logan Easley. He went 2-6 in 62 games with 1 save. On October 24, 1988, Pat was traded by the Yankees with 1B Jack Clark to the Padres for Pitchers Lance McCullers, Jimmy Jones, and OF Stanley Jefferson.

1972 - Yankees purchase INF Hal Lanier (1972-73) from the Giants. Hal was a weak hitting, reserve infielder, the son of former MLB star Max Lanier.

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(As always I'd like to thank Fw57Clipper51 for his great contributions)