May 25th - May 31st
May 25th
1922 - After being thrown out at 2nd base, trying to stretch a single, Yankees slugger Babe Ruth throws dirt in the face of Umpire George Hildebrand, then he goes after a fan. Ruth is ejected from the game. He is eventually fined $500 and suspended for one game by AL President Ban Johnson.
1950 - Former Yankees P John “The Count” Montefusco (1983-1986) was born. John went 10-3 in 24 games with the Yankees before serious hip problems ended his MLB pitching career. On August 26, 1983, John was traded by the Padres to the Yankees, for players to be named later and $200,000 cash. The Yankees sent pitchers Dennis Rasmussen and Edwin Rodriguez on September 12, 1983, to the Padres to complete the trade.
1974 - Yankees obtained P Larry Gura from the Rangers for C Duke Simms. Larry would go 5-1 for the Yankees in 1974, before being traded away to the Royals by Yankees Manager Billy Martin during the 1976 AL season. Gura and Martin did not get along, as a Royal starter; he would give the Yankees constant trouble.
1978 - Former Yankees OF Mike Vento (2005) was born. Mike was drafted by the Yankees in the 40th round of the 1997 amateur player draft. In 2005, he appeared in 2 games with the Yankees with no BA.
May 26th
1928 - The A’s kick in 7 errors to lift the Yanks to a 7-4 win.
1932 - Former Yankees minor league manager and MLB Coach Joe Altobelli was born. Joe led the Columbus Clippers to an International League title in 1980. Also he served as Yankees coach on the 1981-82 teams. He would later manage the Orioles.
1952 - Yankees released veteran OF Johnny Hopp. On September 5, 1950, Johnny was purchased by the Yankees from the Pirates. He hit .333 in 19 games in 1950. In 1951, he hit .206 in 46 games. At the time of his release, he was hitting only .160 in just 16 games. Johnny would be signed by the Tigers, hitting .217 before retiring from MLB at the end of the 1952 AL season.
1959 - Yankees re-obtained P Ralph Terry and INF/OF Hector Lopez from the A’s for veteran starters Johnny Kucks and Tom Sturdivant and INF Jerry Lumpe. Ralph Terry had his MLB seasoning with the A’s, is now ready to pitch for the Yankees. Kucks and Sturdivant were battling arm problems, ineffective on the mound. INF Jerry Lumpe was unable to unseat Tony Kubek at shortstop or Bobby Richardson at 2B. He would become a regular 2nd baseman with the A’s.
1962 - Tigers All Star RF Al Kaline fractured his collarbone while making a dramatic game-saving catch in right field. Kaline helped preserve a 2-1 victory over the Yankees, but he will miss 2 months with the collarbone injury.
1971 - Yankees obtained P Rob Gardner from the A’s for 1B/OF/C Curt Blefary. Gardner would go 8-5 in 1972 for the Yankees. Blefary was a former Yankee minor league player, who couldn’t hit anymore, when he returned to the team in 1969 in a trade with the Astros for 1B/OF Joe Pepitone.
1973 - Former Yankees OF Chicken Hawks (1921) passed away. He hit .280 with 2 HRs with15 RBIs in 41 games for the Yankees in 1921.
1975 - Former Yankees DH/1st baseman Travis Lee (2004) was born. Travis spent most of his Yankees stay on DL with a major shoulder injury.
1996 - Former Yankee 1B Don Bollweg (1953) passed away (1921-1996). Don hit .297 in 70 games for the Yankees in 1953.
2006 - Angel Berroa hit a 3-run HR in the 8th inning, as the Royals escaped a jam in the bottom of the 9th inning after a near 2-hour rain delay, edging the Yankees, 7- 6, to halt a 13-game losing streak and 14 at Yankee Stadium since 2005. The Royals' 19-game losing streak from July 28-August 19th last season was the only mark longer in Royals franchise history. Reggie Sanders hit his 299th MLB career home run for the Royals. After his next HR, he will become the just the 5th player in MLB history with at least 300 HRs with 300 stolen bases, joining Bobby and Barry Bonds, Andre Dawson and Willie Mays. For the Yankees, shortstop Derek Jeter got his 2,000th MLB career hit in the contest, becoming the 8th player in Yankees club history to reach the milestone.
May 27th
1914 - Yankees sell P Guy Cooper to the Red Sox for cash. Guy appeared in 1 game for the Yankees with no record.
1933 - The Yankees enter the 8th inning trailing White Sox starter Ted Lyons by a score of 11-3, and then they score 12 runs in that inning to win the game by a score of 15-11. The Yankees 12-run 8th inning rally was capped by a Grand Slam HR by Yankees C Bill Dickey to win the game.
1949 - Former Yankees MLB and Minor League Pitching Coach Mark Connors was born. He hooked on with the Yankees organization in 1979, serving as a scout for the 1st year. Next, he was the pitching coach for the Greensboro Hornets AA (1980-1982), Columbus Clippers AAA (1983-mid-1984), and Fort Lauderdale Yankees A (mid-1985). He also served the first 2 of 3 stints as a MLB coach for the Yankees (mid-1984 to mid-1985 and May, 1986-1987). He was the Yankees Bullpen coach in 1990 and 1993. Mark was the team’s MLB pitching coach in 1991-92.
1960 - Orioles catcher Clint “Scraps “ Courtney used an oversized catchers’ mitt in an effort to handle the knuckleball pitches of starter Hoyt Wilhelm. The mitt, designed by Baltimore manager Paul Richards, a former MLB catcher was 50 percent larger than the standard catcher’s mitt. Courtney handled Wilhelm's pitches flawlessly in a 3-2 win over the Yankees. The oversized mitt will later be banned by the AL. Courtney was a former Yankees minor league catcher, who had been blocked by Yogi Berra. Also he was one of the 1st modern MLB catchers to wear glasses behind the catcher’s mask during the 1950’s.
May 28th
1923 - Former Yankees P Bob “Sarge” Kuzava (1951-54) was born. On June 15, 1951, Bob was traded by the Senators to the Yankees for pitchers Fred Sanford, Tom Ferrick and Bob Porterfield. Bob went 23-20 in 104 games with 13 saves for the Yankees. He appeared in 3 World Series for the Yankees (1951-1953), going 0-0 in 3 games, with 2 saves, with an ERA of 2.08. On August 7, 1954, Bob was selected off waivers by the Orioles from the Yankees.
1927 - In his 1st starting assignment for the Yankees, reliever P Wilcy Moore loses a heart breaker to the Senators, 3-2, in the nightcap of a doubleheader. Lou Gehrig is spiked at 1st base by Bucky Harris as Firpo Marberry scored the winning run. The Yankees won the opener, 8-2, as Babe Ruth hit his 12th HR of the year, a 3-run shot. Tris Speaker played most of Game 1 for the Senators, despite fracturing his left thumb in batting practice.
1941 - The Yankees defeated the Senators by a score of 6-5, in the 1st night game played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.
1946 - The 1st night game is played at Yankee Stadium as the Senators beat the Yankees by a score of 2-1. The crowd of 49,917 fans came to the 1st night game by Yankees, showing the value of night games over daytime games, especially on weeknights.
1956 - The Yankees waived reliever Gerry Staley to the White Sox. He would become one of the main bullpen pitchers of the 1959 White Sox AL championship team’s pitching staff.
1960 - Veteran Yankees Manager Casey Stengel is hospitalized with a virus, forcing coach Ralph Houk to take over the team for 13 games. Houk made several changes that were retained, when Casey came back to the team, including putting Clete Boyer at 3rd base, which clearly helped the Yankees rally from 3rd place to win the 1960 AL pennant. The other changes included moving Hector Lopez from 3rd to LF and letting Johnny Blanchard do some of the catching duties. The Yankees went 7-6 under Ralph Houk’s control. The Yankees Co-owners Dan Topping and Del Webb were very impressed with Houk's work. He would replace the veteran Manager Casey Stengel in October, 1960.
1968 - The AL owners agreed to divide itself into two divisions and reduce its season schedule to 156 games. The following divisional alignment is set for the 1969 season: Eastern Division: Orioles, Red Sox, Indians, Tigers, Yankees, and the Senators. Western Division: Angels, White Sox, Royals, Twins, Athletics, and the Mariners.
1968 - Former Yankees minor league P Rickey Rhodes was born. Ricky was the brother of MLB pitcher Arthur Rhodes, Ricky Rhodes was drafted in the 35th round by the Yankees in the 1987 amateur player draft. In his 4 minor league seasons, he posted an ERA of 4.48. In his final season, his ERA was 5.50 for the Fort Lauderdale Yankees (A).
1971- Former Yankees 3B Clete Boyer, involved in a dispute with the Braves Owner Paul Richards and their Manager Lum Harris over alleged silly rules and mismanagement, is released and retires from MLB. Boyer had hit safely in the last 9 games of his 16-season career, including 5 HRs with 14 RBIs. A Gold Glove 3B Boyer was a .242 hitter with 162 HRs with 654 RBIs in 1,725 games for the A’s, Yankees and the Braves. Clipper Notes: Why the Yankees never made a bid to re-obtained Clete Boyer is still puzzling, because they were still having very serious problems at 3B, which would not be solved until the arrival of Graig Nettles from the Indians in November of1972. Clete Boyer would go on to play professional baseball in Japan, before finally retiring as an active player. He would become a coach for Billy Martin with the A’s and Yankees. Sadly Clete Boyer passed away in 2007.
1971 - The Yankees obtained P Jim Hardin from the Orioles for P Bill Burbach, who was a failed 1st pick player draft choice. Hardin was still recovering from arm problems, still ineffective pitcher. Hardin went 0-2 in 12 games with the Yankees before being released. Jim passed away in 1991.
1977 - Yankees starter Ron Guidry has a rare bad outing dropping a 9-4, a 16-hit loss to the White Sox before a Jacket Day crowd of 54, 881 fans at Yankee Stadium.
1995 - Rookie starter Mario Rivera makes his 2nd MLB start for the Yankees, picking up a 4-1 victory over the A’s. It is the only Yankee victory in a 10 game west coast road trip. Rivera had lost his MLB debut start on May 23rd to the Angels, losing by a score of 10-0, lasting only 3 1/3 innings.
2004 - Yankees All Star Closer Mariano Rivera posted his 300th MLB career save in a Yankees 7-5 victory over the Devil Rays. He also became the 1st Yankee and 17th reliever in MLB history to reach the milestone.
May 29th
1875 - Former Yankees OF/3B David Fultz (1903-05) was born. In March of 1903, Dave was purchased by the Highlanders from the A’s. Dave hit .240 in 305 games for the Yankees, before being traded back to the A’s for OF Danny Hoffman.
1910 - Former Yankees 1B George McQuinn (1947-48) was born. On November 22, 1935, George was sent from the Yankees to the Reds in an unknown transaction. After appearing 38 games in 1936 for the Reds, he was returned to the Yankees. On October 5, 1937, he was drafted by the Browns from the Yankees in the 1937 Rule 5 player draft. On January 25, 1947, George was signed as a free agent with the Yankees. He hit .308 in 144 games in 1947. The next season, he slumped to .248 mark in 94 games. George had a good career with the Browns, after leaving with the Yankees in the 1930’s, where he was blocked by HOF 1B Lou Gehrig.
1941 - Former Yankees INF John Kennedy (1967) was born. After being obtained from the Dodgers for OF/1B John Miller and P Jack Cullen, John hit just .196 in 78 games for the Yankees before being purchased by the Seattle Pilots in 1968. He was definetly not the answer to the Yankees current infield problems.
1977 - Yankees starter Ed Figueroa wins his 7th straight complete game defeating the White Sox by a score of 5-2. The Yankees 1B Chris Chambliss supplied most of the Yankees run support with a 2-run HR and a rare steal of home plate.
2000 - The A’s 2B Randy Velarde turned an unassisted triple play, just the 11th in MLB history, on a line drive hit by Yankees Shane Spencer. With runners on 1st and 2nd bases running with the pitch, Velarde tagged Jorge Posada as he neared 2nd base, then touched the base to retire Tino Martinez. In 1995 spring training game, while with the Yankees, Randy Velarde turned an unassisted triple play against the Dodgers.
May 30th- Traditional Memorial Day
1884 - Former Yankees shortstop Rube Oldring (1905, 1916) was born. Rube hit .267 in 51 games for the Yankees with 2 tours with the team.
1894 - Former Yankees P Al Mamaux (1924) was born. On July 12, 1924, Al was purchased by the Yankees from the Reading (International League). He went 1-1 in 14 games in 1924.
1902 - Former Yankees P Louis McEvoy (1930-31) was born. Lou went 1-3 in 34 games with 4 saves in 2 seasons for the Yankees.
1912 - After a minor fire at Hilltop Park, the Yankees play a separate admission, day-night doubleheader against the A’s at the Polo Grounds The Yankee lost the morning game by a score of 7-1, the second game was rained out.
1913 - Yankees purchased 2B Bill McKechnie from the Braves for cash. Bill hit .134 in 45 games for the Yankees before jumping to the Federal League in 1914.
1929 - Yankees obtained P Owen Carroll, shortstop George Weustling and OF Harry Rice for the Tigers for veteran P Waite Hoyt and shortstop Mark Koenig.
1938 - Before 81,841 fans at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees sweep a doubleheader from the Red Sox by scores of 10-0 and 5-4. The game also featured a fistfight under the stadium stands between Yankees OF Jake Powell and Red Sox Player-Manager Joe Cronin, after they had been thrown out of the game. Jake Powell had charged the Red Sox P Archie McKain, after he had hit him in the stomach. Joe Cronin came in from his shortstop position to protect his pitcher. That fight lasted for several minutes. The players were finally separated by the umpires and thrown out of the game. The visitors in those days had to approach their clubhouse through the Yankees dugout. This 2nd fight was broken up by the players and umpires. Joe Cronin and Jake Powell were later fined and suspended for 10 days for their actions by the AL President’s office.
1956 - Mickey Mantle hit a HR that came within a foot-and-a-half of leaving Yankee Stadium. It hit the face of the upper deck in right field, 370 feet from home plate and 117 feet in the air. Mantle also became the 1st player in MLB history to hit 20 HRs by the end of May, as the Yankees beat the Senators by a score of 4-3.
1961 - Yankee sluggers Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Bill “Moose” Skowron, each hit 2 HRs to lead the Yankees to a 12-3 rout over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Yankees C Yogi Berra also homered for New York. Starter Ralph Terry was the Yankees winning pitcher, while starter Gene Conley was the losing pitcher for Boston.
1965 - Former Yankees INF Charlie Hayes (1992, 1996-1997) was born. On February 19, 1992, Charlie was sent by the Phillies to the Yankees to complete an earlier deal made on January 8, 1992. The Phillies sent a player to be named later to the Yankees for P Darrin Chapin. Charlie hit .297 in 142 games in 1992, before being drafted by the Rockies in the 1992 MLB player expansion draft (Rockies-Marlins). On August 30, 1996, Charlie was traded by the Pirates to the Yankees for a player to be named later. The Yankees sent Chris Corn (minors) on August 31, 1996 to the Pirates to complete the trade. Charlie hit .284 in 20 games in 1996. In 1997, he hit .258 in 100 games. On November 11, 1997, Charlie was traded by the Yankees along with cash to the Giants for OF Chris Singleton and C Alberto Castillo (minors).
1966 - Former Yankees P James “Hippo” Vaughn (1908,1910-1912) passed away (1888-1966). Hippo went 22-30 with the Yankees in 72 games before going to the Senators on waivers.
1967 - Veteran Yankees P Whitey Ford announced his retirement from MLB baseball because of an elbow injury. His final Yankees appearance was a start in Detroit on May 21, but he lasted just one inning for the Yankees. He finished his Yankee MLB pitching career with a 236-106 record.
1977 - New York sluggers Graig Nettles and Reggie Jackson hit back-to back HR’s in 2nd inning to lead the Yankees past the Red Sox by a score of 5-4.
1991 - Former Yankees P Jim Magnuson (1973) passed away (1946-1991). The Yankees claimed Magnuson from the White Sox in the 1971 Rule 5 Player Draft. He spent all of 1972 with the Syracuse Chiefs (AAA), having a 9-7, 3.48 ERA, with 3 saves for them. He was 10th in the International League in ERA and led his club. Jim finished his career in 1973, going 7-4 with a 4.04 ERA for Syracuse. Jim went 0-1 with a 4.28 ERA for the 1973 Yankees.
1992 - Yankees starter Scott Sanderson became the 9th pitcher to beat all 26 MLB teams as the Yankees defeated Brewers by a score of 8-1. Sanderson joined Doyle Alexander, Rich Gossage, Tommy John, Gaylord Perry, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, Mike Torrez and Rick Wise, as MLB pitchers, who had defeated every MLB club.
May 31st
1913 - Yankees obtained INF Rollie Zeider and 1B Bill Borton from the White Sox for 1B Hal “Prince” Chase. Yankees Manager Frank Chance had Chase traded because he thought that Chase was betting on Highlander games.
1932 - Yankees obtained P Dan MacFayen from the Red Sox for undisclosed amount of cash and other considerations.
1933 - The Yankees sign free agent P Johnny Broaca (1934-1937). Johnny went 40-27 in 4 seasons with the Yankees.
1938 - Lou Gehrig played in his 2000th consecutive MLB game. Lou collected a RBI single helping the Yankees defeat the Red Sox, by a score of 12-5.
1938 - Yankees P Joe Beggs gives up the 1st of 3- grand Slam HR’s to Red Sox slugger Jimmy Foxx would hit off of him during the 1938 AL season.
1950 - Former Yankees reliever Tippy Martinez (1974-76) was born. Originally signed by the Yankees, he spent most of his MLB career with the Orioles. His Yankee career record was 8-3 in 83 games with 10 saves. Tippy and Yankees Manager Billy Martin didn’t get along. On June 15, 1976, Tippy was traded by the Yankees along with C Rick Dempsey, pitchers Rudy May, Scott McGregor, and Dave Pagan to the Orioles for pitchers Ken Holtzman, Doyle Alexander, Grant Jackson, C Ellie Hendricks, and OF Jimmy Freeman. This was a classic Yankees trade of “trade for now and forget about the future.” Tippy Martinez and Scott McGregor would have good MLB careers with the Orioles; they were pitchers that the Yankees could have use.
1956 - Mickey Mantle unleashes the 1st of several “space shots” in “attempt” to clear the roof in RF at Yankee Stadium. This shot, a 3-run HR off of a Senator hurler Pedro Ramos change-up palm ball, struck the stadium façade in RF, less than 18” inches from the top.
1983 - AL President Lee MacPhail suspended Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for 1 week, citing "repeated problems" with the outspoken owner's public criticism of AL umpires. Steinbrenner, who had been fined $50,000 by MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn during spring training for berating some NL umpires, cannot attend games or be in his Yankee Stadium office during the suspension.
(As always I'd like to thank Fw57Clipper51 for his great contribution.)
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