This Week in Yankees History (3/29-4/3)

This Week in Yankees History

March 29th- April 4th

March 29th

1917 - Former Yankees minor league OF Tommy Holmes was born. In 1937, Tommy was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent. Unable to crack the Yankees starting outfield of Charlie Keller, Tommy Henrich and Joe DiMaggio, he was traded to the Braves in 1942 for 1B Buddy Hassett, OF Gene Moore and cash. He would have a successful MLB career with the Braves and Dodgers in the NL, finishing with a lifetime BA of .302 in 11 seasons.

1938 - Former Yankees Co-Owner Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston passed away (1867-1938). He was co-owner of the Yankees, along with Colonel Jacob Ruppert, from 1914-1923. They purchased the club from Frank Farrell and Bill Devery for $460,000. It was during this period that the team began to acquire the stars that would lead them to their 1st real success in the early 1920s, such as Carl Mays, Babe Ruth and others. In June of 1923, Houston sold his share of the team to Jacob Ruppert for $1,250,000. This allowed Ruppert to become the sole owner of the Yankees. In 1937, he offered $1.7 million dollars to buy the Dodgers and planned to install lights for night games at Ebbets Field. His offer was refused by the current Dodger ownership.

1948 - The Yankees and Red Sox go 17 innings and end in a 2-2 tie during one of the longest spring training games ever played. The game lasted a total of 4 hours, 2 minutes.

1952 - Former Yankees reliever Bill Castro (1981) was born. Bill was signed as a free agent by the Yankees. He went 1-1 in 21 games with 1 save. On March 24, 1982, Bill was traded by the Yankees to the Angels for veteran INF Butch Hobson.

1958 - Former Yankees INF Domingo Ramos (1978) was born. On May 27, 1975, Domingo was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent. He appeared in 1 game for the Yankees in 1978 with no hits. On November 10, 1978, he was traded by the Yankees along with C Mike Heath, Pitchers Sparky Lyle, Larry McCall, and Dave Rajsich, with cash to the Rangers for P Dave Righetti, OF Juan Beniquez, P Mike Griffin, P Paul Mirabella, and minor league player Greg Jemison.

1959 - Former Yankees P Johnny Allen (1932-35) passed away (1905-1959). Pitcher Johnny Allen was working as a bellboy in a hotel, when he was discovered by Yankees super scout Paul Krichell. He reached the MLB with the Yankees in 1932. Johnny went 17-4 that season, leading the AL with a .810 winning percentage. He won 15 games in 1933, but after holding out for a pay raise and suffering a sore arm, he was traded to the Indians for hurlers Monte Pearson and Steve Sundra following the 1935 AL season. Johnny’s Yankees career pitching record was 50-19 in 94 games. He will go 67-36 in 5 seasons with the Indians.

1963 - Former Yankees Closer Wilcy Moore (1927-29, 1932-33) passed away (1897-1963). Wilcy Moore led the AL in 1927 with 13 saves and an ERA of 2.28, as his pitching record for the 1927 Yankees was 19-7. He saved game in the 1927 World Series as well as pitching a complete game in that Fall Classic. He is the 1st of many great Yankee closers. His final Yankees pitching career totals were a 36-21 record with 35 saves in 171 games.

1975 - Veteran All Star starter Mel Stottlemyre Sr., suffering from a torn rotator cuff, is given his unconditional release by the Yankees. He compiled a 164-139 record and a 2.97 ERA as well as 40 shutouts in an 11-season MLB career with the Yankees (1964-1974). He will return to the team as a pitching coach under Manager Joe Torre. Former Yankees Manager Ralph Houk, now with the Tigers will give Mel a tryout with the team, but Mel doesn’t make it and retires from MLB. He will later become a MLB pitching coach for several teams, including the Yankees.

1984 - The Yankees traded one of the key members of their recent World Championship teams, when they dispatched All Star 3B Graig Nettles to the Padres for P Dennis Rasmussen and a player to be named. Nettles, which had angered Yankees owner George Steinbrenner by criticizing him in his recent book, he will hit 20 HRs and help the Padres reach the 1984 World Series.

March 30th

1931 - Former Yankees P Richard Woodson (1974) was born. On May 4,1974, Rich was traded by the Twins to the Yankees for minor league P Mike Pazik and cash. Rich went 1-2 in 8 games with the Yankees in 1974.

1955 - The Yankees sell veteran hurler Ewell Blackwell to the A’s. Blackwell, who was injured in 1954, will pitch in only 2 games for the A’s in 1955, before retiring from MLB. Along with Blackwell the A’s would also receive P Tom Gorman and 1B Richard Kryhoski for $50,000.

1965 - The Yankees sell veteran starter Stan Williams (1963-1964) to the Indians for cash. Stan went 10-13 in 50 games for Yankees after being obtained from the Dodgers for 1B Bill “Moose” Skowron in 1962. He never was the successful starter for the Yankees, like he was with the Dodgers. Stan would be converted to a relief pitcher and be very successful with the Twins. He would later become a MLB pitching coach for the Yankees.

1988 - The Yankees traded 1B/OF Orestes Destrades to the Pirates for P Hipolito Pena. Destrades had appeared in 9 games in 1987, hitting .263 for the Yankees. He was blocked at 1B by All Star Don Mattlingly.

March 31st

1894 - Former Yankees P Thomas Sheehan (1921) was born. On September 7, 1920, Tom was purchased by the Yankees from the Atlanta (Southern Association). Tom went 1-0 in 12 games for the Yankees during the 1921 AL season.

1971 - The Yankees released veteran INF Pete Ward (1970). On December 18, 1969, Pete was traded by the White Sox to the Yankees for P Mickey Scott and cash. Pete was a slugging 3B with the White Sox in the 1960’s, by the time he reached the Yankees, he was playing with a bad back at 1B. Pete will appear in 66 games for the Yankees, hitting .260 with 1 HR with 18 RBIs.

1972 - The Yankees re-purchased OF/1B Frank Tepedino (1967, 69-71,1972) from the Brewers for cash. Frank originally was signed the Orioles, later drafted by the Yankees. He saw limited action with the Yankees in 44 games. Frank was traded twice by Yankees, once to the Brewers for OF Danny Walton (1971) and then to the Braves for P Pat Dobson in 1973.

1980 - Current Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang was born.

1992 - Former Yankees C and minor league manager Ken “Hawk” Silvestri passed away (1916 - 1992). Ken was a catcher for the Yankees 1941, and in 1946-1947. In 1948, he was drafted by the Phillies in the MLB Rule 5 player draft. Ken was a longtime Yankees minor league manager.

April 1st

1912 - Former Yankee P Jacob “Whistlin’ Jake” Wade (1946) was born. On December 15, 1944, he was traded by the White Sox to the Yankees for Johnny Johnson. He posted a 2-1 mark in 13 games with 1 save for the Yankees. On August 5, 1946, he was purchased by the Senators from the Yankees.

1934 - Former Yankees minor league INF Rod “Hot Rod “ Kanehl was born. (1934-2004). Rod was originally signed by the Yankees in 1954. He played in their farm system until the fall of 1961, when he was drafted by the Mets on advice from new Mets Manager Casey Stengel. Rod never saw MLB action with the Yankees, but Stengel remember him from a Yankees spring camp training session, where he jumped on a bike to run down a fly ball. The Yankees wanted to give him a shot at 3B job in 1967, but the Mets refused to release him from his lifetime reserve clause in his MLB player contract.

1939 - Former Yankees P Phil Niekro (1984-85) is born in Blaine, Belmont County, Ohio. "Knucksie" will make his MLB debut in 1964 with the Braves. He will win 318 games over a 24-year MLB career and will gain election to the HOF in 1997. Phil went 32-20 in 65 games as a Yankees pitcher during the 1984-85 AL seasons.

1955 - Former Yankees reserve OF Larry Murray (1974-1976) was born. Larry was drafted by the Yankees in the 5th round of the 1971 MLB amateur player draft. He appeared in 20 games as a reserve OF with the Yankees from 1974-76. Larry was part of a trade that brought P Mike Torrez to the Yankees from A’s in April of 1977.

1969 - Yankees All Star OF/1B Mickey Mantle (1951-1968) retires from MLB. He ends his MLB career with 2,415 hits and 536 HRs in 18 years with the Yankees, numbers that would have certainly been higher if not for persistent knee injuries. He was the last active player from the Yankee Dynasty years (1949-1964) to retire from MLB.

2008 - The Yankees set a MLB record by winning their 11th straight home opener. Oddly, the MLB record had been held by the 1945-1954 Pirates, a club which lost 100 or more games 3 times in that period. The Yankees beat the Blue Jays, by the score of 3-2. Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang only allows 2 runs in 7 innings for the win over Blue Jays Ace P Roy Halladay.

April 2nd

1918 - The Yankees purchased 1B "Tioga" George Burns from the Tigers and immediately trade him to the Athletics for OF Ping Bodie (1918-1921). The Yankees already had Wally Pipp as their starting 1B.

1931 - At Engel Stadium, Miss Jackie Mitchell strikes out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game held in Chattanooga, TN. The 17-year-old girl, a member of the Chattanooga Lookouts roster, also walks Tony Lazzeri in Chattanooga's 14-4 loss to the Yankees. In 1933, Mitchell will pitch for the House of David baseball team.

1945 - Former Yankees P Mike Kekich (1969-1973) was born. Mike is known more for off the field actions as a Yankee than as a player. Fritz Peterson and Mike swapped wives and families one year, causing a quite a media stir. Mike came over from the Dodgers in the Andy Kosco trade. He went 31-24 as a Yankee before being exiled to the Indians after the wife/family swap was revealed to the public.

1955 - Former Yankees OF Billy Sample (1985) was born. On February 27, 1985, Bill was traded by the Rangers along with a player to be named later to the Yankees for veteran INF Toby Harrah. The Rangers would send Eric Dersin to the Yankees to complete the trade. Billy hit .288 in 59 games for the Yankees before being traded on December 6, 1985, to the Braves for minor league player Miguel Sosa.

1960 - Former Yankees minor league INF Tom Barrett was born. Tom was drafted by the Yankees in the 26th round of the 1982 MLB amateur player draft. He never played for the Yankees at the MLB level. He was the brother of Red Sox INF Marty Barrett. On December 11, 1986, Tom was traded by the Yankees along with OF/1B Mike Easler to the Phillies for P Charles Hudson and minor league player Jeff Knox.

1964 - Former Yankees DH Pete Incaviglia (1997) was born. Pete was with the Yankees for 21 days appearing in only 5 games with a BA .250, before being released by the team.

1970 - Former Yankees P Jon Lieber (2003-4) was born. Signed as free agent in 2003, Jon went 14-8 with the Yankees in 2004 before leaving the team as a free agent to sign with the Phillies.

2001 - On Opening Day, Yankees starter Roger Clemens becomes the all-time AL career strike out leader passing HOF Senators starter Walter Johnson. Royals INF Joe Randa is his 3,509 AL strikeout victim. By passing Walter Johnson, Roger Clemens now takes over the 7th spot in MLB history.

2003 - Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick's record streak for games played and total chances without an error by a shortstop ends as Yankees OF Bubba Trammell's 3rd inning grounder tips off his glove.

2003 - Todd Zeile hits a HR in his 1st at-bat for the Yankees, becoming the only MLB to hit a HR for 10 different teams. In addition to hit a HR with the Yankees, Zeile had also gone deep for the Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies, Orioles, Dodgers, Marlins, Rangers, Mets, and the Rockies.

April 3rd

1879 - Former Yankees P John Frill (1910) was born. On August 6, 1909, John was sent from the Newark (Eastern) to the Yankees in an unknown transaction. John went 2-2 in 10 games with 1 save for the Yankees. On July 13, 1910, John was purchased by the Jersey City (Eastern) from the Yankees.

1919 - One of the most bizarre off-the-field spring training incidents in Yankees history takes place in Jacksonville, Florida. Yankees OF Ping Bodie competes against an ostrich named "Percy" in a spaghetti-eating contest! Bodie wins the eating competition, when Percy passes out after his 11th plate of pasta.

1929 - Former Yankees P Art Ditmar (1957-1961) was born. Art was originally signed by the A’s in 1948. On February 19,1957, Art was traded by the A’s along with players to be named later, Wayne Belardi, Jack McMahan, and P Bobby Shantz to the Yankees for a player to be named later, OF Irv Noren, INF Milt Graff, Pitchers Mickey McDermott, Tom Morgan, Rip Coleman and INF Billy Hunter. The Yankees would send P Jack Urban to the A’s to complete the trade. The A’s would send Curt Roberts and INF Clete Boyer to the Yankees to complete the trade. Art would go 13-9 in 1959 and 15-9 in 1960 as a starter for the Yankees. He failed to win both of his two 1960 World Series starts against the Pirates. He appeared in 3 World Series with the Yankees in 1957 - 58 against the Braves, and against the Pirates in 1960. In 1961, while suffering from arm problems, he only went 2-3 in 12 games, before being traded back to the A’s along with rookie OF/INF Deron Johnson for veteran starter Bud Daley. His overall Yankees pitching record was 47-32 in 168 games with 12 saves.

1952 - Former Yankees minor league P Rick Earle (1976) was born. Rick never pitched for the Yankees at the MLB level.

1960 - Former Yankee minor league OF Jose Vidal was born. On May 19, 1969, Jose was traded by the Pilots to the Yankees for OF Richard Simpson. Jose never plays for the Yankees at the MLB level.

1961 - The Yankees reacquired veteran P Duke Maas (1958-1960) from Angels for reserve INF Fritz Brickell (1958-1959). Duke Maas injured his pitching arm, after appearing in 1 game and never pitched again in MLB. His best season as a Yankee starter was in 1959, winning 14 games. He was drafted by the Angels in 1960 AL Player Expansion draft. His Yankees career pitching record was 26-12 before the arm injury finished his MLB career. Both players passed away at young ages, Fritz Brickell at 30 in 1965, injuries from an auto accident, Duke Maas after a long illness at the age of 47 in 1976.

1967 - Yankees obtained veteran INF John Kennedy from the Dodgers for OF John Miller, P Jack Cullen and the temporary transfer of INF Roy White to the Dodgers Spokane AAA farm club in PCL. The Yankees had the Dodgers work with Roy White on his infield play, but in the end, he stayed an outfielder.

1972 - Yankees released veteran pitchers Jim Hardin (1971) and Gary Waslewski (1970-1971). Both players were washed up as MLB pitchers. Hardin never fully recovered from his arm problems.

1979 - Former Yankees OF Harry “Suitcase” Simpson (1957-1958) passed away. (1925-1979) On June 15,1957, Harry was traded by the A’s along with P Ryne Duren and OF Jim Pisoni to the Yankees for INF Billy Martin, P Ralph Terry, INF/OF Woodie Held, and OF Bob Martyn. Harry appeared in 99 games for the Yankees in 1957-58 AL seasons. On June 15, 1958, Harry was traded by the Yankees along with P Bob Grim to the A’s for veteran hurlers Duke Maas and Virgil Trucks.

1984 - After rain washes out yesterday's opener at Royals Stadium, Yul Brynner tosses out the 1st ball as the Royals opens with a 4-2 win over the Yankees. The threat of snow holds the crowd to just 10,006 fans. Royals’ starter Bud Black, with relief help from closer Dan Quisenberry, tops Ron Guidry, still winless in Openers. Onix Concepción hits Guidry's 1st pitch of the game for a HR, while Dave Winfield has a 2-run HR for the Yankees.

2005 - In his 1st start for the Yankees, All Star starter Randy Johnson allows a run and 5 hits in 6 innings as New York open the 2005 MLB season with a 9-2 triumph over the 2004 World Champion Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Johnson will win 17 games for the Yankees in the 2005 AL season.

April 4th

1883 - Former Yankees OF/INF John “Silent John” Hummel (1918) was born. John appeared in 22 games for the Yankees hitting .295 during the 1918 AL season.

1971 - Former Yankees P Carl “Sub” Mays (1919-1923) passed away at the age of 79 (1891 - 1971). Carl went 26-11 (1920) and 27-9 (1921). As a Yankee starter, he was 79-39 for the team from 1919-1923. After being sold to the Reds for $85,000, in 1924, he went 20-9 for the Reds. He never got along with Yankees Manager Miller Huggins, which included a fistfight on the sidewalks of New York City. His trade was considered to be one of the worst in early Yankees team history. After he joined the Reds, Carl went 56-36. Carl Mays was the Yankee pitcher, who hit Indians batter Ray Chapman with a pitch, which later resulted in his death during the 1920 AL season game.

1972 - The Yankees released veteran INF Ron Hansen (1970-71) On February 28,1970 Ron was purchased by the Yankees from the White Sox, he was playing with a bad back and with limited range. In 1970, he hit .297 in 59 games for the Yankees before fading in 1971 with a .207 BA in 61 games. He originally came up to the MLB with the Orioles.

1982 - Former Yankees P Mel Queen Sr. (1942, 1944,1946-47) passed away (1918-1982). Mel was the father of former MLB player and manager Mel Queen Jr. Mel was signed by the Yankees in 1938; he went 8-4 in 33 games for the Yankees before being sold to the Pirates during the 1947 season.

1984 - On Opening Day, Yankees veteran starter Tommy John ties a MLB record by playing in 26 MLB seasons. John beats the Twins by a score of 4-2, for his 287th MLB win putting him 19th overall in MLB pitching career wins.

1994 - In New York City, a total of 56,706 fans attend Opening Day making it the largest crowd ever at new Yankee Stadium. Yankees starter Jimmy Key is winner with bullpen help from Bob Wickman with Xavier Hernandez picking up the save. The Yankees hitting attack by led by 3B Wade Boggs, who went 4 for 5 with a run driven in.

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