This Week In Yankees History

March 2nd - March 8th

March 2nd

1917 - Former Yankees pitcher James “Jim“ Konstanty (1954-56) was born. Jim helped out the Yankees bullpen in 1955, with 7 wins and 11 saves. Jim was 8-3 in 62 games as a Yankee. He was a member of the 1950 “Whiz Kids” Phillies, who won the NL pennant. Jim started the 1st game of 1950 World Series against the Yankees Vic Raschi, losing 1-0 only giving up 5 hits in 8 innings. He was the 1950 NL MVP, posting a 16-7 mark with 22 saves for the Phillies.
1918 - Former Yankees reserve OF Frank Colman (1946-47) was born. After being purchased from the Pirates in 1946, Frank appeared in 63 games hitting .187.

1921 - Former Yankees P Richard Starr (1947-48) was born. Richard was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1941. He went 1-0 in 5 games before being traded on December 13, 1948, by the Yankees along with P Red Embree, C Sherman Lollar, and $100,000 to the Browns for C Roy Partee and P Fred Sanford.

March 3rd

1872 - Future Yankee HOF INF/OF William “Wee Willie” Keeler (1903-1909) was born. Willie had a .295 lifetime BA as a Yankee. From 1903-1906, he hit over .300 each season. His lifetime BA as a MLB player was .345.

1918 - Yankees purchased 1B George Burns from the Tigers for cash, then trade him to the A’s for OF Ping Bodie.


March 4th

1891 - Former Yankees P and HOF Arthur “ Dazzy” Vance (1915-18) was born. He went 0-3 in 10 games with the Yankees, while battling arm problems. He would recover, being picked up by the Dodgers. He went 197-140 in a 16 yr MLB career. He was elected to HOF in 1955.
1897 - Former Yankee P Lefty O’Doul (1919-20,1922) was born. Lefty went 1-1 as pitcher before being sent the Red Sox. In NL, he would become a OF with a lifetime BA of .346.

1913 - The Yankees become the 1st MLB to conduct spring training outside of the US, when they begin the spring in Bermuda, where is projected a series of exhibition games.
1918 - Former Yankee P Mel Queen Sr. (1942, 1944, 1946-47) was born. Mel was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1938. Mel went 8-4 in 33 games for the Yanks, before being sold to the Pirates in 1947.

March 5th

1912 - Former Yankees Coach Jimmy “Gee Gee” Gleeson was born. Jimmy was a manager in the Yankee farm league system in the 1940-50’s. He never played for the team at MLB level. He was a member of the 1938 Newark Bears, the Yankees top AAA team.

1919 - Former Yankees 3B/OF Don Savage (1944-45) was born. Don hit .256 in 105 games for the Yanks.

1921 - Former Yankees OF Elmer Valo (1960) was born. Elmer was signed as free agent in December of 1959. Elmer only appeared in 8 games with the team before being released in May, 1960. Elmer was at the end of a fine MLB career, which started with the A's. The return of veteran OF Bob Cerv from the A’s made him expendable.

1922 - Yankees OF Babe Ruth becomes the highest paid player in ML history, when he signs a 3-yr contract that will pay him over $50,000 per season. In 1921, Ruth led the AL with 59 HRs and 171 RBIs. The next-highest-paid Yankees player is Frank “Home Run” Baker, at $16,000.

1973 - Yankees Pitchers Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson make a stunning declaration. The left-handers announce that they have traded wives, children, and family dogs. The announcement sends shock waves through the baseball world.


March 6th

1919 - Yankees sell P Ray Keating to Braves for cash.
1965 - Former Yankees C Wally Schang (1921-1925) passed away. After being obtained from the Red Sox in the Waite Hoyt trade, Wally hit .316 and .319 for the Yankees, before being traded to the Browns in 1926.

1977 - Former Yankees OF Marcus Thames (2002) was born. Marcus broke into the MLB with hitting a HR off of D-Backs P Randy Johnson. In 2003, he was traded to the Rangers for OF/DH Ruben Sierra.

1985 - Former Yankees OF Enos "Country" Slaughter (1954-55,1956-59) and Arky Vaughan are elected to the HOF. Slaughter, known for his hustling style of play with the Cardinals and later with the Yankees, gained fame for his celebrated "Mad Dash" home during the 1946 World Series. Vaughan batted .318 over a 14-yr career with the Pirates and Dodgers.
1990 - Former Yankee and HOF INF Joe Sewell (1931-1933) passed away. Joe spent most of his 14 year MLB career with the Indians. He finished out with the Yankees in 1931-1933. In 1931, he hit .302 and played on the 1932 Yankees. His lifetime BA mark was .312. He was the toughest player to fan in MLB history, only 114 times in his 14 yr MLB career. He was elected to HOF in 1977.
2005 - Suzyn Waldman becomes the 1st woman to be a full-time color commentator in MLB history, making her debut with John Sterling on WCBS-AM 880, the radio flagship of the Yankees. The former radio-talk host on WFAN, the 1st all-sports radio station in US, was also the 1st female to broadcast on a nationally baseball telecast as well as the 1st to provide local TV (Yankees) MLB play-by-play.


March 7th
1914 - Former Yankees OF Joseph “Muscles” Gallagher (1939) was born. Joe appeared in 14 games, hitting .244, before being traded on June 13, 1939, to the Browns for INF Roy Hughes and cash.

1954 - Former Yankees P Mike Armstrong (1983-1986) was born. Mike came to the Yankees in the trade that sent 1B Steve Balboni to the Royals. Mike went 3-3 with the Yankees before finishing up his ML career with the Indians.

1962 - Former Yankee minor leaguer P Jose Cano was born. He is the father of current Yankees 2B Robinson Cano. Jose appeared in the ML with Astros going 1-1 in 6 games. He originally signed by the Yankees in 1980, but he was released.

1998 - The Yankees sign P Orlando Hernandez, brother of the 1997 World Series hero Livan Hernandez, to a 4-yr, $6.6 million contract. El Duque would go 61-40 for the Yankees (1998-2004). He was 2-0 in World Series play and 7-2 in AL post-season games.

2006 - World Baseball Classic: Pool C Game: Yankees All Star CF Bernie Williams drove in a 6th-inning run to hand Puerto Rico a 2-1 victory over Panama.

2006 - Former Yankee backup Catcher, now with the Red Sox, John “Flash” Flaherty announces his MLB retirement, ending his 14-year ML career with the team he started it with. He signed in December of 2005 as a free agent after 3 seasons with the Yankees. Flaherty, who also played for the Tigers, Padres, and Devil Rays, John posted a lifetime .252 BA with 80 HRs and 395 RBIs in 1,047 games played.


March 8th

1930 – AL All Star OF Babe Ruth signs a 2-yr contract for $160,000 with the Yankees. At $80,000 per year, he is the highest paid MLB player of all time as of 1930.

1930 - Former Yankees P Bob Grim (1954-1958) was born. (1930-1996). In 1954, Bob was AL ROY after finishing with a 20-6 mark. He won 1 game in the 1955 World Series against the Dodgers. After injuring his pitching arm in an off-season job, Bob became a effective reliever for the Yankees in 1956 with 12 saves. He led the AL with 18 saves in 1957 and was named to 1957 AL All Star team. During the 1958 season, he was traded along with OF Harry Simpson to the A’s for Pitchers Duke Maas and Virgil Trucks.

1938 – Yankees 1B Lou Gehrig rejects the latest contract offer from the Yankees to a 1-year deal worth $39,000. Four days later, Gehrig will agree to the same Yankees offer and end his spring training holdout.
1939 - Former Yankees P and author Jim “Bull Dog” Bouton (1962-1968) was born in Newark NJ. Jim was the winning pitcher of the 22-inning game against the Tigers in 1962. In 1963, Jim went 21 –7. In 1964, he was 18-13 for the Yankees. He appeared in 2 World Series, 1963 and 1964, going 2-1, winning 2 against the Cardinals (1964), losing a 1-0, 4-hitter to the Dodgers Don Drysdale in 1963. He hurt his arm in 1965 and never was effective again for the Yankees. His Yankee career pitching record was 55-51. In October of 1968, he was sold to the Pilots. After his ML playing career was over, he wrote the best seller “Ball Four.” Also he worked as a TV sportscaster in New York City.
1947 - In the new Stadium del Cerro at Havana, Cuba, the Dodgers beat the Yankees by a score of 1-0.

1961 - Former Yankee C/DH/1B Mark Salas (1987) was born. On June 7, 1987, Mark was traded by the Twins to the Yankees for P Joe Niekro. Mark appeared in 50 games, hitting .200. On November 12, 1987, Mark was traded by the Yankees along with OF/1B Dan Pasqua and P Steve Rosenberg to the White Sox for pitchers Richard Dotson and Scott Nielsen.

1966 -The HOF Special Veterans Committee waives one of its election rules and selects former Mets Manager Casey Stengel as the newest member of the HOF. Stengel had managed the Mets for much of the 1965 NL season before falling and breaking his hip. The injury ended the elderly Stengel's career. Given his age, the Veterans Committee decides to make him immediately eligible for the HOF. Casey managed the Yankees from 1949-1960, winning 5 straight World Championships from 1949-1953. He also won World Championships in 1956 and 1958. Also he managed the Braves and Dodgers, before joining the Yanks in 1949.

1999 - HOF Yankee CF Joe DiMaggio (1936-1941, 1945-1951) dies of a lung cancer at age 84. Joe was born in Martinez, California; Joe DiMaggio arrived in the ML at the age of 21. He batted .323 in his 1st season and helped the Yankees to the 1936 World Championship. His rookie performance served as an indicator of future success, both for him and the Yankees. During his 13-year career, DiMaggio participated in 10 World Series, with his team winning the World Championship 9 times. In 1941, DiMaggio achieved his most famous MLB milestone when he compiled a record 56-game hitting streak. His lifetime Yankee BA was .326.

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(as always I'd like to thank Clipper51 for his great contributions)