1971 in baseball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See also: 1971 Major League Baseball season and 1971 Nippon Professional Baseball season

The following are the baseball events of the year 1971 throughout the world.

Years in baseball
1971 in sports

Champions[edit]

Major League Baseball[edit]

National League: Pittsburgh Pirates

American League: Baltimore Orioles

1971 World Series: Pittsburgh (NL) def. Baltimore (AL), 4 games to 3.

Inter-league playoff: Pittsburgh (NL) declined challenge by Tokyo Yomiuri Giants.

Other champions[edit]

Winter Leagues

Awards and honors[edit]

Statistical leaders[edit]

  American League National League
Type Name Stat Name Stat
AVG Tony Oliva .337 Joe Torre .363
HR Bill Melton 33 Willie Stargell 48
RBI Harmon Killebrew 119 Joe Torre 137
Wins Mickey Lolich 25 Ferguson Jenkins 24
ERA Vida Blue 1.82 Tom Seaver 1.76

Major league baseball final standings[edit]

Events[edit]

January[edit]

  • January 7 – The ruptured Achilles tendon of Cincinnati Reds centerfielder Bobby Tolan brings an end to two sports seasons. Tolan suffers the injury while playing basketball for the Reds' offseason squad. He will miss the 1971 season because of the injury and the Cincinnati front office orders the basketball team to be disbanded.
  • January 11 – Detroit Tigers pitcher John Hiller suffers a heart attack at age 27. He'll miss the 1971 season but will make a full recovery and remarkable comeback.
  • January 18 – The Pittsburgh Pirates sign Tony Armas as a free agent.
  • January 23 – The Milwaukee Brewers hire Frank "Trader" Lane as general manager, replacing Marvin Milkes. Eight days from his 76th birthday, Lane is the former GM of four MLB teams between 1948 and 1961, and is known for his relentless roster-churning and player transactions. By the time he retires after the 1972 season, Lane will have made more than 400 deals during his MLB career.
  • January 31 – The new Special Veterans Committee selects seven men for enshrinement to the Hall of Fame: former players Dave Bancroft, Jake Beckley, Chick Hafey, Harry Hooper, Joe Kelley and Rube Marquard, and executive George Weiss.

February[edit]

March[edit]

April[edit]

May[edit]

June[edit]

July[edit]

August[edit]

September[edit]

October[edit]

November[edit]

December[edit]

Births[edit]

January[edit]

February[edit]

March[edit]

April[edit]

May[edit]

June[edit]

July[edit]

August[edit]

September[edit]

October[edit]

November[edit]

December[edit]

Deaths[edit]

January[edit]

  • January 1 – Luis Aparicio Sr., 58, legendary Venezuelan shortstop and father of the Baseball Hall-of-Famer.
  • January 1 – Joe Lotz, 79, pitcher who worked in 12 games for the 1916 St. Louis Cardinals.
  • January 1 – Harry Rice, 69, outfielder noted for his defense who also hit .300 five times; played in 1,034 games between 1923 and 1933 for five clubs, principally the St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers.
  • January 7 – Dud Lee, 71, infielder for the St. Louis Browns and Boston Red Sox in the 1920s.
  • January 7 – Hal Rhyne, 71, shortstop who played from 1926 to 1933 for the Pirates, Red Sox and White Sox.
  • January 9 – Elmer Flick, 94, Hall of Fame right fielder and lifetime .313 hitter who led AL in triples three times, steals twice, and batting and runs once each.
  • January 12 – Cy Malis, 63, pitcher who threw 32⁄3 innings of relief for the Philadelphia Phillies in his only MLB game, on August 17, 1934.
  • January 22 – Dorothy Comiskey Rigney, 54, granddaughter of Charles Comiskey and principal owner of the Chicago White Sox from December 10, 1956 to February 7, 1959, when she sold her controlling interest to Bill Veeck.
  • January 27 – Bruce Connatser, 68, first baseman for 1931–1932 Cleveland Indians; later a longtime scout.
  • January 31 – Steve Yerkes, 82, second baseman who played in 711 games over seven seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Rebels of the "outlaw" Federal League, and Chicago Cubs between 1909 and 1916; played all eight games of the 1912 World Series for champion Boston.
  • January – Bob Clarke, 67 or 68, Negro leagues catcher whose career extended from 1923 to 1948; member, Negro National League 1940 All-Star team.

February[edit]

  • February 8 – Bobby Burke, 64, left-handed pitcher who appeared in 254 MLB games in ten seasons between 1927 and 1937, mostly for the Washington Senators; threw a no-hitter against Boston on August 8, 1931.
  • February 16 – Cedric Durst, 74, outfielder for the St. Louis Browns, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox between 1922 and 1930; member of the 1927–1928 world–champion Yankees.
  • February 18 – Chuck Hostetler, 67, outfielder who appeared in 132 games for the Detroit Tigers after his 40th birthday during the wartime 1944 and 1945 seasons; member of Detroit's 1945 World Series champions.
  • February 20 – Vidal López, 52, three-time Triple Crown Pitching winner and slugging outfielder who played in the professional leagues of Cuba, México, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, throughout a career that lasted 21 years between the 1930s and 1950s.
  • February 28 – Lou Chiozza, 60, infielder-outfielder who appeared in 616 games from 1934 to 1939 for the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Giants; first player to bat in the major leagues' first night game on May 24, 1935, at Cincinnati.

March[edit]

  • March 2 – Johnny Podgajny, 50, pitcher in 115 games for the Philadelphia Phillies (1940–1943), Pittsburgh Pirates (1943) and Cleveland Indians (1946).
  • March 8 – Tripp Sigman, 72, outfielder who appeared in 62 games for the 1929–1930 Phillies.
  • March 10 – Bill James, 78, pitcher for the Boston Braves (1913–1915 and 1919); compiled a 26–7 won–lost record for the "Miracle Braves" of 1914 and won two games in the 1914 World Series, throwing 11 shutout innings, as Boston swept the Philadelphia Athletics.
  • March 11 – Clyde Barfoot, 79, pitcher for the St.Louis Cardinals (1922–1923) and Detroit Tigers (1926) who worked in 86 major league contests.
  • March 11 – Pelayo Chacón, 82, Cuban shortstop and manager in the Negro leagues whose playing career extended from 1908 to 1930.
  • March 16 – Ralph Birkofer, 62, left-handed pitcher who appeared in 132 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1933 to 1937.
  • March 18 – Tony Welzer, 71, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox from 1926 to 1927, who was the first player born in Germany to appear in an American League game.
  • March 24 – Verlon Walker, 42, coach for the Chicago Cubs from 1961 until his death, and former minor-league catcher and manager; younger brother of Rube Walker.
  • March 31 – Sam Post, 74, first baseman who appeared in nine games for the 1922 Brooklyn Robins.

April[edit]

  • April 3 – Jack Boyle, 81, third baseman, shortstop and pinch hitter in 15 games for the 1912 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • April 4 – Carl Mays, 79, underhand pitcher who won 20 games five times with three teams, but was best remembered for his pitch which struck Ray Chapman in the head for the only field fatality in major league history.
  • April 9 – Elmer Eggert, 69, pitcher for the 1927 Boston Red Sox.
  • April 9 – Will Harridge, 87, president of the American League from 1931 to 1958.
  • April 12 – Ed Lafitte, 85, pitcher who worked in 33 games for the Detroit Tigers between 1909 and 1912, followed by 73 appearances for the Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the "outlaw" Federal League in 1914 and 1915.
  • April 15 – Mickey Harris, 54, All-Star pitcher who won 17 games for the 1946 Red Sox, led AL in saves with 1950 Senators.
  • April 16 – William Eckert, 62, Commissioner of Baseball from December 15, 1965 to February 3, 1969; retired United States Air Force general.
  • April 16 – Ron Northey, 50, outfielder with a powerful arm for five MLB teams between 1942 and 1957; hit a record three pinch-hit grand slams in his career.
  • April 19 – Russ Hodges, 60, broadcaster for the New York/San Francisco Giants from 1946 until his 1970 retirement; previously handled play-by-play for the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox (1935–1938) and Washington Senators (1943–1945); also teamed with Mel Allen on New York Yankees' broadcasts from 1946 until the Bombers and Giants ended their joint radio/TV arrangement after the 1948 season; known for his legendary call of Bobby Thomson's pennant-winning home run during Game 3 of the 1951 National League tie-breaker series.
  • April 26 – Joe Agler, 83, first baseman who played 232 games of his 234-game MLB career in the short-lived Federal League, with Buffalo (1914–1915) and Baltimore (1915).

May[edit]

  • May 4 – Billy Mullen, 75, third baseman who appeared in 36 total games over five seasons for the St. Louis Browns (1920–1921 and 1928), Brooklyn Robins (1923) and Detroit Tigers (1926).
  • May 10 – Eddie Edmonson, 81, first baseman/outfielder in two games for 1913 Cleveland Naps.
  • May 12 – Heinie Manush, 69, Hall of Fame left fielder and career .330 hitter who won 1926 batting title with Detroit, led AL in hits and doubles twice each.
  • May 15 – Goose Goslin, 70, Hall of Fame left fielder who starred for five pennant winners in Washington and Detroit, batting .316 lifetime with eleven 100-RBI seasons; one of the first ten players to hit 200 home runs, he retired with the 7th-most RBIs in history.
  • May 20 – Martín Dihigo, 65, Cuban star in the Negro leagues who excelled at all positions, particularly as a pitcher and second baseman.
  • May 24 – Charlie Grover, 80, pitcher who worked in two games for the Detroit Tigers in September 1913.
  • May 24 – Rupert "Tommy" Thompson, 61, outfielder who appeared in 397 games for the Boston Braves, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns.
  • May 26 – Judge Nagle, 91, pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox during the 1911 season.
  • May 27 – Jack Doscher, 90, left-handed pitcher for Chicago, Brooklyn and Cincinnati of the National League (1903–1906, 1908).

June[edit]

  • June 3 – Vern Spencer, 77, New York Giants outfielder who appeared in 45 games during the 1920 season.
  • June 8 – Ed Rile, 70, first baseman and pitcher whose career in the Negro leagues spanned 1918 to 1936; batted .306 lifetime in 454 games in the Negro National League.
  • June 19 – Gene Bremer, 54, All-Star pitcher of the Negro leagues between 1937 and 1948 who principally played for the Cleveland Buckeyes and Memphis Red Sox.
  • June 19 – Bert Graham, 85, first- and second-baseman (and pinch hitter) who got into eight games for the 1910 St. Louis Browns.
  • June 24 – Tom "Shaky" Kain, 63, longtime minor league manager and scout, influential to early career of Yogi Berra.

July[edit]

  • July 1 – Walt Kinney, 77, left-hander who pitched in 63 career games for the Boston Red Sox (1918) and Philadelphia Athletics (1919–1920 and 1923).
  • July 2 – Chester Emerson, 81, outfielder for the 1911–1912 Philadelphia Athletics.
  • July 2 – Frank Mack, 71, pitcher who appeared in 27 games over three seasons (1922–1923, 1925) for the White Sox.
  • July 7 – Ray Phelps, 67, pitcher in 126 games for the Brooklyn Robins and Dodgers (1930–1932) and Chicago White Sox (1935–1936).
  • July 8 – Ed Doherty, 71, longtime baseball executive and the first general manager of the expansion Washington Senators (1960–1962).
  • July 12 – Wally Judnich, 54, center fielder who twice batted .300 for the St. Louis Browns; backup outfielder for 1948 World Series champion Cleveland Indians.
  • July 12 – Ed Weiland, 56, pitcher who appeared in ten career games for the Chicago White Sox in 1940 and 1942.
  • July 16 – Earl McNeely, 73, outfielder and first baseman who played 683 games for the Washington Senators and St. Louis Browns between 1924 and 1931; his single that bounced over the head of New York Giants' third baseman Fred Lindstrom in the 12th inning of Game 7 won the 1924 World Series for Washington.
  • July 16 – Harry Pattee, 89, second baseman who played 80 games for the 1908 Brooklyn Superbas.
  • July 25 – John "Chief" Meyers, 90, catcher for New York Giants, Brooklyn Robins and Boston Braves (1909–1917); led National League catchers in put outs five straight seasons (1910–1914) and in on-base percentage (1912); batted .291 in 992 career games, enjoying three over-.300 campaigns.
  • July 28 – Myril Hoag, 63, outfielder for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians over 13 seasons between 1931 and 1945 who recovered from a brutal 1936 collision to become an All-Star three years later.

August[edit]

  • August 4 – Frank Lamanske, 64, left-handed pitcher who made two MLB appearances out of the bullpen for the 1935 Brooklyn Dodgers.
  • August 11 – Rusty Pence, 71, pitcher in four games for the 1921 Chicago White Sox.
  • August 12 – Shorty Dee, 81, Canadian-born 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) shortstop who played one game in the majors on September 14, 1915 as a member of the St. Louis Browns.
  • August 16 – Walter Mueller, 76, outfielder who played in 121 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1922–1924 and 1926); father of Don Mueller.
  • August 18 – Jim McCloskey, 61, southpaw who pitched in four contests for the 1936 Boston Bees.
  • August 24 – Mitch Chetkovich, 54, World War II-era pitcher for the 1945 Philadelphia Phillies who appeared in four early-season games.
  • August 27 – Bill Clarkson, 72, pitcher who appeared in 51 games for the New York Giants and Boston Braves between 1927 and 1929.

September[edit]

  • September 4 – Joe Hassler, 66, shortstop who played in 37 MLB games for the 1928 and 1929 Philadelphia Athletics and 1930 St. Louis Browns.
  • September 6 – Artie Dede, 76, catcher in one game for the 1916 Brooklyn Robins who became a longtime scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees.
  • September 11 – Rube Melton, 54, pitcher who worked in 162 career games for the Philadelphia Phillies (1941–1942) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1943; 1946–1947).
  • September 14 – Bill Holden, 82, outfielder who played in 79 career games for the 1913–1914 New York Yankees and the 1914 Cincinnati Reds.
  • September 15 – Roberto Ortiz, 56, outfielder for the Washington Senators and Philadelphia Athletics who logged all or portions of six years in MLB between 1941 and 1950.
  • September 17 – Hack Miller, 77, outfielder who batted .323 in 349 career games, 334 of them for the Chicago Cubs of 1922–1925; played briefly for the 1916 Brooklyn Robins and 1918 Boston Red Sox.
  • September 20 – Tony Venzon, 56, National League umpire from 1957 until May 25, 1971, when he retired due to ill health; worked 2,226 league games, three World Series and three All-Star games.

October[edit]

  • October 7 – Les Barnhart, 66, pitcher who had two brief trials with the Cleveland Indians in 1928 and 1930.
  • October 8 – Murray Wall, 45, relief pitcher for the Boston Braves, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators between 1950 and 1959.
  • October 14 – Doc Prothro, 78, licensed dentist; third baseman for the Senators (1920; 1923–1924), Red Sox (1925) and Cincinnati Reds (1926); manager of Philadelphia Phillies (1939–1941); influential minor league manager and club owner; father of Tommy Prothro.
  • October 16 – Dave Coble, 58, catcher who played in 15 games for 1939 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • October 17 – Mike Massey, 78, infielder in 31 games for the 1917 Boston Braves.
  • October 21 – William R. Daley, 79, principal owner of the Cleveland Indians (1956–1962) and Seattle Pilots (1969, their only year of existence).
  • October 23 – Jesse Petty, 76, left-handed pitcher who worked in 207 games for the Cleveland Indians (1921), Brooklyn Robins (1925–1928), Pittsburgh Pirates (1929–1930) and Chicago Cubs (1930).
  • October 23 – Woody Upchurch, 60, left-handed pitcher who appeared in ten games for the 1935–1936 Philadelphia Athletics.

November[edit]

  • November 4 – Logan Hensley, 71, ace pitcher for the St. Louis Stars of the Negro National League between 1922 and 1931; twice led NNL in games won (1926, 1930).
  • November 4 – Howard "Polly" McLarry, 80, infielder for the Chicago White Sox (1912) and Chicago Cubs (1915).
  • November 4 – Bud Messenger, 73, pitcher who won his only two decisions in five games pitched for the 1924 Cleveland Indians.
  • November 5 – Toothpick Sam Jones, 45, pitcher who began career in the Negro leagues and appeared in 322 MLB games, principally with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants, over 12 seasons between 1951 and 1964; led National League in strikeouts (1955, 1956, 1958), games won (21 in 1959) and earned run average (2.83 in 1959); threw a no-hitter (1955) and a seven-inning no-no (1959, in a game shortened by rain); two-time NL All-Star.
  • November 5 – Joe Palmisano, 68, backup catcher who played in 19 games for the 1931 AL champion Philadelphia Athletics.
  • November 9 – Bill Dreesen, 67, third baseman who played 48 games for 1931 Boston Braves.
  • November 21 – Norm Branch, 56, relief pitcher who worked in 37 career games for 1941–1942 New York Yankees; member of 1941 World Series champions.
  • November 24 – Ed Fallenstein, 62, pitcher in 33 total games, 29 in relief, for 1931 Philadelphia Phillies and 1933 Boston Braves.
  • November – Ameal Brooks, 64, catcher/outfielder in the Negro leagues who played from 1928 to 1947.

December[edit]

  • December 4 – Walter Ockey, 51, relief pitcher who worked in two games in May 1944 for the wartime-era New York Giants.
  • December 12 – George Dunlop, 83, infielder who appeared briefly for 1913–1914 Cleveland Naps.
  • December 12 – Bill Kellogg, 87, first- and second baseman who appeared in 75 games for the 1914 Cincinnati Reds.
  • December 12 – Nip Winters, 72, standout Negro leagues left-hander of the 1920s who led the Eastern Colored League in games won for four consecutive seasons (1923–1926).
  • December 13 – Mike Ryba, 68, pitcher (in 240 games) and catcher (in ten games) who toiled for the St. Louis Cardinals (1935–1938) and Boston Red Sox (1941–1946); later a coach, minor league manager and longtime scout.
  • December 16 – Ferdie Schupp, 80, pitcher who won 21 games for the 1917 New York Giants but whose career faltered after service in World War I.
  • December 20 – Tom Fitzsimmons, 81, third baseman who got into four games for the 1919 Brooklyn Robins.
  • December 26 – Cliff Daringer, 86, infielder who appeared in 64 games for 1914 Kansas City Packers (Federal League).
  • December 30 – Tetelo Vargas, 65, Dominican All-Star outfielder who played in the Negro leagues between 1927 and 1944; batted .471 in 131 plate appearances for 1943 New York Cubans.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.146, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
  2. ^ John Perrotto (August 14, 2006). "Baseball Plog". Beaver County Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2006.
  3. ^ "Honoring First All-Minority Lineup". The New York Times. September 17, 2006. p. Sports p. 2.

External links[edit]

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