January 21 – For one season, the Philadelphia Phillies held an exclusive National League Television deal in New York City. As baseball in New York City was still reeling over the loss of their teams the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants, fans were able to see the Phillies on WOR television for half of their games.
January 28 – Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella suffers a broken neck in an early morning auto accident on Long Island. His spinal column is nearly severed and his legs are permanently paralyzed. Campanella will never play for the Dodgers after their move to Los Angeles, although a newspaper story describes him as being of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
February 6 – Ted Williams signs a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox. Reports on the worth of the contract estimate from $135,000 to $150,000. Either way, Williams becomes the highest paid player in major league history.
March
April
April 15 – In the first Major League Baseball game played on the West Coast, Rubén Gómez of the San Francisco Giants hurls an 8–0 shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Giants' shortstopDaryl Spencer hits the first Major League home run on the Pacific Coast. A park-record 23,192 fans pack Seals Stadium to witness the historic game.
April 17 – Eddie Mathews hit two home runs and drove in five runs, to lead the Milwaukee Braves to a 6–1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee County Stadium. Mathews also hit a pair of homers against the Pirates to start the season, as he becomes the first major league player to begin a season with consecutive two-homer games. The mark will be matched by Barry Bonds, who also hit a pair of homers in each of the San Francisco Giants first two games against the Los Angeles Dodgers to start the 2002 season.
April 25 – The Los Angeles Dodgers beats the St. Louis Cardinals, 5–3, setting a record for the most fans at a regular season night game, as 60,635 attend the game at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
May
May 11 – The St. Louis Cardinals set a National League record by using ten pinch hitters during a doubleheader. Despite walking fourteen batters in game one, St. Louis managed to top the Chicago Cubs, 8–7, and followed in game two with another 6–5 win. The Cardinals tied their own record two months later against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 13.
May 12 – Willie Mays hits the first grand slam in San Francisco Giants history. Mays also belts another home run in a 12–3 victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
May 13
*San Francisco Giants teammates Willie Mays and Daryl Spencer each have four extra-base hits as San Francisco beats the Dodgers in Los Angeles, 16–9. Mays hits two home runs, two triples, a single and drives in four runs, while Spencer has two home runs, a triple, a double and six RBI for a combined 28 total bases.
May 23 – Willie Mays hit his 200th career home run, helping the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves, 5–3.
May 31 – Milwaukee Braves sluggers Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Wes Covington hit one home run apiece on three consecutive pitches against Pittsburgh Pirates starter Ron Kline, as Milwaukee wins, 8–3.
June 15 – Chico Carrasquel went 5-for-6 with four runs batted in and scored two times, as the Kansas City Athletics edged the Boston Red Sox, 17–6, at Fenway Park. Héctor López collected four RBI, while Bob Cerv and Frank House added two runs and three RBI a piece. Ralph Terry was the winning pitcher and Jack Urban earned the save, while Willard Nixon got the loss. For Carrasquel, it was the fifth five-hit game of his career.
June 27 – Against the Washington Senators at Comiskey Park, Billy Pierce of the Chicago White Sox has a perfect game broken up with two out in the ninth—by inches. Pinch-hitter Ed Fitz Gerald hits Pierce's first pitch down the right field line, the ball landing just inside the foul line for a double, the only hit Pierce allows in a 3–0 White Sox victory. The perfect game would have been the first in regular season play since that of another White Sox, Charlie Robertson, in.
July 20 – In the first game of a doubleheader at Fenway Park, Jim Bunning of the Detroit Tigers no-hits the Boston Red Sox 3–0.
July 28 – For the sixth time in his career, Mickey Mantle hits home runs from both sides of the plate. New York beats the Athletics, 14–7.
August
August 14 – Vic Power of the Cleveland Indians steals home twice during a ten-inning, 10–9 win over the Detroit Tigers. Power's second swipe of home is the game-winner, as he steals only one other base all season long. Accomplished numerous times during the deadball era, no player other than Power has twice stolen home in a game since the 1927 season.
August 23 – At Yankee Stadium, Nellie Fox of the Chicago White Sox strikes out against Whitey Ford in the first inning of the White Sox' 7–1 victory over the New York Yankees. The strikeout ends Fox's streak of 98 consecutive games without striking out; he had last struck out on May 16 against Dick Tomanek of the Cleveland Indians.
September
September 13 – Milwaukee Braves ace Warren Spahn became the first left handed pitcher to win twenty or more games, nine times, after beating the St. Louis Cardinals 8–2. Previously, Eddie Plank and Lefty Grove each won twenty or more games, eight times.
September 14 – The New York Yankees sweep a doubleheader against the Kansas City Athletics, 5–3 and 12–7, clinching their fourth straight American League pennant.
September 20 – At Memorial Stadium, Hoyt Wilhelm of the Baltimore Orioles no-hits the New York Yankees 1–0, striking out eight along the way. It is the first no-hitter since the franchise's move to Baltimore. Wilhelm had pitched exclusively in relief prior to this season; this was only his ninth career start.
September 21 – The Milwaukee Braves clinch their second consecutive National League pennant with a 6–5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, thus ensuring a Yankees-Braves World Series for the second straight year.
October
October 9 – The New York Yankees defeat the Milwaukee Braves, 6–2, in the decisive Game 7 of the World Series to win their eighteenth World Championship title. Yankees 1B Moose Skowron's three-run home run off Milwaukee pitcher Lew Burdette in the 8th inning puts the game on ice. The Yankees became only the second team to come back from a 3–1 deficit to win the World Series. Milwaukee's Eddie Mathews strikes out for the 11th time, a record that will stand until 1980, when broken by Willie Wilson of the Kansas City Royals. The Braves' 53 strikeouts are also a new Series record. This is the seventh World Series title for managerCasey Stengel, tying him with Joe McCarthy for the most Series won. Yankees P Bob Turley is named the Series MVP.
November
November 12 – New York Yankees pitcher Bob Turley, who posted a 21–7 record with 168 strikeouts and a 2.97 earned run average, is named the MLB Cy Young Award. With only one award given for the two leagues, Turley gathers five votes to four for the previous winner, Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves, who went 22–11 with 150 SO and a 3.07 ERA.
November 25 – Chicago Cubs slugger Ernie Banks, who hit a.313 average with 47 home runs and 129 RBI, is named National League MVP. Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants is the runner-up, after going.347, 29, 96.
November 26 – Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Jensen, who hit.286 with 31 home runs and 122 RBI, is named American League MVP, winning over New York Yankees pitcher Bob Turley, and Cleveland Indians outfielder Rocky Colavito.
November 28 :
*The American League announces that its Opening Day will be April 9 making it earliest date ever to open the junior circuit's regular season.
November 30 – Italian baseball commissioner Prince Borghese visits the United States to seek aid in organizing Italian teams.
December
December 2 :
*International League President Frank Shaughnessy reports that club owners are sympathetic to player demands for a pension plan, but says there is no way that $250,000 can be raised to start one.
*National League President Warren Giles says he doubts New York City will get a franchise for several years. He says the NL will reject expansion now, even if assured of a stadium and financial backing.
*The Cleveland Indians send 2B Bobby Ávila to the Baltimore Orioles for P Russ Heman and cash consideration. In a separate trade, Cleveland sends 1B Vic Wertz and OF Gary Geiger to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for OF Jimmy Piersall.
February 1 – Mysterious Walker, 73, University of Chicago three-sport athlete with colorful personality, who later pitched for three major league teams from 1910-13 before jumping to the outlaw Federal League in 1914–15, whose unusual moniker came after debuting professionally in the minors with the PCL San Francisco Seals, because he refused to take the field until umpires banished photographers, apparently trying to get away from public scrutiny, although curiously attracting attention as a ballplayer.
February 4 – Ted Turner, 85, pitcher who appeared in just one game for the Chicago Cubs in its 1920 season.
February 9 – Cowboy Jones, 83, 19th century pitcher who played with the Cleveland Spiders in 1898 and for the St. Louis Perfectos/Cardinals over three seasons from 1899–1901.
February 10 – Elmer Jacobs, 65, starting pitcher who played for six different clubs in a span of nine seasons from 1914–1927, being named the Opening Day starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1917 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1919.
February 28 – Henry Smoyer, 67, utility man who played in 1912 for the St. Louis Browns of the American League.
March
March 9 – Skel Roach, 86, German-born pitcher for the Chicago Orphans during the 1899 season, who also spent nine seasons in the Minors Leagues between 1895 and 1905, and was hired as baseball coach by the University of Michigan in 1903.
March 10 – Leon Cadore, 68, starting pitcher for the Brooklyn Robins, Chicago White Sox and New York Giants over ten seasons from 1915–1924, who shares an MLB record for the most innings pitched in a single game while pitching for Brooklyn in 1920, when he joined fellow Boston Braves starter Joe Oeschger to pitch 26 innings without relief, which eventually ended in darkness and a 1–1 tie.
March 10 – Earl Williams, 55, backup catcher for the 1928 Boston Braves.
March 17 – Bob Blewett, 80, pitcher who played with the New York Giants in its 1902 season.
March 20 – Gene Dale, 68, who pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds in a span of four seasons from 1911–1916.
March 23 – Harry Kelley, pitcher who played for the Washington Senators and Philadelphia Athletics in part of six seasons between 1925 and 1939.
March 25 – Al Shaw, 84, English-born catcher who played for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Americans, Chicago White Sox and Boston Doves, in part of four seasons spanning 1901–1909.
March 25 – Clarence Kraft, 70, first baseman who appeared in three games for the Boston Braves in the 1914 season.
May 3 – Al Maul, 92, 19th century pitcher who played for ten different clubs over 15 seasons spanning 1884–1901, compiling an 84–80 career record in 188 games, while leading the National Leaque with a 2.45 earned run average in the 1895 season.
May 14 – Billy Clingman, 88, 19th century third baseman and shortstop who played for seven teams in a span of ten seasons from 1890–1903.
May 20 – Frank Bird, 89, 19th century catcher who played in 1892 for the St. Louis Browns of the National League.
May 28 – Kid Nance, 81, outfielder who played with the Louisville Colonels of the National League from 1897–1898, and then for the Detroit Tigers of the American League in 1901.
May 26 – Dwight Wertz, shortstop for the 1914 Buffalo Buffeds of the outlaw Federal League, who was better known for his professional American football career in the Ohio League over three seasons between 1912 and 1914, where he won three consecutive championship titles while playing for different teams.
June 23 – George Boehler, 66, valuable swingman pitcher whose career spanned 20 years including major league stints with the Detroit Tigers St. Louis Browns, Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Robins over nine seasons from 1912–1926, while collecting 20 or more wins in seven minor league seasons, with a career-high 38 wins for the Tulsa Oilers of the Western League in 1922.
July 2 – Yip Owens, 72, Canadian catcher who played for the Boston Americans, Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn Tip-Tops and Baltimore Terrapins in part of four seasons spanning 1905–1915.
July 8 – Bill McAfee, 50, pitcher who played for the Boston Braves, Washington Senators and St. Louis Browns in a span of four seasons from 1931–1934.
July 22 – Grover Land, 73, catcher who played for the Cleveland Naps in part of three seasons from 1908–1913 before joining the Brooklyn Tip-Tops in 1914–1915.
July 24 – Virgil Barnes, 63, pitcher who played from 1919 through 1928 for the New York Giants and Boston Braves.
July 26 – Walter Bernhardt, 65, pitcher who appeared in one game with the New York Yankees in 1918.
July 27 – Art Corcoran, 63, two-sport athlete who played as a third baseman for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1915, and served as a halfback for five National Football League teams over four seasons from 1920–1923.
July 27 – Phil Page, 52, pitched who played with the Detroit Tigers in the seasons from 1928–1930 and for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1934.
July 28 – Lu Blue, 61, World War I veteran who put together a solid 13-year major league career after his discharge, playing first base with the Detroit Tigers from 1921 to 1924, being traded to the St. Louis Browns in 1927 and staying with them until 1931, when he joined the Chicago White Sox for two years before ending his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1933, collecting a.287/.402/.401 batting line with a.989 fielding average, being ranked as the 77th best first baseman in Major League history, according to baseball historian Bill James.
August
August 1 – Ike Boone, 61, part-time MLB outfielder who hit a.321/.394/.475 line with 26 home runs and 194 runs batted in through 356 games with four clubs from 1922–1932. Nevertheless, Boone is remembered as one of the greatest minor-leaguers of all-time, as he the Texas League in 1923 with a.402 batting average and 125 RBI while playing for the San Antonio Bears, posting a league-record 35-game hitting streak during the season, as his 241 base hits obliterated the league record. Afterwards, Boone played for the Mission Reds of the Pacific Coast League in 1929, hitting.407 with 55 homers and 218 RBI, setting a league record with 553 total bases while delivering 323 hits, two hits short of matching the all-time PCL record for hits in a single season, set by Paul Strand with 325 hits. Overall, Boone batted.300 or better in 12 of his 14 minors seasons, including.400 or more four times. He was inducted both in the International League Hall of Fame and the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.
August 4 – Bob Gamble, 91, 19th-century pitcher who played in 1888 for the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association.
August 8 – Fred Winchell, 76, Canadian pitcher who appeared in four games for the Cleveland Naps in its 1909 season.
August 18 – Archie Stimmel, 85, pitcher who played from 1900 through 1902 for the Cincinnati Reds.
August 21 – George Quellich, 52, left fielder who played 13 games for the 1931 Detroit Tigers, all as a replacement for the team's slugger John Stone, but earned his place in baseball history by setting a record that has never been equaled at any level of professional baseball, with fifteen consecutive hits while playing for the Reading Coal Barons of the International League in 1929, which included one grand slam, four home runs, a double and ten singles. Immediately following the end of his string, Quellich collected 13 hits in his next 18 at-bats.
August 22 – Dummy Taylor, 83, the only successful deaf pitcher in Major League Baseball, who was a vital part of the New York Giants in the early years of the 20th Century, helping them clinch three National League pennants and the 1905 World Series title.
August 28 – Jean Dubuc, 69, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and New York Giants in all or part of nine seasons spanning 1908–1919, whose name was mentioned during the Black Sox Scandal investigation in the Summer of 1921, but he was neither a participant nor a conspirator in the scandal, even though he was pursued for his guilty knowledge of the fix.
August 28 – Eddie Stack, 70, pitcher who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs in a span of five seasons from 1910 to 1914.
August 30 – Frank Demaree, 48, two-time All-Star outfielder whose career included stints with the Chicago Cubs, New York Giants, Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns over twelve seasons from 1932–1944, winning four National League pennants with the Cubs and Cardinals, as well as one American League pennant with the Browns, being also one of four players to reach the 30–30 club in Pacific Coast League history, along with Hall of Famer Tony Lazzeri, Lefty O'Doul and Joc Pederson.
September
September 4 – Red Killefer, 73, who spent 35 years in Organized Baseball as a player, coach, manager, team president and owner of a minor league team named after him, being known as a hot-tempered, fiery and passionate utility man able to play any position but pitcher in a seven-year, major league career with the Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants from 1907–1916, and later becoming a successful manager minor league manager for 25 years from 1917 to 1941, while compiling a managerial record of 1,940–1,800, the best 13th in minor league history.
September 4 – Ward Miller, 74, fourth outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Terriers and St. Louis Browns over part of eight seasons spanning 1909–1917.
September 15 – Snuffy Stirnweiss, 39, two-time All-Star second baseman who played for the New York Yankees between 1943 and 1950, winning three World Series rings with them and the 1945 American League batting championship with a.309 average, leading also the league twice in runs scored, hits, triples and stolen bases, and once in slugging and total bases.
September 27 – Joe Berry, 53, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Indians over four seasons from 1942–1946.
October
October 2 – Bill Forman, 71, pitcher for the Washington Senators over two seasons from 1909–1910.
October 7 – Chick Brandom, 71, pitcher who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Newark Peppers in a span of three seasons from 1908–1915.
October 11 − Ira Thomas, 77, catcher who played from 1906 through 1915 for the New York Highlanders, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics, being also a member of three Athletics clubs that won the World Series from 1910–11 and 1913.
November 3 – Heinie Sand, 61, shortstop who played for the Philadelphia Phillies in a span of six seasons from 1923–1928.
November 3 – John Eubank, 86, swingman pitcher who played for the Detroit Tigers over three seasons from 1905–1907.
November 6 – Ernie Diehl, 81, backup outfielder who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Beaneaters and Boston Doves in part of four seasons spanning 1903–1909.
November 14 – Jack Owens, 50, catcher who played in two games with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1935.
November 15 – Harry Riconda, 61, third baseman who played with the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Braves, Brooklyn Robins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds in part of six seasons between 1923 and 1930.
November 17 – Mort Cooper, 45, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves, New York Giants and Chicago Cubs over twelve seasons from 1938–1949, being selected for the All-Star Game from 1942–43 and from 1945–46, who led the National League with 22 wins, 10 shutouts and a 1.78 ERA in 1942, earning NL Most Valuable Player honors, while anchoring the pitching staff for the Cardinals in three consecutive NL pennants from 1942 through 1944, collecting three 20-win seasons and World Series rings in 1942 and 1944.
November 20 – Bill Lathrop, 67, pitcher who played for the Chicago White Sox in part of two seasons from 1913 to 1914.
November 21 – Mel Ott, 49, Hall of Fame right fielder and 12-time All-Star who played his 22-season big league career with the New York Giants from 1926–1947; one of few players to jump from a high school team into major league action as a 17-year-old, being a member of three World Series champion teams, while leading the National League in home runs and walks six times, in runs scored, triples and outfield double plays twice, and in runs batted in once, ending his career with a.304/.414/.533 batting line, 511 home runs, 488 doubles, 2,876 hits, 9,456 runs and 1,860 RBI in 2,730 games played.
November 24 – Roy Corhan, 71, shortstop who played with the Chicago White Sox in 1911 and for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1916.
December
December 4 – Red Murray, 74, right fielder for three National League clubs from 1906–1917, whose combination of power, fielding and speed on the bases guided the New York Giants to three pennants from 1911–1913, while leading all outfielders in assists in 1909 and 1910, becoming the only outfielder in the modern era to accumulate more than 100 assists during the period of 1907 to 1910, and also one of only three players in the same period to finish twice among the top five in home runs and stolen bases during the same season, joining Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb.
December 8 – Bernie Friberg, 59, valuable utility man who was able to play all nine defensive positions in a 14-season career for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox between 1919 and 1933.
December 8 – Tris Speaker, 70, Hall of Fame center fielder highly regarded for both his batting and his fielding in a 22-year career, who earned American League MVP honors in 1912 and led the Boston Red Sox to a World Series title, then another World Series title in 1915, also carrying the Cleveland Indians to its first World Series championship in 1920 as a player/manager, while compiling 3,514 hits and posting a.345 career average –sixth on the all-time list– including 792 doubles –a career record that nobody has surpassed–, and leading the league in putouts seven times and in double plays six times, as his career totals in both categories are still major-league records at his position.
December 9 – Rube Vickers, 80, pitcher who played from 1902 through 1909 for the Brooklyn Superbas, Cincinnati Reds, and Philadelphia Athletics.
December 10 – Cozy Dolan, 68, who came up as a pitcher in 1895 and returned as mainly an outfielder and first baseman in the early 1900s, while playing for the Cincinnati Red, New York Highlanders, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants.
December 15 – Harry Heitmann, 62, pitcher for the 1918 Brookyn Robins.
December 16 – Les Scarsella, 45, first baseman and left fielder who played with the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Bees in part of four seasons between 1935 and 1940.
December 24 – Jim Boyle, 54, catcher for the New York Giants, who has the distinction of having one of the shortest known Major League Baseball careers, while catching for only one inning in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 20, 1926, without registering an at bat appearance.
December 30 – Jim Hickman, 66, backup outfielder for the Baltimore Terrapins and Brooklyn Robins in four seasons from 1915–1919.
December 30 – Glenn Spencer, 53, pitcher who played from 1928 to 1933 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants.
December 31 – Jack Doyle, 89, Irish-born first baseman whose solid 17-year playing career includes a National League Championship with the Baltimore Orioles in 1896 and two stints as manager of the New York Giants in 1895 and the Washington Senators in 1898, while leading the National League first basemen with 96 assists in 1900 and 1.418 putouts in 1903, and collecting a career slash line of.299/.351/.385 with 971 runs batted in and 518 stolen bases in 1,569 games.
