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New York Yankees are sold by the Columbia Broadcasting System to a group of 17 investors, headed up by shipbuilding magnate George Steinbrenner

On January 3, 1973, the New York Yankees are sold by the Columbia Broadcasting System to a group of 17 investors, “There is nothing in life quite so limited as being a limited partner of George Steinbrenner.” – Yankees minority owner John McMullen Heading a limited partnership that includes Lester Crown, John DeLorean, and Nelson Bunker…

Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Roberto Clemente dies in the crash of a four-engine plane over the Atlantic Ocean

Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Roberto Clemente dies in the crash of a four-engine plane over the Atlantic Ocean

On December 31, 1972, Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Roberto Clemente dies in the crash of a four-engine plane over the Atlantic Ocean after taking off from the coast of Isla Verde. The 38-year-old Clemente was supervising the delivery of relief supplies to the earthquake victims of Managua, Nicaragua. The plane, a DC-7 that departed from San…

Roberto Clemente’s final home run comes on his final swing during a batting demonstration in front of “300 admiring kids during a baseball clinic at the town of Aguadilla

1972 – Roberto Clemente’s final home run comes on his final swing during a batting demonstration in front of “300 admiring kids during a baseball clinic at the town of Aguadilla,” reports United Press International, according to whom Clemente hits “the fifth pitch about 350 feet out of left field at the local park.” Clemente’s fellow Pirate and fellow Puerto Rican Fernando Gonzalez is on hand and his recollections will later be recorded by Clemente biographer Kal Wagenheim: “That day in Aguadilla, he spent the whole afternoon under the sun – giving a clinic for the kids. At one point he was giving batting pointers, and there was a kid – about eighteen years old – pitching to him. The people in the stands kept yelling, ‘Roberto, bet you can’t hit a homer!’ Finally, on the last pitch, he smacked the ball right out of the stadium. He gave the kid the bat as a souvenir, and somebody else got the ball. Afterward, they erected a small monument to mark the spot where the ball fell. I think that was the last time Roberto swung a bat, and he hit a home run.”

Major league teams pull off 12 trades involving 36 players – Including Hal McRae who becomes a star in Kansas City

Major league teams pull off 12 trades involving 36 players – Including Hal McRae who becomes a star in Kansas City

On November 30, 1972, major league teams pull off 12 trades involving 36 players. In the biggest deal of the day, the Baltimore Orioles trade onetime 20-game winner Pat Dobson, power-hitting second baseman Dave Johnson, and two other players to the Atlanta Braves for catcher Earl Williams and infielder Taylor Duncan. In another deal, the…

A Six Player blockbuster trade highlighted by future HOF Frank Robinson

A Six Player blockbuster trade highlighted by future HOF Frank Robinson

1972 – In a blockbuster interstate trade good for both teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers send Frank Robinson, Bill Singer, Mike Strahler, Bobby Valentine and Bill Grabarkewitz to the California Angels in exchange for Andy Messersmith and Ken McMullen, who returns to the team that signed him. Next season, Robinson will play 147 games, hitting 30 home runs with 97 RBI and Singer will combine with Nolan Ryan to strike out 674 batters, a 20th Century major league record for two teammates. Messersmith will win 39 games in the next two seasons for the Dodgers and finish second in the Cy Young Award voting in 1974.

History of the World Series – 1972

History of the World Series – 1972 The last edition of the Kansas City A’s, the 1967 team, was a typically overmatched aggregation and finished with 99 losses. But a check of that club’s roster shows not a ragtag collection of over-the-hill athletes, but a valuable collection of promising Athletics. Jim (Catfish) Hunter was 21…