Bernice Lombardi finds her husband Ernie lying on the bed after the former major league catcher slit his throat from ear to ear with a razor he found in a relative’s bathroom. The former Reds’ backstop, battling a similar bout of depression that caused his teammate Willard Hershberger to commit suicide in 1940, is given little hope to live, at the time, but he will manage to survive his horrific self-inflicted wound.

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Bernice Lombardi finds her husband Ernie lying on the bed after the former major league catcher slit his throat from ear to ear with a razor he found in a relative’s bathroom. The former Reds’ backstop, battling a similar bout of depression that caused his teammate Willard Hershberger to commit suicide in 1940, is given little hope to live, at the time, but he will manage to survive his horrific self-inflicted wound.

Herb Gorman suffers a heart attack during a Pacific Coast League game

Herb Gorman suffers a heart attack during a Pacific Coast League game

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On April 5, 1953, Minor league outfielder Herb Gorman suffers a heart attack during a Pacific Coast League game and dies while being transported to the hospital. Gorman, a member of the San Diego Padres, is stricken during the 6th inning of a game against the Hollywood Stars. In 1952 he played briefly in the major leagues for the Cardinals. @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@ Game ticket &…

1953 – U.S. Senator Edwin C. Johnson offers a bill to give clubs the sole right to ban radio-TV broadcasts of major league games in their own territory. The antitrust division of the Justice Department outlawed this practice in 1949. Johnson believes that it started the decline of baseball in small towns and cities throughout the country. His bill aims to restore the equity between large communities and the small areas.

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1953 – U.S. Senator Edwin C. Johnson offers a bill to give clubs the sole right to ban radio-TV broadcasts of major league games in their own territory. The antitrust division of the Justice Department outlawed this practice in 1949. Johnson believes that it started the decline of baseball in small towns and cities throughout the country. His bill aims to restore the equity between large communities and the small areas.

Jim Rice

OF Jim Rice is born in Anderson, SC.

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1953 – OF Jim Rice is born in Anderson, SC. He will gain fame as a slugger with the Boston Red Sox, starting with an outstanding rookie campaign in 1975, when he will finish second to teammate Fred Lynn for the Rookie of the Year Award. He will be the American League MVP in 1978 and retire in 1989 with 382 homers and 1451 RBI, having played his entire career with the Sox. Rice will be elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in 2009, in his last year of eligibility.

Boston Braves owner Lou Perini blocks an attempt by the St. Louis Browns to move their franchise to Milwaukee
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Boston Braves owner Lou Perini blocks an attempt by the St. Louis Browns to move their franchise to Milwaukee

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On March 3, 1953, Boston Braves owner Lou Perini blocks an attempt by the St. Louis Browns to move their franchise to Milwaukee. Since Perini owns the Braves’ minor league affiliate in Milwaukee, he is allowed to invoke “territorial privilege” in preventing the Browns from relocating to Wisconsin. Stating he has not been offered enough…

The U.S. Court of Appeals rules that organized baseball is a sport and not a business

The U.S. Court of Appeals rules that organized baseball is a sport and not a business

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The U.S. Court of Appeals rules that organized baseball is a sport and not a business, affirming the 25-year-old Supreme Court ruling. This effectively dismisses the antitrust suits of Jack Corbett and former Brooklyn Dodgers minor leaguer Walter Kowalski. The $300,000 suit of Corbett, the owner of the El Paso Texans, is based on his belief that he lost money when Major League Baseball prohibited him from signing several players suspended for participation in the Mexican League. Kowalski’s $150,000 suit is based on the general principles of the antitrust and restraint-of-trade laws. Their lawyer in these cases is Frederic Johnson, who also represents player Danny Gardella in his suit against Major League Baseball.