On December 8, 1958, Hall of Famer Tris Speaker dies from a heart attack at the age of 70. Regarded as a consummate defensive center fielder, Speaker batted .345 over a 22-year career, ranking him sixth on the all-time list, behind Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Jackson, Lefty O Doul and Ed Delahanty. He is…
On November 21, 1958, Hall of Famer Mel Ott dies at the age of 49 from injuries sustained in a traffic accident. Ott batted .304 with 511 home runs over a 22-year career with the New York Giants.@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IGp1c3QgY2xpY2sgdGhlIHRhZ3MhICAiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsImxpbmtfdG9fdGVybV9wYWdlIjoib24iLCJzZXBhcmF0b3IiOiIgfCAiLCJjYXRlZ29yeV90eXBlIjoicG9zdF90YWcifX0=@
1958 – Slugger Chuck Klein dies in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the age of 53. Klein batted .320 with 300 home runs and 1201 RBI over a 17-year career. His most productive season came in 1933, when he won the National League Triple Crown. Klein will be elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1980.
On May 26, 1956, former Philadelphia A’s star Al Simmons dies at the age of 54, 4 days after his 54th birthday and a year after his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. After his playing days ended, Simmons served as a coach for Mack’s Athletics (1945–49) and the Cleveland Indians (1950). In early…
On February 8, 1956, one of baseball’s most prominent figures, Connie Mack, dies at the age of 93 from old age and hip surgery. He was known as “The Tall Tactician” and was baseball’s grand old gentleman for more than a generation. Statuesque, stately, and slim, he clutched a rolled-up scorecard as he sat or…
On January 31, 1956, former major leaguer Buck Weaver dies at the age of 65. One of the eight members of the Black Sox to be banned for life, Weaver batted .324 in the 1919 World Series. Although Weaver maintained that he did not participate in the fix, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banished him for…
On January 23, 1956, Hall of Fame umpire Billy Evans dies in Miami, Florida. Evans began his major league umpiring career in 1906, when he was only 22 years old. @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@ Other Resources & Links [et_pb_signup provider=”getresponse” getresponse_list=”Thomas Hannon|zs45L” success_action=”redirect” success_redirect_url=”https://thisdayinbaseball.com/join-the-community/” success_redirect_query=”on|off|off|off|off” title=”Baseball history from Doubleday to Present Day” button_text=”Join us!” description=”…
On December 6, 1955, one of the Hall of Fame’s original members, Honus Wagner, dies at the age of 81. Considered by some the greatest shortstop in history, Wagner batted .327 over a 21-year career before gaining election to the Hall of Fame in 1936.
On July 9, 1955, the originator of the All-Star Game dies at the age of 58. Arch Ward, a Chicago writer and reporter, dies as he prepares to leave to cover his 22nd Midsummer Classic. Ward had initiated the idea for an All-Star Game, which began in 1933 as the “Game of the Century.”
On June 27, 1955, budding Boston Red Sox star Harry Agganis dies unexpectedly from a blood clot after a bout with pneumonia. The 25-year-old Agganis had led all American League first basemen in assists in 1954 and was hitting .313 at the time of his death. Appeared in The New York Times on June 28,…
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