July 2, 1903, A three-time .400 hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies, Ed Delahanty was the sport’s first bona fide slugger, leading the league with 19 homers and 146 RBI in 1893. Ten years later “the King of Swat” was dead; his fatal plunge off the International Bridge into the foot of Niagara Falls 96…
On July 2, 1903, Seeing that George Davis is playing for the Giants, Ed Delahanty decides to jump to New York too. Leaving the Nationals in Detroit, he boards an eastbound train. He is put off the train for rowdy, and possibly drunken, behavior at Niagara Falls. When he tries to walk across the railroad…
On January 12, 1903, Detroit Tigers player-manager Win Mercer commits suicide by inhaling gas in a San Francisco hotel.. The Tigers had recently named Mercer, who won 15 games in 1902, their new field manager.
On March 7, 1902 — – Hall of Famer James (Pud) Galvin dies at the age of 45. Galvin won 361 games over a 14-year career, placing him in a tie for sixth on the all-time list for most wins. In 1883 and 1884, Galvin won a combined 92 games. Galvin, posted a…
Billy Barnie, veteran manager in the American Association and the National League, dies at the age of 47. He last managed the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, in 1898.
1900 – Pitcher Jack Taylor, three-times a 20-game winner and 20-game loser, dies of Bright’s disease in Staten Island, New York, at 26 years of age.
1900 – Boston Beaneaters catcher Marty Bergen kills his wife and two children with an axe, then takes his own life. He was reportedly depressed by his son’s death the previous April, and had suffered symptoms of mental illness for several years. Billy Hamilton is the only Boston player to attend the backstop’s funeral.
1897 – Pitcher Charley Radbourn dies in Bloomington, Illinois, at age of 42. In an 11-season career, Radbourn played for the Providence Grays, Boston Beaneaters, Boston Reds and Cincinnati Reds, compiling a 309-195 record with 1830 strikeouts and a 2.67 ERA. He posted at least 20 wins in nine seasons, including 59 in 1884 and 48 a year before. Affectionately nicknamed “Old Hoss”, Radburn will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939.
1894 – King Kelly, probably the most popular baseball player of the 19th century, dies of pneumonia in Boston, MA.
1872 – Albert Thake‚ 22-year-old LF of the Brooklyn Atlantics‚ drowns off Fort Hamilton‚ in New York Harbor‚ while fishing. A benefit game is arranged by Bob Ferguson between the old Brooklyn Atlantics and members of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings.
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