1959 – The Cleveland Indians send OF Larry Doby to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for OF Tito Francona. Francona will hit .363 for the Indians, while Doby will be released after playing just 16 games for Detroit.
1959 – Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees ends his holdout after one day. Mantle agrees to a salary of $72,000 and a bonus of $2,000. He had been asking the Yankees for $85,000 after batting .304 with 42 home runs and 97 RBI in 1958.
1959 – Bill Gullickson is born in Marshall, MN. The righthander goes 10-14 as a Houston starter in 1990, part of his 14 big league seasons but he is gone to Detroit the next year as the Astros tighten their belts.
1959 – The Yankees invite Australian cricket player Norman O’Neill for a tryout at SS. U.S. Davis Cup captain Billy Talbert, while playing tennis in Australia, arranges the deal after hearing of O’Neill’s prowess.
ON February 14, 1959 – The Baltimore Orioles, looking to find a backup for first baseman Bob Boyd, buy 32 year-old veteran infielder/outfielder Whitey Lockman from the Giants for an undisclosed sum…he will hit 217 for the orioles leading to a June, Baltimore will trade their new acquisition to the Reds for Walt Dropo, who has…
February 13, 1959- 500 people attended the 22nd Old Time Baseball Players Assn. banquet at the Elks Club and heard both Del Crandall and General Manger John Quinn talk that the key to a third straight pennant for the Braves was filling the gap left by the absence of Red Schoendienst. Crandall received a plaque…
1959 – Frank D. Lawrence, owner of the Portsmouth, VA, club, files a $250,000 suit against Commissioner Ford Frick and Major League Baseball for breach of contract, alleging that broadcasts of major league games effectively forced him out of business.
On February 7, 1959, Hall of Famer Napoleon “Larry” Lajoie dies of pneumonia at the age of 84. Lajoie batted .338 over a 21-year career and gained election to the Hall of Fame in 1937. Lajoie also managed Cleveland from 1905 to 1909.
Chicago White Sox president Mrs. Dorothy Rigney agrees to sell the team to Bill Veeck for a reported $2.7 million. Chicago insurance broker Charles O. Finley allows that he can match the price. Charles Comiskey, Dorothy’s brother, will try to stop Veeck from buying the Sox, but will be unsuccessful.
1959 – Zack Wheat, a Brooklyn Robins favorite of the 1910s and 1920s, is elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Wheat, a .317 hitter over his 19-year career, batted .300 or better 14 times.
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