1964 – New York Mets pitcher Carl Willey suffers a broken jaw when he is hit by a line drive batted by Detroit Tigers outfielder Gates Brown during a spring training loss. Willey will be out until June 6th but his career will be effectively ended.
Cleveland’s manager Birdie Tebbetts suffers a heart attack. George Strickland will fill in for three months until the 51 year-old skipper returns to the Indians dugout with limited duties.
At Los Angeles‚ Braves pitcher Bob Sadowski notches a 7-1 win and sets a Braves franchise record of striking out 5 times in a regulation game. The only other Braves to whiff five times was Harry Stovey‚ who did it in extra innings in 1891.
Atlanta’s Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. claims to have a verbal agreement with a major league team which promises to move to the Peach State if a stadium is ready by next year. The next day the Board of Alderman approves a $15-million stadium.
Charlie Finley gives in to American League pressure and signs a four-year lease with the municipal government to keep the A’s in Kansas City. Finley wanted two years. His exasperated AL colleagues vote 9-1 that KC’s offer is reasonable. Finley will move the team out of KC as soon as the lease expires after the 1967 season.
The San Francisco Giants acquire P Masanori Murakami, 3B Tatsuhico Tanaka, and C Hiroshi Takahashi on a player development deal with the Nankai Hawks, who own rights to all three. They are the first Japanese natives ever to play for American teams. All three are assigned to the Magic Valley Cowboys (Pioneer League). Although none of the three are considered top prospects, Murakami will confound everyone by reaching the major leagues by September after an outstanding season in the minors.
1964 – Colts trade in cacti for grapefruits as they begin their first spring training in Cocoa, FL. The new facility is hailed as “state-of-the-art” but soon becomes disparaged because of poor drainage, snakes, and a spartan dormitory where the players are housed. Prankster Turk Farrell livens things up by purchasing a young alligator and slipping him into the clubhouse whirlpool.
1964 – Colts trade outfielder Carl Warwick to St. Louis for outfielder Jim Beauchamp and pitcher Chuck Taylor. Beauchamp would hit .164 and .189 as an Houston reserve. The 21-year-old Taylor was sent back to St. Louis where he saw his first big league action in 1969 and became a quality reliever.
1964 – Former White Sox SS Luke Appling is elected into the Hall of Fame by a special vote. In 1953, Appling’s first year of eligibility for Cooperstown, the Sox great received just two votes. He holds the single-season highest batting average for his position, hitting .388 in 1936.
On February 15, 1964, the body of Chicago Cubs star Ken Hubbs is found after the crash of his private plane near Provo, Utah. The 22-year-old Hubbs, a newly licensed pilot, was at the controls of the Cessna 172 when it crashed on an ice-covered lake, killing him and his 23 year-old friend, Dennis Doyle….
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