1968 – Lena Blackburne dies in Riverside, New Jersey, at age 81. A former major league infielder and manager, Blackburne has been the source for his eponymous rubbing mud, used by umpires in both leagues to rub down new balls. He leaves the mud business to his boyhood friend, John Haas.

ByTom

1968 – Lena Blackburne dies in Riverside, New Jersey, at age 81. A former major league infielder and manager, Blackburne has been the source for his eponymous rubbing mud, used by umpires in both leagues to rub down new balls. He leaves the mud business to his boyhood friend, John Haas.

roberto-alomar

Second baseman Roberto Alomar is born in Ponce, Puerto Rico

ByTom

1968 – Second baseman Roberto Alomar is born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, the son of major league IF Sandy Alomar. One of the best fielders ever at the position, he will also be a top hitter, with 9 seasons with a .300 average, and 6 with 100 or more runs scored. He will be a key part of the Toronto Blue Jays’ back-to-back World Series-winning teams in 1992 and 1993 and will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 2011.

Goose Goslin

Goose Goslin and Kiki Cuyler are elected into the Hall of Fame by a unanimous vote of the Veterans Committee

ByTom

Goose Goslin, a former Senator and Tiger outfielder who retired with a career .316 batting average after playing in five World Series, and Kiki Cuyler, a .321 career hitter who won four stolen base crowns while running the bases for the Pirates and Cubs, are elected into the Hall of Fame by a unanimous vote of the Veterans Committee. Goslin believed his enshrinement in Cooperstown was helped by his interview that was shared in Lawrence Ritter’s 1966 book, The Glory of Their Times: The Story Of The Early Days Of Baseball Told By The Men Who Played It.

Outfielder Joe Medwick is voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
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Outfielder Joe Medwick is voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

ByThis Day in Baseball

1968 – Outfielder Joe Medwick is voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In his brilliant 17-season career Medwick was a .324 hitter with 205 home runs and 1383 RBI. A ten-time All-Star, in 1937 he won the Triple Crown and was named the National League MVP.

Ewing Kauffman becomes the owner of the new American League franchise in Kansas City to be eventually known as the Royals. The pharmaceutical magnate, encouraged by his wife Muriel, becomes an instrumental force in bringing a quality major league baseball experience to the Heart of America, after Charlie Finley’s stormy departure to Oakland with the unpopular A’s team.

ByTom

Ewing Kauffman becomes the owner of the new American League franchise in Kansas City to be eventually known as the Royals. The pharmaceutical magnate, encouraged by his wife Muriel, becomes an instrumental force in bringing a quality major league baseball experience to the Heart of America, after Charlie Finley’s stormy departure to Oakland with the unpopular A’s team.