Twenty-eight months after the Dodgers play their last game in Brooklyn, the demolition of Ebbets Field finally begins when a wrecking ball, painted with red and white stitches, begins its work on the ballpark Brooklyn called home for 44 years. Before the demolition wheel-chair bound Roy Campanella, the team’s former All-Star catcher and three-time National League MVP is given an urn of dirt from behind home plate in front of a crowd of 200 faithful fans.
New York Yankees sell pitcher Vic Raschi
1940 – The A’s waive Lynn Nelson to Detroit. Nelson was the A’s top winner in 1939 with 10 victories, but he’ll go 1-1 with Detroit before bowing out.
Brooklyn coach Casey Stengel signs a two-year deal to manage the Dodgers, replacing skipper Max Carey, who guided the sixth-place club to a 65-88 record last season. During the rookie manager’s three-year tenure with the Brooks, the team will finish 43 games under .500, finishing no higher than fifth place.
1918 – Barney Dreyfuss of the Rules Committee launches a campaign to ban the spitter. He will succeed next year.
On February 23, 1908, future Hall of Fame pitcher Ray Brown is born in Alger, Ohio. Brown anchored the rotation of the Homestead Grays during its Negro National League dynasty years, when the club won eight pennants between 1937 and 1945. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006.
1888 – James “Pud” Galvin signs with Pittsburgh for $3,000, including $1,000 in advance. The club offered him $3,500 with no advance money, but Galvin needs the $1,000 to tide him over the winter.
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