This Day in Baseball - The Daily Rewind
Sports:Baseball
Matt and Tom Discuss -
Bob Feller, Pitching Machines, December 15th, Free Agency, Bill Hamilton and Tommie Agee
December 15th Show Notes
December 15, 1896 –
THE PITCHING CANNON AT WORK
In 1896, Princeton University mathematics instructor Charles Hinton designed a gunpowder-powered baseball pitching machine for the Princeton University baseball team’s batting practice. According to one source it caused several injuries and may have been partly responsible for Hinton’s dismissal from Princeton that year. A demonstration was given in the school’s gymnasium on December 15, 1896.
Hinton died unexpectedly in 1907 from a cerebral hemorrhage and while he is mostly remembered for his work on the fourth dimension, in stark contrast, he is also credited with designing the first playground jungle gym.
December 15, 1967 — The Mets obtain Tommy Agee, the 1966 Rookie of the Year, and utility infielder Al Weis from the White Sox in exchange for Buddy Booker, Tommy Davis, Jack Fisher, and Billy Wynne. New York’s newest additions will both play a pivotal role in the team’s 1969 World Championship season.
December 15, 1974 — Oakland A’s pitching star and Cy Young Award winner Catfish Hunter is declared a free agent. Arbitrator Peter Seitz rules that A’s owner Charlie Finley committed a breach of contract by failing to make a payment to Hunter’s life insurance fund. The four-time 20-game winner, who helped Oakland to World Championships in 1972, 1973 and 1974, will sign a five-year contract worth a record $3.75 million with the New York Yankees. The decision will usher in a new era in the owners’ relationship with their players.
Died: December 15, 2010 in Cleveland, OH. Blessed with a resilient arm and an overpowering fastball that frequently approached 100 miles per hour, Bob Feller was the most dominant pitcher of his era. Despite missing four full seasons during the peak of his career to join the war effort, Feller compiled 266 victories over the course of 18 big-league seasons, including three no-hitters and a record 12 one-hitters. Many people still feel that no one has ever thrown a baseball harder than the Cleveland Indian Hall of Famer.
Robert William Andrew Feller was born on November 3, 1918 in the small midwestern town of Van Meter, Iowa. Growing up an Iowa farm boy during the 1920s, much of Feller’s childhood consisted of performing household chores and playing baseball. Feller later credited milking cows, picking corn, and baling hay with strengthening his arms and giving him the capacity to throw as hard as he did.
After pitching for the Van Meter High School baseball team, Feller signed with the Cleveland Indians for $1 and an autographed baseball. He made his major league debut with the team on July 19, 1936, more than three months shy of his 18th birthday. Without having spent a single day in the minors, the 17-year-old phenom struck out 15 St. Louis Browns in his first start. Feller finished the season 5-3 with a 3.34 ERA and 76 strikeouts in only 62 innings of work.
December 15, 1940 – Hall of Fame outfielder “Sliding Billy” Hamilton dies at the age of 74. Hamilton stole 912 bases and batted .344 over his 14-year career, placing him in the top 10 on the all-time batting list.
Hamilton revolutionized the game of baseball, making the head-first slide, the first-to-third advance on a base hit, and the drag bunt staples of the game in the 1890s. He won two batting titles, and his .344 career average is sixth-best all-time. In 1894 he set a record that may never be topped, scoring 192 runs for the Phillies. With Philadelphia, he teamed with Sam Thompson and Ed Delahanty to form one of the greatest outfields of all-time. Despite his record-setting career, Hamilton did not earn entry to the Hall of Fame until 1961 — 21 years after his death and 60 years after he played his final game.
Charlie Lea pitches first No Hitter at Olympic Stadium
Catfish Hunter is Perfect May 8 1968 - 9th Inning Broadcast
Bob Watson of the Houston Astros scores the one millionth run in major league history
Willie Mays hits 4 homeruns at County Stadium
Apr 28, 1965 Mets announcer Lindsay Nelson calls the game from the Dome's ceiling - Vintage Baseball Reflections
April 24, 1966 Willie Mays ties Mel Ott - Vintage Baseball Reflections
April 20 1945 Bill Stern Sports Newsreel - Larry McPhail - Vintage Baseball Reflections
April 18, 1987 Mike Schmidt 500th Homerun - Vintage Baseball Reflections
April 12 - The Grey Eagle Soars - The Tris Speaker Trade
April 11 One and Done the home debut and story of the Seattle Pilots
April 10 - FISK changes his Sox
April 9 - FERNANDOMANIA
April 8 - I Had A Hammer How Hank Aaron rose above it all
April 7 - The Stat that created a position The Save
April 6 - The DH officially debuts after 86 years of debate
Mickey Cochrane World Series Walk Off
April 5 - Charlie Ebbets builds Ebbets Field
April 4 1994 - A New Era is born in Cleveland as The Jake opens
Tom Seaver signs with the Mets and 3 years later pulls off a Miracle
April 3 - Dennis Eckersley traded and then he evolves into one of the greatest closer in Baseball history
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Halos in the infield ( an angels baseball podcast )
The 3 Old Reds Fans Podcast
Talkin’ Baseball (MLB Podcast)
North Side Territory
Talkin’ Yanks (Yankees Podcast)