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.
Billy Sullivan Jr the first father son team to play in World Series
Rogers Hornsby amazing streak January 31
Sandy Amoros makes the catch
Roberto Clemente picks up Tris Speaker Award
Goose Goslin credits an interview for his Hall Call
Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker get cleared for fixing games
Ford Frick ushers in new deadball era
Lefty Gomez - SOLD by Bombers
The original hit king - Gorgeus George Sisler
Jackie Robinson completes his baseball journey January 23
RIP Hank Aaron - Vin Scully calls #715
Robin Roberts & The Whiz Kids January 22
Dizzy Dean gaines the HOF Call and recalls teammates
Ted Williams makes a perfect pitch January 20
Stan Musial Enlists for WWII
Bob Feller - Returns from World War II
January 17 - Carl Hubbell gets rewarded
January 5 - Don Wilson sadly passes away in his home
January 4 - The Rajah goes to Cooperstown
The Red Sox Sell Ruth to New York - but was it really for play?
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