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.
After missing a sign Bob Robertson delivers a 3 run HR 1971 World Series
October 12 - Oakland advances to second World Series at the cost of Mr October
October 11 - George Brett steals the show in Game 3 of the 1985 ALCS
October 10 - Tom Seaver hurls the Mets into the World Series for the second time
Jackie Robinson's last hit - a walk off vs the New York Yankees
October 9 - Jeter gets help from a fan
October 8 - Henderson leads Oakland over Blue Jays
October 7 - Curt Flood Traded
October 6 - Ruth goes yard 3 times
October 5 - Billy Martin leads NY to 5th straight title
October 4 - Brooklyn Dodgers win the World Series
October 3 - Frank Robinson becomes the first black manager
October 2 - Gibson fans 17 to set World Series Record
October 1 - managerial career of Roberto Clemente began and ended on this day
September 22 Cesar Tovar plays all 9 positions
September 21 Vida Blue no-hits the Twins
September 20 Thurman Munson, has his plaque placed in Monument Park
September 19 - Davey Johnson ties Hornsby
September 18 - Roger Clemens fans 20 Detroit Tigers
September 17 Dwight Gooden leads Mets to 108th victory
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