Portal:Baseball/Anniversaries/April 1
Events
- 1954 - Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams breaks his collarbone in his first spring training practice and will be out until May 15.
- 1962 - The Detroit Tigers sign University of Detroit basketball star Dave DeBusschere.
- 1963 - The New York Mets purchase veteran outfielder Duke Snider from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- 1969 - Mickey Mantle retires.
- The Seattle Pilots trade Lou Piniella to the Kansas City Royals for two prospects.
- 1970 - An ownership group headed up by automobile dealer Bud Selig buys the Seattle Pilots for $10.8 million.
- 1982 - The New York Mets trade Lee Mazzilli to the Texas Rangers for Ron Darling and Walt Terrell.
- 1985 - The April 1 issue of Sports Illustrated contains an April Fool's Day article by George Plimpton about a New York Mets pitching prospect named Sidd Finch, whose fastball has been timed at 168 miles per hour.
- 1987 - The Pittsburgh Pirates trade Tony Peña to the St. Louis Cardinals for Mike LaValliere, Andy Van Slyke, and Mike Dunne.
- 1988 - For the first time since 1956, the Veterans Committee does not elect anyone to the Baseball Hall of Fame, passing over Phil Rizzuto, Leo Durocher, Joe Gordon, and Gil Hodges.
- 1996 - Longtime umpire John McSherry collapses and dies from a heart attack on Opening Day at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium.
- 2008 - The New York Yankees set an MLB record by winning their 11th straight home opener.
- 2008 - The South Coast League suspends its operations after only one season of play.
Births
- 1856 - Ed Kennedy, outfielder (d. 1905)
- 1857 - Dan Cronin, infielder/outfielder (d. 1885)
- 1858 - Fred Mann, outfielder (d. 1916)
- 1858 - John Russ, pitcher/outfielder (d. 1912)
- 1860 - Wes Curry, pitcher (d. 1933)
- 1884 - Hugo Bezdek, manager (d. 1952)
- 1892 - Claude Cooper, outfielder (d. 1974)
- 1904 - Jack Cummings, catcher (d. 1962)
- 1911 - Bob Brown, pitcher (d. 1990)
- 1912 - Jake Wade, pitcher (d. 2006)
- 1913 - Buster Bray, outfielder (d. 1982)
- 1914 - George Bradley, outfielder (d. 1982)
- 1915 - Jeff Heath, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1975)
- 1916 - George Staller, outfielder (d. 1992)
- 1921 - Red Murff, pitcher (d. 2008)
- 1929 - Bo Schembechler, executive (d. 2006)
- 1934 - Rod Kanehl, infielder (d. 2004)
- 1935 - Tom Qualters, pitcher
- 1936 - Ron Perranoski, pitcher
- 1936 - Ted Sadowski, pitcher (d. 1993)
- 1939 - Phil Niekro, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer
- 1944 - Rusty Staub, outfielder; All-Star
- 1948 - Willie Montañez, infielder; All-Star
- 1952 - Mike Bacsik, pitcher
- 1953 - Larry Murray, outfielder
- 1957 - Manny Castillo, infielder
- 1958 - Mike Kinnunen, pitcher
- 1962 - Rich Amaral, outfielder
- 1968 - Masumi Kuwata, pitcher
- 1969 - Frank Castillo, pitcher
- 1970 - Matt Herges, pitcher
Deaths
- 1914 - Rube Waddell, pitcher; Hall of Famer (b. 1876)
- 1922 - Leech Maskrey, outfielder (b. 1854)
- 1922 - Harry Smith, catcher (b. 1890)
- 1926 - Al Martin, infielder/outfielder (b. 1847)
- 1928 - Marr Phillips, infielder (b. 1857)
- 1934 - Barney Gilligan, catcher (b. 1856)
- 1943 - Pat Deasley, catcher (b. 1857)
- 1946 - George Strief, infielder (b. 1856)
- 1947 - Mike Lynch, outfielder (b. 1875)
- 1948 - Heinie Jantzen, outfielder (b. 1890)
- 1964 - Casey Hageman, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1965 - Ernie Walker, outfielder (b. 1890)
- 1966 - John Sullivan, outfielder (b. 1890)
- 1991 - Frankie Gustine, infielder; All-Star (b. 1920)
- 1996 - John McSherry, umpire (b. 1944)
- 2001 - Jo-Jo Moore, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1908)
- 2007 - Herb Carneal, announcer (b. 1923)
- 2007 - Lou Limmer, infielder (b. 1925)