Joe Dimaggio hits in 56 consecutive games. After being hitless in the 57th game, he hit safely in 16 more consecutive games for a streak of 72 of 73 games.
Ted Williams ended the season with a .406 batting average. No hitter (qualifying for the batting title) has hit over .400 since the 1941 season.
September 28 - Entering the last day of the season, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox was hitting .3995, which would have been good for a .400 average. However, Williams decided to play in both games of a double-header at Shibe Park against the Philadelphia Athletics to make it completely legitimate; he would go 6 for 8 in the two games to leave his average at .406. It remains the last time any player has hit .400 in a season.
September 29 - The Fort Custer team won the national amateur championship of the American Baseball Congress with a 3?2 victory over the Charlotte, North Carolina team. It was the last time the amateur World Series was held until after the war.
January 6 - Charley O'Leary, 58, shortstop for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns between 1904 and 1934, who later coached for many years with the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs
January 9 - Fred Smith, 77, pitcher who posted a 19-13 record with a .327 ERA in his only major league season with the 1890 Toledo Maumees
January 20 - Jack Lelivelt, 55, outfielder for the Senators, Highlanders, Yankees and Naps from 1909-14, who also set an International League record with a 42-game streak in 1912, which was broken by Brandon Watson in 2007
January 24 - Tommy Bond, 84, Irish 19th century pitcher who posted a 234-163 record for six different clubs from 1874 to 1884, and also was the first Triple Crown winner in 1877, leading the National League with 40 wins, 170 strikeouts, and a 2.11 ERA
January 25 - Chris Lindsay, 62, first baseman who played from 1905 to 1906 with the Detroit Tigers
February 21 - Frank Corridon, 60, pitcher from 1904-10 for the Cubs, Phillies and Cardinals, who is credited with being the first major league pitcher to use the spitball
March 1 - Ivey Wingo, 50, catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1911-14) and Cincinnati Reds (1915-26, 1929), who hit .571 as a member of the 1919 World Series Champions Reds
March 31 - Kit McKenna, 68, pitcher for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1898) and Baltimore Orioles (1899)
April-June
April 13 - Germany Schultz, 47, outfielder from 1912-25 for every National League club with the exception of the New York Giants; later a minor league manager and MLB executive
April 16 - Howard Wakefield, 57, catcher who played from 1905-07 with the Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators
May 8 - Bill Joyce, 75, third baseman for five teams (1890-98) and manager of the New York Giants (1896-98), who tied for the National League home runs title with Ed Delahanty (1896) and finished second three times
May 19 - Joe Gedeon, 47, second baseman for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns from 1913 to 1920, who led American League batters with 48 sacrifice hits in 1920
May 23 - Jack Clements, 76, left-handed catcher for six different teams between 1884 and 1900, who caught 1,073 games and also is credited with being the first catcher to wear a chest protector
May 25 - Bob Higgins, 54, catcher from 1909 to 1912 for the Cleveland Naps and Brooklyn Dodgers
June 2 - Lou Gehrig, 37, Hall of Fame first baseman for the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1939, a 2-time MVP, the 1934 Triple Crown winner, and the second player to hit 400 home runs, who retired to end a record 2,130-game playing streak upon being diagnosed with the terminal illness that now bears his name
June 3 - Andy Cooper, 43, pitcher for the Negro Leagues' Detroit Stars and Kansas City Monarchs
June 16 - Mike Flynn, 69, Irish catcher who played in one game with the Boston Reds of the American Association
July-September
July 3 - Tom McCreery, 66, pitcher/outfielder for five different teams from 1895 to 1903, who is the only player in major league history to hit three inside-the-park home runs in a single game
September 24 - Luis Castro, 64, Colombian second baseman for the 1902 Philadelphia Athletics, who is regarded as the first Latin player to appear in a major league game
October 25 - Bill Phillips, pitcher for Pittsburgh and Cincinnati between 1890 and 1903, who is best remembered for managing the 1914 Indianapolis Hoosiers to the Federal League pennant
October 29 - Harvey Hendrick, 43, infielder/outfielder who hit .308 for seven different teams between 1923 and 1934
November 12 - Ernie Koob, 49, pitcher for the St. Louis Browns from 1915-19, who threw a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on May 5, 1917
December 9 - Ed Mars, 75, pitcher for the 1890 Syracuse Stars of the American Association
December 25 - George Bell, 67, pitcher from 1907-11 for the Brooklyn's Superbas and Dodgers
Encyclopedia
top
