1964 in baseball

Champions

Major League Baseball

Other champions

Awards and honors

MLB statistical leaders
American League National League
AVGTony Oliva MIN.323Roberto Clemente PIT.339
HRHarmon Killebrew MIN49Willie Mays SF47
RBIBrooks Robinson BAL118Ken Boyer STL119
WinsDean Chance LAA20Larry Jackson CHC24
ERADean Chance LAA1.65Sandy Koufax LAD1.74
SOAl Downing NYY217Bob Veale PIT250
SVDick Radatz BOS29Hal Woodeshick HOU23
SBLuis Aparicio BAL57Maury Wills LAD53

Major league baseball final standings

Events

January
  • January 3 – The Reds announce that manager Fred Hutchinson has contracted lung cancer. He will begin two months of radiology treatment in Seattle and will make spring training with the team.
  • January 6:
  • January 15:
    • Major League Baseball executives vote to hold a free-agent draft in New York City. A new TV pact is also signed.
    • Willie Mays‚ the highest-paid player in baseball‚ signs a $105‚000 contract with the Giants.
  • January 16 – American League owners vote 9–1 against Charlie Finley's Louisville moving proposal. Finley is given an ultimatum to sign a lease in Kansas City or lose his franchise.
  • January 28 – Cincinnati Reds center fielder Vada Pinson is cleared of assault charges stemming from a September 5‚ 1963‚ incident when Cincinnati sportswriter Earl Lawson does not pursue charges further.
  • January 29 – Pitcher-writer Jim Brosnan is given permission by the Chicago White Sox to make his own deal with another team. His in-season writing has been censured by Sox general manager Ed Short.
  • January 30 – The United States Senate Subcommittee on Monopolies begins hearings on baseball.

February

March
  • March 23:
    • Finally, Charlie Finley gives in to American League pressure and signs a four-year lease with the municipal government to keep the Athletics in Kansas City. Finley wanted two years. His exasperated AL colleagues voted 9-1 that KC's offer was reasonable.
    • The San Francisco Giants sign pitcher Masanori Murakami‚ third baseman Tatsuhiko Tanaka‚ and catcher Hiroshi Takahashi, the first Japanese ballplayers ever to play for American teams. All three are assigned to the Magic Valley Cowboys of the Pioneer League.

April
  • April 1 - Cleveland Indians manager Birdie Tebbetts suffered a heart attack. George Strickland will fill in for three months until the 51-year old skipper returns to the team with limited duties.
  • April 8 – Houston Colt .45s relief pitcher Jim Umbricht dies of cancer at the age of 33. In 1965, the franchise, by then known as the Astros, would retire his number.
  • April 9 - Much to the chagrin of team executive Branch Rickey the St. Louis Cardinals traded Jimmie Coker and Gary Kolb to the Milwaukee Braves for catcher Bob Uecker. After introducing himself, The Redbirds' new backstop is quickly informed by Rickey. "I didn't want you, I wouldn't trade one Gary Kolb for a hundred Bob Ueckers".
  • April 10 - Demolition of the Polo Grounds in Manhattan began, with the same wrecking ball that demolished Ebbets Field in Brooklyn four years earlier.
  • April 13 - After beating The Cincinnati Reds 6-3 in the traditional home opener in Cincinnati. Houston was in first place for the only time as the Houston Colt 45s. The next year they were known as The Houston Astros, in reflection of the NASA space program.
  • April 14 – Sandy Koufax goes all the way in his only opening day start, allowing no walks and beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 4–0. at Dodger Stadium. Frank Howard homers for the Dodgers.
  • April 17 – The New York Mets play their first game at brand-new Shea Stadium and lose 4–3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Willie Stargell hits the first home run in the stadium's history, a second-inning solo shot off the Mets' Jack Fisher. In the first-ever "Kiner's Korner" from Shea, Ralph Kiner's guest is Casey Stengel.
  • April 19 - The Mets win their first of 1,859 victories at Shea Stadium as they beat The Pirates 6-0 behind Al Jackson's 6-hitter.
  • April 23 – At Colt Stadium, Ken Johnson of the Houston Colt .45's no-hits his former team, the Cincinnati Reds, but loses 1–0. Two ninth-inning errors allow the Reds to score the game's lone run: a two-base throwing error by Johnson himself on Pete Rose's ground ball, and the second by Nellie Fox on Vada Pinson's grounder, which scores Rose. To date, the game is the only one in Major League history whose losing pitcher had pitched a nine-inning no-hitter.

May
Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax

June

July

August

September

October
  • October 3 – The New York Yankees clinch their 14th American League pennant in 16 years with an 8–3 victory over the Cleveland Indians, holding off the Chicago White Sox by a single game.
  • October 3 – As a result of the now-concluded Phillies' 10-game losing streak, this day begins with four teams still having a mathematical shot at the NL pennant, and it is still mathematically possible to get a 4-way tie for such. But then one of those four teams, the San Francisco Giants, is eliminated with a 10–7 loss to the Chicago Cubs. At the end of the day's play, the Reds and the Cardinals are tied for 1st place, with the Phillies a game back. In recent days, the NL has had to scramble to schedule various possible playoffs.
  • October 4 – The Phillies defeat the Reds, 10–0, in the last regular-season game for both teams unless there is a playoff; because of the Reds' loss, the Cardinals clinch a tie for the NL pennant. At the end of that game, the Phillies and Reds are 1/2 game back of the Cardinals, and await the result of the Cardinals-Mets game. Then, the Cardinals, never in first place until the last week of the season, clinch their first pennant since 1946 with an 11–5 win over the Mets, who had just beaten the Cardinals twice in the two preceding days. The win by the Cardinals averts a three-way tie for the NL pennant, with the Phillies and the Reds finishing one game back in a second-place tie.
  • October 14 – The Los Angeles Dodgers released Jim Gilliam and Lee Walls.
  • October 15 – The St. Louis Cardinals take an early lead in the deciding World Series Game Seven over the New York Yankees. Lou Brock hits a fifth-inning home run to give pitcher Bob Gibson a 6-0 lead. Mickey Mantle, Clete Boyer and Phil Linz homer for New York, but the Yankees fall short. The Cardinals win the game 7–5 and are the World Champions. The Boyer brothers, Ken for St. Louis and Clete for the Yankees, homer in their last World Series appearance, a first in major league history.
  • October 16 – The day after the final game of the World Series, the managerial posts of both pennant winning teams are vacant. In the morning, Johnny Keane, manager of the victorious St. Louis Cardinals, resigns, much to the surprise of owner Gussie Busch. Hours later, New York Yankee general manager Ralph Houk fires Yogi Berra as his manager, citing Berra's lack of control over team and his inability to command respect from his players. Less than a week later, Houk replaces Berra with Keane, who himself will be replaced (as St. Louis manager) by coach and former Cardinal star Red Schoendienst. Meanwhile, Berra reunites with Casey Stengel by becoming a coach with the New York Mets.

November

December
  • December 1 – The Houston Colt .45s officially change their nickname to Astros. The change coincides with the team's impending move from Colt Stadium to the Harris County Domed Stadium, also known as the Astrodome. A change in name for the three-year-old franchise is necessitated due to a dispute with the Colt firearm company; the Astros name is chosen due to Houston being the home of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center (later the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center).
  • December 4:
    • The Minnesota Twins acquire extremely versatile utility César Tovar from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for pitcher Gerry Arrigo. Tovar will play eight seasons in Minnesota.
    • MLB owners decide to use a free agent draft beginning in January 1965. The inverse order of the previous year's standings will be used to select players every four months.

Births

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deaths

January
  • January [?] – Al Cabrera, 82, Spaniard shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1912 season.
  • January 13 – Margaret Stefani, 46, All-Star infielder in the 1943 inaugural season of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
  • January 15 – Ed Henderson, 79, who pitched in 1914 with the Pittsburgh Rebels and the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the Federal League.
  • January 15 – Bob Larmore, 67, backup shortstop for the 1918 St. Louis Cardinals.
  • January 16 – Howard Baker, 75, third baseman who played for the Cleveland Naps, Chicago White Sox and New York Giants in parts of three seasons spanning 1912-1915.
  • January 17 – John Grimes, 94, who pitched in three games for the 1897 St. Louis Browns.

February
  • February 4 – Fred Smith, 85, pitcher for the 1907 Cincinnati Reds.
  • February 12 – Ted Pawelek, 44, catcher for the Chicago Cubs in the 1946 season.
  • February 12 – Al Pierotti, 68, pitcher for the Boston Braves from 1920–1921, who was also an offensive lineman in the American Professional Football League from 1920 through 1929.
  • February 14 – Bill Stewart, 69, National League umpire from 1933 to 1954 who worked four World Series, four All-Star Games and the 1951 NL pennant playoff; also a hockey coach and referee who led the Chicago Black Hawks to the 1938 Stanley Cup title.
  • February 15 – Ken Hubbs, 22, second baseman for the Chicago Cubs and the 1962 Rookie of the Year, in a plane crash.
  • February 15 – Fred Trautman, 71, pitcher for the 1915 Newark Peppers of the Federal League.
  • February 22 – Kid Butler, 76, infielder for the 1907 St. Louis Browns.
  • February 22 – Ike Samuels, 90, third baseman for the 1895 St. Louis Browns of the National League.
  • February 24 – Henry Baldwin, 69, backup infielder for the 1927 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • February 27 – Tony Smith, 79, shortstop for the AL Washington Senators (1907) and the NL Brooklyn Superbas/Dodgers (1910–1911).

March
  • March 2 – Fred Vaughn, 45, second baseman for the AL Washington Senators over parts of two seasons from 1944–45.
  • March 3 – Lefty Scott, 48, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1945 season.
  • March 10 – Warren Shanabrook, 83, third baseman for the 1906 Washington Senators.
  • March 13 – Mack Allison, 77, pitcher who played from 1911 through 1913 for the St. Louis Browns of the American League.
  • March 19 – John Henry Lloyd, 79, Hall of Fame shortstop of the Negro leagues who was dubbed as the black Honus Wagner.

April
  • April 1 – Casey Hageman, 76, who pitched from 1911 through 1914 for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.
  • April 5 – Bob Clemens, 77, outfielder who played with the St. Louis Browns in 1914.
  • April 7 – Johnny Tillman, 70, pitcher who played for the St. Louis Browns in 1915.
  • April 8 – George Moriarty, 79, third baseman, manager and umpire in the American League during 35 years.
  • April 8 – Mickey O'Neil, 63, catcher for the Boston Braves, Brooklyn Robins, Washington Senators and New York Giants, in a span of nine seasons from 1919–1927.
  • April 8 – Jim Umbricht, 33, relief pitcher for the Houston Colt .45s, who battled back from cancer surgery to post a 4–3 record for the club in 1963.
  • April 10 – Chief Yellow Horse, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1921 to 1922; a Native American from the Pawnee tribe who was the first full-blooded American Indian to have played in Major League Baseball history.
  • April 13 – Ed Pipgras, 59, pitcher in five games for the 1932 Brooklyn Dodgers.
  • April 14 – Enos Kirkpatrick, 79, third baseman who played from 1912 through 1915 for the Brooklyn Dodgers/Superbas and the Baltimore Terrapins.
  • April 16 – Charlie Case, 84, pitcher who played with the Cincinnati Reds in 1901 and for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1906.
  • April 16 – Gus Williams, 75, outfielder for the St. Louis Browns during five seasons from 1911–1915.
  • April 17 – Kid Willson, 78, outfielder who played for the Chicago White Sox in part of two seasons spanning 1918–1927.
  • April 20 – Eddie Dyer, 64, pitcher and manager for the St. Louis Cardinals who guided the team to the 1946 World Series title.
  • April 22 – Herb Herring, 72, who made one pitching appearance for the Washington Senators in the 1912 season.

May
  • May 3 – Gerry Shea, 82, catcher for the 1905 St. Louis Cardinals.
  • May 9 – Chauncey Burkam, 71, pinch hitter for the St. Louis Browns in the 1915 season.
  • May 10 – Charlie Butler, pitcher for the 1933 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • May 10 – George McConnell, 86, spitball specialist who pitched for five teams in a span of six seasons from 1909–1916.
  • May 14 – Dave Altizer, 87, shortstop who played from 1906 through 1911 for four teams, most relevantly with the Washington Senators.
  • May 15 – Harley Boss, 55, first baseman who played for the Washington Senators and the Cleveland Indians in part of four seasons spanning 1928–1933.
  • May 16 – Buzz Arlett, 65, called the Babe Ruth of the Minor Leagues; slugging outfielder/pitcher who hit .341 with 432 home runs and 1,976 RBI in a 19-year career, while posting a 108-93 pitching record with a 3.39 ERA, even though he played briefly in the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1931 season.
  • May 20 – Frank Moore, 86, pitcher for the 1905 Pittsburgh Pirates.
  • May 20 – Cy Neighbors, 83, outfielder for the 1908 Pittsburgh Pirates.
  • May 23 – Ernie Wolf, 75, pitcher who played for the Cleveland Naps in 1912.
  • May 25 – Joe Martin, 88, backup outfielder who played for the Washington Senators and St. Louis Browns in the 1903 season.
  • May 28 – Buzzy Wares, 78, shortstop for the St. Louis Browns from 1913–1914, later a long time coach for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1930–1952, during which time the Cardinals won seven National League pennants and five World Series titles.
  • May 29 – Eli Cates, 87, pitcher for the 1908 Washington Senators.
  • May 31 – Rabbit Warstler, 60, middle infielder who played from 1930 through 1940 for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Bees and Chicago Cubs.

June
  • June 2 – Jack Kading, 79, first baseman who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1910 and for the Chicago Chi-Feds in 1914.
  • June 7 – Elmer Stricklett, 87, pitcher who played from 1904 through 1907 for the Chicago White Sox and Brooklyn Superbas.
  • June 11 – Jack Blott, 61, catcher for the 1924 Cincinnati Reds, as well as a football coach in the Michigan and Wesleyan universities from 1924 through 1940.
  • June 12 – Bud Connolly, 63, shortstop for the 1925 Boston Red Sox.
  • June 12 – Walter Zink, 66, pitcher for the 1921 New York Giants.
  • June 15 – Jim Spotts, 55, catcher for the 1930 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • June 16 – Dick Culler, 49, middle infielder and third baseman who played for the Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs and New York Giants in part of eight seasons spanning 1936–1949.
  • June 27 – Tex Wisterzil, 76, third baseman who played from 1914 to 1915 for the Brooklyn Tip-Tops, Chicago Whales and St. Louis Terriers of the outlaw Federal League.

July
  • July 1 – Jay Rogers, 75, backup catcher for the 1914 New York Yankees.
  • July 5 – Dick Attreau, 67, first baseman who played from 1926 to 1927 with the Philadelphia Phillies.
  • July 7 – Glenn Gardner, 48, pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1945 season.
  • July 19 – Len Swormstedt, 85, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Americans from 1901 to 1906.
  • July 20 – Bill Schardt, 78, pitcher who played from 1911 to 1912 for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
  • July 22 – Bill Narleski, 64, shortstop who played from 1929 to 1930 for the Boston Red Sox.
  • July 26 – Harry Smith, 74, pitcher for the 1912 Chicago White Sox.
  • July 27 – Dominic Mulrenan, 70, pitcher for the 1921 Chicago White Sox.
  • July 27 – Lizzie Murphy, 70, billed as the Queen of Baseball, who played at first base in an exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on August 14, 1922, to become the first woman to play against a Major League Baseball team.[3]
  • July 29 – Vean Gregg, 79, pitcher for the 1915 and 1916 World Series Champions Boston Red Sox, who posted a career record of 92-63 with a 2.70 ERA, and also led the American League in ERA in 1911.

August
  • August 4 – Jerry Standaert, 62, backup infielder who played for the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Red Sox in a span of three seasons from 1925–1929.
  • August 5 – Ed Coleman, 62, right fielder who played from 1932 through 1936 for the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns.
  • August 6 – Curly Ogden, 63, pitcher who played from 1922 through 1926 for the Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Senators.
  • August 9 – Pete Johns, 76, backup infielder who played for the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns between 1915 and 1918.
  • August 17 – Happy Felsch, 72, center fielder and one of eight players banned from baseball for life for his role in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal.
  • August 21 – J. L. Wilkinson, 86, owner of the Negro league Kansas City Monarchs from 1920 to 1948.
  • August 30 – Bob Jones, 74, third baseman for the Detroit Tigers during nine seasons from 1917–1925.

September
  • September 3 – Hank Ritter, 70, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Giants in a span of our seasons from 1912–1916.
  • September 5 – Fred Stem, 78, first baseman who played for the Boston Doves from 1908 to 1909.
  • September 8 – Buck Redfern, 62, backup infielder for the Chicago White Sox in the 1928 and 1929 seasons.
  • September 9 – Herschel Bennett, 67, outfielder who played for the St. Louis Browns from 1923 through 1927.
  • September 9 – George Stueland, 65, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs in part of four season from 1921–1925.
  • September 11 – Red McDermott, 75, outfielder for the 1912 Detroit Tigers.
  • September 11 – Tom Meany, 60, sportswriter for six New York newspapers, as well as Collier's magazine from 1923 to 1956; also publicity and promotions director for the New York Mets since their 1961 formation.
  • September 16 – Herb Conyers, 43, first baseman for the Cleveland Indians in the 1950 season.
  • September 18 – Frank Barron, 74, pitcher for the 1914 Washington Senators.
  • September 22 – Red Torkelson, 70, pitcher for the Cleveland Indians in 1917.
  • September 23 – Cy Barger, 79, dead ball era pitcher who played with four teams in three different leagues in a span of seven seasons from 1906–1915.
  • September 26 – Paul Zahniser, 68, pitcher for the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, and Cincinnati Reds from 1923 to 1929.
  • September 27 – Jud McLaughlin, 52, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox between 1931 and 1933.

October
  • October 6 – Dan Adams, 77, pitcher who played from 1914 to 1915 for the Kansas City Packers of the Federal League.
  • October 6 – Barney Schreiber, 82, pitcher for the 1911 Cincinnati Reds.
  • October 7 – Charlie Armbruster, 84, backup catcher who played from 1905 through 1907 for the Boston Americans and the Chicago White Sox.
  • October 9 – Al Wingo, 66, outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers in a span of six seasons from 1919–1928, before joining the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League from 1929 to 1931.
  • October 11 – Stan Gray, 75, first baseman who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1912.
  • October 13 – Scrappy Moore, 71, third baseman for the 1917 St. Louis Browns.
  • October 17 – Carson Bigbee, 69, outfielder who spent his entire Major League career with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1916 through 1926, including the Pirates team that won the 1925 World Series title.
  • October 19 – Grover Hartley, 76, long time backup catcher who played for seven different clubs of the American and National leagues during eleven seasons spanning 1911–1934.
  • October 20 – John Whitehead, 55, pitcher who played for the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns in a span of seven seasons between 1935 and 1942.
  • October 31 – Phyllis Bookout, 29, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player.

November
  • November 5 – Dutch Stryker, 69, pitcher who played with the Boston Braves in 1924 and for the Brooklyn Robins in 1926.
  • November 6 – Buz Phillips, 60, pitcher for the 1930 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • November 11 – Oscar Stanage, 81, catcher for the Detroit Tigers from 1909 to 1925.
  • November 12 – Fred Hutchinson, 45, manager of the Cincinnati Reds since 1959, previously a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers.
  • November 13 – Bris Lord, 81, outfielder who played for the Cleveland Naps, Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Braves in part of eight seasons spanning 1905–1913.
  • November 16 – Yam Yaryan, 72, backup catcher for the Chicago White Sox in the 1921 and 1922 seasons.
  • November 19 – Fred Hofmann, 70, who spent 36 years in the major leagues as a catcher, coach and scout, and also won two minor league pennants as a manager.

December
  • December 1 – Barbara Rotvig, 35, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League pitcher for the Kenosha Comets.
  • December 5 – Ed Wingo, 69, Canadian catcher who played for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1920 season.
  • December 6 – Bobby Keefe, 82, pitcher who played for the New York Highlanders and Cincinnati Reds in a span of three seasons from 1907–1912.
  • December 7 – Bill Karlon, 55, outfielder who played briefly for the New York Yankees in 1930.
  • December 13 – Hank Erickson, 57, catcher for the 1935 Cincinnati Reds.
  • December 15 – Paul Wachtel, 76, pitcher for the 1917 Brooklyn Robins.
  • December 21 – Delos Brown, 72, pinch hitter who appeared in one game for the Chicago White Sox in 1914.
  • December 22 – Lou Fiene, 79, pitcher who played from 1906 through 1909 for the Chicago White Sox.
  • December 27 – Art Phelan, 77, third baseman who played for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs in part of five seasons spanning 1910–1915.
  • December 31 – Bobby Byrne, 80, speedy third baseman who played eleven seasons from 1907–1917, most prominently with the 1909 St. Louis Cardinals World Series champion team.
  • December 31 – Red Rollings, 60, utility infielder/outfielder who played for the Red Sox and Braves Boston teams between 1927 and 1930.
  • December 31 – Doc Wallace, 71, shortstop who played for Philadelphia Phillies in the 1919 season.

References
  1. Baseball Reference – May 2, 1964, Twins at Athletics Box Score and Play by Play
  2. "Retrosheet Boxscore: Cleveland Indians 3, New York Yankees 0 (2)". Retrosheet.org. 1964-07-19. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  3. Rhode Island’s Lizzie Murphy: First Woman to Play Major League Baseball. New England Historical Society. Retrieved on April 30, 2017.
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