April 3 in Tigers and mlb history:
1901 - Connie Mack accuses Christy Mathewson of reneging on a Philadelphia Athletics contract signed in January. Mathewson had accepted advance money from Mack, but jumped back to the New York Giants in March. Mack considers going to court, but eventually accepts the loss of the young pitcher.
1919 - One of the most bizarre off-the-field incidents in history takes place in Jacksonville, Florida. New York Yankees outfielder Ping Bodie competes against an ostrich named "Percy" in a spaghetti-eating contest! Bodie wins the competition when Percy passes out after its 11th plate of pasta.
1923 - In Chicago, IL, two Black Sox sue the White Sox. Swede Risberg and Happy Felsch seek $400,000 in damages and $6,750 in back salary for conspiracy and injury to their reputation in the aftermath of the scandalous 1919 World Series court case. Their suit will be unsuccessful.
1938 - Goose Goslin returns to the Washington Senators for his third stint with the team. Goslin, who had batted a career-low .238 in 1937, has been released by the Detroit Tigers.
1964 - New York Mets pitcher Carl Willey suffers a broken jaw when he is hit by a line drive batted by Detroit Tigers outfielder Gates Brown during a spring training loss. Willey will be out until June 6th but his career will be effectively ended.
1985 - A major league owners' proposal is agreed to by the Players Association. The American and National leagues playoff formats are changed to best-of-sevens. The League Championship Series had been played as a best-of-five since its inception in 1969.
Tigers players and coaches birthdays:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dick_Conger
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/congedi01.shtml?redir
Dick Conger 1940.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Alex_Grammas
Alex Grammas coach 1980-1991.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bakerdo01.shtml
Doug Baker 1984-1987.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Gary_Pettis
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pettiga01.shtml?redir
Gary Pettis 1988-1989, 1992.
Tigers players who passed away:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Alvin_Crowder
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/crowdal01.shtml?redir
'General' Al Crowder 1934-1936.
from Baseball Reference
