December 1 in Tigers and mlb history:
1911: Tigers manager Hughie Jennings nearly killed in a car accident in Pennsylvania. He will recover and return for 8 more seasons.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOszysqXUAAFvOJ?format=jpg&name=medium
1911: Future Hall of Fame member Walter Alston is born in Venice, Ohio. Although Alston will come to bat only once during a brief major league career, he will have far greater longevity and success as the manager of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 to 1976.
1912: Boston Braves owner James Gaffney purchases the Allston Golf Club on Commonwealth Avenue with a plan to construct a ball park there. Ground breaking will commence on March 20, 1915.
1928: National League President John Heydler becomes the first person to propose a baseball rule change calling for a 10th man, or a designated hitter, to bat in place of the pitcher. The NL will vote in favor of the proposal, but the American League will turn it down.
1931: The Chicago Cubs trade future Hall of Famer Hack Wilson and pitcher Bud Teachout to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Burleigh Grimes. Wilson slumped to .261 and 13 home runs after hitting .356 with 56 HR and setting a major league record with 191 RBI in 1930.
1942: At major league meetings in Chicago, World War II travel restrictions are the order of the day. Owners decide to restrict travel to a three-trip schedule rather than the customary four. Spring training in 1943 will be limited to locations north of the Potomac or Ohio rivers and east of the Mississippi.
1949: Attendance in the major leagues is 20.2 million, down from 20.9 in 1948.
1952: The Detroit Tigers drafted Johnny Bucha from the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1952 rule 5 draft.
1953: The Detroit Tigers drafted Sammy Meeks from the Chicago White Sox in the 1953 minor league draft.
1953: The Boston Red Sox trade for slugger Jackie Jensen, sending P Mickey McDermott and OF Tom Umphlett to the Washington Senators. Jensen will average 25 home runs a year for his seven seasons in Fenway, lead the American League in RBI three times, and win the Most Valuable Player Award in 1958. A fear of flying will end his career prematurely.
1954: Tigers owner Spike Briggs oversees the removal of right field seats to make more room for Al Kaline in what would be come to be called "Kaline's Corner".
1954: The Yankees and Orioles complete the largest trade in major league history as 17 players, including Don Larsen, Gene Woodling, Bob Turley change teams. The first phase of the transaction began November 18th and will conclude today after the major league draft.
1954: The Detroit Tigers purchased Bob Schultz from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1955: The Detroit Tigers bring back pitcher Virgil Trucks after a trade with the Chicago White Sox for third baseman Bubba Phillips.
1956: Outfielder Frank Robinson of the Cincinnati Redlegs is unanimously voted the National League Rookie of the Year.
In the American League, Chicago White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio is voted Rookie of the Year with 22 points, beating out Baltimore's Tito Francona and Rocky Colavito of the Indians.
1958: The Chicago White Sox drafted Lou Skizas from the Detroit Tigers in the 1958 rule 5 draft.
1958: The Kansas City Athletics drafted Wayne Terwilliger from the Detroit Tigers in the 1958 rule 5 draft.
1961: The Houston Colt .45's traded Sam Jones to the Detroit Tigers for Bob Bruce and Manny Montejo.
1962: A complete overhaul of the classifications in the minor leagues is made. The Eastern and South Atlantic leagues are promoted from Class-A to Class-AA.
Meanwhile, classes B, C and D are abolished with those leagues being promoted to Class-A.
The Class-B leagues were the Carolina and Northwest leagues;
the Class-C leagues were the California, Mexican Center, Northern and Pioneer leagues.
The Class-D leagues were the Florida State, Georgia-Florida, Midwest, New York-Pennsylvania and Western Carolinas leagues.
The Appalachian League moves from Class-D to Rookie classification.
1963: Major league owners agree to allow the expansion clubs four protected first-year players who can be optioned to the minors without being subject to a draft.
1964: 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. The change in name for the three-year old franchise is prompted by a dispute with the Colt firearm company and the team's proximity to NASA headquarters.
1966: The Los Angeles Dodgers trade former National League stolen base king Maury Wills to the Pittsburgh Pirates for infielders Bob Bailey and Gene Michael. Wills upset the Dodgers when he left the team during its recent tour of Japan.
1969: The Boston Red Sox drafted Mike Derrick from the Detroit Tigers in the 1969 rule 5 draft.
1971: The Chicago Cubs release longtime star and future Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, ending his 19-year major league career. The Cubs also announce that Banks will serve as a coach on manager Leo Durocher's staff next season. Mr. Cub finishes his playing career with 512 home runs and 1,636 RBI.
1983: Lynn Jones of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
1987: The Detroit Tigers signed Mike Heath as a free agent.
2002: Former major league starting pitcher Dave McNally dies from lung cancer at the age of 60. A four-time 20-game winner over the span of four consecutive seasons, McNally helped anchor a Baltimore Orioles pitching staff that featured Hall of Famer Jim Palmer and standout left-hander Mike Cuellar. McNally won Game 4 of the 1966 World Series, cementing Baltimore's sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also won Game 3 of the 1970 World Series, as the Orioles defeated the Cincinnati Reds in five games.
At the end of his career, McNally helped change baseball's basic financial structure. After playing the 1975 season without a signed contract, McNally, along with pitcher Andy Messersmith was declared a free agent by arbitrator Peter Seitz. The decision paved the way for the advent of the free agent system.
2007: The Detroit Tigers signed Francis Beltran as a free agent.
2009: "Old Reliable" Tommy Henrich, who played on seven World Champion New York Yankees teams in the 1930s and 1940s dies in Dayton, OH at age 96.
2010: The Detroit Tigers signed John Bale as a free agent.
2013: Tigers trade Doug Fister to Nationals for Steve Lombardozzi, Ian Krol, and Robbie Ray.
2015: After finishing last season with the largest payroll in major league history, at $298.3 million, the Dodgers are assigned the largest luxury tax bill ever, $43.7 million. This amount is slightly less than the $50 million in salary that the Dodgers paid to players who did not even appear with them during the season.
Only three other teams exceeded the threshold of $189 million, with the Yankees having to fork out $26 million in penalties and the Red Sox and Giants a little over $1 million each.
2015: Reports indicate that the Red Sox have landed one of the biggest catches of the off-season, signing free agent P David Price for 7 years and $217 million. If confirmed, it will be the largest deal ever for a pitcher.
2017: Bruce Rondon of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
Tigers players and coaches birthdays:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mitchwi01.shtml
Willie Mitchell 1916-1919.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Ernie_Alten
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/altener01.shtml
Ernie Alten 1920.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/George_Lerchen
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lerchge01.shtml
George Lerchen 1952.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wojeype01.shtml
Pete Wojey 1956-1957.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rayji01.shtml
Jim Ray 1974.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/schatda01.shtml
Dan Schatzeder 1980-1981.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dan_Warthen
Dan Warthen coach 1999-2002.
Tigers players or coaches who passed away:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grahask01.shtml
Skinny Graham 1929.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pietto01.shtml
Tony Piet 1938.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Tommy_Henrich
Tommy Henrich coach 1958-1959.
Baseball Reference
