December 31 in Tigers and mlb history:
1878: A reported eight million bats have been sold in the United States this year.
1897: At the age of 38, Charles Ebbets, who "has handled every dollar" entering the Brooklyn Dodgers club's treasury for the past 15 years, gains a controlling 80 percent interest in the team.
1914: Ban Johnson's efforts to strengthen the New York Yankees succeed when he arranges the purchase of the team by Colonel Jacob Ruppert and Captain Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston for $460,000 from Bill Devery and Frank Farrell.
1914: After Detroit Tigers owner Frank Navin refuses to let manager Hugh Jennings go, the new New York owners will name longtime Detroit pitcher Bill Donovan to manage the team. Under the new regime, the Yankees will make the most important trade in franchise history when they purchase Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox in 1920.
1949: The 1940s is the only decade in Major League Baseball history in which no new stadiums are built. After the Cleveland Indians opened Cleveland Stadium in 1932, no new ballpark will be opened until Milwaukee County Stadium is unveiled by the Braves in 1953. The decade also will end with eight black players on major league rosters: three each on the Brooklyn Dodgers and Indians rosters, and two with the New York Giants.
Although it will be another decade before all major league teams will be integrated, most teams will be playing blacks in the next two years. Finally, all but the St. Louis Browns, Chicago Cubs, and Cincinnati Reds set attendance records in the 1940s.
1949: There were 81 scheduled night games in 1940 and 384 in 1949. The change to playing under the lights is underscored by the release of the 1950 schedule: the St. Louis Cardinals have permission to open the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in a night game.
1966: After 15 seasons with the Braves in three different cities, Eddie Mathews is traded to the Houston Astros.
The future Hall of Fame third baseman is the only person to play for the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves.
In August of 1967, Mathews will be traded to the Detroit Tigers and win a World Series Championship with the team in 1968.
1972: Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Roberto Clemente dies in the crash of a four-engine plane over the Atlantic Ocean. The 38-year-old Clemente was supervising the delivery of relief supplies to the earthquake victims of Managua, Nicaragua. The cargo plane, a DC-7 that departed from San Juan Airport in Puerto Rico, crashes shortly after takeoff.
In 18 major league seasons, Clemente batted .317, won the 1966 MVP Award, and led the Pirates to World Championships in 1960 and 1971. Shortly after his death, the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors votes to waive the usual five-year waiting period for Clemente, paving the way for his election to Cooperstown in 1973.
1974: Free agent pitcher Catfish Hunter, who posted a 25-12 record with the Oakland Athletics, signs with the New York Yankees ending an unprecedented bidding war when he inks a five-year, $3.75 million dollar contract. This is triple the salary of any other major league player.
1979: The Basic Agreement between players and owners expires, precipitating more than 19 months of bitter negotiations, that will culminate in the 1981 player strike.
1984: Despite six weeks of negotiations, the Basic Agreement between the players and owners that was reached after the 1981 strike expires. The players are now seeking increased contributions to their pension plan from the clubs' additional television revenues, while the owners are hoping to slow the rapid growth of player salaries.
1993: Baseball's collective bargaining agreement runs out with no new agreement yet signed.
2004: The Detroit Tigers signed Kevin Hooper as a free agent.
2005: Today, Roberto Clemente Jr. will head to Nicaragua to distribute humanitarian aid, mirroring a trip that claimed the life of his father 33 years ago. He had planned a similar effort last year, but the December 26th tsunami convinced him to direct the relief supplies collected to affected areas of the Pacific Rim.
Tigers players birthdays:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnssy01.shtml
Syl Johnson 1922-1925.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lakemal01.shtml
Al Lakeman 1954.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Ted_Gray
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grayte01.shtml
Ted Gray 1946, 1948-1954.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/moehlbr01.shtml
Brian Moehler 1996-2002.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reedev01.shtml
Evan Reed 2013-2014.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lugoda01.shtml
Dawel Lugo 2018-2020.
Tigers players who passed away:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/caseydo01.shtml
Doc Casey 1901-1902.
Baseball Reference
