July 9 in Tigers and mlb history:
1946 - With seven Red Sox teammates on the American League squad, Ted Williams stages a power show with two homers, two singles, a walk, 4 runs scored, and 4 RBI to lead the AL to a 12 - 0 laugher over the National League at Fenway Park. The highlight of the 1946 All-Star Game is Williams's home run off a Rip Sewell blooper pitch.
1951 - At a joint meeting between players and owners, agreement is reached on night curfews and the retention of the reserve clause.
1956 - The BBWAA, by a narrow margin of 14-12, votes to establish the Cy Young Award to honor the major leagues' most outstanding pitcher. Commissioner Ford Frick initiated the idea because he felt hurlers were not recognized in the MVP voting, but ironically the first recipient of the Cy Young Award, Dodger Don Newcombe, will also win the Most Valuable Player Award.
1957 - At Busch Stadium in St. Louis, the American League nips the National League 6 - 5 in the 24th All-Star Game. Both teams score 3 in the 9th inning, but Minnie Minoso's running catch with the bases loaded chokes off the NL's last-half rally.
1958 - On Capitol Hill, Casey Stengel and Mickey Mantle appear in front of the Senate Anti-Trust and Monopoly Subcommittee which is investigating the baseball monopoly power in regards to sport's antitrust exemption. After 'The Old Perfessor' gives 45 minutes of rambling and confusing testimony, Senator Estes Kefauver laughs when Mickey Mantle answers his inquiry about the topic with, "My views are just about the same as Casey's."
1959: ML baseball announces that the 1960 season will open one week later than this year in hopes of getting better weather.
1961: The Tigers take over first place with a doubleheader sweep of the Angels. Frank Lary's 13th victory in the opener, a 1 - 0 three-hitter, is followed by Jim Bunning's 6 - 3 win in the nitecap.
1962 - At a meeting held in conjunction with the All-Star Game - First Game, the ML players request a reduced schedule for the 1963 season. They also vote unanimously to continue playing two All-Star Games each year.
1963 - Willie Mays is held to a single, but dominates a 5 - 3 National League win in the All-Star Game. He also walks, steals twice, scores twice, bats in a pair, and makes a great catch. It is Stan Musial's 24th All-Star appearance, a record. Musial's teammates comprise the starting infield for the NL.
1968 - Appropriately, pitching dominates the All-Star Game in the first All-Star Game played indoors. Willie Mays, playing in place of the injured Pete Rose, tallies an unearned run in the first inning against American League starter Luis Tiant to complete the scoring for the day - the first All-Star effort to end 1 - 0. Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Ron Reed and Jerry Koosman hold the American League to three hits.
1970: Dalton Jones of the Tigers loses a grand slam against the Red Sox when he passes teammate Don Wert on the base paths. Jones pinch hits for Jim Price and belts a 2-2 pitch from Vicente Romo into the RF upper deck for a grand slam. However, he passes Wert between first and second and is called out, ending up with a 3-RBI single.
1991 - Cal Ripken Jr.'s 3-run home run lifts the American League to a 4 - 2 win over the National League in the annual All-Star Game. Andre Dawson homers for the NLers who lose for the 4th straight year. Ripken, who also won the pre-All-Star Game Home Run Derby, is named the game's MVP.
1996: The National League defeats the American League, 6 - 0, in the All-Star Game. Ken Caminiti and Mike Piazza homer for the winners. Piazza's homer goes into the upper deck and he also adds a RBI double. The game is the first All-Star contest in which no walks are issued by either team. Cal Ripken Jr. starts the game, despite suffering a broken nose when he accidentally catches a forearm from Chicago P Roberto Hernandez, who slipped on the tarp during the AL team photo shoot.
1998: Brewers owner Bud Selig, who served as acting commissioner for nearly the last six years, is named by the owners to be baseball's ninth commissioner. To avoid conflicts of interest, his ownership of the Milwaukee franchise will be placed in trust.
2002 - Despite chants of 'Let them play!' from the sellout crowd of 41,871 at Milwaukee's Miller Park, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig declares the 73rd All-Star Game a 7 - 7 tie after 11 innings. No player is selected to receive the first Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award, named in honor of the late Boston Red Sox legend who died five days ago.
Tigers players birthdays:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Coot_Veal
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vealco01.shtml
Coot Veal 1958-1960, 1963.
Tigers players who passed away:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Harry_Heilmann
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/heilmha01.shtml
Harry Heilmann 1914, 1916-1929.
from baseball reference
