January 21 in Tigers and mlb history:
1921 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis officially is signed as baseball commissioner, to a seven-year, $350,000 contract.
1947 - A rule change that allows voting only for players who were active after 1921 produces four new Hall of Fame members: catcher Mickey Cochrane, second baseman Frankie Frisch, and pitchers Lefty Grove and Carl Hubbell, all former Most Valuable Players and World Series winners. Pie Traynor misses selection by two votes. Hubbell was forbidden by Ty Cobb to throw his screwball in Detroit's farm system, but used it to win 253 games for the New York Giants; Frisch went to the World Series eight times and batted .316 over 19 seasons; Grove won 300 games, and his battery-mate Cochrane retired with .320, the highest lifetime batting average of any catcher.
1953 - The Baseball Writers Association of America passes over Joe DiMaggio in his first year of eligibility and elects pitcher Dizzy Dean and outfielder Al Simmons to the Hall of Fame. Dean gathers 209 votes while Simmons' total of 199 is one more than needed.
The colorful Dean had a .644 career winning percentage and won 120 games from 1932 through 1936, including 30 wins in 1934.
Simmons, who drove in 100 runs in each of his first eleven major league seasons, was one of the most feared hitters of his time.
Also joining DiMaggio, who finishes 8th in the voting, are in order Bill Terry, Bill Dickey, Rabbit Maranville, Dazzy Vance, Ted Lyons, Chief Bender (9th) and Gabby Hartnett (10th). All will eventually make it.
1960 - In an unusual request, Stan Musial tells the St. Louis Cardinals management that he is overpaid and should have his salary reduced after a subpar 1959 season. He receives a pay cut from $100,000 to $80,000 a year.
1969 - Roy Campanella and Stan Musial are elected by the BBWAA to join the elite group of players enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
1971 - No player receives three-fourths of the necessary votes to be elected into the Hall of Fame, with Yogi Berra (242) and Early Wynn (240) coming the closest.
Berra and Wynn will be elected in next year's vote.
1993 - Hall of Fame second baseman Charlie Gehringer dies at the age of 89, one month after suffering a stroke. During a 19-year career with the Detroit Tigers, Gehringer posted a .320 batting average with 184 home runs, 1427 RBI, seven times 200 plus hits, seven times 40 or more doubles, 12 times one hundred or more runs scored, and 14 times a batting average of over .300
In 1937, he enjoyed arguably his finest season, leading the American League with a .371 average.
2000: The National Labor Relations Board refuses to overturn the election which removed Richie Phillips and the Major League Umpires Association from power. A new union will represent the arbiters.
2000: The Detroit Tigers sign free agent pitcher Hideo Nomo to a one-year contract. Nomo's agent had declined a multi-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, expecting more on the open market.
Tigers players birthdays:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bolanbe01.shtml
Bernie Boland 1915-1920.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Wilfredo_Ledezma
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/ledezwi01.shtml
Wil Ledezma 2003-2007.
Tigers players who passed away:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Charlie_Gehringer
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gehrich01.shtml
Charlie Gehringer 1923-1942, player coach 1942.
from Baseball Reference
