January 26 in Tigers and mlb history:
1895: Baseball officials discuss the possibility of reinstating the old pitcher's distance. They are dismayed by the explosion of offense, which resulted in "long drawn out and uninteresting contests. Besides the brainy pitcher of former days would be given another chance to display his ability in the science of the game."
1919: The St. Louis Cardinals name team president Branch Rickey as manager, replacing Jack Hendricks. Under Rickey's leadership, the last-place Cardinals will improve only slightly in the standings, finishing seventh this season.
1931: The International League accepts the open draft imposed by the major leagues. Until this time, the top minor leagues could control their players and refuse to sell them.
1932: Chicago Cubs owner William Wrigley dies at the age of 70 in Phoenix, Arizona. Wrigley had owned the team since 1919. Wrigley's son Philip inherits controlling interest in both the Cubs and the minor league Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League, but will leave most of the daily operations to Cubs president William Veeck.
1949: The Detroit Tigers selected Tony Lupien off waivers from the Chicago White Sox.
1951: The Baseball Writers Association of America vote sluggers Mel Ott and Jimmie Foxx into the Hall of Fame.
Ott hit .304 with 511 home runs and 1860 RBI; he managed the New York Giants from 1942 to 1948.
Foxx was a .325 career hitter with 534 home runs and 1922 RBI.
1962: New York Yankees outfielders Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle sign contracts with Columbia Pictures to appear in Safe at Home!, a movie that is to be shot during spring training. The movie will star Maris and Mantle as themselves and feature cameos by Whitey Ford and Ralph Houk.
1963: Major League Baseball's Rules Committee increases the size of the strike zone.
The zone will stretch from the top of the batter's shoulders to the bottom of the knees.
The committee hopes the return to the 1950s strike zone will result in a decrease in runs scored. The results will exceed the committee's expectations, and after the "Year of the Pitcher" in 1968, the strike zone will be tweaked again to give the hitters a break.
1981: Ray Oyler dies of a heart attack in Redmond, Wash., at age 42. Shortstop on the 1968 World Champion Tigers.
1989: The tougher balk rules initiated last season are rescinded and are replaced by the pre-1988 rules.
1990: The Boston Red Sox hire Elaine Weddington as their assistant general manager making her the highest-ranking black female executive in Major League Baseball.
1995: Major League Baseball players and owners are told by President Clinton to resume bargaining and reach an agreement to resolve the strike by February 6th.
2006: Fidel Castro confirms that his country will play in the 2006 World Baseball Classic in Cuba's first official reaction to the U.S. government's decision allowing the communist country to participate.
2009: The Detroit Tigers signed Timo Perez as a free agent.
2012: The Detroit Tigers signed Prince Fielder as a free agent to a $214 Million 9 year contract.
2018: Comerica Bank extends its naming rights agreement for Comerica Park through 2034.
2021: For the first time since 1960, there will be no new Hall of Famer this year as the BBWAA fails to elect anyone, after the Veterans Committee decided to postpone its vote by one year. This year's leading candidate, Curt Schilling, falls 16 votes short, in large part because of his continuous insensitive and extremist statements on all sorts of social matters. Enraged by the writers' decision, he asks that his name be removed from next year's ballot. The next two highest vote-getters, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, also fail to gain additional support due to their past association with steroids.
2023: The Astros hire Dana Brown as their new General Manager, replacing James Click who was fired shortly after winning the 2022 World Series. Brown, a former minor league outfielder and Director of Scouting for the Atlanta Braves, becomes the only African-American GM in the majors at this time.
Tigers players birthdays:
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Tubby Spencer. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Tubby Spencer 1916-1918.
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Charlie Gelbert. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Charlie Gelbert 1937.
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Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Bob Nieman. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Bob Nieman 1953-1954.
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of César Gutiérrez. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Cesar Gutierrez 1969-1971.
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Rick Schu. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Rick Schu 1989.
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Tim Pugh. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Tim Pugh 1997.
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Andrés Torres. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Andres Torres 2002-2004.
Tigers players, coaches, and managers who passed away:
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Eddie Phillips. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Eddie Phillips 1929.
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Chet Laabs. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Chet Laabs 1937-1939.
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Steve O'Neill Managerial Record
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Steve O'Neill coach 1941, manager 1943-1948.
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Ray Oyler. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Ray Oyler 1965-1968.
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