Mammoth Blog

* 1927 - N.L. President John Heydler rules that Rogers Hornsby cannot continue to both hold stock in the Cardinals and play for the Giants.

* 1952 - The Hall of Fame elects two new members: Harry Heilmann, with 203 votes, and Paul Waner with 195. Waner, a .333 career hitter, rapped out 3,152 hits and struck out just 376 times in 9,459 career at-bats. Heilmann was similarly skilled with the bat, winning four batting titles with the Tigers and finishing his career with a .342 average.

* 1953 - New York, Cleveland, and Boston retaliate at Bill Veeck, forcing the Browns to play afternoon games to avoid sharing TV revenues. Veeck takes his plan to the A.L. office to make them pay. The plan is rejected.

* 1959 - Former Senators and Red Sox player-manager Joe Cronin signs a seven-year pact to become head of the A.L.

* 1961 - Houston voters approve a bond to finance the construction of a luxury domed stadium, clearing the final hurdle standing between the city and Major League Baseball.

* 1965 - Pud Galvin is chosen for Hall of Fame induction by the Special Veterans Committee. Galvin had 20 victories in ten out of 14 seasons and won 46 games in both 1883 and 1884 for Buffalo.

* 1971 - The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee selects seven men for enshrinement: former players Jake Beckley, Joe Kelley, Harry Hooper, Rube Marquard, Chick Hafey, and Dave Bancroft, as well as executive George Weiss.

* 1977 - The Special Veterans Committee selects Joe Sewell, Amos Rusie, and Al Lopez for the Hall of Fame. Sewell batted .312 over 14 seasons with the Indians and Yankees. Rusie won 246 games over nine seasons from 1889 to 1898. Lopez won four fielding titles in 19 years as a catcher, but it was his .584 winning percentage in 17 seasons as a manager that got him into Cooperstown.

Baseball Birthdays on January 31...

* 1845 - Ferguson, Bob
* 1862 - Manning, Jim
* 1863 - Wright, Rasty
* 1866 - Flaherty, Pat
* 1870 - Goar, Jot
* 1880 - Morris, Walter
* 1882 - Williams, Rip
* 1885 - Brown, Drummond
* 1885 - Hohnhorst, Eddie
* 1889 - Brown, Ray
* 1889 - Ray, Carl
* 1891 - Hendryx, Tim
* 1891 - McDonald, Tex
* 1891 - Cochran, Goat
* 1892 - Williams, Steamboat
* 1893 - Burns, George
* 1894 - Stewart, Stuffy
* 1896 - Robertson, Charlie
* 1896 - Hargrave, Pinky
* 1898 - Schultz, Webb
* 1900 - Barnes, Honey
* 1900 - Songer, Don
* 1903 - Hood, Abie
* 1909 - Planeta, Emil
* 1912 - McQuaig, Jerry
* 1914 - Wiedemeyer, Charlie
* 1914 - Mazzera, Mel
* 1918 - Peterson, Sid
* 1919 - Robinson, Jackie
* 1919 - Gables, Ken
* 1926 - Alston, Tom
* 1929 - Maas, Duke
* 1931 - Banks, Ernie
* 1931 - Aguirre, Hank
* 1947 - Ryan, Nolan
* 1949 - Kendall, Fred
* 1949 - Willoughby, Jim
* 1949 - Ballinger, Mark
* 1950 - Apodaca, Bob
* 1953 - Rowland, Mike
* 1955 - Power, Ted
* 1958 - Santana, Rafael
* 1963 - Oliveras, Francisco
* 1963 - Cochrane, Dave
* 1968 - Phoenix, Steve
* 1970 - Bennett, Joel
* 1970 - Pritchett, Chris

Baseball Deaths on January 31...

* 1904 - Mahoney, Dan
* 1912 - Taylor, Ed
* 1917 - O'Brien, Pete
* 1926 - Bierbauer, Lou
* 1933 - Jacobson, Beany
* 1938 - Chech, Charlie
* 1938 - Gray, Jim
* 1940 - Fisher, Red
* 1942 - Phelps, Ed
* 1942 - Larkin, Henry
* 1947 - Kling, Johnny
* 1948 - Lehr, Clarence
* 1953 - Handiboe, Mike
* 1956 - Weaver, Buck
* 1957 - Maynard, Chick
* 1958 - O'Donnell, Harry
* 1961 - Cantrell, Guy
* 1963 - Vitt, Ossie
* 1966 - Donahue, Pat
* 1971 - Yerkes, Steve
* 1980 - Head, Ed
* 1981 - Dowd, John
* 1983 - Gibson, Sam
* 1999 - Zauchin, Norm
* 2002 - Chiti, Harry
* 2005 - Voiselle, Bill