The following are the baseball events of the year 1972 throughout the world.

Labor strife and more moving

1972 was tainted by a players' strike over pension and salary arbitration. The strike erased the first week and a half of the season, and the Leagues decided to just excise the lost portion of the season with no makeups. As a result, an uneven number of games were cancelled for each team; some as few as six, some as many as nine. The lack of makeups of those games, even when they affected playoffs, led to the Boston Red Sox losing the American League East by half a game to the Detroit Tigers.

1972 marked the first year for the Texas Rangers, who had moved to Arlington from Washington, D.C. (where they played as the Washington Senators), after the 1971 season. There would be no baseball in D.C. until 2005. The team was one of the worst ever fielded by the franchise, losing 100 games for the first time since 1964. Manager Ted Williams hated living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and resigned at the end of the season.

1972 would mark the Kansas City Royals' final year at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, as the next year they would move to Royals Stadium (later named Kauffman Stadium) at the Truman Sports Complex in suburban Kansas City.

The World Series was won by the Oakland Athletics, the first of three straight behind the bats of Reggie Jackson and Bert Campaneris, and the pitching cadre of Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and Vida Blue. The year ended on a sad note when Roberto Clemente died in an airplane crash off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on New Year's Eve, while participating in aid efforts after the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake.

Champions

Major League Baseball

League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS) 		World Series
      
East Detroit 2
West Oakland 3
AL Oakland 4
NL Cincinnati 3
East Pittsburgh 2
West Cincinnati 3

Other champions

Winter Leagues

Awards and honors

Statistical leaders

  American League National League
TypeNameStatNameStat
AVGRod Carew MIN.318Billy Williams CHC.333
HRDick Allen CHW37Johnny Bench CIN40
RBIDick Allen CHW113Johnny Bench CIN125
WinsWilbur Wood CHW
Gaylord Perry CLE		24Steve Carlton PHI27
ERALuis Tiant BOS1.91Steve Carlton PHI1.97
SONolan Ryan CAL329Steve Carlton PHI310
SVSparky Lyle NYY35Clay Carroll CIN37
SBBert Campaneris OAK52Lou Brock STL63

Major league baseball final standings

Events

January–March

April–June

July

August–September

  • August 1 – At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Nate Colbert of the San Diego Padres ties Stan Musial's 18-year record by hitting five home runs in a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves. He hits two in the first game, won by the Padres 9–0, and three more in the nightcap, which San Diego also wins, 11–7. Musial had hit five home runs in a May 2, 1954 doubleheader—with Colbert, then eight years old, in attendance.
  • August 17 - Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies won his 15th consecutive game with a 9-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
  • August 29 – Jim Barr of the San Francisco Giants retires the first twenty batters in today's game. Added to the last twenty one batters he retired in his previous game, it establishes a record for consecutive batters retired. It will be tied in 2007 by relief pitcher Bobby Jenks.
  • September 2 – At Wrigley Field, Chicago Cub pitcher Milt Pappas no-hits the San Diego Padres 8–0. Pappas retires the first 26 batters and comes to within one strike of a perfect game with a 2–2 count to pinch-hitter Larry Stahl, but home-plate umpire Bruce Froemming calls the next two pitches, both of which are close, balls. Undeterred, Pappas ends the game by retiring the next batter, ex-Cub Garry Jestadt. Not until Carlos Zambrano in 2008 would the Cubs be involved in a no-hitter (either in pitching it or having it pitched against them), and the next no-hitter at Wrigley won't come until Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies no-hits the Cubs in 2015. The perfect game bid is also the only one, to date, to be broken up on a walk to the 27th batter.
  • September 8 – Ferguson Jenkins wins his 20th game for the 6th straight year in a 4–3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia.
  • September 15 – Steve Carlton beats the Montreal Expos 5–3, raising his record to 24–9. The rest of the Philadelphia Phillies pitchers have a combined record of 26–80.
  • September 20 – Milt Pappas wins his 200th game as a major leaguer, defeating the Montreal Expos 6–2 at Wrigley Field.
  • September 21 – The Pittsburgh Pirates clinch the National League East title with a 6–2 victory over the Mets.
  • September 22 – The Cincinnati Reds clinch the National League West crown with a 4–3 road victory over the Houston Astros.
  • September 30 – During the Pirates' 5–0 win over the Mets at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, Roberto Clemente hits a double off New York's Jon Matlack in the 4th inning to get his 3,000th and final regular season hit in the major leagues.

October–December

Births

January

Mike Lieberthal

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deaths

January

  • January 2 – Glenn Crawford, 58, outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies in the 1940s.
  • January 15 – William Benswanger, 79, executive; son-in-law of Barney Dreyfuss who served as president and chief executive of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1932 until the Dreyfuss family sold the team in August 1946.
  • January 19 – Joe Goodrich, 78, third baseman who played for the Washington Potomacs of the Eastern Colored League in 1923 and 1924.
  • January 21 – Dick Loftus, 70, outfielder for the Brooklyn Robins from 1924 to 1925, playing in 97 total games.
  • January 23 – Fred Nicholson, 77, outfielder/pinch hitter who batted .311 over 303 career games for the 1917 Detroit Tigers, 1919–1920 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1921–1922 Boston Braves.

February

  • February 2 – Dick Burrus, 74, first baseman and .291 lifetime hitter who played in 560 games for the 1919–1920 Philadelphia Athletics and 1925–1928 Boston Braves; made 200 hits in 1925.
  • February 4 – Joe Green, 74, pinch hitter who had a single professional at bat for the Philadelphia Athletics, on July 2, 1924.
  • February 6 – Frankie Zak, 49, shortstop and second baseman who played only 123 MLB games for wartime Pittsburgh Pirates (1944–1946), yet was selected to 1944 National League All-Star team.
  • February 9 – Chico Ruiz, 33, Cuban-born infielder who played in 565 games between 1964 and 1971 for the Cincinnati Reds and California Angels; on Kansas City Royals' winter roster at the time of his death.
  • February 12 – Jim Sullivan, 77, pitcher who hurled in 25 games for the Philadelphia Athletics (1921–1922) and Cleveland Indians (1923).
  • February 15 – Pep Goodwin, 80, infielder for the 1914–1915 Kansas City Packers of the "outlaw" Federal League; served as president of the Pacific Coast League in 1955.
  • February 17 – Lew Malone, 74, infielder in 133 games for the Philadelphia Athletics (1915–1916) and Brooklyn Robins (1917, 1919).
  • February 22 – Johnnie Oden, 69, third baseman who played from 1927 through 1932, chiefly with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro National League.
  • February 28 – Dizzy Trout, 56, two-time All-Star pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (1939–1952) who led the AL in wins in 1943 and was MVP runnerup the following year; also pitched briefly for Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, and was a member of the Tigers' broadcasting team.

March

  • March 4 – Watty Clark, 69, left-handed hurler who won 111 games over a dozen seasons between 1924 and 1937 for three MLB clubs, most notably Brooklyn; led National League pitchers in games lost (19) in 1929 but went 20–12 (3.49) for a first-division 1932 Brooklyn club.
  • March 6 – Stan Jok, 45, third baseman and pinch hitter in 12 games for the 1954 Philadelphia Phillies and 1954–1955 Chicago White Sox.
  • March 10 – George Cunningham, 77, pitcher/outfielder who appeared in 162 career games, 123 of them on the mound, for the 1916–1919 Detroit Tigers.
  • March 11 – Zack Wheat, 83, Hall of Fame left fielder who played 18 National League seasons (1909–1926) for Brooklyn; held the franchise's career records for games (2,322), hits (2,804), doubles (464) and triples (171); a lifetime .317 hitter who retired with the tenth-most hits in history; member of 1916 and 1920 NL champion Robins.
  • March 12 – Dutch Levsen, 73, pitcher whose mediocre six-season career with 1923–1928 Cleveland Indians included one standout campaign: 1926, when he went 16–13 with 18 complete games.
  • March 16 – Pie Traynor, 72, Hall of Fame third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1920–1935, 1937) who batted .320 lifetime and established a record for career games at third base; was named the best ever at his position in 1969; managed Pirates from June 19, 1934 through 1939.
  • March 18 – Frank Bushey, 65, Boston Red Sox pitcher who worked in 12 career games during the 1927 and 1930 seasons.
  • March 19 – Gordie Hinkle, 66, catcher who appeared in 27 games for the 1934 Red Sox; bullpen coach for the 1939 Detroit Tigers.
  • March 24 – Dick Coffman, 65, pitcher who toiled in 472 games over 15 seasons between 1927 and 1945 for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, New York Giants, Boston Bees and Philadelphia Phillies; with Giants, he became a relief pitcher who led the National League in games pitched (51) and saves (12) in 1938.
  • March 28 – Donie Bush, 84, shortstop of the Detroit Tigers for 14 seasons who led the American League in walks five times and was a superlative bunter; later managed Pittsburgh to the 1927 National League pennant; also skippered three other MLB clubs between 1923 and 1933, and became prominent as a minor league manager and executive.
  • March 28 – Cy Moore, 67, pitcher who worked in 147 National League games between 1929 and 1934 for Brooklyn and Philadelphia.
  • March 30 – Davy Jones, 91, outfielder with the Detroit Tigers who organized a 1912 walkout to protest Ty Cobb's suspension for attacking a heckler.

April

  • April 2 – Gil Hodges, 47, Baseball Hall of Fame, eight-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove first baseman for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1943 and 1947–1961); member of 1955 and 1959 world champions; drove in more runs than any other player during the 1950s; finished playing career with expansion New York Mets (1962–1963) and served as third full-time manager in the team's annals from 1968 until his death, leading the "Miracle Mets" to the 1969 World Series title; Mets retired uniform #14 to honor him after his passing; also managed the Washington Senators from May 23, 1963 through 1967.
  • April 3 – Alvin Crowder, 73, pitcher who had three 20-win seasons with the Senators, winning 26 and 24 games (in 1932–1933) and St. Louis Browns; led American League hurlers in winning percentage in 1928; known for his mastery against the Yankees.
  • April 7 – Larry Brown, 70, standout Negro leagues catcher, seven-time All-Star, and member of 1927 champion Chicago American Giants; played for five teams over 22 years between 1923 and 1947 and served as player-manager of the American Giants (1935) and Memphis Red Sox (1942–1943, 1945, 1947–1948).
  • April 8 – Gus Fisher, 86, left-handed-hitting catcher who appeared in 74 games for the 1911 Cleveland Naps and 1912 New York Highlanders of the American League.
  • April 9 – Roy Leslie, 77, first baseman in 160 career games during one-year stints for the 1917 Chicago Cubs, 1919 St. Louis Cardinals and 1922 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • April 16 – Lou Perini, 68, construction magnate and club owner (1944–1962) who moved the struggling Braves from his home city of Boston to Milwaukee in March 1953, finding instant success on the field and at the turnstiles and kicking off a two-decade spasm of franchise relocations and expansion in MLB; his Boston/Milwaukee Braves won three NL pennants and the 1957 World Series.
  • April 22 – Frank Drews, 55, second baseman who appeared in 95 total games for the wartime, 1944–1945 Boston Braves.

May

Moe Berg
  • May 2 – Jack Smith, 76, outfielder who played all or part of 15 National League seasons (1915–1929) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves, getting into 1,406 games.
  • May 4 – Vic Sorrell, 71, pitcher who spent his entire 280-game career with the Detroit Tigers between 1928 and 1937; member of Tigers' 1935 World Series champs and 1934 AL pennant-winners.
  • May 11 – Lynn King, 64, back-up outfielder who played in 175 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1935, 1936 and 1938.
  • May 11 – Danny Schell, 44, outfielder/pinch hitter who appeared in 94 games for the 1954–1955 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • May 11 – Suds Sutherland, 78, pitcher, pinch hitter and outfielder in 17 games for 1921 Detroit Tigers; in 13 mound appearances, he posted a 6–2 won–lost record.
  • May 15 – John Milligan, 68, pitcher who played from 1928 through 1934 for the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Senators.
  • May 15 – Dixie Parker, 72, catcher and pinch hitter in four games for the 1923 Phillies.
  • May 18 – Babe Barna, 57, outfielder who appeared in 207 career games for the Philadelphia Athletics, New York Giants and Boston Red Sox between 1937 and 1943.
  • May 19 – Felix McLaurin, 50, outfielder who played in the Negro leagues from 1942 to 1946, chiefly for the Birmingham Black Barons and New York Black Yankees.
  • May 20 – Wally Dashiell, 70, shortstop who played one big-league game, on April 20, 1924, for the Chicago White Sox.
  • May 20 – Hoge Workman, 72, pitcher for the 1924 Boston Red Sox, who also played and coached for Cleveland teams of the National Football League.
  • May 22 – Dick Fowler, 51, Canadian pitcher who won 66 games with the Philadelphia Athletics over ten seasons between 1941 and 1952, including a no-hitter on September 9, 1945, at Shibe Park against the St. Louis Browns.
  • May 24 – Bill Moore, 68, catcher for the 1927 Boston Red Sox.
  • May 25 – Charlie Henry, 72, pitcher in the Negro leagues between 1924 and 1929.
  • May 28 – Al Gerheauser, 54, left-handed pitcher who worked in 149 career games for 1943–1944 Philadelphia Phillies, 1945–1946 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1948 St. Louis Browns.
  • May 28 – Bob Hasty, 76, Philadelphia Athletics pitcher who appeared in 146 games in an MLB career that began on September 11, 1919 and ended on September 26, 1924.
  • May 29 – Moe Berg, 70, catcher who served as a spy for the U.S. government during and after his playing career; played in 663 games for five MLB teams between 1923 and 1939, batting .243 lifetime.

June

  • June 7 – Topper Rigney, 75, shortstop for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators who appeared in 694 games and twice batted over .300.
  • June 9 – Del Bissonette, 72, first baseman who twice batted .300 for the Brooklyn Robins and hit .305 lifetime in 604 games (1928–1931 and 1933); managed 1945 Boston Braves from July 31 through the end of the season.
  • June 12 – Lefty Phillips, 53, manager of the California Angels from May 27, 1969, through 1971; previously pitching coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1965 to 1968) and a longtime scout.
  • June 24 – Crush Holloway, 75, outfielder and aggressive, hard-sliding baserunner who played in the Negro leagues between 1921 and 1939, notably for the Baltimore Black Sox and Atlanta Black Crackers.
  • June 23 – Tom Long, 82, outfielder for the 1911–1912 Washington Senators and 1915–1917 St. Louis Cardinals; led National league in triples with 25 in 1915.
  • June 26 – Mike Kircher, 74, pitcher who made 14 appearances for the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals from 1919 to 1921.

July

  • July 2 – Rankin Johnson Sr., 84, pitcher in 72 total contests for the Boston Red Sox (1914), Chicago and Baltimore of the Federal League (1914 and 1915), and St. Louis Cardinals (1918); his son was an MLB pitcher and minor-league executive.
  • July 3 – Leroy Herrmann, 66, pitcher who worked in 45 games for the Chicago Cubs (1932–1933 and 1935).
  • July 11 – Johnnie Tyler, 65, outfielder in 16 career games for the 1934–1935 Boston Braves.
  • July 17 – Al Spohrer, 68, catcher who played in 756 National League games—two for the 1928 New York Giants and 754 for the 1928–1935 Boston Braves.
  • July 20 – José María Fernández, 76, Cuban catcher whose Negro leagues playing career, including barnstorming tours and independent circuits, extended for 29 seasons between 1916 and 1947; managed New York Cubans of the Negro National League from 1939 to 1948, including 1947 Negro World Series champions.
  • July 21 – Harry McCurdy, 72, lefty-swinging backup catcher who appeared in 543 over ten seasons between 1922 and 1934 for four MLB clubs, batting .282 lifetime.
  • July 31 – Rollie Hemsley, 65, catcher who played in 1,593 games for seven MLB teams between 1928 and 1947; five-time American League All-Star; later a coach and minor league manager.

August

  • August 5 – Red McKee, 82, left-handed-hitting catcher who played in 189 games for the 1913–1916 Detroit Tigers.
  • August 7 – Red Anderson, 60, pitcher who appeared in 36 games over three seasons for the Washington Senators (1937 and 1940–1941).
  • August 13 – Herman Besse, 60, southpaw twirler who went 5–15 with an ERA of 6.79 in 65 games for the Philadelphia Athletics (1940–1943, 1946).
  • August 13 – George Weiss, 78, executive and cornerstone of the New York Yankees dynasty as farm director (1932–1947), then general manager (1947–1960), with the team winning 15 World Series titles over Weiss' 29 years; first team president of expansion New York Mets (1961–1966); named to Baseball Hall of Fame by Veterans Committee in 1971.
  • August 14 – Bricktop Wright, 63, outfielder/first baseman who played in 22 games for 1943 New York Black Yankees of the Negro National League; played professional basketball in the 1930s and 1940s.
  • August 15 – Jeff Pfeffer, 84, pitcher and 13-year (1911 and 1913–1924) MLB veteran who worked in 347 games for four teams, principally Brooklyn and St. Louis of the National League, won 158 games, and posted a 2.77 career ERA.
  • August 16 – Fred Bailey, 77, outfielder and pinch hitter for the 1916–1918 Boston Braves who played in 60 career games.
  • August 21 – Eddie Kenna, 74, catcher who appeared in 41 games for the 1928 Washington Senators.
  • August 24 – J. Roy Stockton, 79, St. Louis sportswriter from the 1910s to the 1950s, also a sportscaster and author of books on baseball.
  • August 25 – Italo Chelini, 57, left-handed pitcher who made 24 appearances for the 1935–1937 Chicago White Sox.
  • August 25 – Jack Crouch, 68, aptly named catcher who appeared in 43 big-league games for the St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds between 1930 and 1933.
  • August 26 – "Deacon Danny" MacFayden, 67, pitcher who worked in 465 games over 17 MLB seasons for the Boston Red Sox (1926–1932), New York Yankees (1932–1934), Boston Braves/Bees (1935–1939 and 1943), Pittsburgh Pirates (1940) and Washington Senators (1941); member of 1932 World Series champions.
  • August 27 – John Barnes, 69, lefty-swinging catcher who played for nine Negro National League teams (in 226 games) between 1922 and 1931.
  • August 29 – Clem Hausmann, 53, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics between 1944 and 1949.
  • August 30 – Hank Miller, 55, two-time Negro National League All-Star who pitched in 89 games, 88 of them for the Philadelphia Stars, between 1938 and 1948.
  • August 31 – Ivey Shiver, 65, outfielder who played in 21 MLB games as a member of the 1931 Detroit Tigers and 1934 Cincinnati Reds.

September

  • September 2 – Jim Brillheart, 68, who pitched in 68 MLB games for the Washington Senators, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox over four seasons between 1922 and 1931; longtime minor-league hurler who played in 29 pro seasons through 1951, and one of the few pitchers in baseball history to appear in over 1,000 career games.
  • September 3 – Tom Fisher, 91, pitcher who dropped 16 of 22 decisions for the 1904 Boston Beaneaters of the National League.
  • September 4 – Bob Bowman, 61, pitcher who compiled a 26–17 record and 3.82 ERA in 109 appearances with St. Louis Cardinals (1939–1940), New York Giants (1941) and Chicago Cubs (1942); gained notoriety by beaning newly acquired Joe Medwick of Brooklyn on June 18, 1940, sparking a bench-clearing brawl.
  • September 6 – Charlie Berry, 69, American League catcher who played in 709 games over 11 seasons between 1925 and 1938; later an AL umpire from 1942 to 1962 who worked in five World Series and five All-Star Games; also played in the NFL and officiated numerous NFL championship games.
  • September 9 – Will Jackman, 76, pitcher who at age 39 led the 1935 Negro National League in games pitched, complete games, and games lost.
  • September 16 – Eddie Waitkus, 53, first baseman in 1,140 MLB games (1941, 1946–1955) for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles who was shot in 1949 by a teenaged female admirer who lured him to her hotel room; after his recovery, a key member of Phils' 1950 "Whiz Kids" pennant-winner; twice named to NL All-Star team.
  • September 19 – Les Bartholomew, 69, left-handed pitcher in nine career games for 1928 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1932 Chicago White Sox.
  • September 25 – Jerry Lynn, 56, second baseman for the 1937 Washington Senators; went two-for-three (.667) in his only big-league game.
  • September 26 – Jesse Baker, 84, left-hander who worked in 22 games for the 1911 Chicago White Sox.

October

  • October 9 – Dave Bancroft, nicknamed "Beauty", 81, Hall of Fame shortstop for four NL teams, known for his defensive skill and also batting over .300 five times; captain of the New York Giants' pennant winners from 1921–1923, and World Series champion (1921–1922).
  • October 11 – Danny Taylor, 71, outfielder who appeared in 674 career games for three MLB clubs, notably Brooklyn, over nine seasons between 1926 and 1936.
  • October 17 – Johnny Rawlings, 80, shortstop for the 1921 New York Giants World Series champions and later a manager in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
  • October 19 – Butch Glass, 74, left-handed pitcher and occasional outfielder/first baseman who played for five Negro National League teams from 1923 to 1930.
  • October 20 – Allen Russell, 72, pitcher in 345 games for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators between 1915 and 1925 who led American League with nine saves in 1923; member of 1924 world champion Senators.
  • October 22 – Elbert Williams, 65, pitcher who appeared in the Negro leagues between 1929 and 1935.
  • October 24 – Jackie Robinson, 53, Hall of Fame second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers who broke Major League Baseball's color line in 1947 after beginning his professional career for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League; batted .311 in his ten-year National League career, leading the NL in batting average (.342) in 1949; also led his league in stolen bases in 1947 and 1949; 1947 Major League Rookie of the Year; 1949 NL Most Valuable Player; 1955 World Series champion; seven-time All-Star whose uniform #42 has been retired by every organized baseball team since 1997.
  • October 25 – Stretch Miller, 62, St. Louis sportscaster who was a member of the Cardinals' radio team from 1950 to 1954.
  • October 29 – Dutch Dietz, 60, pitcher in 106 games for Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies between 1940 and 1943.

November

  • November 2 – Freddy Parent, 96, shortstop in the Red Sox' first seven seasons, and the last surviving participant of the inaugural 1903 World Series.
  • November 3 – Phil Voyles, 72, outfielder who appeared in 20 games for the 1929 Boston Braves.
  • November 6 – Agustín Bejerano, 63, Cuban outfielder in the Negro leagues who played during the 1928 and 1929 seasons.
  • November 8 – Harry Child, 67, relief pitcher who worked in five games for the 1930 Washington Senators.
  • November 18 – Matthew Carlisle, 62, second baseman and shortstop who played in 395 Negro leagues games, 365 of them for the Homestead Grays; member of the 1943 Negro World Series champions.
  • November 26 – George Jackson, 90, outfielder who appeared in 152 games from 1911 to 1913 as a member of the Boston Rustlers/Braves of the National League.
  • November 26 – Wendell Smith, 58, sportswriter for Pittsburgh and Chicago newspapers since 1937 who became the BBWAA's first black member and helped ease Jackie Robinson's entry into the major leagues; also a Chicago sportscaster since 1964.
  • November 29 – Bernie Neis, 77, switch-hitting outfielder who played 677 career games for the Brooklyn Robins, Boston Braves, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox between 1920 and 1927.

December

  • December 2 – Rip Conway, 76, second baseman who appeared in 14 contests for the 1918 Boston Braves.
  • December 4 – John Henry Russell, 74, All-Star second baseman in the Negro leagues who played between 1924 and 1934, chiefly for the St. Louis Stars and Memphis Red Sox.
  • December 12 – Frog Holsey, 66, Negro leagues pitcher between 1928 and 1932, principally for the Chicago American Giants.
  • December 17 – Fred Bankhead, 60, second baseman who played in 243 games over 12 seasons (1937–1948) for three Negro leagues teams, chiefly the Memphis Red Sox; one of five baseball-playing brothers, including Dan Bankhead.
  • December 20 – Gabby Hartnett, 72, Hall of Fame catcher for the Chicago Cubs (1922–1940) who virtually clinched the 1938 pennant with his "Homer in the Gloamin'"; established career records for games and home runs as a catcher and was the NL's 1935 MVP; player-manager of Cubs from July 21, 1938 through 1940.
  • December 23 – Dutch Jordan, 92, second baseman for the 1903–1904 Brooklyn Superbas.
  • December 28 – Eddie Leishman, 62, longtime minor-league executive who served as first general manager of expansion San Diego Padres of the National League from 1968 until his death.
  • December 30 – Pee Wee Butts, 53, five-time All-Star shortstop who played in the Negro leagues from 1938 to 1942 and 1944–1948, primarily for the Baltimore Elite Giants.
  • December 31 – Roberto Clemente, 38, Pittsburgh Pirates' right fielder since 1955 and a national hero of Puerto Rico; a lifetime .317 hitter, 12-time All-Star and winner of 12 Gold Gloves who was a four-time batting champion and the NL's 1966 MVP; collected his 3,000th regular-season hit September 30; two-time (1960, 1971) World Series champion and 1971 World Series MVP; elected to Baseball Hall of Fame within weeks of his death, the first Latin American player so honored, and the Pirates retired his uniform #21.

References

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