Portal:Baseball/Anniversaries/March 8

Events

• 1900 - The National League votes to shrink to eight teams, paying Baltimore owners $30,000 for their franchise, with Charles Ebbets and Ned Hanlon reserving the right to sell the players. Cleveland, Louisville, and Washington receive $10,000 each, with Louisville owner Barney Dreyfuss sending most of his players to his Pittsburgh Pirates team.
• 1913 - The Federal League is organized as a six-team outlaw circuit and elects John T. Powers president.
• 1923 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis allows former New York Giant Rube Benton, who had admitted prior knowledge of the 1919 World Series fix, to return to the National League.
• 1930 - Babe Ruth signs a two-year contract for $160,000 with the New York Yankees, making him again thehighest paid player of all time.
• 1941 - Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Hugh Mulcahy becomes the first Major League Baseball player to be drafted into the Armed Forces.
• 1966 - The Veterans Committee selects Casey Stengel to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• 1985 - Toronto Blue Jays Dave Stieb signs an unusual 11-year contract, which carries an estimated value of $25 million, based on deferred payments and incentives.

Births

• 1869 - Jim Hughey, pitcher (d. 1945)
• 1875 - Bob Brush, infielder (d. 1944)
• 1879 - Josh Clarke, outfielder (d. 1962)
• 1882 - Harry Lord, infielder, manager (d. 1948)
• 1891 - Ollie O'Mara, infielder (d. 1989)
• 1893 - Ray Francis, pitcher (d. 1934)
• 1895 - Jack Bentley, pitcher (d. 1969)
• 1896 - Lefty Clarke, pitcher (d. 1975)
• 1898 - Phil Bedgood, pitcher (d. 1927)
• 1909 - Pete Fox, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1966)
• 1912 - Ray Mueller, catcher; All-Star (d. 1994)
• 1917 - Bill Salkeld, catcher (d. 1967)
• 1922 - Carl Furillo, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1989)
• 1922 - Al Gionfriddo, outfielder (d. 2003)
• 1924 - Toby Atwell, catcher; All-Star (d. 2003)
• 1926 - Dick Teed, pinch hitter
• 1930 - Bob Grim, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1996)
• 1934 - Marv Breeding, infielder (d. 2006)
• 1934 - Willard Hunter, pitcher
• 1939 - Jim Bouton, pitcher; All-Star
• 1940 - Jacques Doucet, announcer
• 1942 - Dick Allen, infielder; All-Star
• 1948 - Joe Staton, infielder
• 1949 - Juan Jiménez, pitcher (d. 2008)
• 1953 - Jim Rice, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer
• 1953 - Don Werner, catcher
• 1954 - Win Remmerswaal, pitcher
• 1957 - John Butcher, pitcher
• 1957 - Bob Stoddard, pitcher
• 1958 - Nick Capra, outfielder
• 1960 - Kevin Hagen, pitcher
• 1961 - Mark Salas, catcher
• 1964 - Lance McCullers, pitcher
• 1967 - Joel Johnston, pitcher
• 1968 - Jim Dougherty, pitcher
• 1973 - Mark Lukasiewicz, pitcher
• 1973 - Justin Thompson, pitcher; All-Star
• 1974 - Mike Moriarty, infielder
• 1976 - Juan Encarnación, outfielder
• 1976 - Ryan Freel, outfielder
• 1976 - Hines Ward, drafted outfielder
• 1982 - Craig Stansberry, infielder
• 1983 - Chris Lambert, pitcher
• 1983 - Mark Worrell, pitcher

Deaths

• 1926 - Howard Armstrong, pitcher (b. 1889)
• 1939 - Scott Stratton, pitcher (b. 1869)
• 1977 - Sid Benton, pitcher (b. 1895)
• 1978 - Red Smith, catcher (b. 1904)
• 1984 - Bruce Cunningham, pitcher (b. 1905)
• 1985 - Al Todd, catcher (b. 1902)
• 1992 - Sherman Edwards, pitcher (b. 1909)
• 1996 - Bill Nicholson, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1914)
• 1999 - Joe DiMaggio, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1914)
• 2002 - Ted Sepkowski, infielder (b. 1923)
• 2007 - Marty Martínez, infielder; manager (b. 1941)
• 2007 - John Vukovich, infielder; manager (b. 1947)
• 2008 - Ossie Álvarez, outfielder (b. 1933)