The following are the baseball events of the year 1973 throughout the world.

Champions

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Major League Baseball

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League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS)
World Series
      
East Baltimore 2
West Oakland 3
AL Oakland 4
NL NY Mets 3
East NY Mets 3
West Cincinnati 2

Other champions

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Winter Leagues

Awards and honors

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MLB statistical leaders

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  American League National League
Type Name Stat Name Stat
AVG Rod Carew MIN .350 Pete Rose CIN .338
HR Reggie Jackson OAK 32 Willie Stargell PIT 44
RBI Reggie Jackson OAK 117 Willie Stargell PIT 119
Wins Wilbur Wood CHW 24 Ron Bryant SFG 24
ERA Jim Palmer BAL 2.40 Tom Seaver NYM 2.08
Ks Nolan Ryan1 CAL 383 Tom Seaver NYM 251

1 Modern single season strikeout record.

Major league baseball final standings

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Events

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January

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  • January 3 – A group of investors headed by 42-year-old Cleveland shipping and ship-building magnate George M. Steinbrenner III purchases the New York Yankees from CBS. The entire deal is valued at $10 million and includes parking lots near Yankee Stadium, but when CBS buys those properties back from the Yankees, the purchase price for the team falls to $8.8 million. By the time of Steinbrenner's death 37 years later, the Yankees are valued at over $1.6 billion.
  • January 11:
    • American League owners vote 8–4 to adopt the designated hitter position for a three-year trial period, after which (in 1975) it will be accorded permanent status. The DH, which future Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig will call "the biggest rule change in the history of baseball to that point," is rejected by National League magnates and will not be adopted by the Senior Circuit until 2023.
    • The New York Yankees reveal that veteran MLB executive Gabe Paul has resigned as president and general manager of the Cleveland Indians and joined the 15-member ownership syndicate headed by George Steinbrenner that purchased the Bombers eight days earlier. Paul will occupy a senior executive post on the Yankee organization chart, but insists he will not displace incumbent president Michael Burke (also a minority owner) or general manager Lee MacPhail.
    • The Indians promote Paul's assistant, Phil Seghi, 63, to succeed his former boss as general manager.
  • January 18 – Free agent and longtime first baseman Orlando Cepeda, 35, signs with the Boston Red Sox, making the future Hall of Famer the first player signed to serve expressly as a designated hitter.
  • January 24 – Left-handed pitcher Warren Spahn, with 363 triumphs the winningest southpaw of all time, is elected to the Hall of Fame in his first try on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, receiving 316 of 380 votes.
  • January 28 – The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee selects 19th-century pitcher Mickey Welch and Giants first baseman George Kelly, plus umpire Billy Evans, for enshrinement.

February

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March

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April

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June

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July

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August

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September

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October

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November

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December

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Movies

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Births

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January

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February

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March

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April

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June

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July

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August

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September

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October

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Scott Schoeneweis

November

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December

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Deaths

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January

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  • January 3 – Donald Reeves, 61, All-Star outfielder and 1938 Negro American League batting champion (.384) whose pro baseball career extended from 1937 to 1941; became a teacher after retiring from the game.
  • January 9 – Al Cypert, 83, third baseman who played one game for the Cleveland Naps on June 27, 1914; later a lawyer and politician in his native Arkansas.
  • January 9 – Lyn Lary, 66, shortstop for seven MLB teams from 1929 to 1940 who led the American League in steals in 1936; member of 1932 World Series champion New York Yankees.
  • January 11 – Rivington Bisland, 82, shortstop who appeared in 31 games over three seasons (1912–1914) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Browns and Cleveland Naps.
  • January 22 – Al Halt, 82, third baseman/shortstop who played in 257 games for the 1914–1915 Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League (then labeled an "outlaw" circuit) and 1917 Cleveland Indians.
  • January 23 – Ray Callahan, 81, left-hander who pitched in three games for the Cincinnati Reds in September 1915.
  • January 28 – Thad Christopher, 60, who played seven seasons spanning 1936 to 1945 in the Negro leagues, primarily as an outfielder.
  • January 29 – Bob Madison, 61, outfielder who played for the Kansas City Monarchs during their "barnstorming" era (1935–1936), then the 1937–1938 Memphis Red Sox and 1942 Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League.
  • January 30 – Scotty Alcock, 87, third baseman in 54 games for the 1914 Chicago White Sox.

February

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  • February 8 – Roy Spencer, 72, catcher in 636 games, the bulk of them as a member of the Washington Senators (1929–1932), over a dozen seasons between 1925 and 1938.
  • February 14 – Paul Johnson, 76, outfielder/pinch hitter who played in 66 games for the 1920–1921 Philadelphia Athletics.
  • February 21 – Gilly Campbell, 65, lefty-swinging catcher who appeared in 295 games over five seasons for the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Dodgers between 1933 and 1938.
  • February 28 – Syl Simon, 75, infielder and pinch hitter for the 1923–1924 St. Louis Browns who played in the minor leagues after losing much of his left hand in an accident.

March

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  • March 1 – Ray Battle, 54, third baseman for the 1944–1945 Homestead Grays of the Negro National League.
  • March 11 – Ralph Shropshire, 62, catcher who played ten games for the 1937 St. Louis Stars of the Negro American League.
  • March 12 – Jesse Altenburg, 80, outfielder who appeared in 19 games for the 1916–1917 Pittsburgh Pirates.
  • March 12 – Frankie Frisch, 74, Hall of Fame second baseman for the New York Giants (1919–1926) and St. Louis Cardinals (1927–1937) who scored 100 runs seven times, led the NL in steals three times, and was the 1931 MVP; a lifetime .316 hitter, he twice batted .400 in the World Series; managed the "Gas House Gang" Cardinals to the 1934 World Series title and overall a four-time world champion as player and playing manager; helmed the Cardinals (July 25, 1933 to September 11, 1938), Pirates (1940–1946) and Chicago Cubs (June 14, 1949 to July 21, 1951); in broadcasting, he was a radio play-by-play man in Boston for the Bees and Red Sox (1939) and New York for the Giants (1947–1948), a member of the Giants' TV team in the mid-1950s, and a color man on the CBS-TV Game of the Week from 1959 to 1961.
  • March 19 – Walt Leverenz, 84, pitcher for the St. Louis Browns from 1913 to 1915.
  • March 22 – Bill McCorry, 85, pitcher who worked in only two games for 1909 Browns, but went on to a long baseball career, spending almost 30 years in the minors as a player and player-manager, then serving as longtime traveling secretary of the New York Yankees.
  • March 26 – George Sisler, 80, Hall of Fame first baseman for the St. Louis Browns (1915–1922, 1924–1927) who was widely recognized as the best defensive player ever at that position, twice batted over .400, and hit .340 lifetime; the American League's 1922 MVP, he had a record 257 hits in 1920 and also led the league in steals four times; managed Browns from 1924 to 1926, and later served as trusted assistant to general manager Branch Rickey in Brooklyn and Pittsburgh; sons Dick and Dave had noteworthy major-league careers.
  • March 28 – Cap Tyson, 70, catcher who played for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League between 1938 and 1941.

April

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  • April 5 – Tex Jeanes, 72, outfielder who played in 53 games during five brief MLB trials with the 1921–1922 Cleveland Indians, 1925–1926 Washington Senators and 1927 New York Giants; nephew of Tris Speaker.
  • April 6 – Ernie Smith, 73, New Jersey native known as the "Kansas City Kid" for his minor-league exploits; shortstop in 24 games for 1930 Chicago White Sox.
  • April 11 – George Minor, 53, outfielder who played for the Chicago American Giants and Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American League between 1944 and 1948.
  • April 13 – Clarence Blethen, 79, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn Dodgers between 1923 and 1929.
  • April 13 – Al Hirshberg, 63, Boston-based baseball writer since 1930 and co-author, with Jimmy Piersall, of Piersall's 1955 memoir, Fear Strikes Out.
  • April 17 – Vic Aldridge, 79, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs (1917–1918, 1922–1924), Pittsburgh Pirates (1925–1927) and New York Giants (1928); helped Pittsburgh win two pennants in three years; his two complete-game wins over Washington were crucial to Pirates' 1925 World Series title; two years later, absorbed a 6–2 defeat at the hands of the "Murderer's Row" New York Yankees in Game 2 of Yanks' 1927 four-game sweep.
  • April 30 – Bill McColgan, 47, play-by-play announcer who, while best known for describing NFL action, was a member of the Cleveland Indians' broadcast team from 1958 to 1960.
  • May 1 – Bobby Reis, 64, pitcher, outfielder and pinch hitter who got into 175 career games (69 as a pitcher) for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Bees between 1935 and 1938; led National League in games finished in 1936.
  • May 5 – Bert Griffith, 77, outfielder in 191 career games for 1921–1923 Brooklyn Robins and 1924 Washington Senators.
  • May 7 – Ralph Miller, 100, pitcher who posted a 5–17 (5.15 ERA) record in 29 games for Brooklyn and Baltimore of the National League in 1898 and 1899; first centenarian among MLB players.
  • May 18 – Herb Kelly, 80, southpaw who pitched in ten games for the 1914–1915 Pittsburgh Pirates.
  • May 19 – Jim Moore, 69, pitcher who played from 1928 to 1932 for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.
  • May 21 – Herm Wehmeier, 46, pitcher who won 92 games in 13 seasons from 1945 to 1958, primarily spent with the Cincinnati Reds.
  • May 23 – Neil Mahoney, 66, former Northeastern University catcher and Bowdoin College head baseball coach who became chief East Coast scout and then director of player procurement and development of the Boston Red Sox from 1946 until his death.
  • May 26 – Nelson "Chicken" Hawks, 77, first baseman/outfielder who played in 146 career games for 1921 New York Yankees and 1925 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • May 30 – Jim Breton, 81, third baseman who appeared in 109 games for the 1913–1915 Chicago White Sox.

June

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  • June 1 – Fred Heimach, 72, southpaw hurler who appeared in 296 career games for 1920–1926 Philadelphia Athletics, 1926 Boston Red Sox, 1928–1929 New York Yankees, and 1930–1933 Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers; member of 1928 world-champion Yankees.
  • June 2 – King Bader, 85, pitcher for the 1912 New York Giants and 1917–1918 Boston Red Sox.
  • June 3 – Jack Mills, 83, Harvard-educated third baseman and pinch runner who played in 13 games for the 1911 Cleveland Naps.
  • June 11 – Bill Burwell, 78, pitcher for the St. Louis Browns in 1920–1921 and Pittsburgh Pirates in 1928; longtime minor-league manager and scout; served two terms as a Pittsburgh coach, including as pitching tutor for 1960 World Series champions.
  • June 11 – Tom Padden, 64, catcher in 399 games for three MLB clubs, almost exclusively the 1932–1937 Pirates, over all or part of seven seasons.
  • June 11 – Kemp Wicker, 66, left-handed pitcher for 1936–1938 New York Yankees and 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers; minor-league manager and longtime scout; member of 1937 World Series champions.
  • June 12 – Irv Bartling, 58, infielder who played 14 games for the 1938 Philadelphia Athletics.
  • June 12 – Clint Blume, 74, pitcher who appeared in 13 games during trials with the 1922 and 1923 New York Giants.
  • June 14 – Fred Johnson, 79, pitcher whose 21-year professional baseball career (1921–1941) included 27 MLB games pitched for the 1922–1923 New York Giants, then, at the ages of 44 and 45, the 1938–1939 St. Louis Browns.
  • June 17 – Fritz Scheeren, 81, outfielder who appeared in 15 games during two trials with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1914–1915).
  • June 18 – Gerves Fagan, 57, infielder for five Negro leagues teams during 1942 and 1943.
  • June 23 – Cliff Aberson, 51, two-sport athlete who was a left fielder for the Chicago Cubs from 1947 to 1949, and a halfback with Green Bay Packers in 1945.
  • June 30 – Doc Cook, 87, New York Yankees' outfielder who appeared in 288 games from 1913 to 1916.
  • June 30 – Bunny Downs, 79, infielder (1914–1929) for ten Black baseball and Negro leagues clubs; later, manager of the 1943 Cincinnati Clowns of the Negro American League.

July

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  • July 2 – Chick Hafey, 70, Hall of Fame left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, a career .316 hitter who made the first hit in All-Star history and was the first batting champion to wear eyeglasses.
  • July 2 – George McBride, 92, shortstop who played primarily for the Washington Senators (1908–1920) and known for his defense; managed Senators in 1921.
  • July 4 – Walter Schmidt, 86, catcher who played in 766 games over ten seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1916–1924) and St. Louis Cardinals (1925).
  • July 6 – Joe E. Brown, 81, comedian, actor (Some Like It Hot, the baseball-themed films Alibi Ike and Fireman, Save My Child, and dozens of others) and passionate fan who spent the 1953 season on the Yankees' play-by-play broadcast team; his son Joe L. was the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates (1955–1976, 1985).
  • July 6 – Wickey McAvoy, 78, catcher who played in 235 games for the Philadelphia Athletics (1913–1915, 1917–1919).
  • July 7 – Paul Musser, 84, pitcher for the Washington Senators (1912) and Boston Red Sox (1919).
  • July 11 – George Edmondson, 77, pitcher who worked in a total of eight games for 1922–1924 Cleveland Indians.
  • July 12 – Billy Urbanski, 70, shortstop for the Boston Braves from 1931 to 1936.
  • July 17 – Evar Swanson, 70, outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds (1929–1930) and Chicago White Sox (1932–1934); swiped 33 bases in 1929—but caught stealing 20 times, which led the National League.

August

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  • August 7 – Wilbur Cooper, 81, first left-handed pitcher in National League history to win over 200 games (with 216 career triumphs); won 202 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates between 1912 and 1924.
  • August 13 – Alva Jo Fischer, 46, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League pitcher and shortstop who earned inductions into several baseball halls of fame.
  • August 13 – Ernest Smith, 73, outfielder/catcher who played in the Negro leagues between 1937 and 1942.
  • August 14 – Claude Willoughby, 74, pitcher who spent all but nine games of his 219-game MLB career as a member of terrible Philadelphia Phillies teams (1925–1930).
  • August 21 – Ira Hutchinson, 62, pitcher who appeared in 209 games for four MLB clubs, principally the Boston Bees/Braves, between 1933 and 1945; longtime minor-league manager.
  • August 22 – George Cutshaw, 86, shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers/Superbas/Robins (1912–1917), Pittsburgh Pirates (1918–1921) and Detroit Tigers (1922–1923) who excelled on defense.
  • August 27 – Herman Layne, 72, outfielder and pinch runner who appeared in 11 games for the 1927 Pirates

September

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  • September 5 – Chick Davies, 81, pitcher in 46 MLB career games for 1914–1915 Philadelphia Athletics and 1925–1926 New York Giants.
  • September 5 – Jack Fournier, 83, first baseman who played 1,530 games for five teams—principally the Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn Robins and St. Louis Cardinals—in 15 seasons spanning 1912 to 1927; hit .313 lifetime and led NL in homers (with 27) in 1924; later a scout.
  • September 10 – Roy Johnson, 70, outfielder of one-quarter Cherokee descent who played 1,155 Major League Baseball games for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Boston Bees in a span of ten seasons from 1929 to 1938; led the American League in at-bats (640) and doubles (45) in a rookie season when he amassed 201 hits; later led AL with 19 triples in 1931;[7] compiled at least a .314 batting average in four seasons and 100 or more runs three times,[7] and earned a World Series ring with the Yankees in 1936; elder brother of Bob Johnson;[8]
  • September 11 – Del Baker, 81, catcher (1914–1916), coach (1933–1938) and manager (1938–1942) of the Detroit Tigers, who led them to the 1940 AL pennant and an overall 416–354 (.540) record as skipper; later coached for Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox, and served as interim manager of 1960 Red Sox.
  • September 12 – Bernie Boland, 81, pitcher for the 1915–1920 Tigers and the 1921 St. Louis Browns; reached double figures in games won from 1915 to 1919.
  • September 13 – Vince Barton, 65, Canadian outfielder who appeared in 102 games for the Chicago Cubs during the 1931 and 1932 seasons.
  • September 13 – John MacLean, 52, play-by-play announcer and member of the Washington Senators' broadcast team from 1961 to 1968, then briefly #2 announcer on Boston Red Sox' radio network in 1972.
  • September 13 – Johnny McCarthy, 63, first baseman who played 542 career games for Brooklyn Dodgers (1934–1935), New York Giants (1936–1941 and 1948) and Boston Braves (1943 and 1946).
  • September 14 – René Monteagudo, 57, Cuban pitcher–outfielder for the Washington Senators (1938, 1940, 1944) and Philadelphia Phillies (1945).
  • September 14 – Sloppy Thurston, 74, pitcher who won 89 games over nine seasons between 1923 and 1933 for St. Louis, Chicago and Washington of the American League, and Brooklyn of the National League.
  • September 15 – Felton Wilson, 65, catcher who played for the Negro leagues' Cleveland Stars, Akron Grays and Detroit Stars during the 1930s.
  • September 16 – Tom Long, 75, southpaw hurler who appeared in one MLB game, on April 26, 1924, for the Brooklyn Robins.
  • September 18 – Dave Harris, 73, outfielder (primarily a reserve) who appeared in 542 career games over seven seasons with the Boston Braves, Chicago White Sox and Washington Senators between 1925 and 1934.
  • September 18 – Doug Smith, 81, pitcher for the 1912 Boston Red Sox.
  • September 20 – Jim Bishop, 75, pitcher who went 0–4 (6.39) in 22 games for 1923–1924 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • September 23 – Jesse Fowler, 73, left-handed hurler who appeared in 13 games for the 1924 St. Louis Cardinals; elder brother, by over 23 years, of Art Fowler.
  • September 24 – Tommy Nelson, 56, third baseman who played 40 games for 1945 Boston Braves.
  • September 24 – Bruce Sloan, 58, backup outfielder who appeared in 59 games for 1944 New York Giants.
  • September 30 – Reb Russell, 84, southpaw pitcher for the 1913–1919 Chicago White Sox who won 22 games as a rookie and 18 more in 1916; member of 1917 World Series champions but released due to a sore arm in June 1919; became an outfielder and returned to the majors for the 1922–1923 Pittsburgh Pirates, batting .323 with 165 hits in 154 games spanning those two seasons.

October

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  • October 8 – Raymond Haley, 82, caught from 1915 through 1917 for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics.
  • October 12 – Jim Mattox, 76, left-handed-hitting catcher and pinch hitter who appeared in 51 games for the 1922–1923 Pittsburgh Pirates.
  • October 13 – Icehouse Wilson, 61, college football star (Saint Mary's of California) whose one season of pro baseball (1934) included one game and one at bat as a pinch hitter for the Detroit Tigers on May 31.
  • October 22 – Ben Van Dyke, 85, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies (1909) and Boston Red Sox (1912).
  • October 24 – Al Brazle, 60, pitcher who won 97 games for the St. Louis Cardinals (1943 and 1946–1954), also leading the NL in saves twice; 1946 World Series champion.
  • October 27 – Bennie Tate, 71, lefty-swinging platoon catcher for the Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs who played in 566 games between 1924 and 1934; member of Washington's 1924 World Series champions.
  • October 27 – Eddie Yount, 57, outfielder and pinch hitter who got into nine total games in brief MLB trials with the 1937 Philadelphia Athletics and 1939 Pittsburgh Pirates.

November

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  • November 2 – Greasy Neale, 81, outfielder who played 768 games for the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies between 1916 and 1924; batted .357 in 1919 World Series to help Reds win world title; gained fame as a football coach, leading the Philadelphia Eagles to two NFL championships during the 1940s to crown a career he began to fill time between baseball seasons.
  • November 3 – Harry Kenyon, 79, outfielder, pitcher and manager in the Negro leagues between 1921 and 1929.
  • November 8 – Bob Chipman, 55, pitcher who spent all or part of 12 years in the National League (1941–1952) with Brooklyn, Chicago and Boston, appearing in 293 games.
  • November 10 – Denver Grigsby, 72, outfielder who played 199 games for 1923–1925 Chicago Cubs.
  • November 14 – Gene Bailey, 79, outfielder in 213 games for four big-league clubs, principally the Brooklyn Robins, over five seasons between 1917 and 1924.
  • November 15 – Phil Todt, 72, fine defensive first baseman who played from 1924 to 1931 for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics.
  • November 22 – T. J. Brown, 58, All-Star shortstop in the Negro leagues who played from 1939 to 1950, principally for the Memphis Red Sox.
  • November 23 – Willie Mitchell, 83, southpaw hurler who pitched in 276 games for the Cleveland Naps/Indians and Detroit Tigers from 1901 to 1919.
  • November 27 – Ed Holly, 94, shortstop who appeared in 276 games for the 1906–1907 St. Louis Cardinals and 1914–1915 Pittsburgh Rebels (Federal League).
  • November 27 – Nate Moreland, 59, pitcher/outfielder for the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro National League during the 1940s.
  • November 29 – Tom Hamilton, 48, outfielder who played in 67 games for the 1952–1953 Philadelphia Athletics; later a minor league manager and college baseball coach.
  • November 30 – Alex Metzler, 70, outfielder who hit .285 with a .374 OBP in 560 games for the Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and St. Louis Browns from 1925 to 1930.

December

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  • December 1 – Kyle "Skinny" Graham, 74, pitcher who appeared in 67 career games for the 1924–1926 Boston Braves and 1929 Detroit Tigers.
  • December 3 – Bill Holland, 72, pitcher/outfielder who appeared in 15 seasons in the Negro leagues between 1920 and 1941.
  • December 3 – James Mulvey, 74, motion picture industry executive and co-owner (with his wife, Dearie, until her 1968 death) of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1938 until his death.
  • December 4 – Frank Duncan, 72, topflight defensive catcher whose playing career in the Negro leagues encompassed 22 seasons spanning 1920 to 1945.
  • December 5 – Spencer Pumpelly, 80, Yale graduate who appeared in one inning as a Washington Senators' relief pitcher in his only MLB appearance on July 11, 1925.
  • December 10 – Joe Riggert, 86, outfielder for four seasons in the major leagues; holds the record for career minor league triples.

References

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  1. ^ "New York Mets 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 3". Baseball-Reference.com. 1973-09-19.
  2. ^ "New York Mets 3, Philadelphia Phillies 0". Baseball-Reference.com. 1973-04-06.
  3. ^ "New York Mets 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 3". Baseball-Reference.com. 1973-09-20.
  4. ^ "1973 World Series, Game One". Baseball-Reference.com. 1973-10-13.
  5. ^ Koppett, Leonard (December 21, 1973). "League Ruling Bars Yank–Williams Pact". timesmachine.nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  6. ^ United Press International (December 28, 1973). "Padres Stay West — If Sale is Approved". timesmachine.nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Roy Johnson batting and fielding statistics. Baseball Reference. Retrieved on December 23, 2018.
  8. ^ Roy Johnson obituary Archived 2020-01-23 at the Wayback Machine. The Deadball Era. Retrieved on December 23, 2018.