1942 in baseball

Champions

Major League Baseball

World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees
1942 [Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game], July 6 at Polo Grounds: American League, 3–1

Other champions

Amateur World Series: Cuba
Negro World Series: Kansas City Monarchs over Homestead Grays
All-Star Game">MLB All-Star Game">All-Star Game: East, 5–2
Minor leagues
*Northern League: Winnipeg Maroons

Awards and honors

Baseball Hall of Fame
*Rogers Hornsby
Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player]
*Joe Gordon – New York Yankees
*Mort Cooper – St. Louis Cardinals
The Sporting News MLB [Player of the Year Award|The Sporting News Player of the Year Award]
*Ted Williams – Boston Red Sox
The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award
*Joe Gordon – New York Yankees
*Mort Cooper – St. Louis Cardinals
The [Sporting News Manager of the Year Award|The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award]
*Billy Southworth – St. Louis Cardinals

Statistical leaders

Any team shown in indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.
¹ American League Triple Crown batting winner
² Negro American League Triple Crown batting winner
³ Negro American League Triple Crown batting winner

Negro league baseball final standings

All Negro leagues standings below are per Seamheads.

Independent teams final standings

The Negro American League All Star team & Cincinnati Clowns played against the two leagues.

Events

January

January 6 – Fireballer Bob Feller, named today by the Baseball Writers' Association of America to its all-MLB All-Star team, begins his United States Navy training as a boatswain's mate in Norfolk, Virginia. The 25-game winner enlisted four weeks ago, on December 9, two days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into World War II.
January 7
*Today, the one-month anniversary of Pearl Harbor, sees the induction of three-time All-Star outfielder Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators into the armed services. Travis, 28, finished second in batting to Ted Williams'.406 and led the American League in hits in.
*Facing the possibility of an industry shutdown, and with stars such as Feller, Travis and Hank Greenberg in military service, AL president Will Harridge asserts that his circuit hopes to carry on in 1942 to perform baseball's role as "an important recreational and morale portion of our national defense program." AL owners, he says, are prepared to meet in emergency session during this month and next, in response to any change in conditions caused by the war.
January 14 – The Boston Red Sox release coach Moe Berg at his request, enabling Berg, a master linguist who speaks at least nine languages, to take on a diplomatic assignment from the United States Department of State in Latin America. Princeton alumnus Berg, 39, who played in all or part of 15 MLB seasons, primarily as a catcher, between and, will go on to reputedly serve as a top spy for the U.S. during World War II.
January 15 – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt encourages Organized Baseball to continue despite the United States' entry into World War II and hails the sport as a "recreational asset." In a letter to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Roosevelt writes: "I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going." His "green light" letter ensures that the 1942 season will go forward as planned and negates rumors of an industry shutdown in the near term.
January 20 – Rogers Hornsby, the greatest hitter in modern National League history and contemporaneously thought of as the top right-handed batsman in major-league annals, is the 1942 [Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|lone 1942 selection] to the Hall of Fame and Museum">National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum">Hall of Fame and Museum. The gruff former second baseman, 45, is named on 182 of 233 ballots cast.
January 23 – In a letter to his team, Cincinnati Reds general manager Warren Giles, a World War I veteran, warns players against "shirking" their wartime service obligation. He writes: "We would rather finish last or not operate at all... than have even one player who cannot justify his reasons for not being in the service."
January 27 – For the second time in three days, the American League's second-division St. Louis Browns strengthen their roster by purchasing "surplus" talent from their National League tenant at Sportsman's Park, the pennant-contending St. Louis Cardinals. Today the Browns add second baseman Don Gutteridge, after obtaining southpaw Al "Boots" Hollingsworth on the 24th. Both men, who played for the Redbirds' Triple-A Sacramento affiliate in, will be members of the Browns' 1944 AL pennant-winner.

February

February 3 – Fulfilling President Franklin Roosevelt's expressed request for more night baseball to entertain war workers during the 1942 season, MLB owners expand the maximum number of evening dates clubs may play from seven to 14, and 21 for the Washington Senators. However, venues such as Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Briggs Stadium and Wrigley Field continue to lack arc lights to host such contests.
February 7 – Hard-hitting catcher Ernie Lombardi, a future member of the Hall of Fame, is traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Boston Braves in exchange for cash and/or "players to be named named later." The National League Most Valuable Player and batting champion—and a five-time All-Star—Lombardi, 33, is reportedly at an impasse in contract talks with Cincinnati after an off-year in.
February 9 – Philadelphia's National League franchise shortens its official nickname from Phillies to Phils to differentiate itself from the popular cigar brand. The change lasts for this season only before the original moniker is restored.
February 10 – Gordon Houston, 25, an outfielder/shortstop who had played with minor-league Texarkana in, becomes the first Organized Baseball player to die on active duty in World War II. USAAF second lieutenant Houston, returning from an anti-submarine mission along the Pacific Coast, perishes when the Republic P-43 Lancer fighter plane he's piloting crashes at McChord Field near Tacoma, Washington.
February 26 – The successful, three-year return to pennant contention of the 1941 [Brooklyn Dodgers season|1941 NL champion] Brooklyn Dodgers is reflected in its balance sheets when its chief creditor, the Brooklyn Trust Company, which manages 75% of Dodgers' stock on behalf of the estates of Charles Ebbets and Edward J. McKeever, tells a county probate court that the team has cleared all debts—over $500,000—accrued over recent years. Brooklyn led all 16 MLB teams in home attendance in 1941, drawing 1.21 million fans to Ebbets Field. The bank will sell the shares held in trust beginning in 1944.

March

March 12 – Joe DiMaggio's ten-day holdout ends when the New York Yankees' 27-year-old superstar and reigning American League MVP agrees to a 1942 salary estimated at $42,500, a $5,000 raise from 1941's contract.
March 18 – Former UCLA baseball letterman Jackie Robinson and Negro leagues pitcher/outfielder Nate Moreland are invited to work out with the Chicago White Sox, who hold spring training in Pasadena, California. Sox manager Jimmie Dykes praises Robinson's baserunning to Pittsburgh Courier sportswriter Herman Hill, saying, "He stole everything but my infielders' gloves." Dykes goes on record to the Courier, adding, "Personally, I would welcome Negro players on the White Sox and I believe every one of the other 15 managers would do so likewise. As for the players, they'd all get along too." However, Dykes is unable to even consider offering contracts to either, stating that it is a matter for club owners, league officials and the Commissioner of Baseball to allow it.
March 23 – The combatants in the 1941 World Series make a deal when the victorious New York Yankees sell the contract of free-spirited outfielder Frenchy Bordagaray to the NL-champion Brooklyn Dodgers. Bordagaray, 32, returns to the team where he came to prominence as one of the "Daffiness Boys" of the mid-1930s.
March 30 – The Detroit Tigers rid themselves of Bobo Newsom, pitching star of their 1940 [Detroit Tigers season|1940 American League champions], selling the right-hander's contract to the Washington Senators for the handsome price of $40,000. Newsom, 34, won 20 or more games for three straight seasons, but slumped to a 12–20 mark in and was embroiled in a contract squabble with Detroit's front office.

April

April 14 – A full slate of games opens the 1942 major-league season.
*In the annual "Presidential Opener," the reigning world-champion New York Yankees defeat the host Washington Senators, 7–0, behind Red Ruffing's three-hitter; U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace throws out the first pitch.
*At the Polo Grounds, the Brooklyn Dodgers, defending National League champs, spoil Mel Ott's debut as player–manager of the New York Giants, scoring seven runs off Carl Hubbell in the first five innings, then holding on to win, 7–5.
*Lou Boudreau debuts as shortstop–manager of the Cleveland Indians, going two-for-three with a double and scoring a run in Cleveland's 5–2 triumph over the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium. Boudreau, 24 and starting his fourth full big-league season, is the second-youngest manager in MLB history.
April 16 – At Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox unleash a barrage of 21 hits and crush the Philadelphia Athletics, 19–4. Connie Mack leaves reliever Les McCrabb in the game to allow 14 earned runs over four innings of work. The Bosox' 19 runs scored in today's game set the standard in MLB in 1942.
April 29 – The Detroit Tigers sell the contract of right-hander Schoolboy Rowe, 32, mound ace of their 1934, 1935 and 1940 pennant-winners, to the Brooklyn Dodgers.

May

May 1 – Umpire Larry Goetz ejects four members of the Pittsburgh Pirates—two players, a coach and manager Frankie Frisch—in the Bucs' 7–6 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
May 3 – The National League's contentious early season continues, when umpires boot five Dodgers in today's doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman's Park; the Cardinals sweep first-place Brooklyn, 14–10 and 4–2, to pull within 2½ games of the lead.
May 6 – Colorful, well-traveled Bobo Newsom, now with the Washington Senators, tosses the first one-hitter of the 1942 MLB season, blanking his previous team, the Detroit Tigers, 7–0, at Griffith Stadium. Newsom walks four and the only safety he allows is Doc Cramer's third-inning triple. Eight one-hitters will be thrown this season, but there will be no no-hitters.
May 13
*Jim Tobin of the 1942 [Boston Braves season|Boston Braves] almost single-handedly beats the 1942 [Chicago Cubs season|Chicago Cubs] at Braves Field, 6–5, by pitching a five-hitter and hitting three consecutive home runs. Tobin, who hit a pinch-homer the day before, becomes the only pitcher in modern history to collect three home runs in a Major League game. His fourth at-bat results in a fly ball caught against the fence in left field. Tobin's is one of two three-homer performances by MLB hitters in 1942; the other will belong to Clyde McCullough of the Chicago Cubs on July 26.
*The St. Louis Browns purchase the contract of Babe Dahlgren, who became part of baseball lore when he replaced Lou Gehrig at first base for the Yankees, thus ending the consecutive playing streak, from the Chicago Cubs. Less than a week later, the Browns return him to the Cubs, who then sell his contract to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
May 22 – Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox enlists in the United States Navy Reserve. He will be called to active duty in November after winning the American League's Triple Crown.

June

June 1
*Jimmie Foxx, placed on waivers by the Boston Red Sox, is claimed by the Chicago Cubs. Foxx, 34, has slugged 524 home runs to date in his 17+ seasons, second only to Babe Ruth's legendary 714 and most by any right-handed hitter in the American or National leagues.
*The St. Louis Browns trade pitcher Bob Harris and catcher Bob Swift to the Philadelphia Athletics for catcher Frankie "Blimp" Hayes, a three-time former AL All-Star.
June 5 – After hurling 15 scoreless innings, Canadian right-hander Dick Fowler of the Athletics surrenders a triple to Wally Judnich and a sacrifice fly to Chet Laabs in the 16th, and drops a 1–0 decision to the Browns at Shibe Park.
June 7 – The St. Louis Browns are in the news again, trading 1941 AL All-Star outfielder Roy Cullenbine and pitcher Bill Trotter to the Washington Senators for pitcher Steve Sundra and outfielder Mike Chartak.
June 14 – In the first game of a twin bill against the Browns in the Bronx, Joe Gordon of the New York Yankees extends his consecutive-games hitting streak to 29, longest this year in the majors, with a sixth-inning single, before going 0-for-4 in the nightcap. During the streak, which began May 13, Gordon hits six homers and raises his batting average to.396; the Yanks go 24–5. Gordon, 27, is en route to the 1942 AL Most Valuable Player Award and a berth in the Hall of Fame.
June 19 – With his fifth-inning single off Rip Sewell, future Hall-of-Famer Paul Waner of the Boston Braves joins the 3,000 hit club. The blow comes against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates, for whom "Big Poison," now 39, had played 15 years, 2,154 games—and amassed 2,868 of those career hits.
June 26 – Gene Stack, a 23-year-old minor-league right-hander who, on January 7, 1941, became the first player on an MLB roster drafted into military service, dies suddenly after pitching for his U.S. Army base, Fort Custer (Michigan). Stack had won 19 games for Class D Lubbock in the Chicago White Sox organization in 1940 and was added to the ChiSox' 40-man roster after the season. His death, initially thought to have been caused by a heart attack, is attributed to pneumonia.
June 30 – At Sportsman's Park, Mort Cooper of the St. Louis Cardinals extends his MLB-best scoreless innings pitched streak to 33 before Elbie Fletcher of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a two-out, first-inning homer. Cooper's skein, which included three straight shutouts, had started June 12. He goes on to record a 4–2 victory today, his 11th triumph of the season, although his earned run average climbs from 1.19 to 1.24.

July

July 6
*Before 33,694 at the Polo Grounds, home of the New York Giants, the American League defeats the National League, 3–1, in the All–Star Game. First-inning home runs by Lou Boudreau and Rudy York are decisive. With proceeds donated to war-related charities, the game is moved from Ebbets Field to accommodate larger crowds.
*With the All-Star break and July 4 weekend almost coinciding, the halfway mark of the 1942 MLB season appears to predict a coming rematch of the 1941 World Series. In the AL, the New York Yankees lead the Boston Red Sox by four. In the NL, the Brooklyn Dodgers have built an 8½-game margin over the St. Louis Cardinals.
July 8 – The Cardinals sell the contract of 33-year-old starting pitcher Lon Warneke to his original team, the Chicago Cubs. Warneke is a five-time NL All-Star, most recently in, when he won 17 games for St. Louis.
July 16 – The first-place New York Yankees, now 7½ games ahead in the Junior Circuit, make two inter-league waiver transactions with the Cincinnati Reds, acquiring right-hander Jim Turner and third baseman Joe Abreu for outfielder Frankie Kelleher; in a separate deal, the Yankees also pick up Cincinnati's former centerfielder, Harry Craft, for fellow outfielder Eric Tipton.
July 19
*At Sportsman's Park, "Pistol Pete" Reiser, the Brooklyn Dodgers' brilliant, daredevil, 23-year-old centerfielder, fractures his skull and suffers a concussion when, flagging down a long drive hit by the Cardinals' Enos Slaughter in the 11th inning of a six-all tie, he smashes head-first into the concrete outfield wall. Upon impact, Reiser collapses to the ground, the ball drops from his glove to remain in play, and Slaughter rounds the bases for an inside the park home run, delivering a hard-won doubleheader sweep for his Redbirds against their arch-foes. Reiser is hospitalized for four days "to rest," but returns to the Brooklyn lineup July 25. Plagued by double-vision and headaches, he hits only.244 in the season's final two months, his batting average drops from.350 to.310, and the Dodgers' pennant drive stalls.
*Boston Red Sox pitcher Mike Ryba catches both games of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park. Known as the "one-man team" during his minor-league career because of his versatility, Ryba caught as many as 406 games in the minors.

August

August 4 – Wartime "dim-out" restrictions dictate an abrupt halt to a 1–1 deadlock between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants at the Polo Grounds in the visitors' half of the tenth frame—and wipe out an inside-the-park grand-slam homer just struck by the Dodgers' Pee Wee Reese. The score reverts to the bottom of the ninth inning and the game is ruled a tie. When the St. Louis Cardinals drop a 4–3 contest to the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field, the Dodgers, now 73–30–1 and seemingly breezing to their second straight pennant, increase their National League lead to ten full games over the 62–39–1 Cardinals; it's the largest cushion Brooklyn will enjoy in 1942.
August 8 – At Forbes Field, the Cardinals and host Pittsburgh Pirates play to a 16-inning, 5–5 tie before the rain-delayed game is called on account of darkness. St. Louis ace Mort Cooper turns in a rare poor performance, but the Redbird bullpen fires 13 scoreless innings. Individual statistics will count, but the teams will start from scratch on Monday, August 10.
August 9 – The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds struggle for 18 innings before the visiting Cubs emerge victorious, 10–8, in the first game of a doubleheader at Crosley Field. The teams combine for 39 hits in the majors' longest game, by innings played, of 1942. Dom Dallessandro's double off Elmer Riddle provides the winning run.
August 20 – The Pittsburgh Pirates reveal that owner William Benswanger has asked Wendell Smith of the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the leading proponents within the Black press advocating the dismantling of the baseball color line, to identify Black players from the Negro leagues as candidates to try out over the off-season to become members of the all-white Pirates in 1943. Smith selects four: pitcher Leon Day, catcher Josh Gibson, shortstop Willie Wells and outfielder Sam Bankhead. Nothing comes of the request; the tryouts never occur. Day, Gibson and Wells all are eventually enshrined in Cooperstown as members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
August 23 – In a benefit appearance before 69,136 fans, Babe Ruth, 47, dons a New York Yankees' uniform for the first time in seven years for a hitting exhibition against Walter Johnson, now 54, at Yankee Stadium. On Johnson's fifth pitch, Ruth hits a drive into the lower right field stands, and the crowd thunders its approval. On the final pitch, Ruth smashes a towering, upper-deck shot that's just foul; he circles the bases anyway, doffing his cap and saluting the roaring crowd with every step. Ruth and Johnson then leave the field together to a thunderous ovation. Their exhibition raises $80,000 for the Army-Navy relief fund.
August 31
*With a month to go in the regular season, a pennant race emerges in the National League. The red-hot, second-place St. Louis Cardinals, who went 25–8 in August, shave five full games off the Brooklyn Dodgers' formerly comfortable, 8½-length cushion. The Redbirds' record now stands at 85–44 with 25 games to play.
*The 88–40 Dodgers, in a bid to strengthen their pitching staff, purchase itinerant right-hander Bobo Newsom, a former three-time 20-game winner, from the Washington Senators.
*The 86–44 New York Yankees, eight games ahead of the second-place Boston Red Sox in the American League, acquire outfielder Roy Cullenbine on waivers, also from Washington.

September

September 1 – Urged on by the city's Black newspaper, the Call and Post, the Cleveland Indians publicly invite three African-American players—pitcher Gene Bremer, third baseman Parnell Woods and outfielder Sam Jethroe—to try out for their 1943 squad. All three are members of the Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American League. The tryout, however, never materializes.
September 11 – Chicago Cubs catcher Paul Gillespie homers in his first major league at bat. In September 1945, he'll homer in his final MLB regular-season at bat and become the first player in MLB history to do both. Gillespie, however, will prolong his career in the 1945 World Series, where he will go 0-for-6.
September 12
*The St. Louis Cardinals climb into a first-place tie with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the National League when Max Lanier defeats Brooklyn for the fifth time in 1942, 2–1, at Ebbets Field. Whitey Kurowski's second-inning, two-run homer gives Lanier the run support he needs. Both clubs are 94–46, with the scorching Cardinals erasing the Dodgers' ten-game lead by going 32–7 since August 4. The Cardinals also capture the season series, 13 games to nine.
*When the Cardinals arrive by train in Philadelphia later today for a four-game series against the last-place Phils, 19-game-winning righty Johnny Beazley suffers minor lacerations to his pitching hand when he's attacked by a knife-wielding assailant on the station platform. Beazley will take his regular turn in the rotation tomorrow despite the injury, dropping a 2–1 decision to the Phils at Shibe Park.
September 13 – In the second game of a doubleheader at Braves Field, Lennie Merullo commits four errors in the second inning of the Chicago Cubs' 12–8 victory over the Boston Braves. Merullo had just been informed that his wife had just delivered their first child, son Len Jr. The next day, Chicago newspapers suggest that the newborn be nicknamed "Boots" in honor of the occasion.
September 14
*The New York Yankees, now 98–47, clinch their second consecutive American League pennant, their sixth in the past seven seasons, and their 13th since with an 8–3 victory in Cleveland. The Bombers lead the second-place Boston Red Sox by ten games with nine left to play.
*Vice president Branch Rickey strongly signals his imminent departure from the St. Louis Cardinals when he refuses to discuss his immediate future with the team whose front office he has overseen since May 1925. Rickey's lucrative contract expires at the end of the season, and owner Sam Breadon wants to cut his salary. Rickey's tenure—marked by his creation of baseball's most successful farm system—has seen the Cardinals become an NL dynasty that's currently on the verge of winning its sixth pennant since.
September 16 – The Brooklyn Dodgers, who now lag behind the Cardinals by two full games, face off-field issues, too, when four of their fans appear before a magistrate in Brooklyn–Queens Night Court to answer charges that they assaulted Ebbets Field ushers in the stands an hour before today's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The defense attorney asks the judge to subpoena Brooklyn manager Leo Durocher and players Mickey Owen and Dixie Walker who, he claims, climbed into the stands and attacked the fans on behalf of the beleaguered ushers. The case is continued until October 5—after the projected completion of the 1942 World Series.
September 23 – Larry MacPhail, who as general manager and club president of the Dodgers has spearheaded the team's rejuvenation on the field and at the turnstiles, stuns Brooklyn by quitting both positions to return to active duty in the United States Army. The "Roaring Redhead" had signed a five-year contract extension earlier in 1942, a reflection of his manifold accomplishments as the Dodgers' chief executive: three first-division finishes and one NL pennant between 1939 and. His current team has won 100 of its first 150 games, but trails the first-place Cardinals by 2½ games; nevertheless, it's poised to lead all 16 MLB teams in home attendance for the third time in four years. MacPhail, now 52, had served as an artillery captain during World War I; on October 2, he will resume his Army career as a lieutenant colonel.
September 26 – Bucky Harris steps down from his second term as manager of the Washington Senators after a 62–89, seventh-place finish. The future Hall of Famer began his career as the 27-year-old "Boy Manager" and second baseman of the [1924 World Series|1924 world-champion Senators]. His latest stint with Washington began in but has produced only one winning season. Coach and former stalwart third baseman Ossie Bluege will be named to succeed Harris on October 10.
September 27
*The St. Louis Cardinals clinch the NL pennant on the last day of the regular season, defeating the Chicago Cubs, 9–2, in the first game of a doubleheader at Sportsman's Park. The Cardinals also win Game 2 of the twin bill to finish with a record of 106–48, earning the most victories by any NL team since 1909 [Pittsburgh Pirates season|Pittsburgh's 110 wins in 1909]. The Redbirds' pennant is their sixth overall, and first since.
*Meanwhile, the second-place Brooklyn Dodgers win their season finale, 4–3, against Philadelphia Phils season|Philadelphia] to finish 104–50—the first MLB pennant runner-up to win that many games since the 1909 Cubs.
*Ted Williams, 24-year-old Boston Red Sox superstar, wins the hitting "Triple Crown", topping the AL in batting, home runs and batted in">batting average (baseball)">batted in, as well as runs scored, bases on balls received, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and bWAR. He's MLB's first hitting Triple-Crown winner since Joe Medwick of the 1937 Cardinals.
September 29
*The Kansas City Monarchs defeat the Washington-Homestead Grays 9–5 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia and sweep the 1942 Negro World Series four games to none. Satchel Paige pitches 5 hitless innings in relief to shut down the Grays and clinch the title.
*Former New York Yankees outfielder Ben Chapman, who spent 1942 as the player–manager of the Richmond Colts of the Class B Piedmont League, is suspended for the entire 1943 season to come for attacking an umpire and punching him in the face during a heated argument in a September 16 playoff game.

October

October 5 – After dropping the first game of the World Series to the New York Yankees at Sportsman's Park on September 30, the St. Louis Cardinals win their fourth straight contest, 4–2, and capture the fourth world title in their history. Johnny Beazley, who whipped the Yanks in Game 2 to start the Redbirds' championship streak, racks up another complete-game victory; Whitey Kurowski's, two-run, ninth-inning homer provides the winning runs. The Bombers are swept in all three games played at Yankee Stadium, and drop their first Fall Classic since 1926—when they also fell to the Cardinals; they had won eight consecutive Series appearances in the interim.
*The Cardinals' victory caps one of the hottest stretch-drive streaks in baseball annals; they've gone 48–10–1 since August 4, overcoming a ten-game deficit in the National League standings, and did not lose two in a row after August 2.
October 9 – A report from the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, governing body of the minor leagues, reveals severe challenges caused by World War II. Ten leagues, mostly in the lower classifications, shut down prior to the 1942 campaign, and five more halted play during the middle of the season. Minor-league czar William G. Bramham says the minors will continue to operate in 1943, but warns that player shortages and travel restrictions will be crucial issues.
October 27
*Mort Cooper, star right-hander of the St. Louis Cardinals, is elected 1942's NL Most Valuable Player, receiving 13 of 24 first-place votes ; he surpasses teammate Enos Slaughter and Mel Ott. Cooper, 29, led all NL hurlers in victories, earned run average, shutouts, and bWAR.
*The suggestion, first reported in the New York Herald–Tribune, that the eight-team National and American leagues be realigned into regional Eastern and Western circuits for the duration of World War II to save on fuel and travel expenses is derided as "silly" by MLB owners and executives.
October 29 – The Brooklyn Dodgers sign Branch Rickey to a five-year contract as club president and general manager, replacing Larry MacPhail, now serving in the United States Army. Rickey, 60, had been business manager and vice-president of the St. Louis Cardinals since May 1925; St. Louis owner Sam Breadon had allowed Brooklyn's board of directors to speak with Rickey about their executive vacancy earlier this month. The inventor of the modern farm system, Rickey's scouting and player development acumen has enabled the cost-conscious Cardinals to capture six NL pennants and four World Series titles during his 17 full seasons as head of their front office. At Rickey's introductory press conference, he notes that the Dodgers, who won 104 games this past season but lagged behind Rickey's world-champion Redbirds, need to develop younger players to remain competitive. The 1942 Dodgers were the second-oldest team in the NL; Rickey's Cardinals, the second-youngest.

November

November 3 – New York Yankees second baseman Joe Gordon edges Triple-Crown-winner Ted Williams in balloting for the 1942 American League Most Valuable Player Award. Gordon wins on the strength of 12 first-place votes and 270 points to Williams' nine and 249; other first-place votes go to Williams' Boston Red Sox teammate Johnny Pesky and St. Louis Browns' shortstop Vern Stephens. Gordon finished fourth in the AL in both batting and runs batted in for his pennant-winning Bombers, but the vote is seen as a deliberate snub of Williams, known to be churlish with baseball writers.
November 14 – The Chicago Cubs purchase the contract of two-time former NL All-Star outfielder Ival Goodman, 34, from the Cincinnati Reds.
November 24 – The St. Louis Cardinals select right-hander Gerry Staley from Boise of the Class C Pioneer League in the minor league draft. In, Staley will begin a 15-season MLB career during which he makes four All-Star teams and wins 134 games, including 89 as a Cardinal.
November 25 – The Baltimore Sun reports that a group of local businessmen has organized to buy the Philadelphia Phils from destitute owner Gerald Nugent and move them to the Maryland metropolis; the group plans to meet with mayor Howard W. Jackson in the coming days. The National League is brokering a sale of the struggling franchise, although league chief Ford Frick opposes its relocation. Baltimore has been without top-level baseball since the Federal League disbanded in 1915.
November 28 – The Detroit Tigers change managers, naming Steve O'Neill to succeed Del Baker. O'Neill, 51, is known primarily as the former workhorse catcher of the Cleveland Indians between and, and managed Cleveland to a 199–168 record between and. Baker, 50, a former Tiger catcher and coach, has been at the Detroit helm since August 7, 1938, and led the 1940 edition to the AL pennant.

December

December 1 – At the winter meetings in Chicago, player shortages and potential travel restrictions are the order of the day. The St. Louis Cardinals, who operate baseball's largest farm system, reports that 67 varsity and minor-league players have joined the military in the eight weeks since the conclusion of the 1942 season. At the request of the federal Office of Defense Transportation, owners reduce 1943's regular-season travel by 25% by restricting road trips from four to three series for each team. The ODT's suggestions that spring training be moved from the warm-weather South and Southwest to locations closer to the 16 MLB clubs is initially resisted, however.
December 3 – Ten members of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, a U.S. labor union confederation, are rebuffed in their attempt at the winter meetings to confer with Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to urge the abolishment of the baseball color line. Landis issues a statement claiming that no rule prohibits teams from hiring Black athletes; later, Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley admits that a "gentleman's agreement" among owners enforces racial segregation among the playing ranks.
December 4
*The winter conclave ends with major league teams "reasonably assured" of a continued green-light policy, enabling them to continue to operate during wartime in 1943, provided government directives are heeded and frills, such as spring training, are curtailed.
*The Cincinnati Reds trade pitcher Nate Andrews, shortstop Eddie Joost and $25,000 to the Boston Braves to reacquire shortstop Eddie Miller, a three-time National League All-Star.
December 12 – Branch Rickey's first official trade as front-office boss of the Brooklyn Dodgers sees him obtain pitcher Rube Melton, 25, from the Philadelphia Phils for fellow right-hander Johnny Allen, 38, and $30,000. Melton went 9–20 in 42 games and 209 innings pitched for the cellar-dwelling Phils last season.
December 17 – Well-traveled Roy Cullenbine's tenure as the New York Yankees' starting right-fielder ends after 28 regular-season and five World Series games when he's dealt to the Cleveland Indians with catcher Buddy Rosar for infielder Oscar Grimes and outfielder Roy "Stormy" Weatherly. The switch-hitting Cullenbine, 29, batted.364 with 28 hits for the Yanks over 1942's stretch drive after they acquired him from the Washington Senators on August 31.

Movies

''The Pride of the Yankees''

Births

January

January 1 – Bill Bethea
January 3 – Epy Guerrero
January 5 – Wally Wolf
January 7 – Jim Lefebvre
January 11 – Danny Napoleon
January 14:
*Dave Campbell
*Billy Parker
January 18 – Dick Estelle
January 25 – Ernie Fazio

February

February 4 – Joe Sparma
February 8:
*Fritz Peterson
*Costen Shockley
February 9 – Hal Gilson
February 12:
*Steve Bailey
*Pat Dobson
February 15 – Bill Henry
February 16 – Tim Cullen
February 21 – Fred Newman

July

July 4 – Hal Lanier
July 11 – John Sevcik
July 14 – Juan Ríos
July 15 – Don Bosch
July 16 – John Purdin
July 17 – Don Kessinger
July 20 – Mickey Stanley
July 21 – Mike Hegan
July 22 – Frank Johnson
July 24 – Cotton Nash
July 26 – José Martínez
July 27 – Jack Hiatt

August

August 4:
*Ángel Bravo
*Cleon Jones
August 7 – Gary Dotter
August 9 – Tommie Agee
August 11 – Sal Campisi
August 15 – Cap Peterson
August 20 – Fred Norman
August 23:
*Dave Dowling
*Danny Murphy
August 25 – Shaun Fitzmaurice
August 29 – Dan Schneider
August 31:
*Tom Dukes
*Ramón Webster

September

September 8 – Steve Hargan
September 9 – Ron Stone
September 21:
*Sam McDowell
*Bill Wilson
September 23:
*Jim Rooker
*Woody Woodward
September 24 – Chuck Nieson
September 28 – Grant Jackson

October

October 6 – Jerry Grote
October 8 – Bill Landis
October 13 – Bob Bailey
October 16 – Pete Lovrich
October 17 – Pete Cimino
October 18:
*Vern Holtgrave
*Willie Horton
October 22 – Cecil Upshaw
October 31 – Dave McNally

November

November 2 – Ron Reed
November 4 – Jack Whillock
November 5 – Richie Scheinblum
November 6 – Jim Gosger
November 19 – Larry Haney
November 23 – Jerry Nyman
November 24 – Fred Beene
November 25 – Bobby Etheridge

December

December 3 – José Peña
December 4 – Dick Billings
December 5 – Steve Shea
December 6 – Arnold Umbach
December 7 – Alex Johnson
December 13 – Ferguson Jenkins
December 14 – Jim Roland
December 21 – Pete Charton
December 22 – Jack Jenkins
December 23 – Jerry Koosman
December 27 – Byron Browne

Deaths

January

January 4 – Herold Juul, 48, pitcher for the 1914 Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League.
January 8 – Harry Pearce, 52, second baseman who played from 1917 through 1919 for the Philadelphia Phillies.
January 22 – Louis Santop, 52, Hall of Fame catcher in the Negro leagues, an amazing.406 lifetime hitter and the first legitimate home run slugger in black baseball history.
January 31:
*Henry Larkin, 82, 19th century first baseman and manager who hit.303 in 10 seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Infants/Indians and Washington Senators.
*Ed Phelps, 62, catcher who played with four teams in 11 seasons spanning 1902–1913, and a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams who the 1902 and 1903 National League Pennants and played in the 1903 World Series.

February

February 3:
*Frank Luce, 45, outfielder who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1923 season.
*Happy Finneran, 51, pitcher who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Brooklyn Tip-Tops, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees, in a span of five seasons from 1912 to 1918.
February 7 – Joe Poetz, 41, pitcher who played in two games for the New York Giants in 1926.
February 9 – John Fischer, 86, pitcher who played from 1884 to 1885 with the Philadelphia Keystones and the Buffalo Bisons.
February 16 – Orson Baldwin, 60, pitcher for the 1908 St. Louis Cardinals.

March

March 1 – Bill Delaney, 78, second baseman for the 1890 Cleveland Spiders of the National League.
March 3:
*John Buckley, 72, pitcher who played with the Buffalo Bisons of the Players' League in 1890.
*Clay Fauver, 69, pitcher who played for the Louisville Colonels of the National League in 1899, and also a distinguished college professor and athletic coach both in baseball and football.
*Dan O'Connor, 73, Canadian first baseman who appeared in six games with the Louisville Colonels club who won the 1890 American Association pennant.
March 4 – Jack Hammond, 51, second baseman who played for the Cleveland Indians in 1915 and divided his playing time with Cleveland and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1922.
March 5 – Dutch Wetzel, 48, outfielder who played for the St. Louis Browns of the American League in the 1920 and 1921 seasons.
March 12 – Owen Conway, 51, third baseman who played for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1915 season.
March 13 – Gene Steere, 69, shortstop for the 1894 Pittsburgh Pirates.
March 26 – Jimmy Burke, 67, third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1903 to 1905 and player-manager of the club for part of 1905, who then moved to the Minor Leagues to manage several teams, returning to the majors to coach for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees between 1914 and 1933, while managing the St. Louis Browns from 1918 to 1920.
March 31 – Ray O'Brien, 47, backup outfielder for the 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates.

April

April 3 – John Rudderham, 78, left fielder who appeared in one game with the Boston Reds of the Union Association in its 1884 season.
April 8 – Pat Bohen, 51, pitcher who played from 1913 to 1914 for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
April 11 – Norm McNeil, 49, reserve catcher who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the 1919 season.
April 26:
*Al Montgomery, 21, catcher who played for the Boston Braves in 1941.
*Hack Simmons, 57, infielder and outfielder who spent two seasons in the American League with the Detroit Tigers and New York Highlanders, before moving to the outlaw Federal League to play for the Baltimore Terrapins.

May

May 9 – Herm Malloy, 56, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers teams who won the American League pennants in the 1907 and 1908 seasons.
May 13 – C. J. McDiarmid, 72, executive with the St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds between 1907 and 1929; president and principal owner of Reds from 1927 to 1929.
May 15 – Larry Milton, 63, pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals in its 1903 season.
May 20 – Amby McConnell, 59, second baseman who played from 1908 through 1911 for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox, better known as the player that lined into the first unassisted triple play in Major League Baseball history, and also for setting the Red Sox record for most stolen bases in a single-season by a rookie with 31, which stood until being broken by Jacoby Ellsbury.
May 25 – Bill James, 65, pitcher who played for five teams in all or part of eight seasons between 1911 and 1919, as well as one of the clean members on the 1919 Chicago White Sox club which was made famous by the Black Sox Scandal.
May 26 – Ed Gremminger, 68, third baseman who played for the Cleveland Spiders, Boston Beaneaters and Detroit Tigers in part of four seasons between 1895 and 1904.
May 28:
*Charley Bassett, 79, infielder for five National League teams in a span of eight seasons from 1884 to 1892, who led the league's second basemen in assists in 1887, and fielding percentage in 1887 and 1890.
*Mike Welday, 63, outfielder who played for the Chicago White Sox in the 1907 and 1909 seasons.
May 30:
*Ed Burns, 54, catcher who played from 1912 to 1918 for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies.
*Lee Fyfe, 62, umpire who officiated in the Federal League in 1915 and the National League in 1920.

June

June 1 – Danny Friend, 69, pitcher who played for the Chicago Colts of the National League from 1895 through 1898.
June 10 – Matt Zieser, 53, pitcher for the 1914 Boston Red Sox.
June 26 – Gene Stack, 24, pitcher in the Chicago White Sox minor league system, who in December 1940 became the first player on a Major League roster to be drafted for World War II service; died from a heart attack after hurling for his base's team.
June 29 – Manuel Cueto, 50, Cuban outfielder who spent more than 20 years in professional baseball, including stints with the St. Louis Terriers in 1914 and the Cincinnati Reds from 1917 until 1919.
June 30 – Cad Coles, 56, outfielder who played for the 1914 Kansas City Packers of the Federal League.

July

July 1 – Harry Spies, 76, first baseman and catcher who played for the Louisville Colonels and Cincinnati Reds during the 1895 season.
July 17 – Lefty Johnson, 79, outfielder for the Philadelphia Keystones, Indianapolis Hoosiers and Baltimore Orioles in parts of five seasons from 1884 to 1892.
July 20 – Rap Dixon, 39, All-Star outfielder in the Negro leagues from 1922 through 1937; a power hitter who could also hit for average as well as one of the fastest players and best defensive outfielders in Negro league history.
July 30 – Jim Baskette, 54, pitcher for the Cleveland Naps from 1911 until 1913.

August

August 3 – Jack Hayden, 61, outfielder who played for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Americans and Chicago Cubs in the early 20th century.
August 6 – Gordon McNaughton, 32, pitcher for the 1932 Boston Red Sox.

September

September 2 – Henry Thielman, 61, pitcher for the New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Superbas from 1902 until 1903.
September 26 – Joe Giannini, 54, shortstop for the 1911 Boston Red Sox.

October

October 3 – Pinky Hargrave, 46, catcher for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers and Boston Braves between 1923 and 1930.

November

November 8 – Birdie Cree, 60, outfielder who spent his entire career with the New York Highlanders/Yankees from 1908 to 1915, while hitting.292 in 742 games.
November 14 – Scrappy Carroll, 82, Outfielder for three teams from 1884 to 1887.
November 15 – Joe Gunson, 79, catcher/outfielder who played four seasons in the majors from 1884, 1889, 1892–1893.
November 24 – Frank Owen, 62, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox from 1901 to 1908, who posted an 82-67 with a 2,55 ERA.
November 30 – Slim Love, 52, pitcher who posted a 28-21 record with a 3.04 ERA in six seasons with the Senators, Yankees and Tigers.

December

December 1 – Frank Connaughton, 73, shortstop-outfielder who played in the National League for Boston and New York.
December 3 – Chad Kimsey, 36, appeared in 222 games, 198 as a pitcher, for the St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers over six seasons between 1929 and 1936.
December 5 – Val Picinich, 46, catcher in 1307 games for the Philadelphia Athletics, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates between 1916 and 1933.
December 6 – Amos Rusie, 71, Hall of Fame fireball pitcher whose powerful delivery was the main reason to move the pitching mound in 1893 from 50 feet to its present 60 feet, 6 inches; who retired with a 246-174 record, 1,950 strikeouts and 3.07 ERA in what was really an eight-year career with the New York Giants, collecting 30 or more wins four consecutive seasons and winning 20 or more games eight successive times, while leading the National League in strikeouts five years and leading or tying for most shutouts five times, including a no-hitter, and the Triple Crown in 1894 with a 36-13 mark, 195 strikeouts and a 2.78 ERA en route to a 4–0 four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles in the first Temple Cup Championship Series.