1939 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1939 throughout the world.

Headline event of the year

On May 17, 1939, Princeton University and Columbia University played the first televised baseball game. On August 26, the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers played the first televised Major League Baseball game. Red Barber announced the game.
In this year, the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame inducted its charter honorees, including José Méndez and Cristóbal Torriente.

Champions

Major League Baseball

World Series: New York Yankees over Cincinnati Reds (4–0)
All-Star Game, July 11 at Yankee Stadium: American League, 3–1

Other champions

Negro League Baseball All-Star Game: West, 4–2 (first game, at Comiskey Park); East, 10–2 (second game, in New York City)

Awards and honors

Most Valuable Player
- Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees, OF (AL)
- Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Reds, P (NL)
The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
- Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees, OF
The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award
- Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees, OF
- Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Reds, P
The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
- Leo Durocher, Brooklyn Dodgers

MLB statistical leaders

	American League		National League
Type	Name	Stat	Name	Stat
AVG	Joe DiMaggio NYY	.381	Johnny Mize STL	.349
HR	Jimmie Foxx BOS	35	Johnny Mize STL	28
RBI	Ted Williams BOS	145	Frank McCormick CIN	128
Wins	Bob Feller CLE	24	Bucky Walters CIN	27
ERA	Lefty Grove BOS	2.54	Bucky Walters CIN	2.29

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

American League
Rank	Club	Wins	Losses	Win %	GB
1st	New York Yankees	106	45	.702	–
2nd	Boston Red Sox	89	62	.589	17.0
3rd	Cleveland Indians	87	67	.565	20.5
4th	Chicago White Sox	85	69	.555	22.0
5th	Detroit Tigers	81	73	.526	26.5
6th	Washington Senators	65	87	.428	41.5
7th	Philadelphia Athletics	55	97	.362	51.5
8th	St. Louis Browns	43	111	.279	64.5

National League final standings

National League
Rank	Club	Wins	Losses	Win %	GB
1st	Cincinnati Reds	97	57	.630	–
2nd	St. Louis Cardinals	92	61	.601	4.5
3rd	Brooklyn Dodgers	84	69	.549	12.5
4th	Chicago Cubs	84	70	.545	13.0
5th	New York Giants	77	74	.510	18.5
6th	Pittsburgh Pirates	68	85	.444	28.5
7th	Boston Bees	63	88	.417	32.5
8th	Philadelphia Phillies	45	106	.298	50.5

Negro league baseball final standings

Negro American League final standings

Negro American League
Club	Wins	Losses	Win %	GB
Cleveland Bears	22	4	.846
Kansas City Monarchs	25	13	.658
Memphis Red Sox	12	13	.480
Chicago American Giants	16	20	.444
St. Louis Stars	8	11	.421
Toledo Crawfords	8	11	.421
Indianapolis ABCs	2	10	.167

Kansas City awarded Pennant.

Negro National League final standings

Negro National League
Club	Wins	Losses	Win %	GB
Washington Homestead Grays	33	14	.702
Newark Eagles	29	20	.592
Baltimore Elite Giants	25	21	.543
Philadelphia Stars	31	32	.492
New York Black Yankees	15	21	.417
New York Cubans	5	22	.185

Washington beat Philadelphia 3 games to 2 games in a play-off.
Baltimore beat Newark 3 games to 1 game in a play-off.
Baltimore beat Washington 3 games to 1 game (and 1 tie) for the championship cup.

Events

January – May

January 24 – George Sisler, Eddie Collins and Willie Keeler are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
April 17 – A new baseball tradition begins, as the baseball season opens in Cincinnati, home of Major League Baseball's oldest franchise. The Cincinnati Reds lose to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7–5.
April 20 – The Boston Red Sox show off their prize rookie Ted Williams before 30,278 in Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, in a game delayed two days because of rain. After striking out twice, Williams collects a double off New York Yankees pitcher Red Ruffing, who is credited with the win in a 2–0 victory. Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig makes an error, goes hitless, and lines into two double plays in the only game featuring the two great sluggers. Other notables in what will become a historic box score include Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Jimmie Foxx, Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Red Rolfe, and losing pitcher Lefty Grove. The Yankees score their first run on a home run by Dickey and their second on an error by Foxx. Boston has baserunners in each inning, but Ruffing tosses just the second opening day shutout in Yankees history. Four umpires work the game including third base umpire George Pipgras, who was the starting pitcher for the Yankees in the 1929 opener. Curiously, his opponent for the Red Sox that day was Ruffing.^[1]
April 21 – Ted Williams plays his first game at Fenway Park, scoring the first run for the Boston Red Sox on a Frankie Hayes passed ball, in a Boston 9–2 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.
April 23 – Rookie Ted Williams goes 4-for-5, including his first major-league home run, a three-run blast in the first inning off Bud Thomas, but the Boston Red Sox lose to the Philadelphia Athletics, 12–8, at Fenway Park.^[2]
April 29 – In the seventh game of the season, New York Yankees center fielder Joe DiMaggio makes a sharp turn while fielding a liner facing the Washington Senators and tears muscles in his right foot. The Yankees lose the game and DiMaggio will miss the next 35 games.
April 30 – Lou Gehrig goes hitless in four at-bats against the Washington Senators and is now hitting just .143 this season. He had just played his 2,130th consecutive major league game. No one knew it would be the very last of his career.
May 2 – New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig voluntarily benches himself "for the good of the team" ending his consecutive-game streak at 2,130. Babe Dahlgren replaces him in the line-up, and goes two-for-five with a home run. The Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 22–2 behind Red Ruffing.
May 13 – In a 10-player mega-trade, the St. Louis Browns sent Beau Bell, Red Kress, Bobo Newsom and Jim Walkup to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Mark Christman, George Gill, Bob Harris, Vern Kennedy, Chet Laabs and Roxie Lawson.
May 24 – The Detroit Tigers defeat the New York Yankees, 6–1, to spoil their twelve-game winning streak.
May 27 – The Cincinnati Reds complete a twelve-game winning streak that lands them in first place in the National League by two games over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds remain in first place for the remainder of the season.
May 29 – The Chicago Cubs acquire Claude Passeau from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Kirby Higbe, Joe Marty and Ray Harrell.

June – July

June 4 – The St. Louis Browns sweep a double header from the Washington Senators to end an eleven-game losing streak. The Browns then go on to lose their next six in a row. The Browns never won more than two games in a row all season.
June 5 – Detroit Tigers pitcher Tommy Bridges holds the New York Yankees to just four hits as the Yankees are shut out for the only time all season, 3–0.
June 6 – The first Little League game took place in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Lundy Lumber defeated Lycoming Dairy, 23–8.^[3]
June 12 – In Cooperstown, New York, the official dedication of the National Baseball Hall of Fame takes place. Grover Alexander, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Walter Johnson, Nap Lajoie, Babe Ruth, George Sisler, Tris Speaker, Honus Wagner, Cy Young and Connie Mack are all present, and accept their plaques.
June 14 – The Cleveland Indians trade Earl Averill to the Detroit Tigers for Harry Eisenstat & cash, and send Art Jacobs to the Cincinnati Reds for Earl Cook & cash.
June 28 – The New York Yankees defeat the Philadelphia Athletics 23–2 & 10–0 in a double header. In the first game, the Yankees hit eight home runs, and followed that with five more in the second. Both totals set a Major League record for most home runs in a game as well as their total of fifty-three total bases in a doubleheader.
July 3 – In the St. Louis Cardinals' 5–3 victory over the Chicago Cubs, Johnny Mize goes four-for-four, equaling a National League record four extra-base hits, including a double, triple and two home runs.
July 4 – Lou Gehrig appreciation day is celebrated at Yankee Stadium. Numerous people, including many from other major league teams, came forward to give Gehrig gifts and to shower praise on the dying slugger. The Yankees retired his uniform number (4), becoming the first player in major league history to be afforded that honor. Babe Ruth even showed up and ended their long-standing feud by giving his old teammate a hug. After the presentations, Gehrig approached the microphone, and addressed the crowd:

“

Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift – that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies – that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter – that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body – it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed – that's the finest I know. So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.

”

July 8 – The Washington Senators' Mickey Vernon makes his major league debut as a pinch runner in the first game of a double header with the Philadelphia A's. He does not log an at-bat, however, he goes one-for-five in the second game and scores a run.
July 9 – The Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Boston Bees, 3–1, to snap an eleven-game losing streak.
July 11 – In the first of three times that the All-Star Game has been held at Yankee Stadium, the American League defeats the National League, 3–1, behind pitchers Red Ruffing, Tommy Bridges, and Bob Feller, and a home run by Joe DiMaggio.
July 16 – The Boston Red Sox sweep a double header from the Detroit Tigers that brings their winning streak to twelve games.
July 18 – The Brooklyn Dodgers acquire Boston Red Sox farmhand Pee Wee Reese.
July 25 – Yankees pitcher Atley Donald sets a league record for consecutive wins by a rookie, bringing his record to 12–0 with a 5–1 victory over the St. Louis Browns.
July 26 – The New York Yankees tied a major league record by scoring in every inning against the St. Louis Browns. Bill Dickey hit three home runs in the 14–1 win.

August – September

August 5 – The New York Yankees trade Vince DiMaggio to the Cincinnati Reds.
August 6 – Already behind 10–1 to the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox manager Joe Cronin sends Jimmie Foxx to the mound to pitch the ninth inning. He records a perfect 1–2–3 inning.
August 9
- Red Rolfe of the New York Yankees started a streak of 18 consecutive games in which he scored at least one run. During those games, he scored a total of 30 runs.
- With a 5–3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals complete a ten-game winning streak. They are still, however, eight games back of the first place Cincinnati Reds. The Reds snap the streak on August 12, however, the Cards take two of their three meetings at Sportsman's Park to move within 6.5 of first place.
August 20 – The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs split a double header at Forbes Field. The victory in the second game snaps a twelve-game losing streak for the Bucs.
August 26 – The double header between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds at Ebbets Field is telecast on Channel W2XBS in Brooklyn.
September 13 – Early Wynn loses his major league debut, 4–2 to the Chicago White Sox.
September 18 – The St. Louis Browns lose their 100th game of the season, 6–2 to the New York Yankees.
September 19 – The New York Yankees defeat the Chicago White Sox, 6–2, for their 100th victory of the season.
September 23 – The Brooklyn Dodgers defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 22–4. The Dodgers go on to sweep the Phillies in the four game set at Shibe Park, handing them losses number 100 & 101 on the 24th.
September 29 – The second game of the double header between the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium is called after five innings due to rain. Hal Newhouser pitches all five innings for Detroit, and is the losing pitcher in his major league debut.
September 30 – In the second game of a double header with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Murry Dickson makes his major league debut. He pitches 3.2 without giving up a run, and strikes out in his only at-bat.

October – December

October 4 – Bill Dickey's single in the bottom of the ninth wins game one of the 1939 World Series for the New York Yankees, 2–1. This is the first World Series appearance for the Cincinnati Reds in 20 years.
October 5 – Monte Pearson holds the Cincinnati Reds to just two hits, as the Yankees take game two of the World Series, 4–0.
October 7 – The Reds take a 3–2 lead in the second inning only to have Joe DiMaggio hit a two run home run in the top of the third to put the Yankees on top for good on their way to a 7–3 victory.
October 8 – An error by Billy Myers allows the Yankees to tie it in the ninth. Then, costly errors in the tenth inning by Myers, Ival Goodman and Bucky Walters lead to three runs as the New York Yankees defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 7–4, in Game Four of the World Series to win a record fourth consecutive World Championship, and eighth overall, four games to none.
November 12:
- Dom DiMaggio, the youngest of the three DiMaggio brothers, is acquired for $40,000 by the Boston Red Sox from the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League. DiMaggio will spend his entire Major League career with the Red Sox, hitting .298 in 1399 games and making seven All-Star AL teams.
- Pitcher Victor Starffin wins his 42nd game in a 96-game season of the Japanese Professional Baseball League, leading the Yomiuri Giants to the Championship title, while setting a post-1900 World Record for season victories that will be equaled by Kazuhisa Inao in 1961 but never broken. Starffin will follow his record performance with another 38 wins in 1940. Born in Russia, he moved to Asahikawa, Hokkaidō at a young age, and was selected as part of the national baseball team for an exhibition game against the United States in 1934. From 1936 through 1955 Starffin won 303 games, to become the first pitcher in Japanese baseball history to reach 300 victories.
November 29 – Judge Landis fines the Brooklyn Dodgers, Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Browns minor league club, Columbus, for manipulating player contracts. Landis frees seven farm hands.
December 6 – In a trade of veteran shortstops, or "worn-out shortstops", as one newspaper described it, the Chicago Cubs acquire Billy Rogell from the Detroit Tigers for Dick Bartell. Rogell, who injured his arm playing handball the previous year, hits just .136 before hanging up his spikes. The Tigers will release "Rowdy Richard" five games into the 1941 season, but he will stick with the New York Giants until 1946.
December 9 – The Detroit Tigers trade Benny McCoy and George Coffman to the Philadelphia A's for Wally Moses. The trade is voided by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and the players return to their original teams on January 14, 1940. The commissioner declared McCoy a free agent because he had been "hidden" from other teams. Judge Landis declares 87 more Tigers farmhands free agents due to their concealment in the minor leagues.
December 29 – The Chicago White Sox sell the contracts of Norm Schlueter & Hank Steinbacher to the St. Louis Browns, then send Tony Rensa, Jesse Landrum and cash to Oklahoma City (Texas) for Don Kolloway.

Births

January

January 9 – Guido Grilli
January 14 – Tim Talton
January 14 – Sandy Valdespino
January 21 – Norm Bass
January 29 – Bobby Bolin

February

February 7 – Frank Kreutzer
February 8 – Harvey Branch
February 11 – Willie Smith
February 12 – Jim Lawrence
February 12 – Jerry Walker
February 18 – Jesse Hickman
February 18 – Dal Maxvill
February 18 – Bob Miller
February 19 – Jackie Moore
February 19 – Jim Weaver
February 25 – Denny Lemaster

March

March 4 – Jack Fisher
March 6 – Cookie Rojas
March 8 – Jim Bouton
March 10 – Bill Heath
March 12 – Johnny Callison
March 13 – Al Luplow
March 21 – Tommy Davis
March 23 – Sam Bowens
March 23 – Bobby Dews
March 26 – Al Neiger

April

April 1 – Phil Niekro
April 1 – Nick Peters
April 2 – Chico Fernández
April 3 – Hawk Taylor
April 16 – Bernie Allen
April 18 – Von McDaniel
April 19 – Gustavo Gil
April 30 – Bob Hendley

May

May 2 – Gates Brown
May 6 – Russ Gibson
May 9 – Herb Hippauf
May 11 – Héctor Martínez
May 11 – Milt Pappas
May 11 – Frank Quilici
May 17 – Dick Smith
May 24 – Jim Duckworth
May 25 – Gene Budig

June

June 4 – Phil Linz
June 9 – Doug Clemens
June 9 – Julio Gotay
June 11 – Jimmy Stewart
June 15 – Ty Cline
June 18 – Lou Brock

July

July 8 – Ed Keegan
July 15 – Mike Shannon
July 25 – Santiago Rosario

August

August 4 – Dennis Higgins
August 4 – Bob Meyer
August 5 – Tommie Aaron
August 9 – Claude Osteen
August 10 – Johnny Lewis
August 10 – Charlie Shoemaker
August 13 – Bill Stafford
August 18 – Joe Azcue
August 21 – Jim Beauchamp
August 22 – Carl Yastrzemski
August 24 – Rick Joseph
August 25 – Dooley Womack
August 29 – Dave Nicholson
August 29 – Frank Zupo

September

September 1 – Rico Carty
September 13 – Tom Parsons
September 17 – Carl Bouldin
September 17 – Jim Woods
September 22 – Stover McIlwain
September 24 – Dick Nen
September 28 – Bruce Froemming

October

October 2 – Paul Doyle
October 4 – Ted Davidson
October 5 – Dennis Bennett
October 6 – Jack Cullen
October 7 – John O'Donoghue
October 7 – Phil Ortega
October 9 – Mike Hershberger
October 15 – Lou Klimchock
October 21 – Ted Uhlaender
October 23 – George Williams
October 25 – Pete Mikkelsen
October 29 – Pete Richert
October 31 – Ed Stroud

November

November 13 – Wes Parker
November 24 – Jim Northrup
November 27 – Dave Giusti
November 29 – Jim Derrington
November 29 – Dick McAuliffe
November 29 – Joe Reliford

December

December 3 – Ed Connolly
December 3 – Ron Stillwell
December 10 – Bob Priddy
December 18 – Zoilo Versalles
December 22 – Al Ferrara
December 25 – Chris Krug
December 26 – John Braun

Deaths