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January 29
January 29 -Roberto Clemente delivers classic speech
January 29, 1971 — In accepting the Tris Speaker Award from Houston sportswriters, Roberto Clemente gives a speech which, apart from being called by many of those in attendance “the best talk any baseball player ever made,” is the source of Clemente’s most famous – if oft misquoted – assertion: “If you have an opportunity to accomplish something that will make things better for someone coming behind you, and you don’t do that, you are wasting your time on this earth.”
A member of the 3,000-hit club, Roberto Clemente was a tremendously proud man who was often misunderstood by the press and his teammates. He was criticized for refusing to play with minor injuries, despite the fact that he won four batting championships. He played on two Pirate World Series winners and became more legendary after his tragic death while delivering supplies to victims of the Nicaraguan earthquake in 1972 than during his playing days.
His tragic death prompted the Hall of Fame's Board of Director's to unanimously wave the customary five year period for induction, opening the door for the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) to hold a special election on Clemente's behalf. By an overwhelming vote of 93%, Clemente became the first player of Latin American descent to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Todays Podcast features Clemente in his last interview, you can listen here.
TODAY ON THE DAILY HIGHLIGHT
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Today’s Highlighted Reels:
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel January 28, 1949 with Jerry Colonna
Bob Elson Interviews Bobby Orr on January 29, 1978
Ray Hayworth Interview
Edd Rousch Interview
Trivia:
Pat Collins was a catcher who came up with the St Louis Browns in 1919, what is his unique claim to fame?
A. He was a base runner during three triple plays during his career
B. He is the only man to appear as a pinch runner and pinch hitter in the same game
C. His only career stole base is home
D. He played more games without scoring a run than anyone else in baseball history
Hint: The answer is below
COOL FACT . . . If we highlight an event, player milestone there is an audio vault on Classic Baseball Broadcast. Games, interviews and more to take a deeper dive.
January 29, 1930, the Boston Red Sox sell former American League home run king Ken Williams to the rival New York Yankees for the waiver price. Williams, a lifetime .319 hitter, will be released prior to the start of the season and will never again play in the major leagues.
Born: January 29, 1939 in Hickory Grove, SC The side arming Bobby Bolin pitched two no-hitters in the minors and had a top ML mark of 14-6 in 1965. The next year he tied a then-ML record by striking out the first five Dodger batters he faced. He was the winning pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers' first victory.
January 29 1958 -- Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals signs a one-year contract worth $100,000. The deal makes Musial the highest-paid player in the National League. In 1957, Musial paced the NL with a .351 batting mark, while also hitting 29 home runs and driving in 102 runs.
Born: January 29, 1960 in Sacramento, CA In 1982, Steve Sax became the fourth consecutive Dodger to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award. A California-native, Sax nearly won the batting title in 1986, when he banged out 210 hits. He swiped 40 bases six times, and was one of the most aggresive runners in the league. Early in his career, he developed a problem throwing the ball to first base, but was still named to five All-Star teams. He left the Dodgers as a free agent after the 1988 World Series title season, hit .300 two times for the Yankees, but never had the same success elsewhere.
On January 29 1961 -- Billy Hamilton and Max Carey are selected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
Max Carey enjoyed six seasons in which he hit over .300, but he built a more lasting reputation as a superb defensive center fielder and a successful basestealer. The Pirates great still holds several National League records for fielding prowess and led the league in steals 10 times. In 1922, he approached perfection on the basepaths, stealing 51 bases in 53 attempts. In 1925 at age 35, Carey experienced his best season, hitting .343 during the regular season and .458 in the World Series.
Hamilton revolutionized the game of baseball, making the head-first slide, the first-to-third advance on a base hit, and the drag bunt staples of the game in the 1890s. He won two batting titles and his .344 career average is sixth on the all-time list. In 1894 he set a record that may never be topped, scoring 192 runs for the Phillies. With Philadelphia, he teamed with Sam Thompson and Ed Delahanty to form one of the greatest outfields of all-time. Despite his record-setting career, Hamilton did not earn entry to the Hall of Fame until 1961 — 21 years after his death and 60 years after he played his final game.
January 29, 1967, former Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey and Pittsburgh Pirates hitting great Lloyd Waner are elected to the Hall of Fame. In 1947 in a unanimous vote of the Special Veterans Committee, Rickey promoted Jackie Robinson to the major leagues, effectively breaking baseball’s color line.
January 29 1970 -- Pitcher Miguel Fuentes, at age 20, is shot and killed during a bar fight in Loiza Aldea, Puerto Rico. On October 2, 1969, against the Oakland Athletics, Fuentes pitched what will turn out to be the last inning in the history of the Seattle Pilots. Striking out Reggie Jackson to end the season for the Pilots.
On January 29 1971 — In accepting the Tris Speaker Award from Houston sportswriters, Roberto Clemente gives a speech which, apart from being called by many of those in attendance “the best talk any baseball player ever made,” is the source of Clemente’s most famous – if oft misquoted – assertion: “If you have an opportunity to accomplish something that will make things better for someone coming behind you, and you don’t do that, you are wasting your time on this earth.”
January 29 1981 -- American League owners approve the sales of two franchises, the Chicago White Sox to Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn for $20 million, and 80 percent of the Seattle Mariners to George Argyros for $10.4 million.
January 29, 1982, the New York Yankees name Graig Nettles the 6th team captain. Nettles becomes the first Yankee captain since Thurman Munson, who was killed in a 1979 plane crash.
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Quote of the day:
Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth"
Hall of Famer - Roberto Clemente
HIGHLIGHTED GAME OF THE DAY:
Game of the day 1971 World Series Game 7 - Pittsburgh Pirates vs Baltimore Orioles
MILESTONES
Birthday Boys!
Bill Rigney, Bill Voiselle, Bobby Bolin, Hank Edwards, Jim Tyrone and Ray Hayworth
Passings.
Art Fowler
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Trivia Answer: Pat Collins, on June 8, 1923, he made history by becoming the only man to pinch run and pinch hit in the same game. Facing the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park, Pat briefly ran for teammate Homer Ezzell in the third inning when he needed to use the restroom. In the ninth, Connie Mack allowed the Browns to let him pinch hit for pitcher Ray Kolp, drawing a walk
