1. materials characteristic of baseball and the culture of baseball; 2. collectible baseball Americana
1973
Chicago White Sox 1B Dick Allen signs a three-year deal worth $250,000 per season, the richest contract in MLB history. Allen won the 1972 American League MVP Award after leading the league in home runs, runs batted in, and slugging percentage.
1952
Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe is sworn into the Army. The 26-year old New Jersey native, who posted a 56-28 record his first three years with the team, will miss two seasons.
1977
The Oakland A’s trade Ron Fairly to the Toronto Blue Jays for a minor leaguer and cash. The Georgia native, who played with the Montreal Expos from 1969 to 1974, will become the first in MLB to play with both Canadian teams.
1992
Boston Red Sox outfielder and first baseman, Carlos Quintana, breaks his left arm and right toe in an automobile accident in Venezuela. He will miss all of 1992 having had his best season in 1991, hitting .295 with 11 homers and 71 RBIs in 149 games.
1953
August A. Busch buys the St. Louis Cardinals for $3.75 million and pledges not to move the team from St. Louis, Missouri. Since then, the Cards have won World Series titles in 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006 and 2011.
1987
New York Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly wins his $1.975 million arbitration case, breaking the record for the largest amount ever awarded to a player. The record was set by the Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Morris just four days prior.
1934
The Cleveland Indians sign former Washington Senators 19-year OF Sam Rice for the upcoming season. He will bat .293 in 335 at-bats for the Indians, but fall 13 hits shy of the 3,000 mark before retiring. Rice will win election to the Hall of Fame in 1963.
2010
The Giants sign pitcher Tim Lincecum, the National League Cy Young Award winner in both 2008 and 2009, to a two-year contract worth $23 million, thus avoiding a record-setting salary arbitration hearing.
1971
Former Negro Leagues great and MLB pitcher Satchel Paige is nominated for the Hall of Fame. On June 10 the Hall’s new Special Committee on the Negro Leagues will formally select Paige for induction.
1951
Gabby Street dies in Joplin, Missouri, at age of 67. Nicknamed “The Old Sarge”, he had a long baseball career as a catcher, manager, coach and broadcaster. Street led the St. Louis Cardinals to two National League championships and one World Championship in 1932 as manager.
