1. materials characteristic of baseball and the culture of baseball; 2. collectible baseball Americana
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 (and an All-Star in each of those seasons), will miss two seasons.
1940
Ron Santo is born in Seattle, WA. He will be one of the greatest third basemen in history, playing 14 of his 15 major league seasons with the Chicago Cubs and hitting 342 home runs. He will elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011, barely a year after his death from diabetes.
2005
Jerry Coleman, the San Diego broadcaster, is selected as the recipient of this year’s Ford C. Frick Award. The 80-year old play-by-play man, who was the MVP of the 1950 World Series, had spent 41 years in the booth working for the Yankees, Angels and Padres.
1953
Red Sox slugger Ted Williams safely crash-lands his damaged Panther jet after flying a combat mission in Korea. The plane was hit by enemy fire but the steady Marine brought it in.
