On This Day in Baseball

January 21

25 notable birthdays · 22 in memoriam

Born on January 21

Most accomplished baseball figures with this birthday, ranked by career impact.

01

Mike Tiernan b. 1867

.311 avg, 106 HR 1887–1899 Trenton, USA
02

Dave Smith b. 1955

.068 avg, 0 HR 1980–1992 Richmond, USA
03

Rusty Greer b. 1969

.305 avg, 119 HR 1994–2002 Fort Rucker, USA
04

Mike Krukow b. 1952

124-117, 3.90 ERA 1976–1989 Long Beach, USA
05

Joe Benz b. 1886

76-75, 2.43 ERA 1911–1919 New Alsace, USA
06

Jake Cronenworth b. 1994

.245 avg, 87 HR 2020– St. Clair, USA
07

Chris Hammond b. 1966

66-62, 4.14 ERA 1990–2006 Atlanta, USA
08

Lew Fonseca b. 1899

.316 avg, 31 HR 1921–1933 Oakland, USA
09

Jake Diekman b. 1987

.000 avg, 0 HR 2012–2024 Wymore, USA
10

Brandon Crawford b. 1987

.249 avg, 147 HR 2011–2024 Mountain View, USA
11

Sam Mele b. 1922

.267 avg, 80 HR 1947–1956 Astoria, USA
12

Bob Reynolds b. 1947

.000 avg, 0 HR 1969–1975 Seattle, USA
13

Benny Meyer b. 1885

.265 avg, 7 HR 1913–1925 Hematite, USA
14

Bill Stein b. 1947

.267 avg, 44 HR 1972–1985 Battle Creek, USA
15

Irv Waldron b. 1872

.311 avg, 0 HR 1901–1901 Hillside, USA
16

Darryl Motley b. 1960

.243 avg, 44 HR 1981–1987 Muskogee, USA
17

Alan Benes b. 1972

29-28, 4.59 ERA 1995–2003 Evansville, USA
18

Emil Batch b. 1880

.251 avg, 7 HR 1904–1907 Brooklyn, USA
19

Danny O'Connell b. 1929

.260 avg, 39 HR 1950–1962 Paterson, USA
20

Fern Bell b. 1913

.283 avg, 2 HR 1939–1940 Ada, USA
21

Art Sunday b. 1862

.265 avg, 0 HR 1890–1890 Springfield, USA
22

Matt Sauer b. 1999

MLB player 2024– Santa Maria, USA
23

Rich Beck b. 1940

.000 avg, 0 HR 1965–1965 Pasco, USA
24

Michel Baez b. 1996

MLB player 2019–2022 Havana, Cuba
25

Ed Sperber b. 1895

.279 avg, 1 HR 1924–1925 Cincinnati, USA

Remembered on January 21

Baseball figures lost on this date.

01

Charlie Gehringer ⭐ HOF 1903–1993

.320 avg, 184 HR 1924–1942
02

Carl Furillo 1922–1989

.299 avg, 192 HR 1946–1960
03

Hooks Wiltse 1879–1959

139-90, 2.47 ERA 1904–1915
04

Russ Bauers 1914–1995

31-30, 3.53 ERA 1936–1950
05

Sam Leslie 1905–1979

.304 avg, 36 HR 1929–1938
06

Clyde Barnhart 1895–1980

.295 avg, 27 HR 1920–1928
07

Cliff Chambers 1922–2012

48-53, 4.29 ERA 1948–1953
08

Jimmy Walsh 1886–1947

.285 avg, 25 HR 1910–1915
09

Claude Cooper 1892–1974

.260 avg, 4 HR 1913–1917
10

Curt Motton 1940–2010

.213 avg, 25 HR 1967–1974
11

Jim Brown 1892–1943

.275 avg, 16 HR
12

Tim Hosley 1947–2014

.215 avg, 12 HR 1970–1981
13

Lorenza Cobb 1888–1953

.275 avg, 2 HR
14

Johnny Blatnik 1921–2004

.253 avg, 6 HR 1948–1950
15

Steve Staggs 1951–2024

.255 avg, 2 HR 1977–1978
16

Gene Rye 1906–1980

.179 avg, 0 HR 1931–1931
17

Al Lefevre 1898–1982

.148 avg, 0 HR 1920–1920
18

Dick Terwilliger 1906–1969

.000 avg, 0 HR 1932–1932
19

Pat Tobin 1916–1975

MLB player 1941–1941
20

Bill McWilliams 1910–1997

.000 avg, 0 HR 1931–1931
21

Chuck Rowland 1899–1992

.000 avg, 0 HR 1923–1923
22

Russ Ennis 1897–1949

MLB player 1926–1926

January 21 in the record

The birthday list for January 21 has 25 names, headed by Mike Tiernan. The oldest January 21 birthday on the list is Art Sunday's, in 1862; the youngest is Matt Sauer, born in 1999. The January 21 list continues with Dave Smith (b. 1955, .068 avg, 0 HR) and Rusty Greer (b. 1969, .305 avg, 119 HR). Cuba is also represented among the January 21 births. Career lines shown range from Mike Tiernan's .311 avg, 106 HR to Mike Krukow's 124-117, 3.90 ERA on the mound. Recent names on the January 21 list, Jake Cronenworth and Matt Sauer, show careers still open. 22 baseball figures died on January 21; Charlie Gehringer is listed first. Among those remembered, Charlie Gehringer was a Hall of Famer. The memorial list continues with Carl Furillo (1922–1989) and Hooks Wiltse (1879–1959). The deaths span 1943, Jim Brown, to 2024, Steve Staggs. Mike Tiernan tops the page on the site's career-impact scale; each name links to a full profile.