On This Day in Baseball

January 31

25 notable birthdays · 25 in memoriam

Born on January 31

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

01

Nolan Ryan ⭐ HOF b. 1947

324-292, 3.19 ERA 1966–1993 Refugio, USA
02

Ernie Banks ⭐ HOF b. 1931

.274 avg, 512 HR 1953–1971 Dallas, USA
03

Jackie Robinson ⭐ HOF b. 1919

.313 avg, 141 HR 1947–1956 Cairo, USA
04

Josh Johnson b. 1984

58-45, 3.40 ERA 2005–2013 Minneapolis, USA
05

George Burns b. 1893

.307 avg, 72 HR 1914–1929 Niles, USA
06

Caleb Thielbar b. 1987

MLB player 2013– Northfield, USA
07

Zach Neto b. 2001

.245 avg, 84 HR 2023– Miami, USA
08

Tim Hendryx b. 1891

.276 avg, 6 HR 1911–1921 Le Roy, USA
09

Alex Claudio b. 1992

MLB player 2014– Juncos, P.R.
10

Matt Svanson b. 1999

MLB player 2025– Lake Zurich, USA
11

Tex McDonald b. 1891

.298 avg, 13 HR 1912–1915 Farmersville, USA
12

Ted Power b. 1955

68-69, 4.00 ERA 1981–1993 Guthrie, USA
13

Pinky Hargrave b. 1896

.278 avg, 39 HR 1923–1933 New Haven, USA
14

Hank Aguirre b. 1931

75-72, 3.24 ERA 1955–1970 Azusa, USA
15

Tyler Kinley b. 1991

.000 avg, 0 HR 2018– Plantation, USA
16

Bob Apodaca b. 1950

16-25, 2.86 ERA 1973–1977 Los Angeles, USA
17

Tommy La Stella b. 1989

.266 avg, 40 HR 2014– Westwood, USA
18

Bob Ferguson b. 1845

.265 avg, 1 HR 1871–1884 Brooklyn, USA
19

Joshua Kuroda-Grauer b. 2003

.417 avg, 1 HR 2026– New Brunswick, USA
20

Kyle Backhus b. 1998

MLB player 2025– New Waverly, USA
21

Carter Baumler b. 2002

MLB player 2026– Des Moines, USA
22

Rudy Martin b. 1996

.000 avg, 0 HR 2026– Memphis, USA
23

Jimmy Zinn b. 1895

13-16, 4.30 ERA 1919–1929 Benton, USA
24

Rasty Wright b. 1863

.282 avg, 0 HR 1890–1890 Birmingham, USA
25

Alva Williams b. 1882

.265 avg, 2 HR 1911–1918 Carthage, USA

Remembered on January 31

Baseball figures lost on this date.

01

Henry Larkin 1860–1942

.303 avg, 53 HR 1884–1893
02

Oscar Gamble 1949–2018

.265 avg, 200 HR 1969–1985
03

Al McBean 1938–2024

67-50, 3.13 ERA 1961–1970
04

Fred Whitfield 1938–2013

.253 avg, 108 HR 1962–1970
05

Johnny Kling 1875–1947

.272 avg, 20 HR 1900–1913
06

José Leblanc 1894–1922

28-21, 2.64 ERA
07

Buck Weaver 1890–1956

.272 avg, 21 HR 1912–1920
08

Steve Yerkes 1888–1971

.268 avg, 6 HR 1909–1916
09

Ernest Burke 1924–2004

4-4, 3.84 ERA
10

Norm Zauchin 1929–1999

.233 avg, 50 HR 1951–1959
11

Ed Phelps 1879–1942

.251 avg, 3 HR 1902–1913
12

Ed Head 1918–1980

27-23, 3.48 ERA 1940–1946
13

John Huber 1908–1964

7-15, 5.05 ERA
14

Dave Elder 1975–2023

MLB player 2002–2003
15

Lou Bierbauer 1865–1926

.267 avg, 34 HR 1886–1898
16

Harry Chiti 1932–2002

.238 avg, 41 HR 1950–1962
17

Pat Donahue 1884–1966

.211 avg, 3 HR 1908–1910
18

Tony Pierce 1946–2013

4-6, 3.25 ERA 1967–1968
19

Jesse Williams 1923–1996

.196 avg, 1 HR
20

Jim Gray 1862–1938

.304 avg, 1 HR 1884–1893
21

Clarence Lehr 1886–1948

.148 avg, 0 HR 1911–1911
22

Dan Mahoney 1864–1904

.182 avg, 0 HR 1892–1895
23

John Dowd 1891–1981

.194 avg, 0 HR 1912–1912
24

Harry O'Donnell 1894–1958

.062 avg, 0 HR 1927–1927
25

Lee Carter 1920–2011

.125 avg, 0 HR