On This Day in Baseball

May 17

25 notable birthdays · 19 in memoriam

Born on May 17

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

  1. 01
    Cool Papa Bell ⭐ HOF b. 1903
    20-15, 4.64 ERA Starkville, USA
  2. 02
    Carlos Peña b. 1978
    .232 avg, 286 HR 2001–2014 Santo Domingo, D.R.
  3. 03
    Billy Hoeft b. 1932
    97-101, 3.94 ERA 1952–1966 Oshkosh, USA
  4. 04
    Pascual Perez b. 1957
    67-68, 3.44 ERA 1980–1991 San Cristobal, D.R.
  5. 05
    Carlos May b. 1948
    .274 avg, 90 HR 1968–1977 Birmingham, USA
  6. 06
    Jose Guillen b. 1976
    .270 avg, 214 HR 1997–2010 San Cristobal, D.R.
  7. 07
    Hal Carlson b. 1892
    114-120, 3.97 ERA 1917–1930 Rockford, USA
  8. 08
    Rube Vickers b. 1879
    22-27, 2.93 ERA 1902–1909 Hillsdale, USA
  9. 09
    Brayan Bello b. 1999
    45-43, 4.13 ERA 2022– Samana, D.R.
  10. 10
    Elmer Steele b. 1884
    18-24, 2.41 ERA 1907–1911 Muitzes Kill, USA
  11. 11
    Nick Masset b. 1982
    .000 avg, 0 HR 2006–2015 St. Petersburg, USA
  12. 12
    TJ Rumfield b. 2000
    .300 avg, 16 HR 2026– Richmond, USA
  13. 13
    Ben Gamel b. 1992
    .252 avg, 41 HR 2016– Neptune Beach, USA
  14. 14
    Leo Jimenez b. 2001
    .203 avg, 7 HR 2024– Chitre, Panama
  15. 15
    Jim McDonald b. 1927
    24-27, 4.27 ERA 1950–1958 Grants Pass, USA
  16. 16
    Jack Voigt b. 1966
    .235 avg, 20 HR 1992–1998 Sarasota, USA
  17. 17
    Willie Gray b. 1896
    0-5, 6.68 ERA Hampton, USA
  18. 18
    Rob Nelson b. 1964
    .178 avg, 4 HR 1986–1990 Pasadena, USA
  19. 19
    Jordan Jankowski b. 1989
    MLB player 2017–2017 McMurray, USA
  20. 20
    Billy Reid b. 1857
    .263 avg, 0 HR 1883–1884 London, CAN
  21. 21
    Douglass Monroe b. 1905
    .222 avg, 0 HR Baltimore, USA
  22. 22
    John Cornely b. 1989
    MLB player 2015–2015 Mount Pleasant, USA
  23. 23
    Brian O'Grady b. 1992
    .184 avg, 4 HR 2019–2021 Warminster, USA
  24. 24
    Leo Norris b. 1908
    .262 avg, 20 HR 1936–1937 Bay St. Louis, USA
  25. 25
    Tom Newell b. 1963
    MLB player 1987–1987 Monrovia, USA

Remembered on May 17

Baseball figures lost on this date.

  1. 01
    Harmon Killebrew ⭐ HOF 1936–2011
    .256 avg, 573 HR 1954–1975
  2. 02
    Dixie Walker 1910–1982
    .306 avg, 105 HR 1931–1949
  3. 03
    Joe Black 1924–2002
    49-36, 3.72 ERA 1952–1957
  4. 04
    Bill Wight 1922–2007
    77-99, 3.95 ERA 1946–1958
  5. 05
    Spike Shannon 1875–1940
    .259 avg, 3 HR 1904–1908
  6. 06
    Otto Knabe 1884–1961
    .247 avg, 8 HR 1905–1916
  7. 07
    George Metkovich 1920–1995
    .261 avg, 47 HR 1943–1954
  8. 08
    Ike Brown 1942–2001
    .256 avg, 20 HR 1969–1974
  9. 09
    George Toporcer 1899–1989
    .279 avg, 9 HR 1921–1928
  10. 10
    Ken Retzer 1934–2020
    .264 avg, 14 HR 1961–1964
  11. 11
    Bill Deegan 1874–1957
    .000 avg, 0 HR 1901–1901
  12. 12
    John Abadie 1850–1905
    .224 avg, 0 HR 1875–1875
  13. 13
    Sig Broskie 1911–1975
    .273 avg, 0 HR 1940–1940
  14. 14
    Gerard Fitzgerald 1927–1972
    .167 avg, 0 HR
  15. 15
    Roy Parker 1896–1954
    MLB player 1919–1919
  16. 16
    Earl Tyree 1890–1954
    .000 avg, 0 HR 1914–1914
  17. 17
    Pants Rowland 1878–1969
    MLB player
  18. 18
    Charlie Ferguson 1875–1931
    .000 avg, 0 HR 1901–1901
  19. 19
    Harry Spence 1853–1908
    MLB player

May 17 in the record

Leading the May 17 birthdays is Cool Papa Bell, first of 25 players shown. Hall of Famers among them: Cool Papa Bell. The oldest May 17 birthday on the list is Billy Reid's, in 1857; the youngest is Leo Jimenez, born in 2001. The May 17 list continues with Carlos Peña (b. 1978, .232 avg, 286 HR) and Billy Hoeft (b. 1932, 97-101, 3.94 ERA). Not every May 17 birthday is American-born: the list also covers D.R., Panama, and CAN. For May 17, the best-placed batter is Carlos Peña at .232 avg, 286 HR; the best-placed pitcher, Cool Papa Bell, shows 20-15, 4.64 ERA. Open-ended career spans mark May 17 birthdays with no final game on record, such as Brayan Bello, TJ Rumfield, and Ben Gamel. Remembered on May 17: 19 names, starting with Harmon Killebrew. Harmon Killebrew is marked as Hall of Fame member. The memorial list continues with Dixie Walker (1910–1982) and Joe Black (1924–2002). The earliest May 17 death listed is John Abadie in 1905; the most recent is Ken Retzer in 2020. The May 17 order reflects the site's career-impact ranking, and every name opens the player's profile.