On This Day in Baseball

December 20

25 notable birthdays · 24 in memoriam

Born on December 20

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

01

Gabby Hartnett ⭐ HOF b. 1900

.297 avg, 236 HR 1922–1941 Woonsocket, USA
02

Branch Rickey ⭐ HOF b. 1881

.239 avg, 3 HR 1905–1914 Flat, USA
03

Harry Stovey b. 1856

.288 avg, 122 HR 1880–1893 Philadelphia, USA
04

David Wright b. 1982

.296 avg, 242 HR 2004–2018 Norfolk, USA
05

Cecil Cooper b. 1949

.298 avg, 241 HR 1971–1987 Brenham, USA
06

Oscar Gamble b. 1949

.265 avg, 200 HR 1969–1985 Ramer, USA
07

Aubrey Huff b. 1976

.278 avg, 242 HR 2000–2012 Marion, USA
08

Jimmy Williams b. 1876

.275 avg, 49 HR 1899–1909 St. Louis, USA
09

Jose DeLeon b. 1960

86-119, 3.76 ERA 1983–1995 Rancho Viejo, D.R.
10

Fred Merkle b. 1888

.273 avg, 61 HR 1907–1926 Watertown, USA
11

Virgil Davis b. 1904

.308 avg, 77 HR 1928–1945 Birmingham, USA
12

George Pipgras b. 1899

102-73, 4.09 ERA 1923–1935 Ida Grove, USA
13

David DeJesus b. 1979

.275 avg, 99 HR 2003–2015 Brooklyn, USA
14

Jack Manning b. 1853

39-27, 2.79 ERA 1873–1886 Braintree, USA
15

Butch Henline b. 1894

.291 avg, 40 HR 1921–1931 Fort Wayne, USA
16

James Shields b. 1981

145-139, 4.01 ERA 2006–2018 Newhall, USA
17

Jimmy Johnson b. 1918

3-5, 3.41 ERA Morgantown, USA
18

Paddy Baumann b. 1885

.274 avg, 4 HR 1911–1917 Indianapolis, USA
19

Abraham Toro b. 1996

.223 avg, 41 HR 2019– Longueuil, CAN
20

Marc Valdes b. 1971

12-15, 4.95 ERA 1995–2001 Dayton, USA
21

Jim Norris b. 1948

.264 avg, 7 HR 1977–1980 Brooklyn, USA
22

Joe Wilhoit b. 1885

.257 avg, 3 HR 1916–1919 Hiawatha, USA
23

Erik Goeddel b. 1988

.000 avg, 0 HR 2014–2018 San Mateo, USA
24

Dane Dunning b. 1994

28-32, 4.44 ERA 2020– Orange Park, USA
25

Tyler Sturdevant b. 1985

MLB player 2016–2016 Littleton, USA

Remembered on December 20

Baseball figures lost on this date.

01

Rickey Henderson ⭐ HOF 1958–2024

.279 avg, 297 HR 1979–2003
02

Gabby Hartnett ⭐ HOF 1900–1972

.297 avg, 236 HR 1922–1941
03

Ray Herbert 1929–2022

104-107, 4.01 ERA 1950–1966
04

Walter Christensen 1899–1984

.315 avg, 0 HR 1926–1927
05

Felix Mackiewicz 1917–1993

.259 avg, 2 HR 1941–1947
06

Carroll Yerkes 1903–1950

.062 avg, 0 HR 1927–1933
07

Phil Gagliano 1941–2016

.238 avg, 14 HR 1963–1974
08

William Brown 1866–1897

.261 avg, 6 HR 1887–1894
09

Jim Hall

.288 avg, 0 HR 1872–1874
10

Joe DeSa 1959–1986

.200 avg, 2 HR 1980–1985
11

Bob Wellman 1925–1994

.280 avg, 1 HR 1948–1950
12

Fred Andrews 1952–2021

.276 avg, 0 HR 1976–1977
13

Charlie Luskey 1876–1962

.195 avg, 0 HR 1901–1901
14

Art McLarney 1908–1984

.130 avg, 0 HR 1932–1932
15

Jack Whillock 1942–2021

.000 avg, 0 HR 1971–1971
16

Don Williams 1935–1991

MLB player 1963–1963
17

George Burpo 1922–2015

MLB player 1946–1946
18

Larry Crawford 1914–1994

MLB player 1937–1937
19

Jake Eisenhart 1922–1987

MLB player 1944–1944
20

Dinny McNamara 1905–1963

.077 avg, 0 HR 1927–1928
21

Steve Slayton 1902–1984

.000 avg, 0 HR 1928–1928
22

Skip Dowd 1889–1960

MLB player 1910–1910
23

Tom Fitzsimmons 1890–1971

.000 avg, 0 HR 1919–1919
24

Silk O'Loughlin 1872–1918

MLB player