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.

  1. 01
    Gabby Hartnett ⭐ HOF b. 1900
    .297 avg, 236 HR 1922–1941 Woonsocket, USA
  2. 02
    Branch Rickey ⭐ HOF b. 1881
    .239 avg, 3 HR 1905–1914 Flat, USA
  3. 03
    Harry Stovey b. 1856
    .288 avg, 122 HR 1880–1893 Philadelphia, USA
  4. 04
    David Wright b. 1982
    .296 avg, 242 HR 2004–2018 Norfolk, USA
  5. 05
    Cecil Cooper b. 1949
    .298 avg, 241 HR 1971–1987 Brenham, USA
  6. 06
    Oscar Gamble b. 1949
    .265 avg, 200 HR 1969–1985 Ramer, USA
  7. 07
    Aubrey Huff b. 1976
    .278 avg, 242 HR 2000–2012 Marion, USA
  8. 08
    Jimmy Williams b. 1876
    .275 avg, 49 HR 1899–1909 St. Louis, USA
  9. 09
    Jose DeLeon b. 1960
    86-119, 3.76 ERA 1983–1995 Rancho Viejo, D.R.
  10. 10
    Fred Merkle b. 1888
    .273 avg, 61 HR 1907–1926 Watertown, USA
  11. 11
    Virgil Davis b. 1904
    .308 avg, 77 HR 1928–1945 Birmingham, USA
  12. 12
    George Pipgras b. 1899
    102-73, 4.09 ERA 1923–1935 Ida Grove, USA
  13. 13
    David DeJesus b. 1979
    .275 avg, 99 HR 2003–2015 Brooklyn, USA
  14. 14
    Jack Manning b. 1853
    39-27, 2.79 ERA 1873–1886 Braintree, USA
  15. 15
    Butch Henline b. 1894
    .291 avg, 40 HR 1921–1931 Fort Wayne, USA
  16. 16
    James Shields b. 1981
    145-139, 4.01 ERA 2006–2018 Newhall, USA
  17. 17
    Jimmy Johnson b. 1918
    3-5, 3.41 ERA Morgantown, USA
  18. 18
    Paddy Baumann b. 1885
    .274 avg, 4 HR 1911–1917 Indianapolis, USA
  19. 19
    Abraham Toro b. 1996
    .223 avg, 41 HR 2019– Longueuil, CAN
  20. 20
    Marc Valdes b. 1971
    12-15, 4.95 ERA 1995–2001 Dayton, USA
  21. 21
    Jim Norris b. 1948
    .264 avg, 7 HR 1977–1980 Brooklyn, USA
  22. 22
    Joe Wilhoit b. 1885
    .257 avg, 3 HR 1916–1919 Hiawatha, USA
  23. 23
    Erik Goeddel b. 1988
    .000 avg, 0 HR 2014–2018 San Mateo, USA
  24. 24
    Dane Dunning b. 1994
    28-32, 4.44 ERA 2020– Orange Park, USA
  25. 25
    Tyler Sturdevant b. 1985
    MLB player 2016–2016 Littleton, USA

Remembered on December 20

Baseball figures lost on this date.

  1. 01
    Rickey Henderson ⭐ HOF 1958–2024
    .279 avg, 297 HR 1979–2003
  2. 02
    Gabby Hartnett ⭐ HOF 1900–1972
    .297 avg, 236 HR 1922–1941
  3. 03
    Ray Herbert 1929–2022
    104-107, 4.01 ERA 1950–1966
  4. 04
    Walter Christensen 1899–1984
    .315 avg, 0 HR 1926–1927
  5. 05
    Felix Mackiewicz 1917–1993
    .259 avg, 2 HR 1941–1947
  6. 06
    Carroll Yerkes 1903–1950
    .062 avg, 0 HR 1927–1933
  7. 07
    Phil Gagliano 1941–2016
    .238 avg, 14 HR 1963–1974
  8. 08
    William Brown 1866–1897
    .261 avg, 6 HR 1887–1894
  9. 09
    Jim Hall
    .288 avg, 0 HR 1872–1874
  10. 10
    Joe DeSa 1959–1986
    .200 avg, 2 HR 1980–1985
  11. 11
    Bob Wellman 1925–1994
    .280 avg, 1 HR 1948–1950
  12. 12
    Fred Andrews 1952–2021
    .276 avg, 0 HR 1976–1977
  13. 13
    Charlie Luskey 1876–1962
    .195 avg, 0 HR 1901–1901
  14. 14
    Art McLarney 1908–1984
    .130 avg, 0 HR 1932–1932
  15. 15
    Jack Whillock 1942–2021
    .000 avg, 0 HR 1971–1971
  16. 16
    Don Williams 1935–1991
    MLB player 1963–1963
  17. 17
    George Burpo 1922–2015
    MLB player 1946–1946
  18. 18
    Larry Crawford 1914–1994
    MLB player 1937–1937
  19. 19
    Jake Eisenhart 1922–1987
    MLB player 1944–1944
  20. 20
    Dinny McNamara 1905–1963
    .077 avg, 0 HR 1927–1928
  21. 21
    Steve Slayton 1902–1984
    .000 avg, 0 HR 1928–1928
  22. 22
    Skip Dowd 1889–1960
    MLB player 1910–1910
  23. 23
    Tom Fitzsimmons 1890–1971
    .000 avg, 0 HR 1919–1919
  24. 24
    Silk O'Loughlin 1872–1918
    MLB player

December 20 in the record

25 baseball figures born on December 20 are listed, led by Gabby Hartnett. The HOF tag marks Gabby Hartnett and Branch Rickey. Birth years range from 1853 (Jack Manning) to 1996 (Abraham Toro). Next on the December 20 birthday list are Branch Rickey (b. 1881, .239 avg, 3 HR) and Harry Stovey (b. 1856, .288 avg, 122 HR). The birth list reaches beyond the United States to D.R. and CAN. For December 20, the best-placed batter is Gabby Hartnett at .297 avg, 236 HR; the best-placed pitcher, Jose DeLeon, shows 86-119, 3.76 ERA. Recent names on the December 20 list, Abraham Toro and Dane Dunning, show careers still open. Remembered on December 20: 24 names, starting with Rickey Henderson. The HOF tag on the December 20 memorial list goes to Rickey Henderson and Gabby Hartnett. Gabby Hartnett (1900–1972) and Ray Herbert (1929–2022) follow Rickey Henderson on the list. William Brown (1897) and Rickey Henderson (2024) bracket the memorial list. Gabby Hartnett tops the page on the site's career-impact scale; each name links to a full profile.