Phillies Events on January 6

  • January 6, 1934: The Phillies completed the October 30, 1933 trade that brought infielder Marty Hopkins to Philadelphia by sending Otto Bluege to the St. Paul Saints as the player to be named later.

Major MLB Events on January 6

  • January 6, 1936: New York Giants president Charles A. Stoneham died, marking the passing of one of the key long-time figures in the sport’s early front-office era.
  • January 6, 1942: Indians star Bob Feller entered the military, one of the most famous wartime interruptions of a prime career. It’s frequently cited as emblematic of how World War II reshaped rosters across the majors.
  • January 6, 1964: A’s owner Charlie Finley signed a two-year pact aimed at moving the franchise from Kansas City to Louisville, pending AL approval, but the move was later denied.
  • January 6, 1992: The Yankees signed free-agent outfielder Danny Tartabull to a four-year, $20.2-million deal, which was big money for the time. Phillies fans remember Tartabull for his one ill-fated season in Philadelphia. He signed a one-year, $2-million deal on February 25, 1997 and proceeded to get hurt, play in only three games and go 0-for-7.
  • January 6, 2016: The Royals re-signed Alex Gordon on a four-year, $72 million deal, keeping a franchise cornerstone in Kansas City after their championship run.

Phillies Birthdays on January 6

  • January 6, 1864: Andy Knox was born in Philadelphia and played for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1890. He hit .253 in 21 games that season, which encompassed his entire playing career.
  • January 6, 1936: Ruben Amaro Sr. was a slick-fielding infielder who played for the Phillies and later became a long-time baseball lifer in scouting and player development circles. He’s also remembered as the father of former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr.
  • January 6, 1963: Norm Charlton was a hard-throwing left-handed reliever best known for his time with Cincinnati and Seattle. After missing 1994 with an injury, the Phillies signed him to a two-year, $1.375-million contract. By the all-star break of the ’95 season he was released and re-signed with Seattle.
  • January 6, 1965: Jose De Jesus pitched for the Phillies in 1991 and 1992 making 51 starts and going 17-17 with a 3.55 ERA. He originally pitched for Kansas City.
  • January 6, 1974: Marlon Anderson debuted with the Phillies in 1998 and played five seasons in Philadelphia. He carved out a long career as a versatile bat, known for pinch-hitting and multi-position usefulness.

MLB Birthdays on January 6 (Non-Phillies)

  • January 6, 1920: Early Wynn is a Hall of Fame right-hander best associated with Cleveland and the White Sox. Wynn pitched 23 seasons and made 611 starts and 80 relief appearances for the Washington Senators, Cleveland, and Chicago.
  • January 6, 1926: Ralph Branca pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers and is inseparable from the lore of that era. His place in baseball history was cemented when he gave up “the shot heard around the world” to Bobby Thompson in the 1951 National League Championship.
  • January 6, 1951: Don Gullett was a talented lefty for the Reds and Yankees whose prime was shortened by injuries, but at his best he was a top-end arm on good teams.
  • January 6, 1991: Kevin Gausman has developed into a high-level major league starter. Known in recent years for strike-throwing and a splitter-centric approach as a rotation anchor, Gausman was a member of the 2025 AL Champion Toronto Blue Jays.

A DEEPER DIVE… The Shot Heard Around The World

When people talk about Bobby Thompson’s walk-off home run in 1951, they usually call it the most famous moment in baseball history. It has a nickname. It has radio calls that still get replayed. It lives in grainy black-and-white footage and on posters, murals, and anniversary retrospectives. But right at the center of that moment, frozen forever beneath the roar, is Ralph Branca. And that’s where the story gets more complicated, more human, and more interesting.

One quick bit of necessary clarity first. Thompson’s home run didn’t end the World Series. It ended the National League playoff between the Giants and Dodgers, a best-of-three tiebreaker to decide who would go to the World Series. That distinction matters historically, but emotionally it barely changes anything. The stakes felt like everything. The moment became immortal anyway.

The Pitch Everyone Remembers

Branca was on the mound at the Polo Grounds on October 3, 1951, protecting a one-run Dodgers lead in the bottom of the ninth. Two men were on base. One out. Thompson stepped in. The Giants had stolen the catcher’s signs earlier in the game, relaying fastball or off-speed information with a telescope and a buzzer system. Branca didn’t know that at the time. He knew only that he needed to get one more big out.

He threw a fastball. Thompson hit it into the left-field stands. Pandemonium followed.

That swing turned into a piece of baseball shorthand, but it also turned Branca into what he later described, with remarkable self-awareness, as the guy on somebody else’s poster. There’s an old philosophy in sports that you never want to be that guy. Branca became that guy anyway, and he carried it with grace.

More Than One Pitch

The easy version of history reduces Branca to a single mistake. That’s lazy, and it’s wrong. Branca was not some fringe pitcher who wandered into a big moment unprepared. He was a two-time All-Star by the age of 24. He helped the Dodgers win the National League pennant in 1947 and again in 1949. He pitched in World Series games. He was trusted with the ball when things mattered.

In 1951 alone, Branca won 13 games and pitched important innings down the stretch. He was good enough, and tough enough, that manager Chuck Dressen handed him the ball in the biggest spot imaginable. Teams don’t do that with pitchers they don’t believe in.

Living With the Moment

What sets Branca apart from many athletes tied to painful history is how openly he confronted it. He didn’t run from the home run. He didn’t pretend it didn’t happen. He talked about it. He analyzed it. He even befriended Thompson later in life, turning an iconic confrontation into a relationship built on mutual respect.

Branca understood something that takes many people decades to accept. You can do everything right and still be remembered for the one thing that didn’t work. Baseball, more than any other sport, does that to people. One pitch can outweigh a decade of excellence in the public memory.

Branca finished his career with 88 wins, impressive totals for his era, and a reputation as a big-game pitcher long before that ninth inning. He later became a successful broadcaster and baseball executive, staying connected to the game that both elevated and wounded him. He also lived long enough to see the sign-stealing revelations surface, which added context to the moment without erasing it.

Importantly, Branca never asked for sympathy. He asked for perspective. He wanted people to remember that baseball history is made by two participants, not one. Thompson swung the bat. Branca threw the pitch. Neither act exists without the other.

The Legacy of the Poster

The idea that you never want to be the guy on somebody else’s poster is rooted in fear. Fear of failure. Fear of being remembered the wrong way. Ralph Branca became that guy and showed that it doesn’t have to define your life or your worth. His career was real. His accomplishments mattered. His dignity afterward might be his greatest achievement of all.

The home run will always belong to Thompson. But the courage to stand beside it, year after year, belongs to Branca.

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