Major League Baseball Players Who Died in 1981

While looking up at an Old Timers’ Day scoreboard which was listing deceased Yankee greats, Hall of Fame Catcher Yogi Berra once quipped, "Boy, I hope I never see my name up there." The table below allows you to "check the scoreboard" in a year by year format. Simply select a year and up comes a list of every Major League player in history who died during any given year.
"If anybody talks about a dead guy during a broadcast, I'll sack 'em. I'm sick of dead guys. Whenever I turn on baseball, all I hear about is dead guys. If I hear a name, I'm going to ask: 'Is he dead?' And if he is, you're fired." - Fox Sports President David Hill in The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball (Jonathan Fraser Light, 2005)
Major League Baseball Players Who Died in 1981

A Historical Analysis / Return To Players by Place of Death
Lou Fette Warrensburg, Missouri 01-03-1981 1937 1945
Fred Stiely Valley View, Pennsylvania 01-06-1981 1929 1931
Irv Stein Covington, Louisiana 01-07-1981 1932 1932
Owen Kahn Richmond, Virginia 01-17-1981 1930 1930
Ray Oyler Seattle, Washington 01-26-1981 1965 1970
Huck Geary Cuba, New York 01-27-1981 1942 1943
Marino Pieretti San Francisco, California 01-30-1981 1945 1950
John Dowd Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 01-31-1981 1912 1912
Al Van Camp Davenport, Iowa 02-02-1981 1928 1932
Grant Gillis Thomasville, Alabama 02-04-1981 1927 1929
Cactus Keck Kirkwood, Missouri 02-06-1981 1922 1923
Cotton Pippen Williams, California 02-15-1981 1936 1940
Sam Barnes Montgomery, Alabama 02-19-1981 1921 1921
Andy High Toledo, Ohio 02-22-1981 1922 1934
Myrl Brown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 02-23-1981 1922 1922
Frank McCrea Dover, New Jersey 02-25-1981 1925 1925
Wade Lefler Hickory, North Carolina 03-06-1981 1924 1924
Pee-Wee Wanninger North Augusta, South Carolina 03-07-1981 1925 1927
Gowell Claset St. Petersburg, Florida 03-08-1981 1933 1933
Vince Gonzales Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, Mexico 03-11-1981 1955 1955
Joe Giebel Silver Spring, Maryland 03-17-1981 1913 1913
Paul Dean Springdale, Arkansas 03-17-1981 1934 1943
Zinn Beck West Palm Beach, Florida 03-19-1981 1913 1918
Gee Walker Whitfield, Mississippi 03-20-1981 1931 1945
Red Morgan New York, New York 03-25-1981 1906 1906
Ben Rochefort Red Bank, New Jersey 04-02-1981 1914 1914
Clayton Lambert Ogden, Utah 04-03-1981 1946 1947
Steve Mesner San Diego, California 04-06-1981 1938 1945
Dick Hoover Lake Placid, Florida 04-12-1981 1952 1952
Emerson Dickman New York, New York 04-27-1981 1936 1941
Earle Brucker San Diego, California 05-08-1981 1937 1943
Eddie Onslow Dennison, Ohio 05-08-1981 1912 1927
Sammy Byrd Mesa, Arizona 05-11-1981 1929 1936
Jim Finigan Quincy, Illinois 05-16-1981 1954 1959
Tommy Mee Chicago, Illinois 05-16-1981 1910 1910
Bill Bayne St. Louis, Missouri 05-22-1981 1919 1930
Gene Green St. Louis, Missouri 05-23-1981 1957 1963
Don Richmond Elmira, New York 05-24-1981 1941 1951
George Smith Richmond, Virginia 05-26-1981 1926 1930
Elmer Leonard Napa, California 05-27-1981 1911 1911
Mike Smith Chesapeake, Virginia 05-31-1981 1926 1926
Skinny O'Neal Springfield, Missouri 06-02-1981 1925 1927
Honey Barnes Lockport, New York 06-18-1981 1926 1926
Sam McConnell Phoenixville, Pennsylvania 06-27-1981 1915 1915
George Knothe Toms River, New Jersey 07-03-1981 1932 1932
Horace Allen Canton, North Carolina 07-05-1981 1919 1919
Bill Hallahan Binghamton, New York 07-08-1981 1925 1938
Merl Combs Riverside, California 07-08-1981 1947 1952
Jim McGarr Miami, Florida 07-21-1981 1912 1912
Jim McLeod Little Rock, Arkansas 08-03-1981 1930 1933
Walt Huntzinger Upper Darby, Pennsylvania 08-11-1981 1923 1926
George Lyons Nevada, Missouri 08-12-1981 1920 1924
Roy Parmelee Monroe, Michigan 08-31-1981 1929 1939
George Lowe Somers Point, New Jersey 09-02-1981 1920 1920
Eddie Ainsmith Fort Lauderdale, Florida 09-06-1981 1910 1924
Ernie Alten Napa, California 09-09-1981 1920 1920
Earl Caldwell Mission, Texas 09-15-1981 1928 1948
Harry Fisher Waterloo, Ontario, Canada 09-20-1981 1951 1952
Al Bool Lincoln, Nebraska 09-27-1981 1928 1931
Freddie Lindstrom Chicago, Illinois 10-04-1981 1924 1936
Bill Nagel Freehold, New Jersey 10-08-1981 1939 1945
Jack Knott Brownwood, Texas 10-13-1981 1933 1946
Johnny Peacock Wilson, North Carolina 10-17-1981 1937 1945
Lou Ciola Austin, Minnesota 10-18-1981 1943 1943
Gene Robertson Fallon, Nevada 10-21-1981 1919 1930
Taffy Wright Orlando, Florida 10-22-1981 1938 1949
Pete Reiser Palm Springs, California 10-25-1981 1940 1952
Harry Hoch Lewes, Delaware 10-26-1981 1908 1915
Fred Archer Charlotte, North Carolina 10-31-1981 1936 1937
Hugh East Charleston, South Carolina 11-02-1981 1941 1943
Al Jurisich New Orleans, Louisiana 11-03-1981 1944 1947
Ed Lagger Joliet, Illinois 11-10-1981 1934 1934
Steve Macko Arlington, Texas 11-15-1981 1979 1980
Red Shea Stafford, Connecticut 11-17-1981 1918 1922
Frank Betcher Wynnewood, Pennsylvania 11-27-1981 1910 1910
Tony Piet Hinsdale, Illinois 12-01-1981 1931 1938
Stan Hollmig San Antonio, Texas 12-04-1981 1949 1951
Bill Windle Corpus Christi, Texas 12-08-1981 1928 1929
Bob Joyce San Francisco, California 12-10-1981 1939 1946
Freddy Leach Hagerman, Idaho 12-10-1981 1923 1932
Jack Snyder Brownsville, Pennsylvania 12-13-1981 1917 1917
Jack Wisner Jackson, Michigan 12-15-1981 1919 1926
Tom Glass Greensboro, North Carolina 12-15-1981 1925 1925
Jake Brown Houston, Texas 12-18-1981 1975 1975
Ed Gallagher Hyannis, Massachusetts 12-22-1981 1932 1932
George Scharein Decatur, Illinois 12-23-1981 1937 1940
Joe Kracher San Angelo, Texas 12-24-1981 1939 1939
John Bischoff Granite City, Illinois 12-28-1981 1925 1926
Don Plarski St. Louis, Missouri 12-29-1981 1955 1955
Josh Billings Santa Monica, California 12-30-1981 1913 1923

Major League Baseball Players Who Died in 1981


Who was the first Major League player to commit suicide? Which baseball suicide occurred in an Asylum? Which one took place inside a police station? Find out by reading through our list of baseball suicides.

Did you know that the fewest number of baseball deaths occurred during the month of June? For a comprehensive chart check out our Baseball Player Obituaries & Death by Month Chart.

If a player passes away and we haven't updated their page in 24 hours, please contact us immediately so we can make the appropriate changes to their page.
     

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