Major League Baseball Players Who Died in California / Played in 1939

Hall of Fame Manager Casey Stengel once quipped, "Most people my age are dead - you could look it up." The table below allows you to "look it up", as it is a comprehensive historical analysis of every major league baseball players' place of death. Selecting a state or country will bring up a sortable chart with every player in history who died in that particular area.

"Baseball is a game dominated by vital ghosts; it's a fraternity, like no other we have of the active and the no longer so, the living and the dead." - Richard Gilman in The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball (Jonathan Fraser Light, 2005)
Major League Baseball Players Who Died in California / Played in 1939

A Historical Analysis / Return To Players by Place of Death

Buster Adams Rancho Mirage, California 09-01-1990 1939 1947
Dick Bartell Alameda, California 08-04-1995 1927 1946
Bud Bates Long Beach, California 04-29-1987 1939 1939
Fern Bell Rancho Mirage, California 08-29-2000 1939 1940
Al Benton Lynwood, California 04-14-1968 1934 1952
Johnny Berardino Los Angeles, California 05-19-1996 1939 1952
Wally Berger Redondo Beach, California 11-30-1988 1930 1940
Nino Bongiovanni San Jose, California 01-06-2009 1938 1939
Frenchy Bordagaray Ventura, California 04-13-2000 1934 1945
Bill Brubaker Laguna Hills, California 04-02-1978 1932 1943
Earle Brucker San Diego, California 05-08-1981 1937 1943
Dolph Camilli San Mateo, California 10-21-1997 1933 1945
George Caster Lakewood, California 12-18-1955 1934 1946
Sam Chapman Kentfield, California 12-22-2006 1938 1951
Chet Clemens San Clemente, California 02-10-2002 1939 1944
Bill Clemensen Alta, California 02-18-1994 1939 1946
Pete Coscarart Escondido, California 07-24-2002 1938 1946
Frankie Crosetti Stockton, California 02-11-2002 1932 1948
Babe Dahlgren Arcadia, California 09-04-1996 1935 1946
Curt Davis Covina, California 10-12-1965 1934 1946
Frank Demaree Los Angeles, California 08-30-1958 1932 1944
Vince DiMaggio North Hollywood, California 10-03-1986 1937 1946
Leo Durocher Palm Springs, California 10-07-1991 1925 1945
Bob Elliott San Diego, California 05-04-1966 1939 1953
Freddie Fitzsimmons Yucca Valley, California 11-18-1979 1925 1943
Larry French San Diego, California 02-09-1987 1929 1942
Len Gabrielson Stanford, California 11-14-2000 1939 1939
Augie Galan Fairfield, California 12-28-1993 1934 1949
Milt Galatzer San Francisco, California 01-29-1976 1933 1939
Joe Gantenbein Novato, California 08-02-1993 1939 1940
Al Glossop Walnut Creek, California 07-02-1991 1939 1946
Lefty Gomez Greenbrae, California 02-17-1989 1930 1943
Joe Gordon Sacramento, California 04-14-1978 1938 1950
Hank Greenberg Beverly Hills, California 09-04-1986 1930 1947
Lee Grissom Corning, California 10-04-1998 1934 1941
Bud Hafey Sacramento, California 07-27-1986 1935 1939
Bud Hafey Sacramento, California 07-27-1986 1935 1939
Tom Hafey El Cerrito, California 10-02-1996 1939 1944
Don Heffner Pasadena, California 08-01-1989 1934 1944
Oris Hockett Torrance, California 03-23-1969 1938 1945
Art Jacobs Inglewood, California 06-08-1967 1939 1939
Eddie Joost Fair Oaks, California 04-12-2011 1936 1955
Bob Joyce San Francisco, California 12-10-1981 1939 1946
Alex Kampouris Sacramento, California 05-29-1993 1934 1943
Bill Knickerbocker Sebastopol, California 09-08-1963 1933 1942
Red Kress Los Angeles, California 11-29-1962 1927 1946
Red Kress Los Angeles, California 11-29-1962 1927 1946
Eddie Lake Castro Valley, California 06-07-1995 1939 1950
Lyn Lary Downey, California 01-09-1973 1929 1940
Lyn Lary Downey, California 01-09-1973 1929 1940
Lyn Lary Downey, California 01-09-1973 1929 1940
Cookie Lavagetto Orinda, California 08-10-1990 1934 1947
Tony Lazzeri San Francisco, California 08-06-1946 1926 1939
Tony Lazzeri San Francisco, California 08-06-1946 1926 1939
Bill Lillard San Luis Obispo, California 06-09-2009 1939 1940
Gene Lillard Goleta, California 04-12-1991 1936 1940
Bob Loane Monterey, California 12-11-2002 1939 1940
Dario Lodigiani Napa, California 02-10-2008 1938 1946
Ernie Lombardi Santa Cruz, California 09-26-1977 1931 1947
Joe Marty Sacramento, California 10-04-1984 1937 1941
Joe Marty Sacramento, California 10-04-1984 1937 1941
Mel Mazzera Stockton, California 12-17-1997 1935 1940
Bob McNamara Rancho Bernardo, California 03-09-2011 1939 1939
Steve Mesner San Diego, California 04-06-1981 1938 1945
Lefty Mills Riverside, California 09-23-1982 1934 1940
Mike Naymick Stockton, California 10-12-2005 1939 1944
Joe Orengo San Francisco, California 07-24-1988 1939 1945
Marv Owen Mountain View, California 06-22-1991 1931 1940
Monte Pearson Fresno, California 01-27-1978 1932 1941
Cotton Pippen Williams, California 02-15-1981 1936 1940
Cotton Pippen Williams, California 02-15-1981 1936 1940
Bill Posedel Livermore, California 11-28-1989 1938 1946
Les Powers Santa Monica, California 11-13-1978 1938 1939
Charlie Root Hollister, California 11-05-1970 1923 1941
Rip Russell Los Alamitos, California 09-26-1976 1939 1947
Manny Salvo Vallejo, California 02-07-1997 1939 1943
Les Scarsella San Francisco, California 12-17-1958 1935 1940
Bill Schuster El Monte, California 06-28-1987 1937 1945
Merv Shea Sacramento, California 01-27-1953 1927 1944
Hal Spindel San Clemente, California 07-28-2002 1939 1946
Tuck Stainback Camarillo, California 11-29-1992 1934 1946
Hank Steinbacher Sacramento, California 04-03-1977 1937 1939
Jim Tabor Sacramento, California 08-22-1953 1938 1947
Tommy Thompson Auburn, California 05-24-1971 1933 1939
Tommy Thompson Auburn, California 05-24-1971 1933 1939
Jim Tobin Oakland, California 05-19-1969 1937 1945
Arky Vaughan Eagleville, California 08-30-1952 1932 1948
Roy Weir Anaheim, California 09-30-1989 1936 1939
Max West Sierra Madre, California 12-31-2003 1938 1948
Whitey Wietelmann San Diego, California 03-26-2002 1939 1947
Del Young San Francisco, California 12-08-1979 1937 1940

Major League Baseball Players Who Died in California / Played in 1939



If you have ever wondered what month most ballplayers passed away in, or if you enjoy reading baseball obituaries, then Baseball Almanac suggests you visit our Baseball Player Obituaries & Death by Month Chart.

Baseball Almanac is aware that researching baseball players by their place of death is common data found easily on the Internet today. We, as you are well aware, enjoy taking that extra step here and have taken that common data and added this amazing chart which will enable you to see a historical breakdown of players from any given year in history by their place of death:
 
1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885
1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895
1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915
1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925
1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935
1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945
1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965
1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Did you know that Frank Ringo was the first Major League baseball player to committ suicide? On April 12, 1889, he ingested a lethal dose of morphine, died of the drug overdose, and became the first baseball suicide in history.

     

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