February 6
Senators Birthdays
Pelham Ashby Ballenger B Feb. 6, 1894 D Dec. 8, 1948
Senators Short Timer Pelham Ballenger spent 5 days on the Washington roster in May of 1928. Playing in 3 games at 3rd base, Ballenger would be 1 for 9 at the plate.
Pelham Ballenger career record
Frank Breyfogle LaPorte B Feb. 6, 1880 D Sep. 25, 1939
Making his way from Buffalo, then of the Eastern League, in late August of 1905, Frank LaPorte would play in 11 games for the New York Highlanders, hitting an even .400. LaPorte would remain in New York for the 1906 and 1907 seasons playing 2nd base.
Traded to the Boston Red Sox after the 1907 season, La Porte would play in 62 games for Boston before he was traded back to New York where he’d finish the season playing in 39 games. LaPorte would remain in New York through 1910, when he was traded again, this time to the St. Louis Browns.
LaPorte would hit .314 for the Browns in 136 games in 1911. He’d start the 1912 season in St. Louis but was sold to the Washington Senators after 80 games. In 40 games for the Senators, LaPorte would hit .309 over the remainder of the season.
LaPorte would play in 79 games for Washington in 1913. After the season he jumped to the Federal League, playing for the Indianapolis Hoosiers in 1914 and the Newark Peppers in 1915 where his career came to an end.
Richard Dale Long B Feb. 6, 1926 D Jan. 27, 1991
1st baseman Dale Long is another of those guys who probably lived out of a suitcase during his major league career. Long played for 6 different teams, including 2 separate stints with both the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates, in a career that spanned 10 seasons over the course of 14 years.
Originally signed by the Cincinnati Reds in May of 1945, Long would spend time in the organizations of the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and the Yankees before finally making his major league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in April of 1951. Long would only play in 10 games for the Pirates, hitting .167 before being released. Long would be picked up by the St. Louis Browns, hitting .238 in 34 games.
Released by the Browns in mid-July of 1951, Long would not return to the majors until 1955 when he’d be back with the Pirates, hitting .291 in 131 games. 1956 would see Long in 148 games, hitting .263 and being named the starting 1st baseman for the 1956 National League All Star Team.
Long would start the 1957 season in Pittsburgh but would be traded to the Chicago Cubs in early May. Long would play in 123 games for the Cubs in 1957 and would remain on the Chicago roster through the end of the 1959 season. He’d become the answer to a trivia question when the left hander caught in 2 games for the Cubs in 1958.
Purchased by the San Francisco Giants before the start of the 1960 season, Long would play in 37 games for the Giants before he was on the move again, this time purchased by the New York Yankees in late August. Long would play in 27 games for New York and make it into 3 games of the 1960 World Series as the Yankees lost to Long’s former teammates, the Pittsburgh Pirates in 7 games.
Selected by the expansion Senators in the draft of 1960, Long would play in 123 games for the “new” Senators in 1961, hitting .249 with 17 home runs and 49 RBI’s.
Starting the 1962 season in Washington, Long would hit .241 in 67 games before he was on the move again, this time back to New York when he was traded to the Yankees for Don Lock.
Playing in 41 games for New York, Long would make it into his second World Series, with the Yankees winning in 7 games over another of his former teams, the San Francisco Giants.
Long’s career would finally come to an end in 1963, when after just 14 games, he was released in early August.
