March 8
Senators Birthdays
John Needles Bentley B Mar. 8, 1895 D Oct. 29, 1969
Debuting with the Senators in September of 1913, pitcher Jack Bentley would spend portions of the next 3 seasons in a Washington uniform. His most active season with the Senators would be 1914 when he’d post a 5-7 record with a 2.37 ERA in 30 games. Bentley would make it into 4 games with Washington in 1915, going 0-2 and 2 games in 1916.
After the 1916 season, Bentley would take a hiatus from the major leagues until 1923 when he’d return with the New York Giants. Bentley would have 3 active seasons, posting some decent numbers from 1923 through 1925. In 1923 he’d be 13-8 in 31 games. 1924 would see him going 16-5 in 28 games and in 1925 he’d be 11-9, also in 28 games.
Bentley would appear in the World Series in 1923 and 1924, facing the Yankees in 1923 he’d appear in 2 games and be charged with 1 loss. In 1924 Bentley would appear in 3 games, starting 2 and posting a 1-2 record as Bentley’s former team won their only World’s Championship.
After the 1925 season, Bentley would be traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. Bentley would only pitch in 7 games for Philly in 1926, going 0-2 with an 8.17 ERA before he was released in September. He’d be re-signed with the Giants where he’d pitch in 1 game at the end of the 1926 season.
Bentley would pitch in 4 last games at the start of the 1927 season for the Giants, his last appearance coming in late May.
Marvin Eugene Breeding B Mar. 8, 1934 D Dec. 31, 2006
Signed by the Baltimore Orioles before the start of the 1955 season, 2nd baseman Marv Breeding would make it to the major leagues with Baltimore in 1960 as a 26 year old rookie. Breeding’s rookie year would also be the most active of his career as he’d play in 152 games, hitting .267.
Breeding would remain on the Orioles roster, appearing in 90 games in 1961 and another 95 in 1962. Traded by the O’s to the Washington Senators, along with Art Quirk and Barry Shetrone for Pete Burnside and Bob Johnson, Breeding appeared in 58 games for Washington in 1963 and was hitting .274 when he was traded again, this time to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ed Roebuck.
Breeding would play in just 20 games for the Dodgers, and would only manage to hit .167 but would be on the Dodgers’ World Series roster as they swept the New York Yankees in the ’63 World Series.
Breeding’s last major league appearance was in late September of 1963, however even after that last appearance he managed to pass through the organizations of the Baltimore Orioles (again), Atlanta Braves (twice), San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs before the trail ends in June of 1967.
Ray James Francis B Mar. 8, 1893 D Jul. 6, 1934
Arriving on the major league scene with the Washington Senators in April of 1922, pitcher Ray Francis would post a 7-18 record with a 4.28 ERA in 39 games. After the season Francis would be traded to the Detroit Tigers for Chick Gagnon. Francis would spend 1923 with the Tigers compiling a 5-8 record in 33 games.
Out of the majors in 1924, Francis would make brief appearances with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in 1925, his last major league game coming in June.
