If Today's Your Birthday...

...you share it with Jake Gibbs, a two-sport star in college, who never quite lived up to expectations in the pros. A standout quarterback at Ole Miss, he also helped lead the school to the 1959 Southeast Conference baseball title. In a time when baseball was still the number-one sport -- and paid the best money -- he signed for a $100,000 bonus with Yankees in 1961, spuring offers from the AFL's Oilers and NFL's Browns.
A quarterback's strong arm seemed to translate best to being a catcher. But his batting skills didn't develop in time to position him as Elston Howard's successor when the Mantle-Maris era Yankee dynasty aged out.
Jake spent six years as a backup catcher, and except for 1970, never batted over .260 or hit more than five home runs.
He later returned to Ole Miss as its baseball coach and also spent time as a minor league manager in the Yankee organization. Jake has made a few appearances at Old Timers Day, including when I saw him in 2014.
Who else is getting cake and candles today around the national pastime?

  • Twins utilityman Danny Salazar.
  • A's pitcher Sonny Gray.
  • Former Pirates, Orioles and Mets pitcher Kris Benson.
  • Tom Walker, a relief pitcher for several major league teams during the '70s -- whose fondest baseball memories came as a winter league teammate and friend of Roberto Clemente. His son Neil was the Mets 2nd baseman for most of 2016.
  • Jim Kaat, a 283-game game winner over his 25 season career, long recognized as one of the greatest fielding pitchers ever. Jim has enjoyed an equally successful second career as a broadcaster with the Twins, Yankees and currently, MLB Network.
  • Dick Stuart, a slugging 1st baseman for the Pirates, Red Sox and Phillies who was, to be kind, a bit defensively challenged. How else does one earn the nickname "Doctor Strangeglove? On a personal note, he was nice enough to give this then-11 year old his first autograph. I'm just sorry that I never had the opportunity to thank him for his kindness at a later date. Dick passed away in 2002.

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