1) Bobby Coombs — Died October 21, 1991
Raymond “Bobby” Coombs was a lefthanded pitcher whose pro career bridged the minors and the majors in the 1930s. Coombs made a handful of appearances for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1936 but spent most of his career in organized minor league ball where he was a respected mound presence and later worked in scouting and player development. Coombs’s SABR biography records his life and death (Ogunquit, Maine) and places him among the many pitchers whose careers were valuable at the organizational level even if they didn’t become long-term major leaguers. Remembering players like Coombs helps round out baseball history by honoring those who sustained the professional game in the minors and behind the scenes. Society for American Baseball Research
2) Regino “Reggie” Otero — Died October 21, 1988
Regino José Otero Gómez (commonly “Reggie Otero”) was a Cuban infielder and longtime baseball lifer who played in the U.S. minors and Latin American winter leagues and later became a respected coach and scout. Otero’s SABR profile highlights his long baseball life: he was part of the mid-century bridge between Caribbean ball and U.S. organized baseball, contributing as a player and instructor and helping open pathways for Latin American talent. His death on October 21, 1988 marks the passing of one of the many Cuban baseball men whose transnational careers knit together winter-league talent and organized professional baseball in North America. Society for American Baseball Research
3) Doc Newton — Died October 21 (year recorded in SABR)
“Doc” Newton (Charles P. Newton) was an early-era pitcher (late 19th / early 20th century) who spent parts of his career with several major-league clubs. His SABR biography documents his playing days and later life; Newton’s death is recorded on October 21 and his story is a reminder of how many early players shaped the game in baseball’s formative professional decades. These early biographies often surface instructive details (travel, injuries, rules of play) that help explain how modern baseball evolved. Society for American Baseball Research
4) John Jackson — Died October 22, 1956
John Lewis Jackson (listed in SABR) played in the organized game in the early 20th century; his SABR entry gives the dates and a career sketch. Players like Jackson — whose names appear on Baseball-Reference date pages and SABR bios — help us remember the depth of professional baseball beyond the Hall-of-Fame tier, the journeymen who built local fan bases and helped the game spread across towns and regions. His death on October 22, 1956 is recorded in SABR. Society for American Baseball Research
5) Ross Youngs — Died October 24, 1927
Ross Youngs was a star outfielder for the New York Giants in the 1910s and 1920s whose career was cut short by illness; he died in 1927 in the prime of his career and later was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Youngs combined contact hitting, speed and fielding and was a key member of Giants pennant winners. His SABR biography places his death in late October and gives a full account of his impact on the era — both his on-field excellence and the tragic arc of his early death. Remembering Youngs each October reminds us that some of baseball’s greats had careers and lives shaped by the medical limits of their time. Society for American Baseball Research
6) Bill Bevens — Died October 26, 1991
Bill Bevens is best remembered for his near-no-hit, extra-inning loss in Game 4 of the 1947 World Series — a start that made his name indelible in baseball lore. He pitched 13 innings of a 3–2 loss and carried a no-hitter into the 9th before allowing the tying and winning runs; that one performance is how history remembers him, though his career was longer than that single game. SABR’s biography covers his career and his death on October 26, 1991, and places the 1947 World Series moment in context: Bevens’s legacy is an example of how a single high-visibility game can define a player’s public memory even when his full career contains more nuance.
