Forrest Vandergrift Jacobs (November 4, 1925 – February 18, 2011) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1954 through 1956 for the Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1954–56), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1956). Listed at 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m), 155 lb, he batted and threw right-handed. His teammates affectionately called him Spook, a moniker that he used throughout his life.
Leonard Joseph Whitehouse (born September 10, 1957) is a retired Major League Baseball player who pitched in relief for the Texas Rangers in 1981 and for the Minnesota Twins from 1983 to 1985.
Whitehouse played two seasons of high school baseball at Burlington High School in his native Burlington, Vermont. After attending a tryout for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Maine, he was invited to participate in the Florida Instructional League in 1976. He signed a contract with the Texas Rangers on Christmas afternoon 1976 at Burlington International Airport.He finished his career with a 9-4 record with four saves and a 4.24 ERA in 97 appearances. Since 1967, Whitehouse is one of only two Vermont high school baseball players to make it into the Major Leagues. He was the pitcher when Reggie Jackson struck out for the 2,000th time in his career.After his playing career, Whitehouse's endeavors included serving as baseball coach for several Vermont high schools and assistant baseball coach at Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont.
Mack Edwin Burk (born April 21, 1935) is an American former professional baseball catcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 1956 and 1958 Philadelphia Phillies. Of his 16 big league game appearances, 13 were as a pinch runner, two as a pinch hitter, and only one inning as a catcher.
Burk stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall, weighed 180 pounds (82 kg) and threw and batted right-handed. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and signed a $40,000 bonus contract with the Phillies in September 1955. Under the rules of the day, a "bonus baby" such as Burk was compelled to spend his first two years as a professional baseball player on a Major League roster. In his pro debut, on May 25, 1956, Burk pinch-ran for catcher Andy Seminick, in a home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Connie Mack Stadium. In Burk’s third game, on June 5, he pinch hit for pitcher Curt Simmons in the fifth inning and singled off left-hander Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Redlegs. Burk came around to score his first big-league run that inning on a sacrifice fly by Stan Lopata. Burk scored two more runs during the 1956 season, both as a pinch runner. In his lone appearance in the field, Burk caught one inning, the bottom of the eighth, in relief of Lopata on July 15 against the St. Louis Cardinals, and handled one chance flawlessly.Burk missed the entire 1957 season due to military service. But in 1958, he returned to baseball and was able to gain much-needed playing time in minor league baseball. Burk also played in one game with the Phillies. In his second big-league plate appearance and at bat, Burk was called upon to pinch hit for Phils' pitcher Ray Semproch in the 14th inning of a game against the San Francisco Giants, and he was called out on strikes against veteran Johnny Antonelli. It would be Burk's final MLB appearance. All told, he collected three runs scored, and one single in his two at bats for a career batting average of .500.
Burk continued his career in the minors through 1960 in the Phillies' farm system before leaving pro baseball.
Ronald Lawrence Woods (born February 1, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player who appeared in all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1974, primarily as an outfielder, for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Montreal Expos. He also played two seasons in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons in 1975–1976. Born in Hamilton, Ohio, Woods threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 168 pounds (76 kg).
Woods graduated from Compton High School in Southern California, and entered pro baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization in June 1961. However, after five years in the Pittsburgh farm system, he had risen only as high as the Double-A level. Early in 1966, the Detroit Tigers acquired his contract. After a strong 1968 season with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, Woods made the 1969 roster of the defending World Series champion Tigers out of spring training. He appeared in 17 early-season games for Detroit, largely as a pinch hitter, pinch runner and defensive replacement, before being traded June 14 to the New York Yankees for veteran outfielder Tom Tresh.
Although he struggled offensively, Woods was able to solidify his hold on a major league job with the Yankees, appearing in 192 games (starting 147) from June 1969 to June 1971. On June 25 of the latter year, the Yankees sent Woods to the Montreal Expos for former New York Mets outfielder Ron Swoboda. Despite a brief detour to Triple-A Winnipeg in 1971, Woods spent the next 31⁄2 years on the Expo roster, appearing in 373 games and batting a cumulative .245. In 1973, he was Montreal's most-used center fielder, starting 72 games and platooning with left-handed hitters Boots Day and Jim Lyttle, as the Expos, a fifth-year expansion team, battled for the National League East Division title before falling short by 31⁄2 games.
That off-season, however, the Expos traded for veteran center fielder Willie Davis of the Los Angeles Dodgers, relegating Woods to part-time status in 1974. He started 21 games all season, batted .205 in 127 at bats, and departed for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball. He played the 1975 and 1976 seasons in Japan, appearing in 192 total games and hitting .263 with 160 hits and 19 home runs.
Doing Woods' six seasons in the major leagues, Woods batted .233. His 290 hits in 1,247 at bats included 34 doubles, 12 triples, and 26 career home runs. He compiled 130 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases.
Ray Wilson Hathaway (October 13, 1916 – February 11, 2015) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who appeared in four games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. The 28-year-old rookie right-hander stood 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) and weighed 165 pounds (75 kg).
Hathaway was born in Greenville, Ohio in October 1916. He was one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II. He made his major league debut on April 20, 1945 in relief against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. In his one major league start, the Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, 5–3, on May 28, 1945. Season and career totals for 4 games include a 0–1 record, 1 start, no complete games, 3 games finished, and an ERA of 4.00 in 9 innings pitched.
He had a lengthy career as a minor league baseball manager following his playing days. He was inducted in the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame. Hathaway was the uncle of former major league pitcher Dave Burba.
At the time of his death in February 2015, he had been the second oldest former major league player still alive. Ironically the only man he was behind in this distinction, Mike Sandlock, was a teammate and played in Hathaway's first major league game, and Hathaway's only career start batting 8th just ahead of Hathaway in that game. This means Ray was never the oldest living player from his major league debut, or even the oldest living player to bat in the same inning as he had batted. (Sandlock batted before him in both of Ray's major league at bats.) His nephew is former Giants pitcher Dave Burba.
Thomas Arden Butters (April 8, 1938 – March 31, 2016) was an American professional baseball player who spent parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, then had a lengthy career as a college sports administrator at Duke University. He is best remembered for his time at Duke and for being a key figure in the financial success of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.