American League. March 12 – Jesse Altenburg, 80, outfielder who appeared in 19 games for the 1916–1917 Pittsburgh Pirates. March 12 – Frankie Frisch, 74, Hall of Fame second baseman for the New York Giants (1919–1926) and St. Louis Cardinals (1927–1937) who scored 100 runs seven times, led the NL in steals three times, and was the 1931 MVP; a lifetime .316 hitter, he twice batted .400 in the World Series; managed the "Gas House Gang" Cardinals to the 1934 World Series title and overall a four-time world champion as player and playing manager; helmed the Cardinals (July 25, 1933 to September 11, 1938), Pirates (1940–1946) and Chicago Cubs (June 14, 1949 to July 21, 1951); in broadcasting, he was a radio play-by-play man in Boston for the Bees and Red Sox (1939) and New York for the Giants (1947–1948), a member of the Giants' TV team in the mid-1950s, and a color man on the CBS-TV Game of the Week from 1959 to 1961. March 19 – Walt Leverenz, 84, pitcher for the St. Louis Browns from 1913 to 1915. March 22 – Bill McCorry, 85, pitcher who worked in only two games for 1909 Browns, but went on to a long baseball career, spending almost 30 years in the minors as a player and player-manager, then serving as longtime traveling secretary of the New York Yankees. March 26 – George Sisler, 80, Hall of Fame first baseman for the St. Louis Browns (1915–1922, 1924–1927) who was widely recognized as the best defensive player ever at that position, twice batted over .400, and hit .340 lifetime; the American League's 1922 MVP, he had a record 257 hits in 1920 and also led the league in steals four times; managed Browns from 1924 to 1926, and later served as trusted assistant to general manager Branch Rickey in Brooklyn and Pittsburgh; sons Dick and Dave had noteworthy major-league careers. March 28 – Cap Tyson, 70, catcher who played for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League between 1938 and 1941. April April 5 – Tex Jeanes, 72, outfielder who played in 53 games during five brief MLB trials with the 1921–1922 Cleveland Indians, 1925–1926 Washington Senators and 1927 New York Giants; nephew of Tris Speaker. April 6 – Ernie Smith, 73, New Jersey native known as the "Kansas City Kid" for his minor-league exploits; shortstop in 24 games for