1931 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1931 throughout the world.

Champions

 * World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over Philadelphia Athletics (4-3)

Births

 * January 17 - Don Zimmer
 * January 31 - Ernie Banks
 * May 6 - Willie Mays
 * May 20 - Ken Boyer
 * June 2 - Larry Jackson
 * June 9 - Bill Virdon
 * October 13 - Eddie Mathews
 * October 20 - Mickey Mantle
 * October 23 - Jim Bunning
 * November 9 - Whitey Herzog

Deaths

 * January 4 - Roger Connor, 73, first baseman, mainly for the New York Giants, who batted .317 lifetime and held career home run record until 1921; ranked second all-time in hits, runs and RBI, and first in triples, upon retirement, and led league in batting, hits, HRs, RBI and doubles once each; hit first grand slam in major league history
 * January 14 - Hardy Richardson, 75, second baseman and outfielder who batted .300 seven times, led NL in hits and HRs with 1886 Detroit team; among first ten players to reach 1500 hits
 * February 11 - Charles Dryden, 71, sportswriter who made his name with an idiosyncratic style that emphasized personalities in the game; known for the many nicknames he created, included "The Peerless Leader," "The Old Roman", "Hitless Wonders"
 * March 27 - Ernest Barnard, 56, president of the American League since 1927, previously general manager and president of the Indians
 * March 28 - Ban Johnson, 67, founder of the American League who served as its president from 1901-1927; played major role in eradicating rowdyism prevalent in the game of the 1890s, and fiercely protected authority of umpires
 * April 25 - August "Garry" Herrmann, 71, owner of the Cincinnati Reds from 1902 to 1927 who led the sport as chairman of the National Commission from 1903 to 1920; ensured that World Series would be held annually
 * April 29 - Jimmy McAleer, 66, center fielder for the Cleveland Spiders who later managed AL teams in Cleveland, St. Louis and Washington; was part owner of the Red Sox in 1910s
 * October 2 - George Bradley, 79, pitcher who threw the major leagues' first no-hitter, also winning 45 games and leading NL in ERA in 1876
 * October 26 - Charles Comiskey, 72, owner of the Chicago White Sox since the team's formation in 1901, during which time they won four AL pennants and two World Series; was first manager to win four consecutive pennants, with St. Louis Browns (1885-1888), and had highest winning percentage (.608) among managers of at least 1200 games; revolutionized defensive play at first base
 * November 6 - Jack Chesbro, 57, pitcher who used spitball to set modern record of 41 victories with 1904 New York Highlanders; five-time 20-game winner led both leagues in wins and winning percentage, led NL in shutouts twice
 * November 27 - Jack Burdock, 79, second baseman, mainly for Boston, who was among first ten players to collect 500 hits; hit into the majors' first unassisted triple play