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This Day in History: Former Red, gridiron great, & Olympic gold medalist born in Okla.

Jim Thorpe with the Canton Bulldogs of the Ohio League and later of the National Football League | Photo is from the late 1910s or early 1920s
Jim Thorpe with the Canton Bulldogs of the Ohio League and later of the National Football League | Photo is from the late 1910s or early 1920s
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On this day in 1887, former Red Jim Thorpe was born in Prague, OK. Thorpe was a bit like the Bo Jackson of his day except he played even more sports at the highest level. Of course, professional and amateur sports weren't as fully formed in the 1910s as they were in the 1980s when Jackson was in his prime. Both men were, of course, tremendous athletes and are in the conversation for the greatest sportsman of all time.

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On this day in 1909, the Reds sent outfielder Kid Durbin to Pittsburgh for outfielder Ward "Windy" Miller.

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On this day in 1910, former Red Willard Hershberger was born in Lemoncove, CA. Hershberger is the only major league player to commit suicide in the middle of the season. I wrote about him in more detail last year.

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On this day in 1934, Cincinnati released lefty Joe Shaute.

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On this day in 1936, the Reds shipped George McQuinn to the New York Yankees. Baseball-Reference isn't sure whether it was a trade, a sale, a waiver claim, or something entirely different.

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On this day in 1948, the Reds released catcher Hugh Poland. He played a total of 19 games for the Reds in 1947 and '48. Poland didn't play with another team for the rest of 1948 and appeared in a handful of games for Trenton in the Interstate League in 1949 before calling it a career.

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On this day in 1953, former Red Rafael Landestoy was born in Bani, Dominican Republic.

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On this day in 1957, all eight National League owners voted to allow the Dodgers and Giants to move from New York to California. (I know this isn't directly Reds related, but I thought it warranted a mention.)

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On this day in 1958, former Red Bill Doran was born in Cincinnati.

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On this day in 1986, former Red Taylor Douthit died in Fremont, CA at the age of 85.