Al Downing

Al Downing, American baseball player and sportscaster

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Born: June 28, 1941
Age in 2026: 85
Zodiac sign: Cancer
Birth year: 1941

About Al Downing

Alphonso Erwin Downing (born June 28, 1941) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1961 through 1977. Downing was an All Star in 1967 and the National League's Comeback Player of the Year in 1971. Downing allowed Hank Aaron's record breaking 715th home run on April 8, 1974. == Early life == Downing was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He participated in the Police Athletic League. Downing attended Trenton Central High School, Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Rider College in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He also played baseball as a semi-professional. == New York Yankees == Downing signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1961, and was promoted to the major league roster by July of that season. In 1963, his first full major league season, Downing had a 13–5 win–loss record with a 2.56 earned run average (ERA) for a Yankee team that went 104–57, but were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1963 World Series.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

On August 11, 1967, Downing struck out all three batters on nine total pitches in the second inning of a game against the Cleveland Indians; it was the first immaculate inning in the major leagues since 1964.
Despite a respectable 3.34 ERA, Downing's record was 2–10 for a Brewers team that narrowly escaped losing 100 games (97).

Al Downing timeline

1963In 1963, his first full major league season, Downing had a 13–5 win–loss record with a 2.56 earned run average (ERA) for a Yankee team that went 104–57, but were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1963 World Series.
1967On August 11, 1967, Downing struck out all three batters on nine total pitches in the second inning of a game against the Cleveland Indians; it was the first immaculate inning in the major leagues since 1964.
1967Downing was an All Star in 1967 and the National League's Comeback Player of the Year in 1971.
1974Downing allowed Hank Aaron's record breaking 715th home run on April 8, 1974.

The world when Al Downing was born

Al Downing was born in 1941. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1941

#1 song"Chattanooga Choo Choo" – Glenn Miller
Top movieCitizen Kane
Best-selling bookThe Keys of the Kingdom – A.J. Cronin

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentJoe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak
Top headlineJapan bombs Pearl Harbor — United States enters World War II
Technology milestoneFirst commercial television broadcasts (CBS, NBC)
Defining fadVictory gardens
Notable inventionAerosol spray can
World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
U.S. population133.4M

1941 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Al Downing's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1941	2026
Gas	$0.19	$3.45/gal
Average home	$5,500	$435,000
Average income	$3,400	$67,500
Minimum wage	$0.30	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.25	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.03	$0.73
Population	133.4M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MLB. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.