August 16, 1948

1948Earl Blumenauer, American politician, U.S. Representative from Oregon^[†]

Earl Francis Blumenauer is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 3rd congressional district from 1996 to 2025. The district includes most of Portland east of the Willamette River.

1948Barry Hay, Indian-born Dutch rock musician^[†]

Barry Andrew Hay is an Indian-born Dutch musician; he was the lead vocalist and frontman of Dutch rock band Golden Earring from 1967 until their disbandment in 2021. He has also released three solo albums.

1948Mike Jorgensen, American baseball player and manager^[†]

Michael Jorgensen is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who currently works in the St. Louis Cardinals' front office. The New York Mets drafted him in the fourth round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft. In a 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career spanning from 1968 to 1985, he played primarily with the Mets and Montreal Expos and had brief stints with the Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics. He also has served as a manager for the Cardinals. Jorgensen is the only major league baseball player to have been born the day Babe Ruth died.

1948Pierre Reid, Canadian educator and politician (died 2021)^[†]

Pierre Reid was a Canadian politician and educator in the province of Quebec. He served in the National Assembly of Quebec from 2003 to 2018, representing Orford as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party. Reid was a former cabinet minister in Jean Charest's government.

1948Joey Spampinato, American singer-songwriter and bass player^[†]

Joseph Nicholas Spampinato is a multi-instrumentalist and was a founding member and bass player of NRBQ. He was also one of the band's lead singers and chief songwriters. Before NRBQ he played in several bands, including The Seven of Us, which in 1967 while in Miami, Florida, met another band, The Mersey-Beats USA. The bands merged to form NRBQ. On the group's first two albums, NRBQ and Boppin' the Blues Spampinato is credited as "Jody St. Nicholas".

1948Babe Ruth, American baseball player and coach (born 1895)^[†]

George Herman "Babe" Ruth was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", he began his MLB career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936, Ruth was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members.