A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Wee Willie Keeler and Don Larsen* pass on, and other stories.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and various narratives to follow as they unfold over the course of time. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along.
“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly.
Today in baseball history:
- 1923 – Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Keeler dies in Brooklyn, NY, at the age of 50. In 19 major league seasons, Keller hit .341, amassed 2,932 hits, and won consecutive batting titles in 1897 and 1898. (2)
- 1961 – Briggs Stadium is renamed Tiger Stadium.
- 1970 – Chub Feeney begins his 16-year presidency of the National League taking over for Warren Giles, who held the position for 18 years. (1,2)
- 1974 – Lee MacPhail takes over as American League president, succeeding Joe Cronin, who retires. MacPhail will serve in this role until 1984. He will join his father, Larry MacPhail, as a member of the Hall of Fame in 1998. (1,2)
- 2009 – Major League Baseball launches MLB Network, a cable and satellite television channel based out of Secaucus, NJ. The channel debuts in nearly 50 million cable and satellite homes – the largest debut in cable television history, exceeding any other cable television launch by approximately 20 million homes. (2)
- 2009 – The friendly confines of Wrigley Field see a different type of action as the ballpark is fitted with an outdoor hockey rink to welcome an afternoon NHL game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings. The event is a huge success with 40,818 in attendance and a huge television audience in place to watch the Wings beat the Hawks, 6-4. Other ballparks are lining up to host future editions of what will become an annual New Year’s Day event. (2)
- 2010 – Boston’s historic Fenway Park is host to a National Hockey League game for the first time, as the Boston Bruins defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1 in overtime in the league’s annual New Year’s Day outdoor game. (2)
- 2015 – It’s the Nation’s Capital’s turn to host the annual National Hockey League Winter Classic, with Nationals Park transformed into an outdoor hockey rink for the occasion. The Washington Capitals defeat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2, thanks to a goal with under 13 seconds left to play. The game draws a crowd of 42,832. (2)
- 2020 – Don Larsen*, who threw the only perfect game in World Series history in Game 5 in 1956, dies at age 90. (2)
Cubs birthdays: Hugh Nicol, Ned Garvin, Tom Downey, Hack Miller, Teddy Kearns, Ethan Allen, Randy Bobb, Roberto Rivera. Also notable: Tim Keefe HOF, Hank Greenberg HOF.
Today in History:
- 45 BC – Julian calendar takes effect for the first time by edict of Roman dictator Julius Caesar.
- 630 – Prophet Muhammad sets out with an army 10,000 strong to conquer Mecca.
- 1700 – Protestant Western Europe (except England) begins using the Gregorian calendar.
- 1724 – Glassblower Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit proposes system for making thermometers and the Fahrenheit temperature scale in a paper to the Royal Society of London and is elected a fellow on its basis.
- 1863 – Emancipation Proclamation is issued by Abraham Lincoln to free slaves in Confederate states.
- 1896 – German physicist Wilhelm Röentgen announces his discovery of X-rays.
- 1912 Sun Yat-sen forms the Republic of China.
- 1943 – Chicago Black Hawks field first trio of brothers to play together in an NHL game; Max, Doug and Reggie Bentley appear for the Hawks in a 6-5 win over the New York Rangers at Chicago Stadium.
Common sources:
- (1) — Today in Baseball History.
- (2) — Baseball Reference.
- (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
- (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
- (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
- (6) — Wikipedia.
- For world history.
*pictured.
Some of these items spread from site to site without being verified. That is exactly why we ask for reputable sources if you have differences with a posted factoid. We are trying to set the record as straight as possible. But it isn’t brain surgery.
Also, the ‘history’ segment is highly edited for space and interest. Of course a great many other things happened on those days. We try to follow up on the interesting or unfamiliar ones.
Thanks for reading.