A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Three Hall-of-Famers were born on this date. One of them was Mr. Cub, Cap Anson is released, and other stories for the discerning reader.
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:
- 1898 – Cap Anson is released after 19 years as first baseman/manager with the Chicago National League teams. Strong-minded Cap, with a record of 1,288 victories and five NL pennants, was enormously popular in Chicago. Former infielder Tom Burns takes over as manager of the team, which is now dubbed the “Orphans” by reporters.
- 1927 – N.L. President John Heydler rules that Rogers Hornsby cannot continue to both hold stock in the Cardinals and play for the Giants. Seemingly oblivious, the Cards’ board of directors, meeting in St. Louis, votes stockholders a 10 percent dividend, earning Hornsby $2,916 for his 1,167 shares. (1,2,3,4)
- 1953 – The New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Boston Red Sox retaliate at Bill Veeck, forcing the St. Louis Browns to play afternoon games to avoid sharing TV revenues. Veeck takes his plan to the American League office to make them pay. The plan is rejected. (1,2)
- 1959 – Former major league star Joe Cronin succeeds Will Harridge as president of the American League. A Hall of Fame shortstop who played for the Pirates, Senators and Red Sox, Cronin batted .301 over a 20-year playing career. He signs a seven-year pact and will remain in office until his retirement in 1973. (2)
- 1961 – Houston voters approve a bond to finance the construction of a luxury domed stadium, clearing the final hurdle standing between the city and major league baseball. (2)
- 2001 – A story in the Wall Street Journal quotes players Monte Irvin, Sal Yvars and Al Gettel, three former members of the 1951 New York Giants, as admitting that they stole catchers’ signs at the Polo Grounds to help the club overtake the 13½-game lead of the Brooklyn Dodgers and win the National League pennant. Except for Yvars, all the participants will deny using the system during the three-game playoff with the Dodgers. According to the report, Bobby Thomson, whose three-run, ninth-inning home run in Game 3 of the playoff won the pennant for the Giants, did not, however, steal a sign before hitting his historic home run. (2)
Cubs birthdays: Bob Ferguson, Ray Brown, Charlie Wiedemeyer, Ernie Banks HOF*, Tommy La Stella, Locke St. John. Also notable: Jackie Robinson HOF, Nolan Ryan HOF.
Today in History:
- 1616 – Rounding of Cape Horn for the first time by Dutch expedition of Jacques Le Maire and Willem Corneliszoon Schouten (they name Cape Hoorn after Schouten’s hometown).
- 1804 – British vice-admiral William Blighs fleet reaches Curacao.
- 1846 – After the Milwaukee Bridge War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified as the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- 1862 – Astronomer Alvan Graham Clark makes first observation of Sirius B (first known white dwarf star) in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts while testing his new telescope.
- 1865 – Congress passes, by vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States – except as punishment for a crime.
- 1929 – Leon Trotsky expelled from Russia to Turkey.
- 1958 – ”Jackpot Bowling” premieres on NBC with Leo Durocher as host.
- 1958 -US launches their first artificial satellite, Explorer 1 – leads to the discovery of Earth’s radiation belt by James van Allen and his team at Iowa University.
- 1990 – First ever US all-sports daily “The National” begins publishing.
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.