A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. The Hawk* lands in the Hall, Rizzo traded to the Cubs, 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:
- 1914 – The National Commission grants some demands of the Players’ union: players are to be notified in writing of their transfer or release and to receive a copy of their contract; players with ten years in the Major Leagues are eligible to become free agents; clubs will pay traveling expenses to spring training and furnish all uniforms, and outfield fences in major league ballparks should be painted green to provide a better hitting background for batters. (2)
- 1916 – King Cole, the pitcher who gave up Babe Ruth’s first hit in 1914, dies in Bay City, MI at age 29. Cole was a stellar pitcher while playing for the Chicago Cubs, helping his team to the 1910 World Series. (2)
- 1936 – New York Giants President Charles Stoneham dies of Bright’s disease. He was the last surviving member of the trio that purchased the team in 1919.ed the team in 1919. (1,2)
- 1950 – Charlie Grimm resigns as vice president of the Chicago Cubs to sign a three-year contract to manage the Dallas franchise in the Texas League for a record salary of $90,000. Grimm comments, “these hands were never intended to carry a brief case.” (2)
- 1956 – A Federal Court bars former Little League Commissioner Carl Stotz from forming a rival group. Stotz initiated the suit because he felt the league had grown too big, and that increasing team rosters to 15 players was preventing less able players from getting any real playing time. (1,2)
- 1967 – Former major league manager Johnny Keane dies in Chicago, IL from a heart attack at the age of 55. Keane guided the St. Louis Cardinals to the 1964 World Series, but left to become the manager of the New York Yankees, whom the Cardinals had beaten in the World Series. After an unsuccessful stint with the Yankees, Keane became a scout with the California Angels. (2)
- 2009 – The Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs exchange pitchers, with Jason Marquis going to Chicago in return for Luis Vizcaino. (2)
- 2010 – Andre Dawson*, “The Hawk,” is elected to the Hall of Fame getting 77.9 percent of the votes cast by the BBWAA. P Bert Blyleven and 2B Roberto Alomar fall agonizingly short of election, missing the honor by five and eight votes respectively. Dawson, the 1987 National League MVP, played 21 seasons in the majors, principally with the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs, hitting .279 with 438 home runs, 1,591 RBI and 314 stolen bases. (2)
- 2012 – The Padres trade 1B prospect Anthony Rizzo and minor league P Zach Cates to the Cubs for P Andrew Cashner and OF Kyung-Min Na. (2)
Cubs birthdays: Clyde Beck, Lee Walls. Also notable: Early Wynn HOF.
Today in History:
- 1501 – Construction begins on Portugal’s Jerónimos Monastery, designed by architect Diogo de Boitaca to commemorate the return of Vasco da Gama from India.
- 1639 – Virginia orders half of its tobacco crop destroyed to support plunging prices and avoid an economic catastrophe, the first colony to order the destruction of crops.
- 1838 – Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail demonstrate their telegraph machine in New Jersey.
- 1853 – US President-elect Franklin Pierce and his family are involved in a train wreck in Massachusetts that kills his 11-year-old son Benny.
- 1912 – Geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener presents his controversial theory of continental drift in a lecture at the Geological Association at the Senckenberg-Museum, Frankfurt.
- 1912 – New Mexico becomes the 47th state of the Union.
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.