A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Notable baseball passings, some ROY winners, and other stories, plus new releases.
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:
- 1910 – The touring Detroit Tigers, with Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford in the lineup, play an exhibition game in Havana, Cuba. With George Mullin pitching, the Tigers beat Almendares, 4-0. (2)
- 1922 – St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Austin McHenry dies from a brain tumor at age 27. After hitting .350 with 17 home runs and 110 RBI in 1921, McHenry became ill during the past season and was hitting .303 when forced to quit. (2)
- 1950 – Less than three weeks after he was fired as player-manager of the Indians, the Red Sox sign shortstop Lou Boudreau as a player to a two-year contract worth an estimated $150,000. (1,2)
- 1973 – Gary Matthews outpolls eight others, receiving 11 of 24 nominations for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. The Giants outfielder batted .300 in 145 games. (1,2)
- 1974 – Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspends New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for two years as a result of Steinbrenner’s conviction for illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon and others. (1,2)
- 1997 – Hall of Famer Buck Leonard dies at the age of 90. Regarded as one of the greatest players in Negro Leagues history, Leonard starred for the powerhouse Homestead Grays, who won nine consecutive pennants. Leonard consistently ranked among the league leaders in home runs and won a batting title in 1948. (2)
- 2012 – Marvin Miller*, who served as head of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1966 to 1983, dies at 95. A veteran union organizer from the steel industry, Miller made the union highly powerful, leading to the first collective bargaining agreement in professional sports in 1968 and other breakthroughs such as salary arbitration and free agency in the 1970s. These advances required a number of strikes, which made Miller a vilified figure among owners. Lingering bitterness explains while Miller failed to secure election to the Hall of Fame by a small margin in recent years, but he will be inducted posthumously in 2020. (2)
Cubs birthdays: Hank Miklos, Tony York, Johnny Schmitz, Bob Schultz, Cal Howe, Dave Giusti, Ron Tompkins, Jason Berken. Also notable: Iván Rodríguez HOF.
Today in History:
- 1295 – English King Edward I calls what later became known as “The Model Parliament” extending the authorities of its representatives.
- 1493 – Christopher Columbus returns to La Navidad colony, finding it destroyed by the 1st native American uprising against Spanish rule. Taíno cacique Caonabo led his people to attack the settlement after the brutal treatment they received from the garrison who disobeyed Columbus’s orders.
- 1574 – Selimiye Mosque, a masterpiece of Ottoman architecture, designed by imperial architect Mimar Sinan, officially opens in Edirne, Turkey.
- 1870 – The New York Times dubs baseball “The National Game.”
- 1967
- 1970
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.