Baseball history unpacked, November 9

A wildly popular Cubs-centric look at baseball’s past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along as we review select scenes from the rich tapestry of Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball history.

There’s a lot of material today, none of which needs much elaboration. A definite Cubs flavor to the proceedings.

Today in baseball history:

• 1912 - Frank Chance is sold by the Chicago Cubs to the Cincinnati Reds. When all National League clubs waive claims to him in December, the Reds free Chance to manage the Yankees. (3)
• 1925 - Rabbit Maranville is waived to the Brooklyn Robins from the Chicago Cubs.
• 1953 - The United States Supreme Court, reaffirming its earlier position, rules, 7-2, baseball is a sport and not a business. This decision exempts baseball from anti-trust laws, which a collection of federal and state government laws that regulates the conduct and organization of corporations, generally to promote fair competition. (1)
• 1976 - The Oakland Athletics give future Hall of Famer Billy Williams his unconditional release, ending his 18-year major league career. Williams, who spent all but two seasons with the Chicago Cubs, retires with 426 home runs, 1,475 RBI, 2,711 hits, and a .290 batting average. (3)
• 1998 - Chicago pitcher Kerry Wood was voted the National League Rookie of the Year after going 13-6 with a 3.40 ERA and helping the Cubs to the playoffs. (2)
• 2002 - Dusty Baker signs a four-year deal to pilot the Cubs, leaving the Giants after guiding the club to a pennant this season. The three-time National League Manager of the Year compiled an 840-715 record during his ten-year tenure with San Francisco. (1)

2004 - “You want the truth. You can’t handle the truth. The truth of this situation is an extremely talented bunch of guys who want to look at all directions except where they should really look and kind of make excuses for what happened. At the end of the day, boys, don’t tell me how rough the water is, you bring in the ship.” — Steve Stone, Cubs veteran broadcaster criticizing the team for making excuses, during an October interview on WGN radio.

The Cubs, hoping to fill the void created by Stone’s resignation, hire former Diamondback manager and current Fox television analyst Bob Brenly to broadcast games. After spending twenty years in the broadcast booth, Stone left Chicago after his on-air comments concerning the team’s swoon in the wild-card race angered manager Dusty Baker and some of the players. (1)

• Cubs birthdays: Harvey Hendrick, Walt Lanfranconi. Also notable: Whitey Herzog, Bob Gibson (HoF). (3)

Sources:

• (1) — The National Pastime.
• (2) — Today in Baseball History.
• (3) — Baseball Reference.
• (4) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (5) — Baseball Hall of Fame.

Thanks for reading.