Baseball history unpacked, December 3

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.

Today in baseball history:

• 1926 - In a Chicago Tribune article detailing the business side of the team, the Cubs casually reveal that Weeghman Park will now be known as Wrigley Field, reflecting the ownership of the club by William Wrigley, Jr. The north side ballpark was originally named after the previous owner of the team, Charles H. Weeghman, who had built the steel-and-concrete ballpark for the Chicago Whales, but moved the Cubs to the new venue after the two teams were merged under his ownership when the Federal League team folded. (1)
• 1968 - The MLB Rules Committee adopts a series of changes designed to increase the amount of offensive run production in both leagues. In the most significant alterations, the committee agrees to decrease the size of the strike zone and lower the height of the pitcher’s mound from 15 inches to 10 inches. The rules changes will result in increased run-scoring in 1969. (3)

Why was the pitchers’ mound lowered? Tracy Ringolsby thinks we should do it again. Fangraphs explains.

• 1971 - The Cubs trade 25-year-old right-hander Jim Colborn, along with Brock Davis and Earl Stephenson, to the Brewers for outfielder Jose Cardenal. Chicago’s newest outfielder will have a productive stay in the Windy City, batting .296 during his six-year tenure with the team. (1)
• 2010 - Former major league third baseman Ron Santo dies in an Arizona hospital from complications of bladder cancer and diabetes. The 70-year-old, considered one of the best players in Cubs history, rejoined the team in 1990 as the team’s WGN radio announcer, enamoring his listeners with his devotion to the lovable losers and gaining their admiration for his continued failure to gain induction into the Hall of Fame, an honor he will receive posthumously in 2012. (1)
• Cubs birthdays: Cozy Dolan, Bennie Tate, Mike Martin, Damon Berryhill, Manny Corpas,

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. #Cubsnews