.. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue brings a you a lighthearted 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*. Beware of rabbit holes.
Today in baseball history:
- 1884 - National League owners agree to provide two separate team benches to minimize fraternizing among opposing players during games. (3)
- 1912 - Ground is broken on a new ballpark in Brooklyn, New York. The $650,000 ballpark is scheduled to be called “Washington Park”, but will be renamed for Brooklyn Dodgers president Charles Ebbets. Ebbets Field will open officially on April 9, 1913 and will serve as the Dodgers’ home until 1957. (3)
- 1925 - John Montgomery (Monte) Ward dies in Augusta, Georgia, just a day after his 65th birthday. During his illustrious career in the majors, Ward hit for a .371 batting average twice, won 40-plus games as a pitcher twice, including the second perfect game in history, and was be the captain and manager of the first and original New York Giants. Ward will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1964. (3)
- 2004 - Commissioner Bud Selig announces that Major League Baseball will celebrate “Jackie Robinson Day” in every ballpark on April 15th, the anniversary of the debut the first black player in major league history. Robinson’s uniform number ”42” was retired for all time in a ceremony at Shea Stadium in April of 1997 to mark the 50th anniversary of his achievement. (1,3)
- 2019 - San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer takes a leave of absence from his duties after a video showing him physically abusing his wife Pamela in a public park a few days earlier surfaces on the web. (3)
- Cubs birthdays: Jim Korwan, Red Murray, Earl Tyree, Clyde McCullough, Dave Stevens, Nicholas Castellanos. Also notable: Dazzy Vance (HoF).
Sources:
- (1) — The National Pastime.
- (2) — Today in Baseball History.
- (3) — Baseball Reference.
- (4) — Society for American Baseball Research.
- (5) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
- (6) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
*We try to vet each item. Please let us know if an item is in error, especially if you have a source.
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