Baseball history unpacked, November 12

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue brings a you a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and deep dives into various narratives that expand over the course of time. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along. Don’t be afraid to click the links for ‘inside baseball’ on the entries, which change from year to year as we re-examine the subjects.

Jody! Jody! Jody!

Today in baseball history:

• 1920 - Owners unanimously elect Kenesaw Mountain Landis chairman for seven years. The owners’ action comes in direct response to the Black Sox Scandal, which threatens the integrity of the game. Landis accepts, but only as sole Commissioner with final authority over the players and owners, while remaining a federal judge (with his $7,500 federal salary deducted from the baseball salary of $50,000). (1,2)
• 1936 - Following the death of Phil Ball, wealthy owner of the St. Louis Browns, his estate sells the team to a syndicate headed by Donald L. Barnes and William O. DeWitt. As the new owners of Sportsman’s Park, they announce their intention to install lights and bring night baseball to the American League. (1,2)
• 2008 - Manager of the Year honors go to Joe Maddon of the Rays and Lou Piniella of the Cubs. Maddon led Tampa Bay not just to the first winning record in franchise history, but also to the World Series. Piniella guided Chicago to the best record in the National League. It is Piniella’s third time winning the honor, having been honored in 1995 and 2001 while in the American League. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Harry DeMiller, Fred Raymer, Gene Lillard, Jody Davis, Jeff Reed, Dave Otto, Sammy Sosa, Aaron Heilman.

Today in world history:

• 1799 - Andrew Ellicott makes the first known record of a meteor shower observation in the U.S, from a ship off the coast of Florida Keys
• 1833 - The great Leonid Meteor shower recorded
• 1931 - Maple Leaf Gardens opens in Toronto - Chicago Blackhawks beat Leafs, 2-1.
• 1933 - First known photo of so-called Loch Ness monster is taken by Hugh Gray.
• 1946 - A branch of the Exchange National Bank in Chicago opens the first 10 drive-up teller windows.
• 1966 - Buzz Aldrin takes the first ‘space selfie’, a photo of himself performing extravehicular activity in space during the Gemini program.
• 2019 - Former Houston Astros MLB pitcher Mike Fiers reveals team secretly “stole signs” via camera from visiting teams 2015-17; communications between opposing pitchers & catchers intercepted and relayed to Astros batters.

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.

There is a very active baseball history community and there are many facets to their views. We strive for clarity. Please be aware that we are trying to make the historical record as represented by our main sources coherent and as accurate as is possible. No item is posted here without corroboration. Some of these items spread from site to site without being verified. That is exactly why we ask for reputable sources, so that we can address them to the originators. BBRef is very cooperative in this regard, as are SABR and the Baseball Almanac. We have removed thenationalpastime from our sourcing list, as there have been multiple complaints about their content and they do not respond to attempts to communicate.

Also please remember that this is supposed to be fun.

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