Baseball history unpacked, November 19

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.

Today in baseball history:

• 1884 - National League president Abraham G. Mills resigns and is replaced by former league secretary Nick Young. (2)
• 1900 - At an American League meeting at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Chicago, Ban Johnson says the AL has chosen not to renew the National Agreement with the National League, but sees no need for friction between the two leagues. (2)
• 1998 - Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa is an easy winner in the National League MVP Award balloting over Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals, creating an historic Hispanic American sweep of the MVP awards with Texas Rangers OF Juan Gonzalez winning the award in the American League this season. Sosa received 30 of 32 first-place votes after leading the Cubs to a wild card spot in the playoffs. (1,2)
• 2000 - The Chicago Cubs obtain third baseman Bill Mueller from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitcher Tim Worrell. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Billy Sunday, Stu Martin, Manny Jimenez, Dickie Noles, Jeff Hartsock, Jeff Gray. Also notable: Roy Campanella HOF.

Today in world history:

• 1620 - The Mayflower reaches Cape Cod and explores the coast.
• 1805 - Lewis and Clark expedition, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, reaches the Pacific Ocean, first European Americans to cross the west.
• 1863 - Abraham Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg address beginning; “Four score and seven years ago...”
• 1873 - William Magear Tweed “Boss Tweed”, of Tammany Hall (NYC) convicted of defrauding city of $6M, sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.
• 1926 - Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Politburo in the Soviet Union.
• 1990 - Pop duo Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award after it is learned they did not sing on their award-winning “Girl You Know Its True” album.

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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