Baseball history unpacked, November 24

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:

• 1883 - The American Association agrees to expand to 12 teams by admitting the Brooklyn Atlantics, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Toledo Blue Stockings and Washington Nationals. (2)
• 1913 - Joe Tinker is out as the Cincinnati Reds manager, but is still their property as a player. On December 12th he will be sold to the Brooklyn Robins for $25,000, $10,000 of which goes to him. Pitcher Earl Yingling and outfielder Herbie Moran are sent to Cincinnati later as part of the deal. When Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets puts off signing Tinker, he jumps to the Federal League, signing to manage the Chicago Whales for $12,000. (2)
• 1953 - The Brooklyn Dodgers sign the relatively unknown Walter Alston to a one-year pact as their manager for next season. Alston, who had served as the skipper of the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Montreal, replaces Chuck Dressen after Pee Wee Reese turns down the job. Alston will manage the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles over the next 23 seasons, winning 2,040 games and four World Championships. He will sign a one-year contract every year. (1,2)
• 1976 - Bob Kennedy is named head of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs. His first move is to inform Jim Marshall he is fired as manager and Salty Saltwell, after a year as general manager, is named secretary and director of park operations. Herman Franks, briefly a Cubs coach under Leo Durocher, will be named the new manager. Ironically, Durocher turned down an offer to manage the Cubs for the 1977 season. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Pete Noonan, Billy Rogell, Dave Hansen, Jeimer Candelario. Also notable: Joe Medwick HOF.

Today in world history:

• 1434 - River Thames in London freezes over.
• 1715 - London’s Thames River freezes over.
• 1859 - English naturalist Charles Darwin publishes “On the Origin of Species” radically changing the view of evolution and laying the foundation for evolutionary biology.
• 1874 - American inventor Joseph Glidden patents barbed wire.
• 1966 - The Beatles began recording sessions for their album “Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”.
• 1971 - American D. B. Cooper (“Dan Cooper”) hijacks plane, extorts $200,000 ransom before jumping out of plane over Washington State, never seen again.

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.
• For world history: https://www.onthisday.com.

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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