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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:
- 1881 - The American Association elects H.D. McKnight as its president. It votes to honor the National League blacklist in the case of drunkenness but not to abide by its reserve clause. The new league will rely on home gate receipts, visiting teams getting just a $65 guarantee on the road, as opposed to the NL’s policy of giving 15¢ from each admission to the visitors. The AA will allow Sunday games, liquor sales, and 25¢ tickets, all prohibited by the NL. (2)
- 1926 - 1926 - Ty Cobb resigns as Detroit Tigers manager after leading his team to a record of 79-75 and a sixth-place finish. Umpire and former Tigers infielder George Moriarty replaces him. Moriarty is the first man to hold baseball’s four principal jobs: player, umpire, scout and manager. Cobb will sign a playing contract with the Philadelphia Athletics and will bat .357 during the 1927 season. (1,2)
- 1953 - The baseball rules committee restores the 1939 sacrifice fly rule, which says a sac fly is not charged as a time at bat. (1,2)
- 2003 - ESPN analyst Bobby Valentine will return to Japan to manage the Chiba Lotte Marines, the same club which fired him after a solid second-place finish in 1995. The former Mets and Rangers skipper signs a three-year deal, with an option for two more years worth for an estimated $6.4 million. (2)
- 2011 - Matty Alou, the 1966 National League batting champion and brother of Felipe and Jesus Alou, dies of complications from diabetes at age 72. Although he had little power, the middle Alou brother was a .307 hitter in 15 major league seasons. (2)
- 2014 - The Cubs introduce new manager Joe Maddon at a press conference. The former Rays skipper is in an optimistic mood, saying he thinks the last-place club is capable of making a playoff run next season. (2)
Cubs birthdays: Jim McCormick, Ed Lennox, Bob Fisher, Fred Richards, Ken Holtzman, Danny Young, Jonathan Herrera, Ryan Tepera. Also notable: Bob Feller HOF.
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.
- 1534 - English parliament passes the Act of Supremacy making Henry VIII and all subsequent monarchs the Head of the Church of England.
- 1906 - International Radiotelegraph Conference in Berlin selects “SOS” (· · · – – – · · ·) distress signal as the worldwide standard for help.
- 1957 - Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 with space dog Laika aboard, a mostly-Siberian husky, the 1st animal in space.
Thanks for reading.