Baseball history unpacked, January 7

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:

• 1920 - Babe Ruth reacts to his recent sale to the Yankees in the Boston Evening Standard saying, “Frazee is not good enough to own any ball club, especially one in Boston.” (2)
• 1933 - Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis announces that he is cutting his salary by 40 percent. Landis’s action is a sign of the times during the Great Depression; most players will have their salaries reduced for the coming season. (2)
• 1985 - Lou Brock and Hoyt Wilhelm are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. During his career, Brock established the record for the most stolen bases in major league history (which will later be broken by Rickey Henderson), while the knuckleballing Wilhelm pitched in more games than any other major league pitcher (Jesse Orosco will eventually break that mark). Nellie Fox is named on 295 of the 395 ballots (74.7%), but the BBWAA and the Hall of Fame committee decline to round Fox’s total to the required 75%. As this is Fox’s last year on the ballot, he will only be inducted when he becomes eligible to be considered by the Veterans Committee. (1,2)
• 2011 - The Cubs and Rays engineer a big trade, with P Matt Garza, author of a no-hitter last season, OF Fernando Perez and a minor league pitcher to be named headed to Chicago in return for a slew of prospects. Those include P Chris Archer, OF Brandon Guyer, SS Hak-Ju Lee, C Robinson Chirinos and OF Sam Fuld, the only one in the group with major league experience. Archer and Guyer were the Cubs’ 2010 minor league player and pitcher of the year, respectively. (2)
• 2020 - As Major League Baseball’s investigation into allegations of sign stealing by the Houston Astros continues and punishment is expected to be announced soon, news reports indicate that there is evidence that a similar scheme was used by the Red Sox in their World Series-winning season in 2018, by using the video replay room to capture their opponents’ signs and relay them to batters. Sox manager Alex Cora was on the coaching staff of the Astros in 2017, when the scheme that prompted the original investigation allegedly was put in place. (2)
• 2021 - Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda passes away at home at the age of 93. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Dad Clarke, Kitty Bransfield, Al Todd, Alvin Dark, Dick Calmus, Doug Capilla, Alfonso Soriano, Jon Lester*. Also notable: Johnny Mize HOF.

Today in world history:

• 1610 - Galileo Galilei discovers the first three moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa & Ganymede.
• 1714 - Typewriter patented by Englishman Henry Mill (built years later).
• 1790 - French Revolution: A major riot breaks out in Versailles as people demand lower bread prices.
• 1830 - First US railroad station opens in Baltimore.
• 1890 - African American inventor William Purvis receives a patent for the fountain pen.
• 1927 - Harlem Globetrotters play their 1st game in Hinckley, Illinois.
• 1958 - Gibson issued US patent for the Flying V Guitar.
• 1970 - Farmers sue Max Yasgur for $35,000 in damages caused by “Woodstock Festival”.
• 1999 - President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial begins in the US Senate.
• 2021 - US Congress completes the ceremonial certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory late in the night after an earlier breach of the Capitol.

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.

*Pictured.

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.

Thank you for your cooperation. And thanks for reading!