Baseball history unpacked, November 2

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and various narratives to follow as they unfold over the course of time. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along.

Today in baseball history:

• 1881 - The American Association is founded in Cincinnati, OH with the motto “Liberty to All.” The members are the Brooklyn Atlantics, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Louisville Colonels, Philadelphia Athletics, Pittsburgh Alleghenys and St. Louis Brown Stockings. The Brooklyn team will be replaced by the Baltimore Orioles before the start of the first season. This AA will be considered a major league. (2)
• 1899 - Henry Chadwick, called the “Father of Baseball”, visits US President William McKinley in Washington, DC, to propose that Army regiments be provided with baseball equipment. This is Chadwick’s first presidential interview since his visit with President Abraham Lincoln in 1861. (2)
• 1930 - Ernest Barnard completes his three-year contract as president of the American League. Among Barnard’s innovations have been the establishment of an umpire’s school and the recodifying of the rule book. He also led the effort to eliminate the sacrifice fly scoring rule: he considers that with inflated batting averages resulting from the livelier baseball, the batter no longer needs the benefit of not being charged a time at bat when his fly ball advances a runner. (2)
• 1951 - The National Labor Relations Board files unfair labor practices charges against the Cleveland Indians on a claim the club fired a ticket seller at the union’s request. This is the first case against baseball under the Taft-Hartley Act. (2)
• 1964 - CBS becomes the first corporate owner of a major league team, buying eighty percent of the New York Yankees for $11,200,000.
• 1971 - Pat Dobson of the Baltimore Orioles pitches a no-hitter against the Yomiuri Giants in a 2-0 victory. It the first no-hitter in the history of exhibition play between American and Japanese teams. The Orioles compile a record of 12-2-4 on the tour. (2)
• 1996 - Toni Stone, the first female to play professional baseball at a big league level, dies at age 75. Stone played second base for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues in 1953. (2)
• 2000 - Wrigley Field has been granted preliminary landmark status by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. Any plans to refurbish or tear down the Chicago Cubs’ home since 1916 will have to be reviewed by this panel. (2) Attn: Cole Wright.
• 2005 — Cubs 1B Derrek Lee wins Gold Glove.
• 2016 - The Cubs win their first World Series title in 108 years by defeating Cleveland, 8-7, in Game 7, making up a three games to one deficit in the process as it’s a great day for teams with ursine names. It’s an epic ballgame worthy of the high stakes, as Dexter Fowler hits a lead-off homer off Corey Kluber, but the Indians manage to tie the score in the third. In the fourth, the Cubs score twice, including one run on a daring rush to the plate by Kris Bryant on a fly ball to CF Rajai Davis that travels perhaps 150 feet. Javier Baez and David Ross also homer for Chicago as the Cubs build up their lead, but Cleveland scores two runs on a wild pitch by Jon Lester in the sixth, then trailing 6-4 with two outs in the eighth, Davis homers off Aroldis Chapman to tie the game again. Play is stopped briefly by rain after the ninth inning, but in the 10th, Ben Zobrist, who is named World Series MVP, puts the Cubs ahead with a double and Miguel Montero adds an insurance run with a single, a run which proves important as the Indians manage to score once in the bottom of the 10th before Mike Montgomery retires Michael Martinez on a grounder to third to clinch the title. Cleveland now takes over as owners of the longest championship drought in the majors, their last title having come in 1948. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Otto Williams, Clem Clemens, Dutch Zwilling, Johnny Vander Meer, Jesse Flores, Bill Connors, Orlando Merced. Also notable: Travis Jackson HOF.

Today in history:

• 1355 - English invasion army under King Edward lands at Calais.
• 1698 - Scottish settlers make landfall in Panama, establishing the ill-fated ‘Darien Venture’ colony.
• 1859 American abolitionist John Brown found guilty of murder, inciting slaves to revolt, and treason against the Virginia Territory during his raid of Harpers Ferry Armory, and sentenced to hang.
• 1907 - US banker J. P. Morgan locks over 40 bankers in his library to force them to find ways to avert New York banking crisis.
• 1947 - After just six games of the season, Chicago Blackhawks trade NHL scoring leader Max Bentley along with Cy Thomas to Toronto Maple Leafs for Gus Bodnar, Bud Poile, Gaye Stewart, Bob Goldham, and Ernie Dickens.
• 1947 - Howard Hughes flies “Spruce Goose,” a huge wooden airplane for the first and last time.
• 1955 - David Ben-Gurion forms Israeli government.

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.

Also please remember that this is supposed to be fun.