Baseball history unpacked, February 18

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. We also add a bit of world history, for perspective’s sake.

Today in baseball history:

• 1891 - American Association owners dismiss league President Allen W. Thurman and replace him with Louis Kramer of Cincinnati. The owners also denounce the National Agreement, launching a new war with the rival National League. The owners are unhappy with Thurman’s decision in the Lou Bierbauer case. In his capacity as Chairman of the National Board of Control which decides disputes under the National Agreement, he ruled that the AA’s Philadelphia Athletics no longer had reserve rights over Bierbauer, who jumped from the Athletics to the Players League in 1890, and then refused to return to his old team after the Players League folded. (2)
• 1909 - The Boston Red Sox trade Cy Young, who won 21 games at age 41 last season, to the Cleveland Naps for righty pitchers Charlie Chech and Jack Ryan plus $12,500. Young pitched for Cleveland in the 1890s when it fielded a team in the National League. (1,2)
• 1916 - Major League Baseball initiates an option plan to protect minor league players. (2)
• 1922 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis resigns his federal judgeship, claiming the two jobs (judge and Commissioner) take up too much time. (2)
• 1944 - Fifteen-year-old Joe Nuxhall signs a contract with the Cincinnati Reds just one day after playing in a high school basketball game. (2)
• 1967 - During a special softball exhibition game, pitcher Eddie Feigner strikes out six consecutive major leaguers. The victims are Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Roberto Clemente and Maury Wills. (2)
• 1998 - Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray dies four days after collapsing at a Valentine’s Day supper. Caray, age 84, was known, among other things, for leading the fans in a rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field. He previously broadcast the games of the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox in a career that spanned half a century. (2)
• 1999 - The U.S. Postal Service issues a Jackie Robinson stamp as part of their “Celebrate the Century” program. Robinson was selected to represent the 1940s, the second ballplayer chosen. Babe Ruth, last May, represented the 1920s. (2)
• 2004 - Greg Maddux signs with the Chicago Cubs, the team he began his career with.

Cubs birthdays: Walter Thornton, Zip Zabel, Cal Neeman, Bob Miller, Jerry Morales, Kevin Tapani, Shawn Estes, Brian Bogusevic. Also notable: Joe Gordon HOF.

Today in world history:

• 1519 - Hernán Cortés leaves Cuba for the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico with 11 ships and 500 men.
• 1856 - The American Party (Know-Nothings) convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to nominate its first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore.
• 1879 - Sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi is awarded a patent for his design for the Statue of Liberty.
• 1922 - The Capper-Volstead Act allows farmers to buy and sell cooperatively without the risk of prosecution under antitrust laws.
• 1930 - US astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.
• 1970 - Chicago 7 defendants found innocent of inciting to riot.
• 1977 - Space Shuttle Enterprise takes its maiden flight affixed atop a Boeing 747 Shuttle Aircraft Carrier.
• 2014 - Ukrainian Revolution of 2014 begins as protesters, riot police and unknown shooters take part in violent events in the capital, Kiev, culminating after five days in the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych.
• 2021 NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully lands at Jezero Crater, Mars, on mission to find microfossils.

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.

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!