Baseball history unpacked, March 23

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:

• 1938 - Commissioner Landis frees 74 St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, among them Pete Reiser, in yet another attempt to halt the farm system cover-up. Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Larry MacPhail makes a pact with his St. Louis counterpart, Branch Rickey, to take the as-yet unknown Reiser and swap him back in the future, but the young outfielder’s ability is too great to hide. (2)
• 1968 - In a spring training game, Chicago Cubs pitcher Jim Ellis creates the “Lip Pass” by going to his mouth on a 3 and 1 count to issue an intentional walk. Cubs manager Leo Durocher, who was opposed to the new strict enforcement of the rule preventing pitchers from going to their mouth while on the rubber, is warned not to repeat the Lip pass or he’ll be fined. He doesn’t, but the rule is relaxed. (2)
• 1974 - The Chicago Cubs send All-Star outfielder Jim Hickman to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher Scipio Spinks. (2)
• 2000 - The Chicago Cubs send relief pitcher Rodney Myers to the San Diego Padres in exchange for outfielder Gary Matthews, Jr. (2)
• 2015 - Hillerich & Bradsby, which has manufactured the iconic Louisville Slugger bats for 130 years, sells the brand to the rival Wilson Sporting Goods company for $70 million. The bats will continue to be produced in Louisville, KY and the Louisville Slugger Museum will also remain open. (2)
• 2016 - In his first professional pitching appearance since being freed from prison after serving 51 months for driving under the influence, driving without a licence and causing grievous bodily injury, former Number One Pick in the 2004 amateur draft Matt Bush has a spectacular outing, flashing a fastball that hits 98 mph and a devastating curveball in pitching two hitless innings for the Rangers against the Cubs. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Peaches Graham, Cy Slapnicka, Johnny Moore, Pat Bourque, Mike Remlinger, Joel Peralta**.

**Pictured.

Today in history:

• 1066 - 18th recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet.
• 1708 - Pretender to the English throne James III attempts to land at Firth of Forth, Scotland, but is turned away by the British Royal Navy.
• 1775 - Patrick Henry proclaims “Give me liberty or give me death” in speech in favor of Virginian troops joining US Revolutionary war.
• 1840 - Draper takes 1st successful photo of the Moon (daguerreotype).
• 1901 - Dame Nellie Melba reveals secret of her now famous toast.

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!