Baseball history unpacked Marches Fourth

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.

Photo by Sheridan Libraries/Levy/Gado/Getty Images

Today in baseball history:

• 1884 - National League owners agree to provide two separate team benches to minimize fraternizing among opposing players during games. (2)
• 1886 - The National League meets and adopts the stolen base and the four foot by seven foot pitcher’s box. But the NL retains seven balls for a walk and rejects the American Association’s rule giving a batter first base on a hit by pitch. (2)
• 1912 - Ground is broken on a new ballpark in Brooklyn, New York. The $650,000 ballpark is scheduled to be called “Washington Park”, but will be renamed for Brooklyn Dodgers president Charles Ebbets. Ebbets Field will open officially on April 9, 1913 and will serve as the Dodgers’ home until 1957. (2)
• 1913 - The New York Yankees become the first major league team to conduct spring training outside of the United States, when they begin the spring in Bermuda, where is projected a series of exhibition games. (1,2)
• 1925 - John Montgomery (Monte) Ward dies in Augusta, Georgia, just a day after his 65th birthday. During his illustrious career in the majors, Ward hit for a .371 batting average twice, won 40-plus games as a pitcher twice, including the second perfect game in history, and was be the captain and manager of the first and original New York Giants. Ward will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1964. (2)
• 1967 - Bullet Joe Rogan dies in Kansas City, Missouri, at age 77. One of the greatest pitchers in Negro league baseball, Rogan threw a devastating fastball which he complemented it with a dizzying array of other pitches. He also played the outfield when he wasn’t pitching, and in 1922 led the Negro National League with 16 home runs. Rogan will receive Hall of Fame honors in 1998. (2)
• 2004 - Commissioner Bud Selig announces that Major League Baseball will celebrate “Jackie Robinson Day” in every ballpark on April 15th, the anniversary of the debut the first Black player in major league history. Robinson’s uniform number ”42” was retired for all time in a ceremony at Shea Stadium in April of 1997 to mark the 50th anniversary of his achievement. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Jim Korwan, Red Murray, Earl Tyree, Clyde McCullough, Dave Stevens, Nick Castellanos. Also notable: Dazzy Vance HOF.

Today in history:

• 1628 - England’s King Charles I grants a royal charter to Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• 1681 - English Quaker William Penn receives charter from Charles II, making him sole proprietor of colonial American territory Pennsylvania.
• 1789 - First US Congress meets and declares constitution in effect (nine senators, 13 reps).
• 1829 - Unruly crowd mobs White House during President Andrew Jackson’s inaugural ball.
• 1837 - Chicago becomes incorporated as a city.
• 1924 - ”Happy Birthday To You” published by Claydon Sunny.
• 1936 - First flight of the airship Hindenburg at Friedrichshafen, Germany. The dirigible will last another ten months.
• 1945 United Kingdom’s Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), joins the British Auxiliary Transport Service as a driver.
• 1977 - 1st CRAY 1 supercomputer shipped, to Los Alamos Laboratories, New Mexico.
• 1978 - Chicago Daily News, founded in 1875, publishes last issue.

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!