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Baseball history unpacked, March 7

A thrice-weekly look at #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB history. Gambling and wrangling the unions are old stories in baseball.

Portrait of Hack Wilson
Hack Wilson
Photo by George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

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:

Cubs birthdays: Merwin Jacobson, Ed Bouchee, Jimmie Hall, Randy Stein, Joe Carter, Tyler Ladendorf.

*Pictured

Today in history:

  • 321 - Roman Emperor Constantine I decrees that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire.
  • 1530 - English King Henry VIII’s divorce request is denied by the Pope.
  • 1857 - Baseball decides 9 innings constitutes an official game, not 9 runs.
  • 1870 - Cincinnati Red Stockings, 1st pro BB team, begin 8-mo tour of Midwest & East.
  • 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for the telephone in the US.
  • 1965 - Alabama state troopers and 600 black protesters clash in Selma during “Bloody Sunday”, protesters, including future congressman John Lewis beaten and hospitalized.
  • 1979 - Baseball exhibition season opens with semi-pro & amateur umpires.

Common sources:

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!