Baseball history unpacked, January 25

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:

• 1945 - Larry MacPhail, Dan Topping and Del Webb purchase the New York Yankees for $2.8 million from the heirs of previous owner Jacob Ruppert. The new owners announce that Ed Barrow will remain in place as general manager, but a month later they will install MacPhail as GM. (1,2)
• 1949 - The Cleveland Indians reward player-manager Lou Boudreau with a two-year contract. The future Hall of Famer guided the team to the 1948 World Championship. (2)
• 1974 - Ray Kroc, fast-food entrepreneur (McDonald’s), buys the San Diego Padres for $12 million, ending talk of a possible move to Washington, DC. (2)
• 2014 - A brawl breaks out in Game 3 of the Venezuelan League finals. Robinson Chirinos of the Navegantes del Magallanes cracks a solo homer (his second of the day) off Mayckol Guaipe. Chirinos stands for a few seconds to admire the shot, which makes it 6 - 1 in the 6th. The next batter, Ezequiel Carrera, shows a bunt but is hit by Guaipe. The benches clear. Carlos Zambrano of Magallanes leads the charge from the Navegantes bench and takes swings at anyone in his way, though no one is injured. (2)
• 2015 - Rob Manfred takes over for Bud Selig as Commissioner of baseball. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Fred Glade, Jimmy Adair, Mel Roach, Jose Macias*, Dan Serafini.

Today in history:

• 41 - After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate.
• 1554 - Founding of the city of São Paulo in Brazil.
• 1840 - American naval expedition under Charles Wilkes is first to identify Antarctica as a new continent.
• 1877 - Congress establishes the Electoral Commission to determine the disputed presidential election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden.
• 1890 - Journalist Nellie Bly beats the fictitious journey of Jules Verne’s Phileas Fogg around the world by eight days (72 days).
• 1915 - Alexander Graham Bell in NY calls Thomas Watson in San Francisco. Transcontinental telephone service inaugurated.
• 1921 - Karel Čapek’s play “R.U.R.” premieres in Prague, introduces the word “robot”.
• 1971 - Charles Manson & three women followers convicted of Tate-LaBianca murders.
• 1995 - Chicago Blackhawks beat Edmonton Oilers, 5-1 in the first NHL game in their new home, the United Center; defenseman Chris Chelios leads scoring with a goal and two assists.

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.

Some of these items spread from site to site without being verified. That is exactly why we ask for reputable sources if you have differences with a posted factoid, so that we can address that to the originators and provide clarity if not ‘truth’. Nothing is posted here without at least one instance of corroboration. Thanks for reading.