Baseball history unpacked, November 13

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:

• 1899 - The National League announces that, starting next season, there will be two umpires working each game. (2)
• 1951 - Lefty O’Doul’s All-Stars, including Joe DiMaggio, Ferris Fain and Billy Martin, lose 3 - 1 to a Pacific League All-Star team. This is only the second time since 1922 that an American professional team has lost to Japan, and the first time to professional players. (1,2)
• 1967 - Following a meeting of National League owners, president Warren Giles says the league will not stand in the way of American League expansion to Seattle and Kansas City. (1,2)
• 1984 - Ryne Sandberg wins the National League MVP Award, becoming the first Chicago Cubs player to do so since Ernie Banks in 1959. Sandberg hit .314 with 19 home runs and 32 stolen bases and led the NL in runs (114) and triples (19). (1,2)
• 1997 - Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies is named National League MVP, becoming the first Canadian in either league to win the honor. Walker, who hit .366 with 49 home runs and 130 RBI, caps off a big week for Canada. Earlier in the week, pitchers Roger Clemens of the Toronto Blue Jays and Pedro Martinez of the Montreal Expos each won the Cy Young Award. (1,2)
• 2017 - Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr passes away in Junction City, OR at the age of 99. He was the Oldest Living MLB Player and also the last surviving player to have played in the 1930s. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Johnny Kling, Bob Garbark, Steve Bilko, Wade Miley, Arodys Vizcaíno. Also notable: Buck O’Neil HOF.

Today in history:

• 1553 - English Lady Jane Grey and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer accused of high treason.
• 1841 - James Braid first sees a demonstration of animal magnetism, which leads to his study of the subject he eventually calls hypnosis.
• 1856 - The Great Bell of Big Ben first chimes at the foot of the still unfinished clock tower outside the Palace of Westminster.
• 1931 - Hattie Caraway appointed first US woman senator.
• 1971 - Mariner 9, first to orbit another planet (Mars).

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