Baseball history unpacked, November 15

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:

• 1886 - In the first major league trade ever, the Cincinnati Red Stockings of the American Association deal rookie catcher Jack Boyle and $400 to the St. Louis Browns for outfielder Hugh Nicol. (2)
• 1888 - In Los Angeles, the All-Americans of Al Spalding beat Chicago, 7-4, in the final game on American soil of Chicago’s world tour. Spalding’s group now sets sail for Australia. (2)
• 1895 - Future Hall of Famer Cap Anson makes his stage debut in A Runaway Colt. Aside from forgetting a few lines, Anson does quite well. (2)
• 1945 - The rules are revised for election of modern players to the Hall of Fame. A runoff election is formulated as a way to qualify more players for selection, but it fails to meet its objective as no one reaches the 75 percent requirement in the runoff. Former players Frank Chance, Johnny Evers and Ed Walsh and former manager Miller Huggins come closest. (2)
• 1961 - For the second consecutive year, New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris is named American League Most Valuable Player. The new single-season home run record holder with 61 edges his teammate Mickey Mantle by four points, 202-198. Jim Gentile of the Baltimore Orioles finishes third with 157 points. (1,2)
• 1962 - The Chicago White Sox release 299-game winner Early Wynn, enabling him to deal with other clubs to reach the 300 career victory milestone. (2)
• 1995 - The Arizona Diamondbacks, who will not begin play until the 1998 season, sign Buck Showalter to a seven-year contract as manager. Showalter guided the New York Yankees to a wild card berth in 1995, but left the team after it lost its first-round playoff series. (2)
• 2005 - After months of deadlock, leaders of Major League Baseball and the players union reach an agreement to clean up a performance-enhancing drug scandal that has tarnished the nation’s pastime and left lawmakers worried about young athletes imitating the wrong role models. It will require baseball players to submit to several drug tests each year, during and between seasons, and will impose lengthy suspensions for steroid and amphetamine use. Repeat offenders can be banned for life. The agreement, which must be ratified by both the players and baseball owners, is similar to a proposal offered earlier this year by commissioner Bud Selig. (2)
• 2007 - Former All-Star Joe Nuxhall, the youngest major league player of the 20th Century at age 15, dies in Fairfield, Ohio. Nuxhall had served as a Cincinnati Reds broadcaster for many years after his career ended. (2)
• 2007 - Barry Bonds is arraigned on five counts of perjury and obstruction of justice for his involvement in the federal investigation of BALCO.

Cubs birthdays: Pete Childs, Pat Ragan, Mickey Livingston*.

Today in history:

• 1533 - Spanish expedition led by Francisco Pizarro captures the Inca capital of Cusco after defeating an Inca army led by General Quisquis.
• 1620 - Myles Standish leads 16 men in a foot exploration of the northern portion of Cape Cod.
• 1720 - Pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Read and Calico Jack are captured by Capt. Jonathan Barnet and brought to the Spanish Town of Jamaica, for trial.
• 1763 - Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon begin surveying Mason–Dixon line between Pennsylvania and Maryland.
• 1777 - Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, is approved by the Continental Congress.
• 1919 - US Senate first invokes the Cloture Rule to end a filibuster, passes Versailles Treaty.

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