Baseball history unpacked, November 3

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:

• 1881 - The American Association elects H.D. McKnight as its president. It votes to honor the National League blacklist in the case of drunkenness but not to abide by its reserve clause. The new league will rely on home gate receipts, visiting teams getting just a $65 guarantee on the road, as opposed to the NL’s policy of giving 15¢ from each admission to the visitors. The AA will allow Sunday games, liquor sales, and 25¢ tickets, all prohibited by the NL. (2)
• 1926 - Ty Cobb resigns as Tigers manager and announces his retirement from the game. Umpire and former Tigers infielder George Moriarty replaces him. Moriarty is the first man to hold baseball’s four principal jobs: player, umpire, scout, and manager. Cobb will sign a playing contract with the Philadelphia Athletics and will bat .357 during the 1927 season. (1,2)
• 1934 - Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees, who won the American League Triple Crown by hitting .363 with 49 home runs and 165 RBI still finishes well behind Philadelphia Athletics C Mickey Cochrane, who hit .320 with two home runs and 76 RBI, in the voting for AL Most Valuable Player. St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dizzy Dean, who posted a 30-7 record with 195 strikeouts and a 2.66 ERA, is chosen as National League MVP. (1,2)
• 1942 - Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams was the Triple Crown winner in the American League, but the Baseball Writers Association of America selects Joe Gordon as AL Most Valuable Player. Williams finished with a .356 average, 36 home runs and 137 RBI. Gordon of the New York Yankees led the AL in strikeouts (95), most ground balls hit into double plays (22) and the most errors at second base (28). St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Mort Cooper, who posted a 22-7 record with 152 strikeouts and a 1.78 ERA, gets the National League MVP honors. (1,2)
• 1953 - The baseball rules committee restores the 1939 sacrifice fly rule, which says a sac fly is not charged as a time at bat. (1,2)
• 1964 - Philadelphia voters approve a $25 million bond issue to build a new sport stadium. Due to cost overruns, a 1967 measure will be needed to authorize an additional $13 million, making Veterans Stadium one of the most expensive ballparks with a final cost of $50 million. (2)
• 1968 - St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Harry Caray is struck by a car while crossing a street in St. Louis, and he suffers two broken legs, a broken shoulder, and a broken nose. (2)
• 1970 - The Philadelphia Phillies trade OF Curt Flood to the Washington Senators for 1B Greg Goossen, OF Gene Martin, and P Jeff Terpko. In 1969, the Phillies had acquired Flood from the St. Louis Cardinals but had been unable to convince him to report to the team. In the meantime, Flood filed and lost a $4.1 million lawsuit against Major League Baseball. (2)
• 2011 - A week after throwing the ceremonial first pitch before Game 7 of the 2011 World Series, St. Louis Cardinals great Bob Forsch dies suddenly at 61. He is the third winningest pitcher in Cards history, with 163 wins, pitched two no-hitters for the team and played in three World Series, including the 1982 World Champions. (2)
• 2014 - The Cubs introduce new manager Joe Maddon* at a press conference. The former Rays skipper is in an optimistic mood, saying he thinks the last-place club is capable of making a playoff run next season. He will be proven right. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Jim McCormick, Ed Lennox, Bob Fisher, Fred Richards, Ken Holtzman, Danny Young, Jonathan Herrera, Ryan Tepera. Also notable: Bob Feller HOF.

Today in history:

• 1579 - Francis Drake arrives at Ternate in the East Indies and makes a trade treaty with the Sultan of Ternate, buys a cargo of cloves.
• 1883 - US Supreme Court decides federal courts have no jurisdiction over Native American tribal Council (Ex parte Crow Dog).
• 1896 - Martha Hughes Cannon of Utah elected 1st female state senator in the US.
• 1906 - International Radiotelegraph Conference in Berlin selects “SOS” (· · · – – – · · ·) distress signal as the worldwide standard for help.

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