On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.
“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.
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)
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)
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)
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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:
*pictured.
Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, so that we can help update the records and have documentation. Also, this is supposed to be fun.