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.
Kiki Cuyler* makes the Hall, and other stories.
Today in baseball history:
1888 – In Chicago, IL, 350 fans brave the weather to watch a baseball game on ice at Lincoln Park. Second baseman Fred Pfeffer of the Chicago White Stockings plays wearing a top hat. After two hours and five innings of play, the game is called. The “Spaldings” defeat the “North-Siders,” 7-6. (2)
1890 – In the first of many lawsuits filed against Players League members by their former teams, a judge refuses to grant an injunction against John Ward, president of the Brotherhood. His decision, echoed frequently by other judges, states that the “want of fairness and mutuality” in the standard National League contract, specifically the clauses relating to the reserve rule, “[is] apparent.” (2)
1953 – Fred Saigh is found guilty of income tax evasion and is sentenced to a fifteen-month jail term, but will serve only five months at the federal prison in Terre Haute before being given parole for good behavior. The embattled Cardinal owner, under pressure of his franchise being taken away by MLB, puts in place a lucrative deal with a consortium that plans to move the team to Houston, but is persuaded to sell the team for less ($3.5 million) to Gussie Busch, when the Anheuser-Busch president persuades him that civic pride was more important than financial gain. (2)
1958 – Roy Campanella, driving home from his liquor store in Harlem, breaks his neck when his rented 1957 Chevrolet sedan hit a telephone pole in an early morning auto accident on Long Island. The 36-year-old Dodger catcher, who has won three MVP awards (1951, ‘53, ‘55) will remain paralyzed for the rest of his life. (2)
1968 – Goose Goslin, a former Senator and Tiger outfielder who retired with a career .316 batting average after playing in five World Series, and Kiki Cuyler*, a .321 career hitter who won four stolen base crowns for the Pirates and Cubs, are elected into the Hall of Fame by a unanimous vote of the Veterans Committee. Goslin believed his enshrinement in Cooperstown was helped by his interview that was shared in Lawrence Ritter’s 1966 book, The Glory of Their Times: The Story Of The Early Days Of Baseball Told By The Men Who Played It. (I recommend this book) (1,2)
1980 – Hank Aaron refuses an award from Commissioner Bowie Kuhn honoring him for hitting his 715th home run. Aaron charges that baseball’s treatment of retired black ballplayers falls far short of what is needed. (1,2)
2009 – Aaron Heilman is traded for the second time this offseason when the Mariners swap the 30-year-old right-hander to the Cubs for utility infielder Ronny Cedeno and southpaw Garrett Olson. Seven weeks ago, the Mets dealt the much-maligned reliever to Seattle as part of a three-team trade that included the Indians. (2)
2013 – The Los Angeles Dodgers announce the launch of SportsNet LA, their own regional sports network on Time Warner Cable. The deal is a prelude to a long-rumored $7 billion deal that will award Time Warner broadcast rights for Dodger games for the next 25 years. However, the Commissioner’s office is concerned about the proposed deal, as its annual value is well above that used for revenue sharing purposes, which will result in the Dodgers pocketing a huge financial windfall if no adjustments are made. (2)
Cubs Birthdays: Bob Muncrief, Wesley Wright. Also notable: George Wright HoF.
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Today in History:
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1521 – Emperor Charles V opens the Diet of Worms in Worms, Germany which lasts until May 25th; Produced the “Edict of Worms” which denounced Martin Luther
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1807 – London’s Pall Mall is the first street lit by gaslight
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1813 – Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” is published by Thomas Egerton in the United Kingdom
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1985 – The charity single “We Are the World” is recorded by supergroup USA for Africa (Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and other pop stars)
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2017 – Australian Open Women’s Tennis: Serena Williams defeats older sister Venus Williams 6–4, 6–4 for her 7th Australian title and record 23rd Grand Slam event singles victory.
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, in order to help correct the record.
