Early rules, Lou Gehrig Day, and other stories.
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:
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1884 – National League owners agree to provide two separate team benches to minimize fraternizing among opposing players during games. (2)
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1907 – A judgment of $52,000 is awarded to the Baltimore club from Brooklyn. When Baltimore left the National League in 1900, Brooklyn agreed to pay $40,000 for the franchise but never did. The award includes interest. (1,2)
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1943 – The woeful Philadelphia Phillies announce their new nickname – the Blue Jays. The winning entry in the contest was submitted by a Mrs. Elizabeth Crooks, and was chosen over a number of names ranging from Daisies to Stinkers. Team president Bob Carpenter says he hopes to have the farm system identified by the same blue color, with the Wilmington club called the Blue Rocks and possibly the new Bradford team as the Blue Wings. The Blue Jays will be the official team name in 1943 and 1944, but will be abandoned in 1945, though the team will still occasionally be referred to in newspaper accounts as the Blue Jays through 1949. Ms. Crooks wins a $100 war bond and a season ticket to the Blue Jays. (2)
Cubs Birthdays: Jim Korwan, Red Murray, Earl Tyree, Clyde McCullough, Dave Stevens*, Nick Castellanos. Also notable: Dazzy Vance HOF.
Today in history:
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852 – Croatian Duke Trpimir I issued a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
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938 – Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, the patron saint of the Czech state.
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1215 – King John of England makes an oath to the Pope as a crusader to gain the support of Innocent III.
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1461 – Edward Plantagenet lays claim to the throne of England as Edward IV in London.
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1791 – Vermont admitted as 14th state.
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1837 – Chicago becomes incorporated as a city.
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1902 – American Automobile Association (AAA) founded in Chicago.
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1936 – First flight of the airship Hindenburg at Friedrichshafen, Germany.
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1978 – Chicago Daily News, founded in 1876, publishes last issue.
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.
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