Baseball history unpacked, February 1

Feb 1, 2023 - 12:00 PM

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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:

• 1913 - Olympic hero Jim Thorpe signs with the New York Giants of the National League. (2)
• 1914 - An exhibition game involving major league teams takes place in Cairo, Egypt. The game is part of a special 56-game world tour. The Chicago White Sox and New York Giants play to a 10-inning, 3-3 tie. (2)
• 1926 - The New York Yankees sell first baseman Wally Pipp to the Cincinnati Reds. In 1925, an injury forced Pipp out of the Yankees lineup, resulting in his permanent replacement by future Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig. (2)
• 1928 - Former standout Hughie Jennings dies at the age of 58. The future Hall of Famer batted .311 over a 17-year career, including a career-high .401 in 1896. Jennings also managed the Detroit Tigers to three consecutive American League pennants from 1907 through 1909. (2)
• 1947 - Commissioner Happy Chandler announces the creation of a pension plan for major league players. Players who have accumulated five seasons in the major leagues will receive $50 a month starting at the age of 50. For each year of additional service, a player will receive an extra $10 per month, up to a maximum of $100. (2)
• 1962 - The National League releases its first 162-game schedule. (1,2)
• 1965 - The National League clubs adopt an emergency team replacement plan to restock any club struck by disaster. (1,2)
• 1976 - East Lansing police arrest Dodgers reliever Mike Marshall for disobeying the orders set by the Michigan State University police prohibiting him from taking batting practice. MSU feared he would hit balls too far and injure students on an adjacent tennis court. Marshall protests that it is against his rights as an MSU instructor and files a lawsuit against the school. (1)
• 1995 - Talks resume between the major league owners and the Players’ Association in attempt to resolve the on-going strike. The owners agree to drop their demand for a salary cap, replacing it with a proposal for a luxury tax. (2)
• 2021 - Major League Baseball announces that the Players Association has rejected its proposal to delay the start of both spring training and the regular season by one month, reducing the season to 154 games, for health and safety reasons. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Lew Brown, Walt Golvin, Carl Reynolds, Vince Barton, Eddie Zambrano, Kent Mercker, Phil Norton, Austin Jackson, Brett Anderson*.

Today in history:

• 1327 - Edward III is crowned King of England aged 14, though the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
• 1788 - First US steamboat patent issued, by Georgia to Briggs & Longstreet.
• 1809 - Dutch King Louis Napoleon accepts metric system.
• 1865 - US President Abraham Lincoln signs 13th Amendment of US Constitution, abolishing slavery in US; celebrated as National Freedom Day,
• 1940 - NBC performs the first inter-city television broadcast from its station in New York City to another in Schenectady, New York by General Electric relay antennas.
• 1965 - Martin Luther King Jr. and 700 demonstrators arrested in Selma, Alabama.

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. Thanks for reading.