Hippo Vaughn re-ups and other stories. Happy birthday, Micah Bowie* and other former Cubs!
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:
- 1919 – Clark Griffith becomes a club owner and president when he joins Philadelphia grain broker William Richardson in buying controlling interest in the Washington Senators for $175,000. Griffith, unable to get financial help from the American League, mortgages his Montana ranch to raise funds. (2)
- 1930 – Veteran pitcher Hippo Vaughn is reinstated by Judge Landis after eight years of ineligibility. Vaughn, who had lost a double no-hitter duel to Fred Toney in the 1917 season, had jumped the Chicago Cubs in 1922. Vaughn chose to pitch for a semipro team following a salary dispute with Chicago. He will go to spring training with the Cubs in 1931 but will fail to make the team at age 43. (2)
- 1950 – After nine years at the helm, Cleveland fires their manager, Lou Boudreau, amid howls of fan protest. Although Boudreau’s overall winning percentage is a moderate .529, he won 92 games in a fourth-place finish – his best showing since 97 victories in the 1948 World Championship season. Al Lopez, who has piloted Minneapolis (American Association) since 1948, takes over with a two-year contract. (1,2)
- 1987 – In the closest vote in Cy Young Award history, Steve Bedrosian edges Rick Sutcliffe, 57-55, to win the National League honors. Bedrosian is the third relief pitcher ever to win the award in the NL. (1,2)
- 2003 – Florida Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Willis is the only player in either league named on every BBWAA ballot. (2)
Cubs Birthdays: Fred Roat, Willie McGill, Jim Cook, Carmen Mauro, Chick King, Mike Vail, Micah Bowie.
Today in History:
- 1630 – Failed palace revolution in France against Cardinal Richelieu.
- 1793 – France ends forced worship of God.
- 1871 – Henry Morton Stanley encounters David Livingstone at Ujiji, near Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa, with the immortal words ‘Dr Livingstone, I presume?’
- 1924 – Dion O’Banion, leader of the North Side Gang is assassinated in his flower shop by members of Johnny Torrio’s gang, sparking the bloody gang war of the 1920s in Chicago.
- 1940 – Walt Disney begins serving as an informer for the Los Angeles office of the FBI; his job is to report back information on alleged Hollywood subversives.
- 1969 – ”Sesame Street” premieres on PBS TV.
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.
- (6) — Wikipedia.
- (7) — The British Museum
- (8) — For world history.
*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.
