Chicago Cubs history unpacked — December 29

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.

Happy birthday to Kevin Hart* and other former Cubs.You think you have tribbles?

Today in baseball history:

• 1890 – In the Players League, after the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Burghers clubs combine with their National League rivals, Al Spalding buys out Chicago’s PL backer, John Addison, for $18,000, some of which goes to pay off unpaid salaries and reimburse players half of their investments. Spalding gets the club’s grandstand, equipment, and player contracts. (2)
• 1917 – The Philadelphia Phillies pick up slugger Cy Williams from the Chicago Cubs for Dode Paskert. Williams will win three home run titles with Philadelphia to give him four for his career. (2)
• 1933 – New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert refuses to release Babe Ruth from his contract, thus preventing him from becoming the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Ruth will never receive another chance to manage a major league team. (1,2)
• 1969 – The New York Times reports that former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood will sue Major League Baseball over the reserve clause, which perpetually binds players to their teams. Flood is objecting to being traded from the Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies without his consent. (1,2)
• 1977 – Melissa Ludtke, female Sports Illustrated sports writer, files suit against Major League Baseball, the Yankees and New York City officials for denying her access to the locker room to interview players during the 1977 World Series. (2)
• 2021 – At a New Year’s Eve party, Iowa Cubs owner Michael Gartner surprises the team’s 23 permanent employees by handing each of them a share from the $600,000 profit from the recent sale of the team to Endeavor Group Holdings. Each employee receives an average of $70,000, based on the length of their service with the organization. (2)
• 2022 – The Cubs sign free agent catcher Tucker Barnhart to a two-year deal as a potential replacement for Willson Contreras, who left via free agency earlier in the off-season. (2)

Cubs Birthdays:  John Upham, Ken Rudolph, Kevin Hart*.

Today in History:

• 1170 – English Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket assassinated before the high altar of Canterbury Cathedral by four knights.
• 1566 – Danish student and future astronomer Tycho Brahe loses part of his nose in a sword duel over who is the better mathematician (he wore a prosthetic nose the rest of his life).
• 1845 – Texas admitted as the 28th state of the Union.
• 1862 – Bowling ball invented. (This was the old wooden model. The plastic model was introduced later).
• 1911 – Sun Yat-sen elected first President of the Republic of China.
• 1965 – CBS purchases NFL TV rights for 1966-68 at $18.8 million per year.
• 1967 – Star Trek’s “The Trouble With Tribbles” first airs.

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, in order to help correct the record.