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, Reed Johnson*! And other stories.

Today in baseball history:

• 1881 – The National League adopts a few new playing rules: the three-foot corridor along the first base line is adopted for the first time; runners can no longer be put out returning to their bases after a foul ball not caught; the fine for pitchers hitting batters with pitches is repealed; the “block ball” rule allowing runners to take as many bases as possible on balls going into the crowd, the fielding team being able to put them out only after returning the ball to the pitcher in his box, is also repealed. (2)

• 1914 – The National League votes to hold the 1915 player limit to 21 per team. They also create the disabled list (DL) which allows a player to be kept out of play for ten days and another player substituted for him. (2)

• 1939 – At the December meeting of both leagues in Cincinnati, Judge Landis votes against all amendments favorable to farm systems. The Rules committee, with an eye towards raising declining batting averages, votes to restore the sacrifice fly for 1940. Seven American League owners push through a new rule barring the American League champion from making any trades within the league. Clearly aimed at the Yankees, winners of the last four World Series, the National League owners decline to vote it for their league. (2)

• 1998 – The Cubs sign free agent C Benito Santiago. Following a car crash last January where he suffered mangled ligaments in his right knee‚ Santiago played just 15 games for the Blue Jays last season. In his last appearance at Wrigley Field‚ in 1996‚ Santiago hit three consecutive home runs. (2)

• 2008 – Greg Maddux announces his retirement. The four-time Cy Young Award winner set all-time records for putouts by a pitcher (546), double plays (98) and seasons with 15+ wins (18). He finishes with a record of 355-227 with a 3.16 ERA (132 ERA+) and ranks in the top ten all time in wins (8th) and starts (740, 4th). Maddux, like 354-game winner Roger Clemens, began his career while sportswriters were bemoaning the fact that no one would ever reach 300 wins again. (2)

• 2010 – 1B Carlos Pena inks a one-year deal with the Cubs. (2)

• 2017 – In one of the most anticipated signings of this off-season, P/DH Shohei Ohtani agrees to a deal with the Angels. Because he is not yet 25, international bonus rules apply to him, so the deal will be for a paltry $2.32 million and he will be paid the major league minimum salary his first season. The Angels will need to pay his former team, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, the $20 million posting fee, however. He will go on to win Rookie of the Year honors. (2)

• 2019 – The Veterans Committee elects C Ted Simmons and Players’ Union leader Marvin Miller to the Hall of Fame for induction in July, 2020. Miller had been passed over for election a number of times, and had asked that his name no longer be considered by the Committee before passing away in 2012, but his wishes were ignored. (2)

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Cubs Birthdays: Kid Camp, Reed Johnson*. Also notable: Mike Mussina HOF.

Today in History:

• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington’s retreating army crosses the Delaware River from New Jersey to Pennsylvania.

• 1863 – Abraham Lincoln issues his Amnesty Proclamation and plan for Reconstruction of the South.

• 1940 – National Football League Championship, Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.: Chicago Bears beat Washington Redskins, 73-0. It’s the most one-sided victory in NFL history and the first NFL title game broadcast on national radio.

• 1941 – US and Britain declare war on Japan, US enters World War II.

• 1980 – John Lennon is murdered in New York City.

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, to help correct the record.