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This Day in Baseball History
February 3rd

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25 Fact(s) Found
1886 Former professional baseball player Albert Spalding begins a sporting goods company with $800. The future Hall of Famer will become the manufacturer of the first official baseball, adding tennis, basketball, golf, and football to his product line.
1938

The University of Illinois suspends Lou Boudreau for taking illegal payments from the Indians. The 19-year-old hoopster goes on to have a 15-year Hall of Fame baseball career in the big leagues as a player-manager for Cleveland and the Red Sox, and, as a broadcaster, he will be traded to the Cubs by radio station WGN to become the team's skipper.

1942 At a meeting to determine new guidelines necessitated by the US involvement in WWII, the major league owners vote to allow each club to play 14-night games, allocating the Senators 21 contests due to the many government workers in the Washington, DC Metro area. The regulation includes a provision that no inning will start after 12:50 am during the evening tilts.
1957 At a New York BBWAA meeting, Walter O'Malley passes a note to Cubs owner Phil Wrigley, who controls LA's territorial rights, offering Brooklyn's Texas League team in Fort Worth in return for the Cubs' Los Angeles PCL minor league franchise. The swap of farm teams will be announced on February 21st, clearing the Dodgers' path to move to the West Coast.
1961 Charlie Finley douses an old school bus bearing the sign "the Kansas City-to-New York shuttle" with gasoline and sets it on fire in the left field parking lot of Municipal Stadium. As the vehicle becomes engulfed in flames, the new owner of the A's tells reporters the stunt symbolizes the team's end of sending talented young players to the Yankees in exchange for major leaguers well past their prime, a practice deeply resented by the Kansas City fans.

1975 The special Veterans Committee selects second baseman Billy Herman (Cubs, Dodgers, Braves, and Pirates), skipper Bucky Harris (Senators, Tigers, Red Sox, Phillies, and Yankees), and outfielder Earl Averill (Indians, Tigers, and Braves) to the Hall of Fame. An outspoken Averill had informed his family about declining the honor if he was an inductee posthumously; fortunately, eight years before his passing, he will be enshrined in Cooperstown.
1977 The Hall of Fame's Special Committee on the Negro Leagues selects Cuban natives John Henry Lloyd and Martin Dihigo, previously acknowledged in Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, for their outstanding accomplishments that included playing all nine positions. Pop Lloyd ended his 27-year career with a batting average of .343 while building a reputation as the greatest shortstop in the history of the Negro Leagues.
1978 Under the financial reorganization of the club, FJ 'Steve' O'Neill, a lifelong resident of Cleveland, becomes the principal owner of the Indians. The trucking magnate was once a limited partner of the Tribe but sold his Indians' interest in the team in 1973 to become part of George Steinbrenner's syndicate that bought the Yankees.
1979 The Twins trade perennial All-Star and batting champ Rod Carew to the Angels for outfielders Ken Landreaux and Dave Engle and pitchers Paul Hartzell and Brad Havens. The future Hall of Famer will hit .314 during his seven seasons with the Halos.
1982 The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues suspends minor league catcher Angel Rodriguez for a year. The Alexandria backstop, who maintains his innocence, is penalized for tipping off opposing Latin American batters in Spanish of the upcoming pitch about to be thrown in Carolina League contests.
1987 The Expos trade top reliever Jeff Reardon and backstop Tom Nieto to the Twins for pitcher Neal Heaton, catcher Jeff Reed, and two minor leaguers. Minnesota's new closer will average nearly 35 saves each season during his three years with the club, including 42 during his All-Star campaign in 1988.
1989 The National League chooses Bill White as the circuit's president, replacing Bart Giamatti, leaving the post to become the baseball commissioner. The appointment makes the former major league first baseman and Yankee broadcaster the highest-ranking black executive in professional sports.
1993 Marge Schott is suspended for one year and fined $25,000 by a committee of her major-league peers for bringing "disrepute and embarrassment" to the national pastime. The 64-year-old will also be required to attend and complete multi-cultural sensitivity training programs due to the numerous racial and ethnic remarks she allegedly made as the Reds' owner.
1994 Jody Reed agrees to a minor-league contract for undisclosed terms with the Brewers after rejecting a three-year, $7.8 million offer to stay with the Dodgers. In November, LA pulled their proposal to the 31-year-old infielder, who will now attend spring training with Milwaukee as a non-roster player.
1998 The Yankees announce Brian Cashman will replace Bob Watson, who recently resigned as the team's general manager. During Watson's brief 2+ year tenure, the Bronx Bombers won their first World Series since 1978.
1999 The Mets tell a surprised Tim McCarver that he will not be returning to the team's broadcast booth. The franchise's pitching legend Tom Seaver, who was in the television booth for the Yankees from 1989 to 1993, will replace the highly regarded but outspoken 57-year-old broadcaster, who spent 16 years with the team doing local telecasts.
2002 Yankee catcher Jorge Posada (.277, 22, 95) signs a five-year, $51 million contract with a club option for a sixth season. The 30-year-old Bronx Bomber backstop, with an average annual value of more than $10 million, is the second-highest among major league catchers, trailing only the receiver Mike Piazza, who signed a seven-year, $91 million deal with the Mets in 1998 that averages $13 million annually.
2008 Eli Manning leads the Giants to an upset victory over the previously undefeated Patriots, making it the second consecutive year a Manning has been the quarterback for the victorious NFL Super Bowl team. Eli and Peyton, who QBs for the Indianapolis Colts, join a select group of brothers who have won world championship games in back-to-back years that include Livan (Marlins, 1997) and Orlando Hernandez (1998, Yankees), Irish (Giants, 1922), and Bob Meusel (Yankees, 1923), and Bubba (Colts, 1970) and Tody Smith (Cowboys, 1971).
2009 Oliver Perez agrees to a $36 million, three-year deal to stay with the Mets. The 29-year-old inconsistent southpaw, who has posted a 26-20 record with New York since being obtained from Pittsburgh during the 2006 season, will be part of the team's starting rotation.
2009 Garrett Atkins (.286, 21, 99) avoids arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Rockies. The 29-year-old third baseman's $7.05 million contract makes him the second-highest-paid player on the team, trailing only Todd Helton.
2009 Justin Verlander (11-17, 4.84) agrees to a one-year deal worth $3,675,000 to stay with the Tigers, a dramatic increase from last season. The 2006 AL Rookie of the Year's original five-year contract, which slated the right-hander for a $600,000 salary in 2009, could be terminated if he had enough service time to become eligible for arbitration.
2009 Rickie Weeks (.234, 14, 89) avoids arbitration with the Brewers, agreeing to a $2.45 million, one-year deal. The 26-year-old second baseman, who has been injury-prone over his first five seasons with the Brew Crew, can earn more with performance bonuses based on plate appearances.
2010 Casey Kotchman and the Mariners, who recently acquired the first baseman in a trade with Boston for Bill Hall, come to terms on a one-year deal worth $3,517,500. The 26-year-old slick-fielding infielder has not made an error in his last 1,584 chances, covering 185 games.
2011 Contending Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz enriched themselves with many years of profitable investing in the Ponzi Scheme while ignoring many warnings that the payoffs might have been fraudulent, victims Bernie Madoff name the Mets owners in a lawsuit. Speculation concerning the team's sale to meet the financial obligations caused by a possible $1 billion settlement has circulated in the sports and banking industries.
2012 The Cubs and Matt Garza avoid arbitration when they agree to a one-year, $9.5 million deal. The 28-year-old right-hander posted a 10-10 record and a 3.32 earned run average last year, his first season with the team.
25 Fact(s) Found