<< Yesterday

This Day in Baseball History
January 8th

Tomorrow>>
28 Fact(s) Found
1898 National League president Nick Young, a Civil War veteran, announces the more experienced umpire will stay behind the plate with the institution of the new two-umpire system. Previously, the lone arbitrator would move away from home and stand behind the pitcher when a runner occupied a base.
1913 Frank Chance, a strong disciplinarian, becomes the manager of a weak Highlander team. The former Cubs' skipper, who compiled a .664 winning percentage during his eight seasons in the Chicago dugout, will finish next to last place (57-94) and compiles a 117-168 record during his two-year stint in New York.


Yankee manager Frank Chance (1913)
Library of Congress - George Grantham Bain Collection
1916 James E. Gaffney sells the Boston Braves for $500,000 to Percy Haughton, Harvard's head baseball coach, and businessman Arthur Chamberlin Wise, who will raise $600,000 to build Fenway Park. The former owner, a Tammany Hall alderman and construction contractor who bought the team in 1913 for $187,000, recently gained notoriety as a target of Hennessy and Whitman's investigations into political graft.
1944 Bill Terry announces his retirement from baseball and will work as a cotton trader for five years before moving to Jacksonville (FL) to open up a large Buick car dealership. The former Giants star and skipper, who turns down an offer to manage the Dodgers in 1953, citing the loss of personal income, will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame the following season.
1953 The Indians ban night games with the Browns due to Bill Veeck's refusal to share telecast receipts with visiting clubs. The St. Louis owner did not allow opponents to broadcast away games against his team when other American League owners vetoed his proposal to share the radio and television revenue.
1956 The National Association awards Dodgers' second baseman Jackie Robinson the prestigious Spingarn Medal for the Advancement of Colored People for his strong support of civil rights initiatives. Last year, the NAACP honored Martin Luther King Jr., best known for promoting nonviolent civil disobedience to secure equal rights for all Americans.


Spingarn Medal for the
Advancement of Colored People

1976 The Giants announce they plan to sell the team for $13.25 million to a group in Toronto, headed by the Labatt Breweries, pending the approval of the nine other 11 national League clubs. When reacting to his constituents' outrage, San Francisco mayor George Moscone will file a $10 million lawsuit to keep the club playing in the City by the Bay.
1981 With Larry Biittner, the Reds became the last big league team to sign a free agent. The team's first attempt into free agency, which has been an option of signing major leaguers since 1976, does not go well when the 35-year-old first baseman/outfielder bats only .213 during his first of two seasons with Cincinnati.
1986 Willie McCovey becomes the 16th player elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. The slugging first baseman, who smashed 521 home runs and collected 1,555 RBIs, spent most of his 22-year major league career with the Giants.
1990 Johnny Sylvester, the terminally ill young boy whom Babe Ruth promised to hit a home run for in the 1926 World Series, dies at 74. Although the Yankee slugger homers against the Cardinals at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis and the 11-year-old youngster recovers from his undetermined illness, the accounts of the incident, especially as shown in the movie, The Babe Ruth Story, have proven to be more romantic than accurate.

1991 Right-handers Gaylord Perry, who won 314 games, 1971 Cy Young Award recipient Fergie Jenkins, and All-Star infielder Rod Carew, the 16th member of the 3,000-hit club, are elected into the Hall of Fame. None of the three players selected by the baseball writers have ever appeared in a World Series.
1995 Mike Schmidt, a power-hitting third baseman with 548 homers, is elected in his first year of eligibility to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA after being named on 95.6% of the ballots cast. The two-time Most Valuable Player spent his 18-year major league career with the Phillies, tearfully retiring from the club during the 1989 season.
1996 For the first time since 1971, the writers do not elect any new Hall of Famers. Phil Niekro, a knuckleballer who spent most of his career with the Braves, comes the closest with 68 percent of the writers' votes but falls short of the 75 percent needed for selection.
2001 Harold Baines, only 145 hits shy of reaching 3,000, agrees to a minor league contract with the White Sox. The 41-year-old outfielder, a veteran of 21 seasons, will fall short of his goal, collecting only 11 hits in 94 at-bats with the Pale Hose before calling it a career.
2001 The Royals, A's, and Devil Rays participate in a nine-player trade, resulting in outfielders Johnny Damon and Ben Grieve and reliever Roberto Hernandez on new teams. The swap sends Damon from Kansas City to Oakland, Grieve going from Oakland to Tampa Bay, and Hernandez moving from Tampa Bay to Kansas City.
2002 Turning down the Mets' offer worth a million dollars more with no money deferred, Juan Gonzalez agrees to a $24 million, two-year deal with the Rangers, which includes $10.5 million in deferred payments. The outfielder, who prefers to stay in the American League, established franchise records in Texas for home runs, RBIs, total bases, and extra-base hits while playing for the club from 1989-1999.
2002 Ozzie Smith, a 15-time All-Star shortstop, becomes the 32nd player elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Dubbed the 'Wizard of Oz' for his remarkable defensive abilities, Osborne Earl Smith won 13 Gold Glove Awards during his 19-year career with the Padres and Cardinals.

2004 Don Zimmer, who recently resigned as the Yankees' bench coach, has been named a Senior Baseball Advisor for the Devil Rays. In addition to assisting the team in community affairs, the 50-year veteran of the game will be in uniform as a coach during Spring Training and for pregame practices at all regular-season home games and most road games.
2005 Free-agent hurler Kevin Millwood (9-6, 4.85) signs a one-year contract with the Indians. The 30-year-old starter missed most of the season's last two months with the Phillies due to acute tendonitis in his right elbow.
2005 After ending a 17-year Fall Classic drought, the Cardinals agree on a three-year contract extension with the Redbirds skipper Tony La Russa. This year, the 60-year-old manager piloted the team to 105 wins and has made the postseason in five of his nine seasons with St. Louis.
2008 The election of Goose Gossage to the Hall of Fame comes on his ninth year on the BBWAA's ballot when he is the only player to receive 75 percent or more of the writers' votes (85.8) needed for induction. During the right-hander's 22-year career, most notably with the Yankees, the reliever compiled a 124-107 record and saved 310 games while posting a 3.01 ERA.
2008 Marcus Giles (.229, 4, 39), after a disappointing season with the Padres, agrees to a minor league deal with the Rockies. In 2003, Dusty Baker selected the 29-year-old second baseman to be a reserve on the All-Star squad, representing the Braves.
2009 After piloting the Angels to 100 regular-season victories last year and its fourth AL West Division title in the past five years, Mike Scioscia agrees to a contract extension to manage the team through the 2018 season. During his nine-year tenure with the Halos, the former catcher has compiled an 803-655 record (.557) and captured the franchise's lone World Championship in 2002.
2010 After a solid debut season in Seattle, Franklin Gutierrez (.283, 18, 70) finalizes a $20.5 million, four-year deal to stay with the Mariners. Many consider the 26-year-old Venezuelan center fielder one of the best defensive outfielders in the American League.
2010 Scott Podsednik comes to terms with the Royals on a $1.75 million, one-year incentive-laden free-agent contract. The 33-year-old fleet outfielder batted .304 and stole 30 bases for the White Sox last season after being released by the Rockies at the end of spring training.
2014 In his second year of eligibility, Craig Biggio misses election into the Hall of Fame by two votes on the BBWAA's ballots, tying a dubious record shared by Nellie Fox (1985) and Pie Traynor (1947) for missing enshrinement by the smallest margin (74.8%) needed to be selected. The candidacy of the former Astros' standout, who collected more than 3,000 hits in his 15-year career, has been hurt by rumors that he may have used steroids, having never failed a test and not being implicated in the Mitchell Report or any other investigation.
2014 President Obama, a diehard White Sox Fan, calls Frank Thomas to congratulate the slugger on his first-ballot election to the Hall of Fame. The 'Big Hurt' shares the news of his conversation with the Commander-in-Chief during an afternoon press conference at U.S. Cellular Field after tweeting to his fans, "What a day!! First HOF and Second, Our Wonderful President Of The United States Called Me!!! #LifeMadeHOF2014" @TheBigHurt_35.

2014 Hurlers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, best remembered for their dominance with the Braves, and White Sox slugging first baseman Frank Thomas are elected to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. The trio of selections marks the first time the BBWAA has voted in three players since 1999 when Nolan Ryan, George Brett, and Robin Yount got their nod for Cooperstown.
28 Fact(s) Found