What happened today in team history?
1987 – Kerfeld makes undoable promise
After Astros’ reliever Charlie Kerfeld made a promise to purchase 3,000 tickets per game for charity, the $1.6 million price tag makes him think otherwise. Only on a $110,000 salary, he retracts the promise, not purchasing any tickets.
What else happened on this day?
1892
The first meeting between the American Association and National leagues was held in New York. The first iteration of the joint league includes a 154-game schedule with two championship series.
1910
The commissioner prohibits teams from giving any type of mementos to its players or staff for winning a championship. This didn’t last long, making way for the tradition of a ring to be made for the championship team.
1967
Commissioner William Eckert approves of the BBWAA to split the Cy Young award into two, one for each league, rather than the traditional way of only giving out one award.
2010
The SABR, Society for American Baseball Research, announces the first nine winners to receive the Henry Chadwick award, given out to honor baseball researchers, historians, analysts, and statisticians.
2013
Recipients of this year’s Henry Chadwick award include famous baseball sportswriters like Fred Lieb, Francis Richter and the Hall of Fame’s official historian, John Thorn.