1979 – Major League Baseball umpires meet in Chicago, IL and vote 50-2 to reject new offers from the American and National leagues. They will be on strike when the season starts in a few days.
On March 29, 1979, former Negro leagues and Cleveland Indians star Luke Easter is murdered at the age of 63 in Euclid, Ohio. Easter starred for the Homestead Grays and several minor league teams before arriving in the major leagues at age 34. Game ticket & learn more about the players, teams, stadiums and dates…
1979 – The San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants announce that the 1980 exhibition series between the two teams will be played in Tokyo, Japan. Nevertheless, Giants owner Bob Lurie leaves the decision up to his players, who reject the agreement.
Fearing legal consequences, Bowie Kuhn gives access to female reporters to enter major league locker rooms. The commissioner’s unpopular ruling puts the players in an awkward position in their once all-male domain.
At spring training, exhibition season opens with semi-pro and amateur umpires in place of major league arbiters, who are staging a collective holdout which won’t be resolved until a few weeks into the season.
Hack Wilson and Warren Giles are elected to the Hall of Fame On March 7, 1979, Slugging outfielder Hack Wilson and longtime executive Warren Giles are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Wilson, who had a relatively short career, won four National League home run titles while with the Chicago Cubs. His most productive season came in 1930, when he set an…
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