Bid McPhee‚ 2B for the Reds for 18 years‚ retires. ending a career equaled in the 19th century only by Buck Ewing and Cap Anson. His lifetime record of 6‚545 putouts is still untopped. McPhee is the last position player to go gloveless.
On March 6, 1900 Lefty Grove. Grove was born in Lonaconing, Maryland, one of eight children of John Robert Grove and Emma Catherine Beeman. He was from a family of coal miners. Grove was a sandlot star in the Baltimore area during the 1910s. Grove didn’t play organized baseball until he was 19…
1900 – John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson sign contracts with the Baltimore Orioles of the National League. When the long-rumored move by Baltimore to disband occurs, the two players are assigned to the Brooklyn Superbas, but they will refuse and sit out the first third of the season instead. Finally, McGraw and Robinson are sold to the St. Louis Cardinals.
1900 – Washington sells eight players, including home run king Buck Freeman and P Bill Dinneen going to Boston, then disbands. Baltimore players are to be transferred to the Brooklyn Superbas and syndicate baseball will be ended.
Baltimore Orioles sell three of their stars – third baseman John McGraw, catcher Wilbert Robinson, and infielder Bill Keister
On January 24, 1900, officials from the National League hold a secret meeting in Cleveland. Members of the so-called “Reduction Committee” discuss contracting as many as four franchises – Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville and Washington – from the league.
1900 – Boston Beaneaters catcher Marty Bergen kills his wife and two children with an axe, then takes his own life. He was reportedly depressed by his son’s death the previous April, and had suffered symptoms of mental illness for several years. Billy Hamilton is the only Boston player to attend the backstop’s funeral.
1899 – The fledging American League owners meet to map a strategy against the established National League. They agree to place a team in Chicago with Charles Comiskey as the owner-manager of the franchise.
1899 – Chicago Orphans star outfielder Bill Lange returns to San Francisco, CA and vows he will never appear on the diamond again. He is only 28 and hit .325 this season.
1899 – Henry Chadwick, called the “Father of Baseball”, visits US President William McKinley in Washington, DC, to propose that Army regiments be provided with baseball equipment. This is Chadwick’s first presidential interview since his visit with President Abraham Lincoln in 1861.
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