For a record price of $10,000, the Cubs, then known as the White Stockings, sell current National League batting champ and future Hall of Famer Mike King Kelly to the Beaneaters. The popular box office draw, who will earn his nickname King while playing in Boston, will continue to be productive, hitting .311 for a three-year span during his first tenure with the team.

The Chicago White Stockings National League club sells King Kelly to the Boston Beaneaters for the unheard-of sum of $10,000. With the contract and bonus, Kelly is dubbed a “$15,000 Beauty.” Kelly, who is often credited with popularizing the hit-and-run, will win election to the Hall of Fame in 1945.

The National Colored Base Ball League, the first attempt at a professional Negro League, is organized at a meeting in Baltimore, MD. Eight clubs are represented: Lord Baltimores (Baltimore), Resolutes (Boston, MA), Browns (Cincinnati, OH), Falls City (Louisville, KY), Gorhams (New York, NY), Pythians (Philadelphia, PA), Keystones (Pittsburgh, PA) and Capital City Club (Washington, DC). Two weeks after being launched, the league will fail from lack of attendance.

New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies come up with an idea for a new style of uniform

A cork-centered ball is introduced, and the number of .300 hitters will jump from eight in 1910 to 27 this season in the American League. The league’s earned run average will go from from 2.53 to 3.34.

The Philadelphia Phillies come up with an idea for a new style of uniform – white flannels with thin vertical stripes -, an innovation that predates the famed New York Yankees pinstripes by four years.

1917 – Dave Fultz, president of the Players Fraternity, calls off a strike set to begin within the week. One of demands of the union is to abolish the ten-day clause, in which a team ceases to pay an injured player after he has been out of action for ten days. Organized Baseball officially severs relations with the union, leaving the players without representation.

major leagues agrees to allot $50,000 to develop a national championship program for amateur players

1928 – The MLB Advisory Council agrees to allot $50,000 to develop a national championship program for amateur players. The program will be run by the American Legion.

Cleveland Indians sign former Washington Senators star Sam Rice

1934 – The Cleveland Indians sign former Washington Senators 19-year outfielder Sam Rice to a contract for the upcoming season. He will bat .293 in 335 at-bats for the Indians, but will fall 13 hits shy of the 3,000 mark before retiring. Rice will win election to the Hall of Fame in 1963.

1941 – The entire Brooklyn Dodgers squad leaves New York to train in Havana, Cuba for most of the spring. Babe Phelps, a reluctant traveler and still unsigned, will leave the team in Miami, FL, rather than take a boat, and return to Maryland.

Bob Quinn gives up his post as general manager of the Boston Braves

Braves president Bob Quinn retires, with his son, John, becoming the team’s general manager of the team following his father’s departure. The former owner of the Red Sox and Braves, whose grandson will also become a major league GM, will serve as president of the Baseball Hall of Fame from 1948 to 1951, resigning from the position after suffering two strokes.

1945 – Bob Quinn gives up his post as general manager of the Boston Braves, allowing his son, John, to take over. The elder Quinn, a veteran of baseball employment since 1900, had served the Braves as president and general manager off and on since 1924.

1948 – Right-handed pitcher Mordecai Brown dies in Terre Haute, Indiana, at the age of 71. Despite losing part of two fingers on his right hand in a childhoods farm accident, Brown won 239 games during a 14-year Hall of Fame career.

three fingers brown

Hall of Fame pitcher Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown dies at the age of 71

1952 – The St. Louis Browns pick up 1B Dick Kryhoski and Ps Gene Bearden and Bob Cain from the Detroit Tigers. Detroit receives C Matt Batts, OF Cliff Mapes, P Dick Littlefield, and 1B Ben Taylor.

10 years after Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the major league color barrier, the Georgia Senate unanimously approves a bill prohibiting blacks from playing baseball

“Anything that tends to break down the bulwarks of segregation must be forcibly met by this general assembly. We have a situation in Georgia which has come about because of a national situation. I am referring to the Negroes in organized baseball in this state. It is unfortunate that some few people would participate in the destruction of our institutions for a few dollars.” – GEORGIA STATE SENATOR LEON BUTTS, commenting on his bill that prohibits blacks from playing baseball with whites.Ten years after the integration of major league baseball, the Georgia Senate unanimously approves Leon Butts’ bill barring that prohibits blacks from playing baseball with whites except at religious gatherings. The Lumpkin legislator’s measures, which carries fines up to a $1000 and imprisonment for 60 days to a year for committing the misdemeanor, will directly impact the minor league spring training centers of the Braves and Cardinals, whose farmhands workout, respectively, in Waycross and Albany.

1957 – Some 10 years after Jackie Robinson broke the major league color barrier, the Georgia Senate unanimously approves a bill prohibiting blacks from playing baseball with white players, except at religious gatherings. The bill was put forth by Senator Leon Butts. At the time, Georgia does not have a major league team, but does have several minor league teams.

1959 – The Baltimore Orioles purchase veteran 1B Whitey Lockman from the San Francisco Giants, but will trade him to the Cincinnati Redlegs in June for 1B Walt Dropo.

1976 – The Atlanta Braves send Valentine’s Day cards to their season-ticket holders and the media. The Braves finished in fifth place in 1975, 40 1/2 games behind the Cincinnati Reds. Atlanta will finish this season in last place, 32 games behind Cincinnati, but they are first in rhyming. Their card reads: “Rose is a Red Morgan’s one, too. They finished first, Like we wanted to. But last year’s behind us; We’re happy to say. Now we’re tied for first, Happy Valentine’s Day.”

1996 – Kevin McClatchy and his group of investors purchase the Pirates from the Pittsburgh Associates.

The Ford C. Frick Award, named in memory of the former baseball commissioner who was a broadcaster, will be given to the Marlins’ radio announcer Rafael Ramirez during Hall of Fame induction ceremonies this summer. ‘Felo,’ who began his 56-year career broadcasting games in Cuba, has been in the Miami broadcast booth since the team’s inaugural season in 1993.

According to the Detroit Free Press, major league baseball is informing umpires to remove pitchers without issuing a warning who deliberately throw a beanball at a batter’s head from the game. The crackdown, according to officials, is a clarification and reinforcement of an existing rule.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Major League Baseball is informing umpires to remove pitchers from the game, without warning, who deliberately throw a beanball at a batter’s head. The crackdown, according to officials, is a clarification and reinforcement of an existing rule.

The Ford C. Frick Award, named in memory of the former commissioner who also was a broadcaster, will be given to Florida Marlins radio announcer Felo Ramirez during Hall of Fame induction ceremonies this summer. Ramirez, who began his 56-year career broadcasting games in Cuba, has been in the Miami broadcast booth since the team’s inaugural season in 1993.

The Detroit Tigers sign Dmitri Young, who hit .302 with 21 home runs for Cincinnati last season, to a four-year contract. Detroit traded outfielder Juan Encarnación and minor leaguer Luis Pineda in December to acquire the 1B/OF.

2003 – After much speculation, the Chunichi Dragons return Kevin Millar to the Marlins for an undisclosed amount of money for relinquishing its rights. After reconsidering an offer from the Boston Red Sox, Millar had a change of heart and does not want to play for the Japanese Central League team.

2005 – The Minnesota Twins sign Johan Santana, who was eligible for arbitration, to a four-year deal. In 2004, the 25-year-old lefthander became the first Venezuelan pitcher to win the Cy Young Award.

According to an attorney, Anaheim City officials plan to ask a judge to order the Angels to drop “Los Angeles” from their name despite last week’s jury ruling that the team did not breach a contract by calling itself the “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim”.

Adam Dunn avoids arbitration by signing a two-year, $18 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds.

Orel Hershiser is rejoining ESPN and will be a studio analyst for the network this season.

For the first time at Wrigley Field, the Cubs will allow ads on the green doors located in the ivy in the left- and right-field bleachers, according to Jay Blunk, director of marketing and sales. Although the team has been approached by other companies, Under Armour, whose company spokesman is newly acquired outfielder Alfonso Soriano, is the “right fit” for the 7-by-12 foot signage featuring the performance apparel’s signature logo.

2012 – The White Sox sign free agent OF Kosuke Fukudome to a one-year contract.

2016 – Australia wins the first of the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, needing to come back twice against South Africa. The final 12 – 5 score is somewhat deceptive as it was 6 – 5 going into the bottom of the 8th. Peter Moylan gets the win and Ryan Searle the save while Trent Oeltjen (3 for 4, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Trent D’Antonio (2 H, 2 BB, 3 RBI) lead the offense and Brad Harman and Allan de San Miguel both homer. Callan Pearce takes the loss for South Africa, while Kyle Botha hits a three-run homer and Gift Ngoepe also goes yard.

2017 – As pitchers and catchers begin to report for spring training, the Cardinals get some bad news: top pitching prospect Alex Reyes is diagnosed with a complete tear of his ulnar collateral ligament and will require Tommy John surgery, putting him out of action for the entire season. It’s also a loss for the Dominican Republic national team, which was counting on Reyes for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Former All-Star pitcher Esteban Loaiza appears before a court in San Diego, CA facing charges of possession and transportation of over 10 pounds of narcotics and using a false compartment to smuggle drugs. The charges stem from a traffic stop on February 9th, when police discovered the modification to the van he was driving, and obtained a search warrant to his home in Imperial Beach, CA, where approximately 40 pounds of what appears to be cocaine was seized. Loaiza pleads not guilty and is released after posting a $250,000 bail.

One of the worst school shootings in U.S. history takes place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, resulting in the deaths of 16 persons and numerous others wounded. One of the school’s most famous alumni, 1B Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs, rushes to his alma mater to attempt to provide comfort to survivors.

2017 – Pitchers and catchers report to their still-unfinished new spring home in West Palm Beach, FL, dubbed “The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches”. The facility is shared with the Washington Nationals as part of the new wave of paired spring training camps. 

1984 – Houston signs infielder Enos Cabell, back from Detroit, as a free agent. A popular Astro during his six seasons (1975-1980) which he spent mostly as a third baseman, Cabell becomes the regular first baseman and bats .310 with eight homers. He is dealt to the Dodgers early in the 1985 season. 

1951 – Larry Milbourne is born in Port Norris, NJ. The reserve infielder hits .245 during three seasons in Houston (1974-1976) and manages to last another nine years in the majors. It’s interesting to note that someone nicknamed “The Devil” was born on St. Valentine’s Day.