1874 - At the fourth meeting of the Professional Association in Boston, the batter's box is officially adopted.It is also decided that expulsion will be the penalty for any player betting on his own team and any player betting on any other team will forfeit his pay or, in Shoeless Joe's and Pete Rose's case, get themselves banned for life from baseball and render themselves ineligible for the Hall of Fame. Nice going guys.
Pete just couldn't help himself from breaking a 115 year-old rule. Now he's signing crap in Vegas at Caesar's Palace for beer money. Oh, for Pete's sake.1899 - An attempt to expel the St. Louis Browns, who had a 39-111 record in 1898, fails by a 7 - 4 margin. St. Louis will play as the "Perfectos" in the upcoming season.
1927 - Babe Ruth
becomes the highest paid player in baseball history. The New York Yankees reward Ruth with a three-year contract worth an estimated $210,000. In 1926, Ruth led the American League in home runs and RBIs while batting .372.2005 - Thirty-two years after his death, Jackie Robinson receives the Congressional Gold Medal. He joins Roberto Clemente, Joe Louis and Jesse Owens as the only athletes among about 300 Gold Medal recipients.
