1911 – Matthew Stanley Robison, president of the Cardinals, dies unexpectedly. He leaves the club and the bulk of his estate to his niece, Mrs. Helene Hathaway Britton, the first female owner of a major league club.
1933 – Babe Ruth, another victim of the Depression, takes a pay cut of $23,000 from his previous salary of $75,000.
1952 – During Spring Training, Cardinal prospect Bob Slaybaugh was hit in the left eye with a line drive pitch and subsequently lost the eye. The young pitcher returned to the mound in 1953 and again in 1954 before he retired from professional baseball.
1961 – The New York State Senate approves $55 million for a new baseball stadium at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens.
1961 – Houston holds their first rookie camp in Jacksonville, FL. Farm director Bobby Bragan conducts the camp for young players under contract with the newly-named Colt .45s. In 1985, Bragan’s brother, Peter Bragan Sr., purchases the Jacksonville Suns.
1982 – Fernando Valenzuela ends his holdout and reports to the Dodgers spring training camp in Vero Beach, Florida. After earning just $42,500 as the winner of the N.L. Cy Young and Rookie of the Year Awards in 1981, the 21-year-old lefthander had asked for a raise to $1 million in 1982. The Dodgers unilaterally renewed his contract for a reported $350,000 instead.
1984 – The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee agrees to stage a six-team exhibition baseball tournament as part of the 1984 Summer Olympics to be held in Los Angeles.
