This Day in Baseball History - February 14th
1887 - For a record price of $10,000, the Cubs, then known as the White Stockings, sell future current NL batting champ and future Hall of Famer Mike 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.
1928 - The American Legion baseball program, on the brink of bankruptcy, receives a pledge of $50,000 from Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis and the MLB Advisory Council to continue its development a national championship program for teenagers. With the much-needed funding, Legion Baseball will continue in 1928, and the following season, teams from every state and the District of Columbia will participate in the youth tournament.
1934 - After playing 19 years with the Senators, Sam Rice ends his career playing one season with the Indians. He will amass 2,987 career hits in his two decades as a player.
1957 - Ten years after the integration of major league baseball, the Georgia Senate unanimously approves a bill which prohibits blacks from playing baseball with whites except at religious gatherings. Less than a decade later, the Braves will move its franchise from Milwaukee to Atlanta, the state's capital.
1996 - Kevin McClatchy and his group of investors purchase the Pirates from the Pittsburgh Associates. The deal includes the condition of having to build a baseball-only ballpark in Pittsburgh within five years.
2001 - 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.
2002 - The Tigers sign Dmitri Young (.302, 21, 69) to a four-year contract with two team options. The Tigers traded outfielder Juan Encarnacion (.242, 12, 52) and minor league right hander Luis Pineda in December to acquire the first baseman/outfielder from the Reds.
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 Red Sox, the outfielder had a change of heart and didn't want to play for the Japanese Central League team.
2005 - The Twins sign Johan Santana (20-6, 2.61), who was eligible for arbitration, to a four-year deal. Last season, the 25-year-old southpaw became the first Venezuelan to win the Cy Young Award.
2007 - For first time at Wrigley Field, the Cubs will allow ads on the green doors which are 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.