This day in history - July 31, 1981: A 42-day Major League Baseball strike ends

By Richard K. Barry

Now that the football lockout is over, I was just thinking about other memorable labor issues, past and present, in professional sports.

In fact, the 1981 baseball strike was the fifth work stoppage in Major League Baseball (MLB) since the 1972 baseball strike. The 1981 strike forced the cancellation of 713 games, which accounted for 38 percent of the MLB schedule.

And who could forget the 1994-95 baseball strike, which was the eighth stoppage in MLB history. This one was a 232-day strike, which lasted from August 12, 1994 to April 2, 1995, and led to the cancellation of between 931 and 948 games, including the entire 1994 postseason and World Series.

I was going to list all strikes and lockouts for MLB, the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL), but I counted 17 and just don't have the patience. If you're interested, you can find the info here.

And if you follow round ball you know that the NBA is currently in a lockout situation, which is now going into Day 28, and guess what else? The Collective Bargaining Agreements for MLB and the NHL expire on Dec. 11, 2011 and Sept. 15, 2012, respectively.

As I have said elsewhere, I don't begrudge players fighting for better deals, but, as a fan, I hate to see the games get damaged.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in history - July 16, 1941: Joe DiMaggio hits safely for the 56th consecutive game

By Richard K. Barry

Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak still stands and it's hard to imagine that it will ever be broken, though I guess one should never say anything like that.

The streak began on May 15th and ended on July 17th, but on July 16th he got that 56th hit. He had a .408 batting average during the streak, going 91 for 223, with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs.

Here we are just after the All-Star break, moving into the middle of July, the dog days of summer. It's a perfect time to remember the Yankee Clipper's phenomenal feat and how truly incredible it was.

(Yes, yes, let's do that, it was truly, utterly amazing what he did, even if he had a bit of help along the way, but that shouldn't detract from our loathing of the damn Yankees generally. I was at the game last night, a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of the Blue Jays, and it was, as always, a genuine pleasure to see them go down. -- MJWS)

(Cross-posted to Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in history - May 24, 1935: The first night game in Major League Baseball

By Richard K. Barry

On May 24, 1935 the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 at Crosley Field in the first night game ever played by Major League Baseball teams.

It should be noted that artificial lights date back as far as the 1880s and were used in minor league ball in the 1920s. The Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues also played night games as early as 1930, carrying around portable lights on their bus.

The idea seems to have caught on.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)