This Day in Baseball History

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1999 - Reds lift ban on facial hair

A ban on facial hair in the Cincinnati Reds organization that had been enacted in 1967 was lifted on this day in 1999, after owner Marge Schott had a conversation with Greg Vaughn, who was acquired by the club on Feb. 2. Vaughn hit 50 home runs and had a 151 wRC+ in 1998 with the Padres, in what was the best statistical season of his career. 

Vaughn "lobbied hard" to keep his goatee, according to The New York Times, and local columnists and fans took on his cause, as well. 

There's a lesson to be learned here: if you hit 50 home runs, you can change the rules. 

1990 - Owners lock out the players

Ah, good old baseball labor strife. Baseball's owners locked out their players on this day back in 1990, the first day of what would become a 32-day lockout. Murray Chass, in his pre-blogging days, wrote in The New York Times:

The owners' strategy was to push for their revenue-participation plan, a radical change for baseball, while supporting their effort with the threat of a lockout.

The two sides eventually came to an agreement, but Spring Training was lost, and the season opened a week late, on April 9.  

The union, in the end, had minimum major-league salaries rise from $68,000 to $100,000, while on the owner's side, a six-man committee on revenue sharing was established. 

1956 - Exhibition games canceled in Birmingham, Ala.

A law in Birmingham, Ala. that barred "Negroes and whites to compete in athletic events" led to the cancellation of two exhibition games, scheduled for March 31 and April 1, between the Pittsburgh Pirates and then Kansas City Athletics. 

The Palm Beach Post has more:

The city's segregation ordinance, passed June 1, 1954, forbids Negroes and whites to play together in any game of "cards, dice, dominoes, checkers, softball, basketball, baseball, football, golf, track, in swimming pools, on beaches, lakes or ponds." The penalty is $100 fine and-or 180 days in jail.

Birthdays

1866 - Billy Hamilton
1948 - Ron Cey
1977 - Alex Gonzalez
1980 - Don Kelly
1983 - Russell Martin