A Day of Baseball News

Professional Baseball is a game being played 12 months a year. Although the World Series has been over for 1.5 months it does not mean that Baseball has not been played since. Here in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, an area that I claim as the "Baseball Capital of the World" the game has been out of season for less then 4 weeks now and in 2 shorth months from now it will be back as catchers and pitchers of a full half of the MLB teams will be reporting here for spring training.
  Even today games are being played in Australia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Baseball has always had that year a round news making ability. For many years The Sporting News published nothing but baseball news 52 weeks a year as the "Bible of Baseball". Lets take a look at the news that made headlines in the Baseball World on December 16 in the years past.
   We start on December 16, 1908 when the Oskaloosa, Iowa franchise of the Central Association was transferred to Hannibal, Missouri.
   On December 16, 1922 the Eastern Colored League was formed on the East Coast as an eight club league. As a direct result, the following season the first Negro World Series was played.
  On December 16, 1938 The North Carolina State League made headlines by expanding to ten clubs with the addition of the Shelby and Statesville, NC Clubs.
   On December 16, 1942 the Virginia League suspended operations after struggling through the 1942 season because of World War 2. Although most of the leagues that suspended operations for the duration of the war returned for the 1946 season, the Virginia League did not resume play until the 1948 season.
  On December 16, 1945 the Cornbelt League failed to organize and elected to wait another year before hitting the playing field. The following year the league was successful in organizing and took the field as the Central Association, a direct successor of the league mentioned above.
  If you think that baseball has lost its touch here in the twentyfirst century guess again. On December 16, 2002 The Central League added its 10th Club when the Shreveport, Louisiana Club was added.
   Even this close to Christmas every sport is jockey for its position in the Sports page headlines, tomorrow we will look at highlights from all four major sports and a soccer game, too.