IN: Richard was born on 2 October 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle, the twelfth of thirteen children of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville at the beginning of what has traditionally been labelled the "Wars of the Roses", a period of "three or four decades of political instability and periodic open civil war in the second half of the fifteenth century", between supporters of Richard's father (a potential claimant to the throne of King Henry VI from birth)--"Yorkists"--in opposition to the regime of Henry VI and his wife, Margaret of Anjou, and those loyal to the crown ("Lancastrians"). When his father and the Nevilles were forced to flee to Ludlow in 1459, Richard and his older brother, George (later Duke of Clarence), were placed in the custody of the Duchess of Buckingham, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. When his father and elder brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland, were killed at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460, Richard, who was eight years old, and George were sent by his mother, the Duchess of York, to the Low Countries. They returned to England following the defeat of the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton and participated in the coronation of Richard's eldest brother as King Edward IV in June 1461.

Richard's Council of the North, described as his "one major institutional innovation", derived from his ducal council following his own viceregal appointment by Edward IV; when Richard himself became king, he maintained the same conciliar structure in his absence. It officially became part of the royal council machinery under the presidency of John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln in April 1484, based at Sandal Castle in Wakefield. It is considered to have greatly improved conditions for northern England, as it was, in theory at least, intended to keep the peace and punish law breakers, as well as resolving land disputes. Bringing regional governance directly under the control of central government, it has been described as the king's "most enduring monument", surviving unchanged until 1641.  In December 1483, Richard instituted what later became known as the Court of Requests, a court to which poor people who could not afford legal representation could apply for their grievances to be heard. He also improved bail in January 1484, to protect suspected felons from imprisonment before trial and to protect their property from seizure during that time. He founded the College of Arms in 1484, he banned restrictions on the printing and sale of books, and he ordered the translation of the written Laws and Statutes from the traditional French into English. He ended the arbitrary benevolences (a device by which Edward IV raised funds), made it punishable to conceal from a buyer of land that a part of the property had already been disposed of to somebody else, required that land sales be published, laid down property qualifications for jurors, restricted the abusive Courts of Piepowders, regulated cloth sales, instituted certain forms of trade protectionism, prohibited the sale of wine and oil in fraudulent measure, and prohibited fraudulent collection of clergy dues, among others. Churchill implies he improved the law of trusts.  Richard's death at Bosworth resulted in the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, which had ruled England since the succession of Henry II in 1154. The last legitimate male Plantagenet, Richard's nephew, Edward, Earl of Warwick (son of Richard III's brother Clarence), was executed by Henry VII in 1499. The only extant direct male line of Plantagenets is the House of Beaufort, headed today by Henry Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort. But the Beaufort line was barred from the succession by Henry IV.

Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?

OUT: He founded the College of Arms in 1484, he banned restrictions on the printing and sale of books, and he ordered the translation of the written Laws


IN: The Veterans Committee was the popular name of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee to Consider Managers, Umpires, Executives and Long-Retired Players; a former voting committee of the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame that provided an opportunity for Hall of Fame enshrinement to all individuals who are eligible for induction but ineligible for consideration by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The term "Veterans Committee" (was composed of four committees of baseball veterans) is taken from the body's former official name: National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee on Baseball Veterans (1953). In July 2010, the Veterans Committee name was changed by the Hall of Fame Board of Directors and its name was no longer officially used by the Hall of Fame, which called three new 16-member voting committees by era: the Expansion Era Committee (1973-present), the Golden Era Committee (1947-1972), and the Pre-Integration Era Committee (1876-1946) - each, "The Committee" (the term "Veterans Committee" is still being used by some sports media). The three committees met on a rotating cycle once every three years to elect candidates from each era to the Hall of Fame that have been "identified" by a BBWAA-appointed "Screening Committee" named the "Historical Overview Committee" (10-12 representatives; BBWAA members).

On May 9, 1949, it was announced that two pitchers had been selected:  Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, whose career extended from 1903 to 1916, ending with 239 victories and a 2.06 ERA; he had been the main pitching star on the Chicago Cubs teams which dominated the National League between 1906 and 1910, with Brown winning 20 or more games each season as the club won four pennants. His shutout in Game 5 of the 1907 World Series clinched the championship for the Cubs. In twenty-five career matchups against Christy Mathewson, Brown won thirteen times, with Mathewson winning eleven. His partial loss of two fingers in a childhood farm accident had led to his pitches having an atypical motion.  Charles "Kid" Nichols, who won 360 games between 1890 and 1906, primarily with the five-time champion Boston Beaneaters; at age 30, he became the youngest man ever to win 300 games, and he retired with the third-most wins of any pitcher. He won over 20 games every year in the 1890s, and won 30 or more a record seven times. An incredibly strong-armed pitcher despite his small size (5'9", 170 pounds (77 kg)), he regularly pitched over 400 innings per year, and completed all but 30 of his 561 career starts - never being replaced by a relief pitcher.  Nichols was still living, but Brown had died February 14, 1948. They were formally inducted on June 13 along with Charlie Gehringer and the 1948 selections, Pie Traynor and the late Herb Pennock; Nichols and Traynor were in attendance.  The selection of these two pitchers from the period between 1890 and 1916 was roundly applauded, but it was noted that stars of the earlier era had been ignored once again, as well as position players from the same period.

What about other committees?

OUT: