A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content. Happy birthday to Justin Steele*! Bill Hands strikes out for the record, and other stories.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and various narratives to follow as they unfold over the course of time. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along.
“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly.
Today in baseball history:
- 1911 – The Federal Express of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, carrying the St. Louis Cardinals to Boston, plunges down an 18-foot embankment outside Bridgeport, CT, killing 14 passengers. The team’s Pullmans were originally just behind the baggage coaches near the front. When noise prevented the players from sleeping, manager Roger Bresnahan requested the car be changed. The day coach that replaced the players’ car is crushed and splintered. The players help remove bodies and rescue the injured, then board a special train to Boston, where the day’s game is postponed. The railroad pays each player $25 for his rescue work and for lost belongings. (2)
- 1914 – Babe Ruth breaks in with Boston, striking out in his first at bat, but pitching a 4-3 win over Cleveland. With the score 3-3 in the seventh, Duffy Lewis pinch hits for Ruth, singles, and later scores the winning run. Dutch Leonard strikes out four of the six batters he faces in relief. (1,2)
- 1924 – Cubs 1B Lee Cotter equals a major-league record for total chances when he makes 21 putouts and one assist in a game against Brooklyn. (2)
- 1944 – At Forbes Field, Phil Cavarretta sets an All-Star Game record by reaching base five consecutive times. The Cub first baseman’s triple, single and three walks helps the National League beat the junior circuit, 7-4. (1,2)
- 1963 – Jim Maloney strikes out 13 in pitching the Reds to a 7-3 win over the visiting Cubs. (2)
- 1968 – Chicago Cubs P Bill Hands strikes out for the 14th straight at bat in the Cubs’ 2-0 win in the nightcap of a doubleheader at New York. The 14 strikeouts in consecutive at-bats (as opposed to plate appearances) are a major league record. (2)
- 1972 – Cub Billy Williams goes 8 for 8 in a doubleheader split with the Astros. The Astros win the opener, 6-5, and the Cubs take the nightcap, 9-5. Williams is 5 for 5 in the second game to raise his average to .328. He’ll go 3 for 5 and 4 for 5 in his next two games as part of a 22 for 38 tear. (2)
Cubs birthdays: George Meakim, Pop Schriver, Jimmy Slagle, Harry Wolter, Hank Griffin, Justin Steele*.
Today in history:
- 1302 – Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch) near Kortrijk, Belgium: Flemish coalition defeat the French army of Philip IV.
- 1405 – Chinese fleet commander Zheng He sets sail to the Spice Islands on his first major expedition, leading 208 vessels, including 62 treasure ships with 27,800 sailors.
- 1798 – US Marine Corps formally established as a distinct military branch by an Act of Congress signed by President John Adams.
- 1804 – Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a pistol duel.
- 1944 – Franklin Roosevelt announces that he will run for a fourth term as President of the United States.
- 1962 – First trans-Atlantic TV transmission via satellite (Telstar I).
- 2018 – Oldest stone tools outside Africa are discovered in Lantian County, western China, estimated to be 2.12 million years old and made by hominins.
Common sources:
- (1) — Today in Baseball History.
- (2) — Baseball Reference.
- (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
- (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
- (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
- (6) — Wikipedia.
- (7) — The British Museum.
- For world history.
*pictured.
Some of these items spread from site to site without being verified. That is exactly why we ask for reputable sources if you have differences with a posted factoid. We are trying to set the record as straight as possible, but it isn’t brain surgery. We take it seriously, but there are limits