A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content. Wood* outpitches Maddux, more stone in Wrigley stands, 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:
- 1892 – In a match up of 300-game winners at Philadelphia Baseball Grounds, Phillies submariner Tim Keefe sinks Jim “Pud” Galvin and the Browns, 2-0. The next time two National League pitchers with 300 or more victories will face each other will occur in 2005 when Greg Maddux of the Cubs beats Astros ace Roger Clemens at Minute Maid Park, 3-2. (2)
- 1908 – According to a Chicago newspaper contest, the Giants’ Mike Donlin, the National League’s leading hitter, is baseball’s most popular player. Turkey Mike tops Honus Wagner by a wide margin and will be awarded a trophy cup. Donlin was involved in a car accident on the 18th when the car he was riding in on Michigan Avenue collided with another vehicle driven by Chicago Mayor Fred A. Busse. (2)
- 1922 – The Cubs edge Brooklyn, 1-0, as Grover Cleveland Alexander wins the duel with Dutch Ruether. Ray Grimes, who drove in three runs yesterday, doubles in the only Cub tally. Grimes now has RBIs in 15 straight games. (2)
- 1957 – Cubs relief pitcher Jim Brosnan falls on the mound while warming up, injuring his Achilles tendon. He leaves the game without throwing a single pitch to a batter. (2)
- 1963 – Jerry Lynch’s major league record-tying 14th pinch-hit home run, a three-run shot off the Cubs’ Lindy McDaniel in the 9th inning, ties the game, and the Pirates win, 6-5, in 14 innings. The Cubs take the opener, 5-1. (2)
- 1970 – San Diego’s Clay Kirby held the New York Mets hitless for eight innings but was lifted for a pinch hitter by manager Preston Gomez. With the Padres trailing 1-0 with two out in the eighth, Gomez elected to go for the win instead of letting Kirby finish the game. The Padres lost the no-hitter and the game, 3-0. (1,2)
- 1972 – Billy Williams drives in six runs to lead the Cubs to an 11-3 win over the Astros. Williams has four hits, including a double and homer, to give Bill Bonham his only win of the year. Ken Forsch takes the loss. (2)
- 1973 – Hank Aaron of Atlanta hit his 700th home run in the third inning of an 8-4 Braves loss to Philadelphia. Aaron connected on a 1-1 fastball off Phillies pitcher Ken Brett. (1,2)
- 1998 – Kerry Wood* out-duels Greg Maddux as the Cubs defeat the Braves before a sellout crowd. Woods strikes out 11 in 7⅔ innings, the sixth time in 18 starts he has reached double figures. For Maddux, it is his first loss to his former team after seven wins. (2)
- 2000 – Wasting no time in his new capacity as Cubs GM, Andy MacPhail sends popular OF Glenallen Hill to the Yankees for minor league pitchers Ben Ford and Oswaldo Mairena. (2)
- 2004 – A third piece of concrete, which apparently fell from the park’s upper deck, is discovered at Wrigley Field by a club employee. Two other chunks have also fallen recently in different sections of the 90-year-old stadium, prompting Mayor Richard Daley to say he would not hesitate to close sections – or all – of the facility to protect fans from potential harm. (2)
Cubs birthdays: Johnny Evers HOF, Billy Holm, Moe Drabowsky, Nelson Mathews, Kyuji Fujikawa. Also notable: CC Sabathia HOF.
Today in history:
- 356 BC – Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
- 1588 – First engagement between the English fleet and the Spanish Armada off the Eddystone Rocks.
- 1925 – John T. Scopes found guilty of teaching evolution in the “Scopes monkey trial” in Dayton, Tennessee, fined $100 and costs.
- 1991 – Ferguson Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, Rod Carew, Tony Lazzeri, and Bill Veeck Jr. are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
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.