A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content. Happy birthday, Michael Soroka! Let’s celebrate the right way!
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:
- 1884 – Pud Galvin pitches the most lopsided no-hitter in major league history as the Buffalo Bisons stampede over the Detroit Wolverines, 18-0. It is the second career no-hitter for future Hall of Famer Galvin. (2)
- 1897 – In the 2nd inning of the second game of a doubleheader between the Pirates and Reds in Cincinnati, OH, fans throw an empty beer bottle in the direction of umpire Tim Hurst. Hurst picks it up and throws it right back in the crowd. He is arrested and fined $100 on a charge of assault and battery when the bottle hits a spectator, causing a gash over his right eye. (1,2)
- 1906 – The Giants slow the Chicago express, stopping the Cubs, 7-4, behind Christy Mathewson and Hooks Wiltse. New York is just 4½ games behind Chicago, but the Cubs will go 50-8 from August 1 to outdistance the pack. (2)
- 1909 – Umpire Tim Hurst instigates a riot by spitting at Athletics second baseman Eddie Collins, who had questioned a call. This incident eventually leads to Hurst’s banishment from baseball two weeks later. (1)
- 1921 – In Chicago, Billy Southworth leads the Braves to a 13-5 scalping of the Cubs by belting three doubles and home run. Mule Watson coasts to the win over Percy Jones. (2)
- 1931 – The Reds finally score, but lose to the Cubs, 4-2, in the first of two. Guy Bush beats Larry Benton. Chicago takes the nitecap, 7-3, behind Les Sweetland as Jack Ogden is pinned with the loss. Rookie OF Vince Barton has five hits in the two games, including a pair of homers in the second game. (2)
- 1955 – Ernie Banks hits three homers at Wrigley Field against three Pirate pitchers, as the Cubs win, 11-10. (2)
- 1960 – Believing that Chicago’s Jim Brewer is throwing at him, Reds 2B Billy Martin throws his bat toward the mound. Then, he advances to retrieve it from Brewer, who has picked it up. The two exchange words and Martin launches a hard overhand right that fractures the orbital bone of Brewer’s right eye. Both benches empty and Martin continues swinging, decking Frank Thomas. Brewer requires surgery and will be out of action for a month. The Cubs win, 5-3, on Ernie Banks’ homer. Martin will be fined $500 for the punch and Brewer and the Cubs will sue the combative infielder on August 22nd for $1,000,000. Years later, when the courts award Brewer $100,000, Martin’s comment will be, “How can they ever collect it? I haven’t got that kind of money,” (2)
- 1961 – With a little help from George Altman, the Cubs’ Bob Anderson outpitches Sandy Koufax, and beats the Dodgers, 4-2. Altman hits two homers off Koufax, the first time anyone has done that off the Dodgers lefty. (2)
- 1982 – After driving in the winning run in a Mets 7-4 victory over the Cubs, Joel Youngblood is traded and later in the day flies to Philadelphia and singles for the Expos, becoming the first player to have a hit for two different teams in different cities on the same day. (2)
- 1985 – At Chicago, Dwight Gooden wins his club-record 11th straight game as the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1. Gooden triggers a three-run 3rd inning with a double. (2)
- 1997 – Kevin Tapani finally makes his Cubs debut, limiting Atlanta to five hits over seven plus innings, as the Cubs win, 3-1. Tapani (1-0) signed to a three-year, $11-million deal with the Cubs after winning 13 games for the White Sox last season, had surgery April 4th to remove scar tissue in his right index finger. (2)
- 2011 – The Cubs complete a four-game sweep of the Pirates with a 7-6 win in Pittsburgh, as Carlos Pena, Geovany Soto and Blake DeWitt homer to send the Bucs to their seventh straight defeat. Pirates starter James McDonald gives up four runs in seven innings and drives in three himself, exiting the game with a 6 – 4 lead, but the Cubs rally for three runs in the 8th off four relievers, three of whom fail to record an out. (2)
Cubs birthdays: Henry Clarke, Tuck Stainback, Bill Schuster, Gabe Gabler, Rich Nye, Troy O’Leary, Bob Howry, Mike Freeman, Jason Adam, Michael Soroka*. Also notable: Jake Beckley HOF.
Today in History:
- 1347 – English troops under Edward III conquer Calais, becomes strategic town for the English during Hundred Years’ War.
- 1666 – Hurricane hits Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Christopher, killing thousands.
- 1791 – The Treaty of Sistova is signed, ending the Ottoman-Habsburg wars.
- 1830 – Plans for the city of Chicago are laid out.
- 1881 – 122°F (50°C) recorded in Seville, Spain (European record).
- 1892 – Sunday school teacher Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother are murdered with an axe in Fall River, Massachusetts; Borden is later arrested, tried, and acquitted.
- 2015 – Muppets Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog announce the end of their relationship on Twitter.
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.
Things are as near to the truth as we can get them. Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, so that we can correct the record, if need be.