A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content. Happy birthday to Cole Gillespie*, among others. Randy Hundley and Sammy Sosa hit grand slams, 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:
- 1894 – Denny Lyons scores the winning run in the ninth inning to lead Pittsburgh to a 7-6 win over Washington. Lyons gets into scoring position by running from first base to third base – across the pitcher’s mound – on a fielder’s choice. The umpire does not see Lyons’s transgression, a common one in the 1890s. (2)
- 1932 – Doc Cramer of the A’s collects six hits in consecutive times at bat in a nine-inning game. Cramer will do this again in 1935, the only American League player to repeat the feat. (1,2)
- 1934 – The first-place Giants score seven runs in the 3rd to crush the Cubs, 12-7. Mel Ott leads the way with two homers – his 16th and 17th – and drives in six runs. Jo-Jo Moore has four hits, including a homer, and Fred Fitzsimmons, who weakens in the 8th, is credited with the win. Charlie Root, who got none out in the 3rd before retiring, is the loser. (2)
- 1968 – The Cubs lose to the Cardinals, 1-0, for their fifth shutout in a row. During the streak, Fergie Jenkins allows one run in 18 innings, and comes away with a loss and a no-decision, possibly making him rue the low offensive levels of the Year of the Pitcher. (2)
- 1972 – Randy Hundley caps the scoring in the first inning with a grand slam as the Cubs score seven, all off Don Carrithers, en route to a 15-8 pasting of the Giants. The first three runs come on three walks, two wild pitches and three singles. Hundley singles in another run in the five-run fourth as the Cubs win their seventh straight. (2)
- 1998 – The Cubs’ Sammy Sosa cranks out his 21st homer in the last 30 days, something no other slugger has ever done. The previous high was 20, set by Ralph Kiner in 1947 and tied by Roger Maris in 1961. Sosa’s 30 days go from May 22nd through June 22nd. (2)
- 2001 – Using the long ball, the Cubs record their first win at Busch Stadium in 13 tries over the last two seasons, beating the Cards, 9-4. Sammy Sosa belts a two-run homer and a grand slam, and makes a diving catch to save a run. Gary Matthews adds a three-run homer. (2)
- 2007 – Sammy Sosa cracks his 600th career home run, joining Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays at that level. Jason Marquis allows the shot for the Cubs. In a weird circumstance, Marquis is wearing uniform number 21, which Sosa had worn in his years with the Cubs. (2)
- 2021 – Minor League Reorganization cannot bring an antitrust suit against Major League Baseball. This is due to the exemption from the Sherman Antitrust Act from which MLB has benefited since the Supreme Court’s decision in the case Federal Baseball Club v. National League, back in 1922. The plaintiffs are now expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, in order to attempt to have its century-old ruling reversed. (2)
Cubs birthdays: Jim Delahanty, Rip Hagerman, Wayland Dean, Art Schult, Cuno Barragan, Ray Newman, Gary Varsho, Cole Gillespie*.
Today in history:
- 451 – Battle of the Catalaunian Plains: Roman and Visigoths forces defeat Attila the Hun in northeast France, halting Hun invasion of Roman Gaul (exact date disputed).
- 1782 – Congress approves Great Seal of the United States of America with the bald eagle as its symbol.
- 1840 – American inventor Samuel Morse patents his telegraph.
- 1966 – British pilot Sheila Scott completes 1st round-the-world solo flight by a woman, returning to London’s Heathrow airport in her Piper Comanche after a 34 day journey.
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