Baseball history unpacked, June 23

A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content. Ernie benches himself, Jimmy Piersall does the Captain Beyond, and other stories. Oh, and THE SANDBERG GAME.

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:

• 1916 – Chicago pitcher Tom Seaton provides the edge by stealing home in the 6th inning to help beat the Reds, 2-1. (2)
• 1917 – Boston pitcher Babe Ruth starts against Washington. He walks leadoff man Eddie Foster, griping to plate umpire Brick Owens after each pitch. On ball four, Ruth plants a right to the umpire’s jaw. He is ejected, and Ernie Shore relieves. Foster is caught stealing, and Shore retires all 26 men he faces in a 4-0 win, getting credit in the books for a perfect game (the ruling will later be changed, giving the two pitchers a combined no-hitter, but no perfect game). (1,2,3) BBHOF corroboration.
• 1930 – Hack Wilson hits for the cycle with two singles, a double, triple, and homer, and drives in six as the Cubs whip the Phils, 21-8, at Wrigley Field. (2)
• 1933 – The Cubs sweep with the Phillies, winning the opener, 9-5, on Harvey Hendrick’s pinch grand slam in the 10th inning. It is the second pinch grand slam in major league history and the second for the Cubs in three years. Chicago takes the nightcap, 3-1. (2)
• 1938 – The Cubs sweep two at home against the Giants, winning, 7-4 and 3-1. Bill Lee is the victor in the opener, topping Harry Gumbert, while Dizzy Dean bests Hal Schumacher in the second game. (2)
• 1946 – Eddie Waitkus and Marv Rickert of the Chicago Cubs hit back-to-back, inside-the-park home runs in the fourth inning, but the team loses, 15-10, to the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. (2)
• 1961 – Ernie Banks voluntarily takes the bench as a sore knee brings his 717 consecutive games played streak to an end. The streak started August 26, 1956. The Banks-less Cubs still win, 5-3, over the Braves at Wrigley Field. Joe Adcock, who applied the hidden ball trick last August 31st to George Altman, nabs another Cub, Billy Williams, in the 8th. (1,2)
• 1964 – In the nightcap of a doubleheader, Len Gabrielson’s 6th-inning single is the only hit the Cubs manage off the Phils’ Ray Culp, who wins, 9-0. (2)
• 1968 – At Crosley Field, the Reds tip the Cubs, 9-8, when Don Pavletich hits a two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning. (2)
• 1963 – Jimmy Piersall of the New York Mets hits the 100th home run of his major league career and celebrates by running around the bases backwards. Dallas Green of the Phillies, who gave up the home run, is not amused. Neither is Commissioner Ford Frick, who is in the stands. The Mets will hand Jimmy his walking papers in a few days. (1,2)

• 1971 – Rick Wise hits two home runs and drives in three runs as he faces only 28 batters and no-hits the Reds, 4-0 on 95 pitches. He goes deep against Ross Grimsley and Clay Carroll. Pete Rose is retired as the final out. The Phillies’ hurler will again hit two home runs in same game this season on August 28th. (2)
• 1978 – At Veterans Stadium, the Phils whip the Cubs twice by 6-1 scores to take over first place in the National League East, a spot they will hold for the rest of the season. (2)
• 1984 – At Wrigley Field, in game that will be known as “the Sandberg game”, the Cubs’ Ryne Sandberg goes 5 for 6 with game-tying home runs off Cardinals relief ace Bruce Sutter in both the ninth and 10th innings. He drives in seven runs to lead Chicago to a 12-11 win in 11 innings. It is the first time Sutter has given up two home runs to the same batter in the same game. Dave Owen’s bases-loaded single wins it. Willie McGee hits for the cycle and drives in six runs in a losing cause. (1,2)

• 2003 – Stealing second base at Pacific Bell Park in the 11th inning, Barry Bonds becomes the first player to hit 500 home runs and steal 500 bases in his career. The Giants’ left fielder may not only be the charter member of the 500-500 club, many believe, including him, he will most likely be its only member, as no one else may ever reach this plateau. (2)
• 2019 – Tensions boil over in the clubhouse of the struggling Mets after a 5-3 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field as manager Mickey Callaway accuses Newsday beat reporter Tim Healey of antagonizing people. The exchange quickly degenerates as P Jason Vargas also gets involved and threatens to knock out the journalist while Callaway shouts for him to leave the clubhouse, using choice profanities. (2)
• 2020 – Following protracted negotiations there is now agreement to start an abbreviated 60-game season on July 23rd or 24th after the Players Association ratifies the proposed safety protocols. Players are to report to their team’s home city on July 1st to resume “spring” training. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Jack Hardy.

Today in history:

• 930 – World’s oldest parliament, the Icelandic Parliament is established, the Alþingi (anglicised as Althing or Althingi).
• 1645 – Cretan War begins with attack by Ottoman navy on Venetian-held coast of Crete (war lasts till 1669).
• 1713 – The French residents of Acadia are given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada.
• 1892 – Chicago’s ‘The Inter Ocean’ launches the first US newspaper color supplement.

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