What is the story about?
Free of charge for the discerning reader.
Happy birthday to DJ LeMahieu, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1896 – Ed Delahanty hits four home runs , but it’s not enough as the Phillies lose to the Chicago Colts, 9-8. “Big Ed” is the second man to hit four homers in one game in the National League, after Bobby Lowe two years earlier. It will be another 90 years until another man hits four long balls in defeat, when Bob Horner does it for the Atlanta Braves on July 6, 1986, and
other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
- 1904 – With Napoleon Lajoie lining a major-league record three triples, Cleveland rolls past the Highlanders, 16-3.
- 1934 – In front of 20,000 fans during the third inning at Navin Field in Detroit, Babe Ruth wallops a Tommy Bridges 3-2 pitch far over the right field wall for his 700th career home run.
- 1958 – Orlando Cepeda‘s third homer in three days and Felipe Alou‘s run-scoring hit in the 9th, give the Giants a 6-5 win over the Braves.
- 1963 – Future Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn wins his 300th and final MLB game at 43.
- 1997 – With the temperature at 100 degrees, Pedro Martinez fires a one-hit shutout to beat the Reds, 2-0.
- 2001 – Mets C Mike Piazza hits his 300th career home run in New York’s 3-1 loss to Boston.
- 2012 – Chipper Jones ties Mike Schmidt for second place on the all-time list for RBI by a third baseman, knocking in his 1,595th run with a homer in Atlanta’s 7-5 win over the Mets. Jones is now one RBI behind George Brett among players who played the majority of their careers at the hot corner.
- 2014 – P Madison Bumgarner and C Buster Posey both hit grand slams, accounting for all their team’s runs, as the Giants defeat the Diamondbacks, 8-4. It is the first time that both members of a battery have hit slams in the same game, and for Bumgarner, it is his second of the year, making him only the second pitcher in history to do so – Tony Cloninger had hit two in the same game in 1966.
Today in Cubs history:
- 1936 – Bill Lee wins a 1-0 duel from Carl Hubbell, as the Cubs move into first place. It is the last game the Giant ace will lose this year; he will win his final 16 decisions.
- 1962 – Cubs rookie Cal Koonce (8-2) stops the Reds on one hit, a single by Don Blasingame, to win, 1-0. The Cubs’ only run is unearned off Bob Purkey (14-3).
- 2017 – As play is about to resume following the All-Star break, the two Chicago teams pull off a rare trade, with the White Sox sending P José Quintana to the Cubs in return for four prospects: P Dylan Cease, OF Eloy Jimenez and IFs Matt Rose and Bryant Flete.
Cubs Birthdays: Cody Bellinger, Casey Sadler, DJ LeMahieu*, Bill Caudill, Don Bryant, Jack Aker, Frank Hiller, Clarence Blair, Gene Packard, John O’Brien, George Bradley. Also notable: Stan Coveleski HOF.
Today in history:
- 1568 – Dean of St. Paul’s London, Alexander Nowell, perfects a way to bottle beer.
- 1835 – Swedish-American inventor John Ericsson files for a patent for his screw propeller design.
- 1865 – Horace Greeley, founder and editor of the “New-York Tribune,” reputedly advises his readers to “Go west, young man.”
- 1871 – World’s first championship cat show is organized by Harrison Weir and held at Crystal Palace, London.
- 1923 – The Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles. It originally reads “Hollywoodland,” but the last four letters are dropped after renovation in 1949.
- 1994 – Tonya Harding‘s ex-husband Jeff Gillooly sentenced to 2 years in prison for attack on American Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan.
Today in music history:
- 1956 – RCA releases Elvis Presley‘s single “Hound Dog,” a cover of Big Mama Thornton’s original, written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, backed with “Don’t Be Cruel,” written by Otis Blackwell.
- 1978 – BBC bans Sex Pistols‘ “No One is Innocent”.
- 1984 – British guitarist Jeff Beck quits singer Rod Stewart’s tour after seven shows.
- 1984 – Eddie Van Halen makes a guest appearance, performing “Beat It” at a Jacksons concert in Dallas, Texas.
- 1985 – Live Aid concerts held at both Wembley Stadium (London) and JFK Stadium (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) raise over $70 million for African famine relief.
- 2006 – UK singer-songwriter Lily Allen releases her debut album “Alright, Still” (Grammy nominee Best Alternative Music Album).
*pictured.
