What is the story about?
1984 clinch 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. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.
“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.
Today in baseball history:
- 1901 – Jimmy Sheckard becomes the first 20th-century player to hit grand slams in two consecutive games, as Brooklyn pounds Cincinnati, 16-2. Frank Kitson homers and takes the victory. The 41 runs in two games is a franchise record. (2)
- 1906 – The Cubs pound the Giants twice to complete a three-game sweep in New York. Chicago wins the opener, 6-2, then jumps on Christy Mathewson for 16 hits and 10 runs to win, 10-5, in eight innings. Jimmy Sheckard has four hits off Matty. (2)
- 1908 – National League President Harry Pulliam upholds umpire Hank O’Day‘s delayed decision and declares the previous day’s controversial game between the Giants and Cubs a tie, a decision nobody likes. The Cubs demand the game be forfeited to them as the crowd prevented play from continuing, although darkness would have soon ended it. Both teams appeal. Pulliam sees no inconsistency with the September 4th incident that was similar to Merkle’s Boner and claims he has merely upheld his umpire on a question of fact in each case. Meanwhile, in the game that was played that day, the Giants beat the Cubs, 5-4, after almost blowing a 5-0 lead. Hooks Wiltse is relieved by Christy Mathewson, and the official scorer awards the win to Matty. The loss goes to Three Finger Brown, his first loss to Mathewson since June 13, 1905. (2)
- 1910 – In another matchup of aces, the Giants score four runs in the 1st inning off Three Finger Brown, who is lifted after six innings, trailing, 5-1. The Cubs rally against Christy Mathewson, and score two runs in both the 8th and 9th innings to tie. Larry Doyle, whose sloppy play helped the Cubs score, singles home the winning run for New York in the bottom of the ninth. Despite the Cubs tying the game after his departure, Brown is handed the loss. (2)
- 1916 – At Cleveland’s League Park, Marty Kavanagh hits the first-ever pinch-hit grand slam in American League history. The infielder’s historic homer proves to be the difference as the Indians beat the Red Sox, 5-3. The ball rolls through a hole in the fence and cannot be retrieved in time for a play at the plate. Kavanagh’s blast comes off Boston’s Dutch Leonard and ends Boston’s seven-game win streak. (1,2)
- 1924 – Brooklyn’s Burleigh Grimes dusts six batters in the first two innings and bests the Cubs, 6-5. Reliever Rip Wheeler takes the loss. 30,000 Brooklyn fans celebrate the team’s showing at the 160th Street Regiment Armory where each player receives a gold watch. Manager Wilbert Robinson predicts that the Robins will overtake the Giants in the next few days. (2)
- 1943 – A crowd of 314, the smallest in Wrigley Field history, see Andy Pafko make his Cubs debut. Pafko drives in four runs with a double and a single in three at bats, as the Cubs top the Phillies, 7-4, in a five-inning downpour. (2)
- 1969 – Gary Gentry four-hits the Cardinals, 6-0, helping the Mets become the first team to clinch a National League East title. Donn Clendenon and Ed Charles hit home runs. As the game ends, a large number of the 54,928 fans pour onto the field ripping up huge chunks of sod. Seven fans suffer fractures in the celebration. (1,2)
- 1970 – The Cubs stop the Cards, 7-1, behind Ken Holtzman‘s seven-hitter, and stay two and a half games in back of the Pirates. Chicago will lose its next two games and Pittsburgh will clinch the division title on the 27th. (2)
- 1976 – Chicago Cub Bill Madlock suffers bruises and a slight concussion when he is mugged in New York City. Chicago then loses to the Mets, 4-3. (2)
- 1979 – With a week to go, Herman Franks resigns as Cubs manager, and is replaced by Preston Gomez, most recently a coach with the Dodgers. After resigning, Franks criticizes a number of Cubs players, including Barry Foote, Mike Vail, Bill Buckner and Ted Sizemore. (2)
- 1984 – Rick Sutcliffe* pitches a two-hitter in a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh to clinch the National League East title for the Cubs, who will be making their first post-season appearance since 1945. The win is Sutcliffe’s 14th in a row. Sutcliffe strikes out nine Bucs, including Joe Orsulak for the final out. (1,2)
- 1996 – Cincinnati 3B Willie Greene leads the Reds to a 6-3 victory over the Cubs by hitting three home runs and bringing in five. (2)
- 2017 – The Cubs’ principal mid-season acquisition, P José Quintana, proves to be worth it as he shuts out the Brewers on three hits in a 5-0 win in the final game of a four-game series at Miller Park. By winning three of four against their closest rivals, the Cubs have increased their lead in the NL Central to five and a half games and lowered their magic number to two. (2)
Cubs Birthdays: John Kane, Mike González, Dick Nen, Rafael Palmeiro, Mario Encarnación, Jake Buchanan.
Today in History:
- 787 – Second Council of Nicaea (7th ecumenical council) opens in Asia Minor in present-day İznik, Turkey.
- 1529 – Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his Ottoman troops arrive in Vienna, beginning of the siege.
- 1852 – Henri Giffard, a French engineer, makes the first successful powered and controlled flight of a dirigible using a steam-powered engine, flying 17 miles (27 km) from Paris to Trappes.
- 1960 – USS Enterprise, first nuclear power aircraft carrier, launched.
- 1979 – CompuServe begins offering a dial-up online information service to consumers, marketed as MicroNET.
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 help update the records and have documentation of why.
Do you find this article useful?
