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:
- 1902 — Chicago Cubs infielders Tinker, Evers and Chance turn their first double play together. (AP)
- 1915 – The Cubs edge the Braves, 1-0, behind Phil Douglas, with Lefty Tyler taking the tough loss. Tomorrow, the Cubs will win another 1-0 battle, but it will take them 12 innings to do it. (2)
- 1930 – The Cubs split a pair in Philadelphia when Lefty O’Doul pinch-hits a home run to beat the Cubs 12-11 in the first game. It is the second consecutive game in which O’Doul has produced a pinch-hit homer. In the second game of the day’s doubleheader, Hack Wilson hits his 50th dinger to pace the Cubs to a 6-4 win. (2)
- 1946 – At Ebbets Field, the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 in five innings when the game was called because of gnats. The insects became such a problem for the players, umpires and fans that the game had to be stopped. (1,2)
- 1970 – Ken Holtzman wins his 15th, and the Cubs top the Cardinals, 5-3. Chicago moves into third place, just a game behind the first-place Mets and Pirates. (2)
- 2002 – The Cubs shut out the Reds, 6-0, as OF Sammy Sosa* drives in his 100th run of the season on a three-run home run in the eighth inning. In doing so, he joins Mel Ott and Willie Mays as the only National League players to post eight consecutive 100-RBI seasons. (2)
Cubs Birthdays: Speed Martin, Vance Page, Jim Davis, Tom Simpson, Bob Lennon, Freddie Burdette, Charley Smith, Jason Hardtke. Also notable: Gaylord Perry HOF.
Today in History:
- 1616 – First non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy.
- 1777 – George Washington, on authorization of Congress, appoints Casimir Pulaski as brigadier general in Continental Army cavalry.
- 1812 – Napoleon Bonaparte and his French army reach the Kremlin in Moscow, where they watch the flames of the Great Fire of Moscow spread and grow.
- 1928 – Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin while sorting through petri dishes containing colonies of the bacteria Staphylococcus.
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.
