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Happy birthday to Willie Greene, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1908 – Giants P Christy Mathewson and Cubs P Three Finger Brown battle in what is perhaps the most controversial game ever played. The score is 1-1, with two outs in the last of the 9th when Fred Merkle‘s failure to touch second base after an apparent game-winning hit by Al Bridwell scoring Moose McCormick from third costs the Giants a 2-1 win; the umpire calls Merkle out and rules
the game a tie. Merkle’s “boner” will eventually cost the Giants the flag, and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
- 1845 – The Knickerbocker Base Ball Club is formed, and Alexander Cartwright‘s 20 rules, presented on September 13th, are adopted.
- 1902 – Cy Young eases to his 32nd win as Boston pounds the A’s, 14-1.
- 1911 – Walter Johnson gives up a two-run homer in the sixth inning to Joe Jackson, the eighth four-bagger the Big Train has allowed this year. Johnson had given up just two in the previous four seasons.
- 1936 – Pitching in the tenth straight Giants game, Carl Hubbell notches his 16th consecutive victory, his 26th of the year. He will resume the streak next year to reach a record 24 wins in a row.
- 1962 – LA Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills breaks Ty Cobb’s 1915 MLB steals record, recording his 97th steal on his way to 104.
- 1967 – The Red Sox are in third place, also a half game out, after dropping a 7-5 decision to Baltimore. Carl Yastrzemski‘s 42nd home run had given the Red Sox a 5-4 lead, but a Brooks Robinson home run in the 8th inning wins it for the O’s.
- 1979 – Lou Brock steals base No. 938 to break Billy Hamilton‘s unofficial record in a ten-inning St. Louis victory over the Mets, 7-4. The Cardinal outfielder broke Ty Cobb‘s mark of 892 in 1977.
- 1983 – Steve Carlton becomes the 16th pitcher in major league history to win 300 games and the Phillies inch closer to the National League East title with a 6-2 win over the Cardinals.
- 1998 – Craig Biggio is 3 for 5 and swipes No. 50 to become the only player besides Tris Speaker in 1912, to have 50 doubles and 50 steals in a year.
- 2000 – Joining Frank Robinson, the Devil Rays’ Fred McGriff becomes only the second player in major league history to hit 200 homers in both the American and National League.
- 2022 – Albert Pujols, who has announced his retirement at the end of the season no matter what happens, becomes the fourth player to reach the 700-home run mark — after Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds. He does so by going deep twice, first off Andrew Heaney in the third inning and then off Phil Bickford in the fourth for No. 700.
Today in Cubs history:
- 1905 – In Chicago, Christy Mathewson and Carl Lundgren hook up in a tight pitchers’ duel, decided in Chicago’s favor on a mental error by Giants 2B Bill Dahlen. With two on and two out in the 5th inning, Dahlen bobbles a grounder and touches second base as the runner arrives. Dahlen, thinking that he has the third out, rolls the ball to the mound. But ump Bob Emslie calls the runner safe. Johnny Evers, the runner on third base, alertly scores on the play for the game’s only run. The loss stops Matty’s win streak at 11 games.
- 1907 – In Chicago, the Cubs clinch the pennant by beating the Phillies, 4-1. Chicago pulls off a triple play in the 5th inning to help seal the win.
- 1933 – The Cubs beat the Reds, 7-1, with Paul Derringer losing his 27th game for the last-place Reds, the most losses since George Bell in 1910. Gabby Hartnett hits a grand slam for the Cubs.
- 1959 – The Cubs continue to dash the Giants’ pennant hopes as Cal Neeman‘s 10th-inning home run gives Chicago a 9-8 win. The Cubs won the day before, 5-4, on George Altman‘s ninth-inning, two-run home run.
- 1965 – A 20-game winner in 1964, Larry Jackson loses his 20th game of this season, as the Phillies sweep a twin bill from the Cubs, 11-5 and 7-4. Jackson is the first pitcher since Murry Dickson of the 1951–1952 Pirates to follow a 20-win season with 20 losses.
- 1998 – Sammy Sosa breaks an 0 for 21 slump, hitting his 64th and 65th home runs as the Cubs build a 7-0 lead over the Brewers. Milwaukee fights back, however, and scores three in the last of the 9th when Chicago OF Brant Brown drops a routine fly ball with the bases loaded and two out to allow three Brewers to score. Rod Beck is on the mound when the Merkle-like error occurs (Fred Merkle’s boner occurred exactly 90 years ago). With his eight total bases, Sammy has now topped the 400 mark.
- 2000 – At Wrigley Field, the Cardinals defeat the Cubs, 6-5, despite 1B Mark Grace‘s 1,000th career RBI for Chicago.
- 2001 – Sammy Sosa becomes the first player in history to hit three home runs in a game three times in a season. Despite his trio of blasts, the Cubs still lose to the Astros, 7-6.
Cubs Birthdays: Gonzalez Germen, Chris Volstad, Willie Greene*, Tony Fossas, Dennis Lamp, Oscar Zamora, Mack Stewart, Joe Kelly.
Today in history:
- 1779 – John Paul Jones aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard defeats the British frigate HMS Serepis and becomes the United States first well-known naval hero.
- 1780 – British Major John Andre reveals Benedict Arnold‘s plot to betray West Point.
- 1806 – Lewis and Clark return to St Louis from Pacific Northwest.
- 1862 – US President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation is published in northern newspapers.
- 1875 – Billy the Kid is arrested for the first time and jailed after receiving clothing stolen from a Chinese laundry but escapes two days later.
- 1926 – “Upset of the Decade”: Gene Tunney defeats defending champion Jack Dempsey by 10-round unanimous decision at Sesquicentennial Stadium (later known as JFK Stadium) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the world heavyweight boxing title.
- 1952 – Undefeated Rocky Marciano knocks out defending champion Jersey Joe Walcott in the 13th round at Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia, for the world heavyweight boxing title.
- 1957 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower orders US troops to support the integration of nine Black students at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas after a white mob forces them to withdraw.
Today in music history:
- 1945 – First Cavalcade of Jazz outdoor concert is held at Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, featuring Count Basie, Valaida Snow, and others.
- 1957 – “That’ll Be the Day” single by Buddy Holly and The Crickets reaches No. 1 in the US.
- 1969 – Northern Star, the student newspaper for Northern Illinois University, starts rumors that Paul McCartney is dead.
- 1974 – John Lennon‘s single “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night,” featuring Elton John, is released in the US; it is Lennon’s only solo No. 1 single during his lifetime.
- 1980 – Reggae legend Bob Marley‘s final concert at Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- 1982 – Columbia Records releases “The Nylon Curtain,” singer-songwriter Billy Joel‘s eighth studio album.
- 2016 – Shawn Mendes releases his album “Illuminate”, debuting at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200.
*pictured.
