What is the story about?
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:
- 1890 – Al Johnson, one of the main backers of the Players League, purchases the Cincinnati Reds of the National League with a plan to transfer them to the fledgling circuit. However, the Players League will fold before he can do so, and he will in turn sell the team to John T. Brush, a minority owner of the New York Giants. (2)
- 1897 – Cap Anson closes out a remarkable 27-year career that started in the National Association in 1871. He hits two home runs for the Chicago Colts in the first game of a doubleheader against St. Louis. At age 45, he becomes the oldest player to homer in the majors, a record since surpassed by Jack Quinn (46) and Julio Franco (48). (1,2)
- 1904 – Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants strikes out 16 Cardinals in a 3-1 Giants victory, which takes only one hour and 15 minutes. The 16 Ks was at that time a record. It has been surpassed since. (1,2)
- 1909 – With the National League pennant already decided, today’s game between the Pirates and Cubs is still remarkable as it is the first time in major league history that two teams with 100 or more wins have met on the field. It will happen again a few times in the postseason in future years, but not in the regular season until the first game of the three-game playoff between the Giants and Dodgers on October 1, 1962. (2)
- 1945 – The Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs face each other in the World Series for the fourth time. Hank Borowy pitches a six-hitter and Hal Newhouser is demolished with eight runs in three innings as the Cubs win, 9-0. (1,2)
- 1951 – Bobby Thomson hits a three-run home run off Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the New York Giants a dramatic 5-4 playoff victory and the National League pennant. The blast will become known in baseball lore as the Shot Heard ‘Round the World. (1,2)
- 1974 – Frank Robinson becomes the first black manager in the major leagues, as the Cleveland Indians name him to replace Ken Aspromonte for the 1975 season. (2)
- 1999 – On the final day of the season, Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hits his 65th home run, moving past Ted Williams and Willie McCovey into tenth place on the career list with 522. McGwire finishes with a two-homer edge over Chicago‘s Sammy Sosa, who hits his 63rd on the same day. (2)
- 2018 – MLB issues a ruling in the case of Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, who has been on administrative leave since September 21st following allegations of domestic violence. He is handed a 40-game suspension, retroactive to the start of his leave, with the remainder to be served at the start of the 2019 season. (2)
Cubs Birthdays: Bob Bowman, Dom Dallessandro, Jack Lamabe, Dennis Eckersley*, Matt Murton, Jen-Ho Tseng.
Today in History:
- 52 BC – Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius Caesar, ending the siege and Battle of Alesia.
- 1283 – Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd, Wales, becomes the first person executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered.
- 1605 – Sangley Rebellion: Overseas Chinese, known as the Sangley, rise up against Spanish authorities in Manila, Philippines. Spanish, local Japanese, and indigenous Tagalog forces massacre an estimated 20,000 ethnic Chinese.
- 1849 – American author Edgar Allan Poe is found delirious in a gutter in Baltimore, Maryland under mysterious circumstances; it is the last time he is seen in public before his death.
- 1913 – US Federal income tax signed into law (at 1%) by President Woodrow Wilson.
- 1990 – Reunification of East Germany and West Germany; West German flag is raised above the Brandenburg Gate at the stroke of midnight.
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?
