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Happy birthday to Karl “Tuffy” Rhodes, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1931 – Babe Ruth becomes the first major leaguer to hit 600 career home runs as the Yankees defeat the Browns, 11-7, and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
- 1926 – White Sox hurler Ted Lyons pitches a no-hitter , beating the Red Sox, 6-0, in just 67 minutes at Fenway Park.
- 1971 – For the second time in ten days, Dave Roberts of the Padres and Tom Seaver of the Mets lock up in a pitchers duel, but this time, Seaver comes out on top, 2-1. Cleon Jones ends the game with a walk-off home run with two outs on the bottom of the ninth, only the third hit allowed by Roberts. Seaver and Roberts will finish first and second respectively in the National League ERA race.
- 1972 – Phil Niekro and the Braves beat the Phillies, 2-1, in 11 innings, to snap Steve Carlton‘s 15-game winning streak. After retiring 19 batters in a row, Carlton (20-7) puts two runners on in the 11th, before Mike Lum singles home the winner.
- 1977 – Tom Seaver makes his first appearance in Shea Stadium as a member of the Reds, and pitches a six-hitter to beat the Mets, 5-1. Tom Terrific strikes out 11, has a double at the plate and scores twice.
- 1980 – Rob Wilfong‘s first-inning single is the only hit off Jack Morris. The Tiger ace beats the Twins, 4-2.
- 1982 – Brewer reliever Rollie Fingers become the first player in major league history to record 300 career saves as Milwaukee defeat the Mariners, 3-2.
- 1996 – Phils ace Curt Schilling faces 28 batters in a two-hit, 6-0 win over the Dodgers. Schilling strikes out 12. Rookie Scott Rolen hits his first two major league homers, both off Hideo Nomo.
- 1996 – Cal Ripken is 4 for 5, including a homer, to lead the surging Orioles to a 10-5 win over the Mariners.
- 2004 – At Dodger Stadium, Vladimir Guerrero hits his 226th career home run breaking Andre Dawson‘s club record. The Expos right fielder hits his milestone round-tripper off Odalis Perez, a 454-foot shot over the left field wall.
- 2011 – With 3B Alex Rodriguez back in the line-up for the first time since July 7th, the Yankees shut out the Twins, 3-0. A-Rod and Jim Thome become the first members of the 600 home run club to appear in the same contest since Willie Mays and Hank Aaron 38 years prior.
- 2013 – With a 1st-inning single off Toronto’s R.A. Dickey, Ichiro Suzuki gets his 4,000th hit between Japan (1,278) and the United States (2,722). He is only the third player to reach the milestone at such a high level, following Ty Cobb and Pete Rose,
Today in Cubs history:
- 1913 – The Giants increase their National League lead to ten games by smoking Eddie Stack and the Cubs, 8-2. Christy Mathewson rolls to his 22nd win, allowing eight hits. Johnny Evers collects three hits, including a homer in the fifth.
- 1917 – Now with the Philadelphia Phils, Charles Bender, 34, pitches his third straight shutout, winning 6 0 over the Cubs. In his last active season, Bender will turn in four shutouts and win eight with two losses and a 1.67 ERA.
- 1975 – The Reuschel brothers of the Cubs join forces to blank the Dodgers, 6-0. Rick goes 6.1 innings and Paul finishes the game for the first (and still the only) combined shutout thrown by siblings.
- 1987 – Andre Dawson belts his 39th and 40th home runs of the season and Lee Smith picks up his 30th save in Chicago’s 7-5 win over the Astros.
- 1989 – Cubs rookie OF Jerome Walton goes 0 for 4 in a 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Reds, ending his hitting streak at 30 consecutive games.
- 1990 – Billy Hatcher ties a major-league record with four doubles to pace the Reds to an 8-1 win over the Cubs. Rick Mahler beats Mike Harkey. The only score for Chicago is Ryne Sandberg‘s 29th homer.
Cubs Birthdays: Tim Collins, Jesse Chavez, Jason Marquis, Ismael Valdez, Karl Rhodes*, Jim Bullinger, Vern Fear, Whitey Platt, Jim Mosolf, Frank Isbell.
Today in history:
- 1858 – First Lincoln-Douglas debate in Illinois.
- 1888 – American inventor William Seward Burroughs patents the adding machine.
- 1897 – Oldsmobile is first manufactured by Olds Motor Vehicle Co. in Lansing, Michigan.
- 1955 – Chicago teenager Emmett Till arrives in Money, Mississippi, to visit relatives, a week before he is murdered.
- 1959 – Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States.
- 1961 – American country singer Patsy Cline records struggling songwriter Willie Nelson‘s song “Crazy” in Nashville, Tennessee.
- 1966 – The Beatles headline their second show of the day at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, after playing in the afternoon 341 miles away in Cincinnati, Ohio, following a rainout the night before.
- 1996 – Netscape Browser 3.0 is released.
- 2001 – “How You Remind Me” single released by Nickelback.
- 2025 – A 1642 will at the center of a legal battle over Shakespeare‘s home is found after 150 years in an unlabeled box at the National Archives.
*pictured.
