For this one, we go back almost 80 years.
First, a note about where I found this photo — on the Encyclopedia of Chicago website. Where they said it was from 1950.
It’s not, and I will show my work. Or, mine
and Mike Bojanowski’s, because I had to send it to him for help on sussing out the matchups.
What do we know just looking at the photo? It’s obviously from before 1952, because there’s no hitters’ background. It’s a full house, suggesting a weekend or possibly a holiday doubleheader. Back in the day, those sorts of things were generally good draws.
I sent Mike this close-up screenshot of the scoreboard to see if he could send me the matchups.
Well, that’s pretty blurry, but he figured it out. First of all, remember that the Cubs and White Sox lines were on the top of the board in those days. We are in the top of the sixth inning, No. 4 is at bat for the visiting team, there’s one out and there are two strikes and runs have already been scored in the inning.
The matchups are:
NL: ST LOUIS/CUBS, PITTSBURGH/CINCINNATI, NEW YORK/BROOKLYN, BOSTON/PHILADELPHIA
AL: SOX/ST LOUIS, PHILADELPHIA/BOSTON, DETROIT/CLEVELAND, WASHINGTON/NEW YORK
So now it’s just a matter of looking for dates when the Cubs hosted the Cardinals around the era we’re talking about, 1940s/before 1952, with a full house.
There is only one date that matches all these games. It is, in fact, the date of a holiday doubleheader at Wrigley Field: Friday, July 4, 1947.
Marty Marion is No. 4 for the Cardinals. The game was scoreless until the inning we’re seeing here. The Cardinals had already scored three runs in the top of the sixth when Marion was at bat. He struck out, but St. Louis scored three more and defeated the Cubs in that doubleheader’s first game 7-0. The Cubs won the nightcap 5-4. The attendance was 44,954, the second-largest Wrigley crowd that year. (The largest, 46,572, was for Jackie Robinson’s Wrigley debut May 18, 1947, still the largest-ever regular-season crowd at Wrigley Field.)
In 1947, the Cubs were only two years removed from an NL pennant, and had finished third the previous year. Most Cubs fans were used to the team winning pennants every few years, if not any World Series wins, and likely expected the ‘47 team to be pretty good. And, in fact, they were in first place for a while early in the season and entered the date of this doubleheader at 34-33, just four games out of first place.
That was about as good as it got. After defeating the Pirates July 5, the Cubs lost nine in a row and wound up finishing sixth at 69-85. They wouldn’t be over .500 that late in the year again until 1952.
Just another slice of Cubs history, this one from 78 years ago. Incidentally, four days after this game, the Cubs would host the All-Star Game for the first time. The AL defeated the NL 2-1.
