A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. The Iroquois Theater disaster and other stories are in this installment.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and various narratives to follow as they unfold over the course of time. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along.
“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly.
Today in baseball history:
- 1903 – Charlie Dexter and John Houseman save a number of people from the Iroquois Theatre fire* in Chicago, IL by breaking open a locked door. It is the worst theater fire in American history and most fatal disaster to occur in one building prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. (2)
- 1907 – The Mills Commission on the origins of baseball reports that the game was invented by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. The Commission is convinced by the testimony of Abner Graves, who claimed to be a childhood companion of Doubleday’s. Graves’ story is later “verified” when an old, rotting ball is found among his personal effects; the ball is now in the Hall of Fame. The Commission ignores the fact that Doubleday did not graduate from West Point until 1842. (2)
- 1926 – The Chicago Tribune breaks a story that the Detroit Tigers have thrown a four-game series to the Chicago White Sox in 1917 to help Chicago win the pennant. Responding to the publicity, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis convenes a hearing on the matter, but dismisses all charges. Landis can find no witnesses to confirm any part of Swede Risberg’s claim. (1,2)
Cubs birthdays: Clarence Currie, Ray Prim, Steve Davis, Sean Gallagher. Also notable: Sandy Koufax HOF.
Today in History:
- 1460 – Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield (Northern England), Duke of York killed and his forces soundly defeated by forces of King Henry VI.
- 1610 – Hungarian aristocrat Elisabeth Báthory arrested at Csejte Castle on suspicion of killing and torturing hundreds of young girls and women.
- 1903 – Electric arc lamp sets fire to Iroquois Theatre* in Chicago, Illinois, leaving 602 dead in one of the deadliest single-building blazes in American history.
- 1907 – Abraham Mills’ Mills Committee declares baseball was invented in 1839 by future American Civil War general Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York; widely disproven, now known as ‘the Doubleday myth’.
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.
- For world history.
*pictured.
Some of these items spread from site to site without being verified. That is exactly why we ask for reputable sources if you have differences with a posted factoid. We are trying to set the record as straight as possible. But it isn’t brain surgery.
Also, the ‘history’ segment is highly edited for space and interest. Of course a great many other things happened on those days. We try to follow up on the interesting or unfamiliar ones.
Thanks for reading.