A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. 2016 Game 6 and other stories. Happy birthday, Jeremiah Estrada and others.
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:
- 1870 – The Chicago White Stockings host the New York Mutuals at Dexter Park with the unofficial national championship at stake with 6,000 fans on hand. With his team ahead, 13-12, and having just walked the bases loaded, Mutuals pitcher Rynie Wolters walks off the mound, claiming the umpire is biased. The game ends with the score reverting to the last completed inning, giving Chicago a 7-5 win although the Mutuals continue to proclaim themselves the champs. (2)
- 1882 – The “Philadelphia Ball Club, Limited” is incorporated in Philadelphia, PA, with Stephen Farrelly as the principal stockholder (although the money he invests actually comes from John Walsh, a Chicago, IL millionaire and minority owner of the Chicago White Stockings), with John Rogers and former players Al Reach and Tom Pratt as minority owners. The club will soon be admitted into the National League, of which it is still a member today as the Philadelphia Phillies. (2)
- 1938 – National League batting champ Ernie Lombardi of the Cincinnati Reds is named the Most Valuable Player. Chicago Cubs pitcher Bill Lee is runner-up. (1,2)
- 1946 – Surgeons amputate the right foot of Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck. Two years before, the colorful executive had suffered a serious injury to his leg in the South Pacific during World War II. Veeck has had a tremendous impact on promotion in a half season of ownership. A minor but typical change is the regular posting of National League scores on the Cleveland scoreboard, a departure from the long-standing practice of both leagues. In spite of the amputation, Veeck will remain an active owner through the 1970s. (1,2)
- 1966 – Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax becomes the first three-time winner of the Cy Young Award. He is a unanimous winner for the second straight year. This is the last year that only one award is given for pitchers in both of the major leagues. (1,2)
- 1982 – At a meeting in Chicago, the major league owners vote not to renew Commissioner Bowie Kuhn’s contract. The American League owners vote in favor of Kuhn 11-3, and the National League 7-5. But his 18 votes leave him two shy of the three-fourths majority required for reelection. Kuhn will remain on the job until a successor is found. He will eventually be replaced by Peter Ueberroth after the 1984 Olympics. (1,2)
- 1988 – Chris Sabo, who hit .271 with 11 home runs and 46 stolen bases as the Cincinnati Reds third baseman, wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Chicago Cubs first baseman Mark Grace is the runner-up. (1,2)
- 1989 – The Senior Professional Baseball Association begins its first season. The list of retired major leaguers playing in the 35-and-older league includes future Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers and Ferguson Jenkins, and former All-Stars like Paul Blair, Vida Blue, Bert Campaneris, Jose Cruz, Dock Ellis, George Foster, Graig Nettles and Amos Otis. (2)
- 1999 – Atlanta Braves coach Don Baylor is hired as the Chicago Cubs’ manager. (2)
- 2016 – The Cubs force a decisive Game 7 in the World Series with a 9-3 win over the Indians in Game 6 at Progressive Field. Kris Bryant opens the scoring with a solo homer off Josh Tomlin in the first, and later in the inning Addison Russell adds a two-run double on a ball that falls between CF Tyler Naquin and RF Lonnie Chisenhall. Russell adds a grand slam in the third as Chicago builds an insurmountable lead and cruises to the finish.
Cubs Birthdays: Fred Demarais, Sherman Kennedy, Earl Blackburn, James York, Larry French, Clint Compton, Miguel Diloné, Anthony Bass, Jeremiah Estrada*. Also notable: Bid McPhee HOF.
Today in History:
- 835 – Pope Gregory IV decrees All Saints Day a holy day of obligation for the Catholic religion.
- 1512 – Michelangelo’s paintings on ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican first exhibited.
- 1665 – Robert Hooke’s landmark work “Micrographia” with drawings using a microscope and coining the word “cell” is published by the Royal Society.
- 1755 – Lisbon earthquake kills more than 50,000 in Portugal.
- 1894 – Vaccine for diphtheria announced by Dr Émile Roux of Paris.
- 1922 – Mustafa Kemal Ataturk takes Constantinople from Mehmed VI, proclaiming the Republic of Turkey and bringing an end to the Ottoman Empire.
- 1950 – Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate US President Harry Truman at Blair House in Washington D.C.; attack thwarted by White House Police, including Officer Leslie Coffelt who was killed in the line of duty.
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.
- 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.