A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Happy Birthday, José Lobatón! And other stories, including the sad end of the Cubs’ 2015 season.
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:
- 1925 – Marv Goodwin, a former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals who joined the Cincinnati Reds at the end of the season, is killed in a plane he is piloting. At age 34, Goodwin is the first active player to die from injuries sustained in an airplane crash. Goodwin was one of the original spitballers who was “grandfathered.” (2)
- 1934 – An All-Star team led by Babe Ruth and Connie Mack sails on a tour to Hawaii and Japan. Players with wives include Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty Gómez, Earl Averill and Lefty O’Doul. (2)
- 1957 – The New York Giants, who are moving to San Francisco in 1958, purchase the Class-A San Francisco Seals team and will convince the Pacific Coast League to accept Phoenix as a new location for the Seals. (2)
- 1959 – The Players Association approves two All-Star Games in 1960, to be held at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium and New York’s Yankee Stadium. The players would like to have them played within four days of each other. (2)
- 1964 – After just 11 years in Milwaukee, the Braves’ Board of Directors votes to ask the National League for permission to move to Atlanta. Milwaukee County officials sue to block the move. (1,2)
- 1975 – Carlton Fisk breaks up one of the best games in World Series history with a home run in the 12th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 7-6 victory against the Cincinnati Reds, forcing a seventh game to decide the winner of the 1975 World Series. (2)
- 1980 – The Philadelphia Phillies become World Series champions for the first time in their 98-year history with a 4-1 triumph over the Kansas City Royals in Game 6 of the 1980 World Series. (2)
- 1995 – Atlanta beats Cleveland, 3-2, in Game 1 of the World Series behind star pitcher Greg Maddux. Fred McGriff homers for Atlanta, while Kenny Lofton of Cleveland becomes the first player since 1921 to steal two bases in one inning of a Series game. The two teams combine for only five hits, tying a World Series record for fewest hits by both clubs. (2)
- 2001 – Randy Johnson and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2, to win the National League Championship Series and reach the World Series for the first time in their history. Arizona gets to the Series faster than any expansion team in history, doing so in the fourth year of its existence. Erubiel Durazo’s pinch-hit two-run home run is the key blow. Craig Counsell is named the NLCS MVP. (2)
- 2015 – The Mets complete a sweep of the Cubs in the NLCS with an 8-3 win at Wrigley Field. They score four runs in the first and two in the second to run away with the game, while Daniel Murphy, who is named MVP of the series, sets a new postseason record by homering in his sixth straight game. (2)
Cubs Birthdays: Jack Hayden, Bill Lee, Johnny Goryl, George Bell, José Lobatón*. Also notable: Whitey Ford HOF.
Today in History:
- 1096 – Sultan Kilidj Arslan of Nicea defeats The People’s Crusade at the Battle of Civetot, only about 3,000 out of 20,000 Crusaders survive.
- 1520 – Explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet reach Cape Virgenes after transiting the Magellan Strait between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, becoming the first Europeans to sail into the Pacific.
- 1797 – The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) is launched in Boston.
- 1805 – Battle of Trafalgar: British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats combined French and Spanish fleet. Nelson shot and killed during battle.
- 1897 – Yerkes Observatory of University of Chicago is dedicated.
- 1959 – Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens in New York.
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.