A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Happy birthday to Joe Pepitone and a great day in 2017, plus much more.
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:
- 1906 – Snow flies at Chicago’s West Side Park as the first one-city World Series opens with the 116-win Cubs heavy favorites. However, White Sox starter Nick Altrock outduels Three Finger Brown for a 2-1 victory. (1,2)
- 1919 – Chicago White Sox starter Lefty Williams gets just one man out in the 1st inning and the Cincinnati Reds go on to a 10-5 victory. Cincinnati wins the best-of-nine World Series in eight games. A year after the Series ends, the White Sox will become the “Black Sox”, and eight players will be barred from baseball for taking part in throwing the Series, including Williams who was allegedly threatened before the game to make sure the outcome is no longer in doubt after the 1st inning. (1,2)
- 1938 – In the World Series, the New York Yankees become the first team to win three successive World Championships, defeating the Cubs, 8-3. Red Ruffing posts his second victory of the Series as the Yankees sweep the Cubs for the second time in six years. (1,2)
- 1989 – The Giants win their first National League pennant since 1962 by defeating the Cubs, 3-2, in Game 5 of the NLCS. Will Clark bats .650 in the series with eight RBI to win MVP honors. (2)
- 2015 – John Lackey is the star, pitching 7⅓ innings during which he gives up no runs on two hits, making a 1-0 Cardinals lead dating back to the 1st inning hold. The Cards score three more runs in the bottom of the eighth, on a pinch-hit homer by Tommy Pham and a two-run shot by Stephen Piscotty, and end up 4-0 winners over the Cubs and Jon Lester. (2)
- 2017 – Max Scherzer pitches no-hit ball until one out in the seventh, when Ben Zobrist hits a double for the Cubs then scores the tying run on a single by pinch-hitter Albert Almora. In the eighth, Anthony Rizzo drops a hit between a trio of players in the outfield to allow Leonys Martin to score from second, and Chicago wins Game 3 of the NLDS, 2-1, over Washington. (2)
Cubs Birthdays: Dave Rowe, Joe Pepitone*, Félix Fermín, Courtney Duncan, Derek Holland. Also notable: Rube Marquard HOF
Today in History:
- 768 – Charlemagne and his brother Carloman I are crowned Kings of The Franks.
- 1410 – Earliest mention of Prague’s astronomical clock, the world’s oldest still in operation, built by Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel.
- 1701 – Collegiate School of CT (Yale U) chartered in New Haven.
- 1855 – American inventor Isaac Singer patents sewing machine motor.
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.