Just what year was this photo taken?
Last week I was doing some Cubs historical research. Specifically, I was looking for a photo of Frank Secory, who played briefly for the Cubs in the mid-1940s and later became a National League umpire.
I searched Getty’s database for a photo of Secory as a Cub and this is the only photo that came up. Here’s the full photo:
Getty Images
The problem: Secory isn’t in this photo. And there was no further info given with it in our photo editor.
Off to Getty’s website I went, where I found the following description:
Nothing graceful about this slide, but Phil Cavarretta is safe as he brings home the Chicago Cubs’ fifth run in the sixth inning of the New York Giants-Chicago Cubs game at the Polo Grounds on June 21st. Play was made on Frank Secory’s hit in the sixth. Umpire Tom Dunn calls the dust shrouded player safe.
Ah. Now we know why that photo came up in a search for Secory. We have the date, but not the year.
Secory played for the Cubs from 1944-46. The key to solving this one is the Cubs player standing at the right of the photo. Of the players who wore No. 36 for the Cubs in that time frame, this could only be Eddie Waitkus, who wore that number from 1946-48. The Giants catcher (No. 7) is Walker Cooper.
And so there’s our answer. This play happened Friday, June 21. 1946. It happened exactly as described. Cavarretta had doubled in a run and Secory singled in two runs — Peanuts Lowrey scored ahead of Cavarretta. The Cubs’ three-run inning gave them a 5-3 lead and they won the game 5-4. Waitkus was standing there because he was the on-deck hitter.
The win brought the Cubs to 28-23, in third place five games behind the first-place Dodgers. The Cubs would eventually finish third, 14½ games behind the pennant-winning Cardinals.
Just another slice of Cubs history, now from — yikes! — nearly 80 years ago.