Baseball history unpacked, October 17

A wildly popular Cubs-centric look at baseball’s past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along as we review select scenes from the rich tapestry of Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball history. It’s a beautiful day for a ball game — let’s get started!

Today in baseball history:

• 1960 - At the Sheraton Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, the National League owners vote to admit Houston and New York, making it the first structural change in the Senior Circuit since the turn of the century. The New York franchise, thanks to the efforts of prominent attorney William A Shea, is awarded to a group headed by Joan Payson, and Judge Roy Hofheinz is one of five owners of the new club in Texas. (1)

The story of the expansion (BBRef) (Fangraphs) (SABR)

• 1989 - Minutes before Game 3 of the World Series between Oakland and San Francisco, an earthquake hit the Bay Area. The game was postponed and the Series resumed 11 days later. (2)
• 2015

• 2017 - The Dodgers defeat the Cubs, 6 - 1, in Game 3 of the NLCS at Wrigley Field to move within one game of the World Series. Yu Darvish gives up a first-inning homer to Kyle Schwarber but then shuts down the Cubs until the seventh, when the bullpen takes over. Meanwhile, solo homers by Andre Ethier and Chris Taylor put the Dodgers ahead, and they seal the deal with a couple more runs on a triple by Taylor and a bases-loaded walk to Darvish, before adding a pair in the 8th.

Box score. Of course you remember it.

• Cubs birthdays: George Nicol, Paul Derringer, Johnny Ostrowski, Johnny Klipstein, John Mabry. Also notable: Buck Ewing (HoF).

Sources:

• (1) — The National Pastime.
• (2) — Today in Baseball History.
• (3) — Baseball Reference.
• (4) — Society for American Baseball Research.

Thanks for reading.