Baseball history unpacked, September 19

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. We do our best to verify the accuracy of the contents. Please let us know if an item is inaccurate (but be nice).

Today in baseball history:

• 1935 - The Cubs win their 16th consecutive game as they beat Carl Hubbell, completing a four-game sweep of the Giants. (1) Billy Herman has three hits and is 11 for 18 in the series with the Giants. The 16 wins in a row is most in the National League since the 1924 Brooklyn Robins won 15. Giants manager Bill Terry tells reporters that, “the Cubs will win ... they are playing way over their heads.” (3)

Box score. The original Bill Lee got the win, his 19th. That was a battle of the titans as the 95-52 Cubs bested the 84-56 Giants. Both teams were loaded with Hall-of-Famers and nearly-good-enough stars.

• 1955 - Ernie Banks, in a 6-5 Cubs’ extra-inning loss to the Cardinals, hits his fifth grand slam of the season to establish a new major league mark, previously shared with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, among the others who also connected four times with bases full. (1) ...but Rip Repulski’s 12th-inning homer off Jim Davis proves to be the difference as the Cardinals beat Chicago, 6 - 5. (3)

Box score. 2B Gene Baker had the only other Cub RBI with a first-inning single, scoring 1B Dee Fondy. The Cardinals waited til the bottom of the 7th to start scoring but made the waiting count as they struck for two runs, and then scored three in the bottom of the 8th to tie things up.

• 1973 - Chicago’s Ron Santo and Billy Williams celebrate their long association together by each hitting their 20th homer of the season in an 8-6 win over Montreal. It is number 325 for Santo and 376 for Williams in more than 2,000 games together. (3)

Box score. Big Daddy Rick Reuschel took home the W and Mike Marshall wore the L in relief. Rick Monday also went deep for the Cubs.

• 1978 - During a 12 - 11 win over the Cubs, the Pirates’ 38-year-old, lead-footed Willie Stargell attempts to steal second base. The Cubs SS waits with the ball as Stargell slides 10 feet short of the base, signaling “time-out.” The Pirates lead 11 - 2 in the 7th, but the Cubs rally and tie it in the 9th. Dave Parker homers in the 11th off Bruce Sutter to give the Bucs their 7th straight win and 30th in their last 38 since August 12th. Besides his two homers, Parker adds two run-scoring singles. (3)

Box score. Those pitching lines are fugly. Ken Holtzman relieved Reuschel and made matters worse by giving up five earned runs to Big Daddy’s 2. Dave Geisel and Willie Hernandez also gave up runs. Bill Buckner and Dave Kingman hit home runs for the Cubs.

• 2010 - Standing on third base, Tyler Colvin’s chest is punctured when he is hit by a piece of Welington Castillo’s shattered maple bat. The Cubs’ rookie outfielder, who will not play another game this season, scores on his teammate’s double, but leaves the game in the bottom half of the inning to be taken to a hospital. (1)

Box score. Colvin was never the same player after that, though he played a few more years with San Francisco and Colorado. It sure was scary to see; I can imagine it was scarier to feel. Jeff Samardzija won his second game, pitching six full innings and giving up three earned runs. Andrew Miller took the loss.

• 2014 - LA’s Clayton Kershaw becomes the first 20-game winner of the season when the team routs Chicago at a windy Wrigley Field, 14-5. (1)

Box score. Edwin Jackson lost his 15th, going just two-thirds of an inning while giving up five earned runs, which was surpassed by Dan Straily, who gave up six in an inning and a third. Let’s forget this one and move on.

• Cubs birthdays: Buddy Schultz, Phil Stephenson, Randy Myers, Scott Baker, . Also notable: Duke Snider, Joe Morgan (HoF).

Sources:

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

Please note that individual lines may have been corrected for spelling and/or grammarical errata. Thanks for playing along.