Baseball history unpacked, September 26

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.

Today in baseball history:

• 1908 - Cubs right-hander Ed Reulbach pitches two shutouts in the same day, whitewashing the Brooklyn Superbas in the opener 5-0 on a five-hitter and 3-0 on a three hits in the nightcap. The entire Washington Park doubleheader is played in less than three hours. (1)

Box score 1. Box score 2. I the first game, Reulbach beat Kaiser Wilhelm. Jim Pastorius was the recipient of the second loss. Reulbach completed both games.

• 1912 - Trailing 9-0 going into the 9th inning at Chicago, the Reds stage a terrific comeback against Jimmy Lavender. Lavender gives up five runs and is lifted with the bases loaded. Reliever Fred Toney then walks three straight before Larry Cheney is brought in. The Reds take an unlikely 10 - 9 lead as Cheney walks two straight. Reds pitcher Ralph Works catches the fever walking one Cub and hitting another. Reliever Rube Benton quickly relieves and follows suit, walking three batters in a row to give the Cubs the 11 - 10 decision. (3)

Box score. Works took the loss, his 11th.

• 1927 - The Cubs play their last home date and report a season’s attendance of 1,190,000, the first time the team goes over a million. (3)

Box score. The Cubs lost to the Pirates 1-0. Johnny Miljus won over Art Nehf. Joe Harris drove in the only run with a 2nd-inning single.

• 1959 - The Cubs put the pennant race in a tie by blasting the Dodgers, 12 - 2, at Wrigley Field. The Cubs tally 18 hits in chasing Johnny Podres. (3)

Box score. Alvin Dark homered and tripled. Dave Hillman got the win, his 8th against 11 losses.

• 1961 - The Reds, with an 8-3 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, clinch their first National League pennant since 1940. (1)
• 1962 - The Cubs lose their 101st, but the good news is that only 903 fans are on hand to see it. The Phils win, 5 - 3, their 18th win in 23 games. The Phils will win tomorrow, 8 - 0, behind Dennis Bennett, and only 607 fans will see that one. (3)

Box score. Jack Hamilton (in relief) beat Bob Buhl. Center fielder Nelson Mathews homered for the Cubs before being replaced by pinch-hitter Lou Brock in the late innings.

• 1971 - Ernie Banks gets his 2,583rd hit, a 1st-inning single off the Phils’ Ken Reynolds, but the Cubs lose, 5 - 1. It is the last hit of Banks’s 19-year major league career. (3)
• 1989 - The Cubs become the first team to clinch a division title this season, wrapping up the National League East with a 3 - 2 win over the Expos. Mitch Williams strikes out Mike Fitzgerald to win the game. (3)

Box score. Greg Maddux won his 19th over Dennis Martinez. Watch the whole game in six segments:

• 2012 - Milo Hamilton, after 63 years of doing play-by-play, calls his final game, painting the word picture of his Astros beating St. Louis at Minute Maid Park, 2-0. The Hall of Fame broadcaster, who also worked for the Browns, Cardinals, Cubs, White Sox, Braves, and Pirates before starting his 28-year tenure with Houston, gives an inspirational farewell speech during the seventh-inning stretch, receiving a standing ovation from the fans at the ballpark. (1)
• 2016 - The Cubs win their 100th game of the season by defeating the Pirates, 12 - 2. Javier Baez hits a grand slam and drives in 6 runs to lead the attack. It is the first 100-win season for the Cubbies since 1935. (3)

Box score. Kyle Hendricks won his 16th against Chad Kuhl.

• Cubs birthdays: Bert Humphries, Clarence Maddern, Bobby Shantz, Al Lary, Steve Buechele, Dave Martinez.

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.