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Baseball history unpacked, October 4

.763, last place at last, that first playoff victory in 95 years, and other stories

no sleuthing necessary
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... on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue brings a you 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. The embedded links often point to articles that pertain to the scenes, such as reproductions of period newspapers, images, and/or other such material as is often found in the wild.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1906 - The Cubs post their 116th victory of the season when they beat Pittsburgh at Exposition Park, 4-0. Chicago, who sets a major league mark for wins, completes the season with an astounding .763 winning percentage. (1)
  • 1925 - For the first time in the 50-year history of the franchise, the Cubs end the season in last place. The team, managed by Bill Killefer (33-42), Rabbit Maranville (23-30), and George Gibson (12-14), compiles a 68-86 record and finishes 27½ games behind the first-place Pirates. (1) Interestingly, Charlie Grimm was on that team. Perhaps he learned what NOT to do.

Box score.

  • 1935 - Game 3 WS At Wrigley Field, the Cubs get a two-run inning in the ninth to tie the game 5-5, but the Tigers win it in the 11th inning. Tigers lead the 1935 World Series 2 games to 1. (6)

Box score.

Box score.

Box score.

  • 2003 - The Cubs win their first postseason series victory since 1908 when the franchise won the World Series. In front of a standing-room crowd of 54,357 at Turner Field, Chicago beat the Braves in the deciding Game 5 of the NLDS, 5-1. (1)

Box score.

  • 2007 - Game 2 NLDS: The Cubs had a promising start in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field when Geovany Soto hit a two-run home run in the second inning. But the lead didn’t last long as Ted Lilly struggled in the bottom of the second, giving up a three-run home run to Chris Young (remember when he threw his glove on the mound after this pitch?). Overall, Lilly gave up four runs in the inning and the Diamondbacks take a 2-0 series lead with an 8-4 victory. The series will move to Chicago and Wrigley Field for Game 3. (6)

Box score.

  • 2008 - NLDS Game 3: In Game 3 of the NLDS, Hiroki Kuroda pitched a great game against the Cubs to win the NLDS clincher, 3-1 at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers defeat the Cubs 3 games to 0 to advance to the NLCS. (6)

Box score.

Sources:

Thanks for reading.