Baseball history unpacked, July 24

... 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:

• 1965 - Unbeknownst to him at the time, 75 year-old Mets skipper Casey Stengel, who compiled a managerial record of 1,905-1,842 with the Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, and Mets, manages his final baseball game, a 5-1 loss to Philadelphia at Shea Stadium. After leaving a party at Toots Shor’s after midnight, the ‘Old Perfesser’ loses his balance and fractures his left hip, resulting in the unexpected retirement with the team. (1)
• 1969 - At Wrigley Field, Ken Holtzman tops Don Sutton for the 4th straight time - three this year - as Chicago beats the Dodgers, 5 - 3. For a frustrated Sutton, it is a Cubs-record 13th straight loss to Chicago stretching back to his rookie year. (3)

Box score.

• 1974 - Whitey Lockman becomes the team’s director of player development and will be replaced as the Cubs manager by third base coach Jim Marshall. During his three-year stint in the dugout, the Lowell, North Carolina native compiled a 157-162 (.492) record. (1,3)
• 2014 - While singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch, Andy Milovich, the 45-year-old vice president and general manager of the Class-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, is given a prostate exam in the TicketReturn.com Field press box. The first 1,000 men attending the Carolina League contest against the Winston-Salem Dash received a promotional foam rubber finger. (1)
• Cubs birthdays: Joe Schultz, Preston Ward, Mike Adams, Jason Smith, Miguel Socolovich. Also notable: Tommy McCarthy (HoF).

Sources:

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

Thanks for reading.