Baseball history unpacked, July 26

... 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:

• 1879 - At Star Park, Harry McCormick, the Syracuse starter, hits a first-inning homer to beat Tommy Bond and the Boston Red Stockings, 1-0. This most likely will be the only occurrence in major league history that a pitcher will record a 1-0 victory, with his own first inning round-tripper being the game’s lone run. (1)
• 1948 - Leo Durocher makes his first appearance at Ebbets Field since taking over the Giants, but the overflow crowd delights in a 13-4 win by the Dodgers. (1,2,3)

Box score.

• 1951 - In a 9-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Jim Russell becomes the first player in major league history to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in a game in two different games. The Dodger outfielder’s accomplishment will be surpassed in 1956, when Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle goes deep both right and left-handed in the same game for a third time. (1)

Box score.

• 1975 - At Wrigley Field, Bill Madlock collects six hits in a game when he singles five times and triples in the Cubs’ 9-8 ten-inning loss to New York. ‘Mad Dog’, finishing with a .354 average, will win the first of his four batting titles (1975, ‘76, ‘81, ‘83) this season. (1)

Box score.

• 1987 - Catfish Hunter, Billy Williams, and Ray Dandridge are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. (1)
• 2013 - The Cubs trade Alfonso Soriano, along with cash, to the Yankees in exchange for minor-leaguer Corey Black, a 21-year-old right-handed pitching prospect. The 37-year-old Dominican left fielder made his major league debut with the Bronx Bombers in 1999, developing into an All-Star second baseman, before being traded to Texas four seasons later as part of a blockbuster deal that brought Alex Rodriguez to New York. (1)

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.