Baseball history unpacked, October 5

... on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue brings a you a lighthearted 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*.

Today in baseball history:

• 1905 - The Beaneaters suffer their 100th loss of the season when they drop the first game of a Washington Park doubleheader, 11-5, to the Superbas, a team that has already lost 103 games. It is the first occurrence in major league history that two teams with triple-digit losses have been opponents. (1)
• 1907 - The Philadelphia Athletics’ Rube Vickers pitches a five-inning 4-0 perfect game against the Washington Senators. Vickers also wins the 15-inning first game of the twin bill, 4-2, with a spectacular 12-inning relief effort. The two wins are the only ones for Vickers this season. (3)
• 1911 - The National Commission sells motion picture rights to the World Series for $3,500. When the players demand a share of it, the Commission cancels the deal. (3)
• 1912 - During the Highlanders’ last game played at Hilltop Park, Homer Thompson appears in his first and final game in the majors. Although the New York backstop doesn’t come to bat, his debut is memorable as he catches his younger brother Tommy, making the siblings the first brothers to form a battery in American League history. (1)
• 1945 - Claude Passeau of the Chicago Cubs pitches a one-hitter, beating the Detroit Tigers, 3-0, in Game 3 of the World Series. (2,3)
• 2010 - Hanshin Tigers outfielder Matt Murton breaks Ichiro’s Japanese record for the most hits in a single season when he strokes his 211th hit of the year, a two-run single to center in a game against the Yakult Swallows. The 29-year-old former major leaguer, a 2003 first-round draft pick of the Red Sox who became part of a trade to the Cubs in a four-team deal that included Nomar Garciaparra, also played with the A’s before being released by the Rockies last season. (1)
• Cubs birthdays: Roger Denzer, Norm McMillan, Charlie Pechous, Al Heist, Rey Sanchez.

SimNews:

The simCubs looked so bad in losing to the Nationals 1-0 in 12 innings that I lost faith and simmed the next game, figuring that they’d tank. People, you gotta believe:

Game Three: Cubs win 4-1

Darvish (1-0) over Scherzer (1-1). Kimbrel save. Contreras HR (!) Darvish 3 RBI (3) (bases-loaded double). 2B Bryant, Happ, Darvish.

Game Four: Cubs win 2-1

Tepera (1-0) over Elias (0-1). Kimbrel Sv (2). HR: Baez 2B: Rizzo, Baez, Happ 2

To make a long story short — Game Five. 11 am CT today. Kyle Hendricks (0-1) vs Anibal Sanchez. The gamethread will be right here. Drama! All game video and related material is available commercial-free, 24/7, at the BCB Media Center.

Sources:

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

*We vet each item as much as time allows. Please let us know if an item is in error, especially if you have a source. Thanks for reading!