Baseball history unpacked, July 1

The simCubs went OFF, throwing the Brewers’ ten-game winning streak into the dumpster of ancient history and knocking balls over the fence with regularity as Anthony Rizzo. Kris Bryant, and Nico Hoerner all homered. KB’s numbers are looking pretty damn good now after he trailed the team leaders most of the season and he’s now competitive with Rizzo, Willson Contreras, and Ian Happ for honors.

Yu looked okay. He got into some wildness after a stellar start and that cost him a chance at a win. Eric Lauer looked good, too, to a point. Not good enough, though. And KB wasn’t done there. Trevor Megill got the win. I didn’t check but I think it might have been his first MLB victory. He’s been ok so far and might stick around for a while.

Brett Anderson (9-3) will face Kyle Hendricks (10-3) in the third game of four today. Al will have more about the game in the game post at 2:30 p.m. CT, and then I’ll post the actual URL to the stream at 3 p.m. CT. Or you can catch the game at the BCB Media Center and also catch past games and game videos, if you want the full #simCubs experience.

... 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 hand-picked scenes from the rich tapestry of Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball history*.

Today in baseball history:

• 1859 - In the first college baseball game ever played, Amherst defeats their archrival, Williams College, 73-32 (66-32 by some reports). The game takes place near the corner of North Street and Maplewood Avenue in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. (1)
• 1901 - Chicago 1B Jack Doyle, harassed by a Polo Grounds fan, jumps into the stands and hits him once with his left hand, reinjuring the hand which he had broken several weeks before. The Giants’ Dummy Taylor trims Chicago’s Jack Taylor, 6 - 4. (3)
• 1903 - Cy Young drives in the contest’s lone run when he blanks the Pale Hose at Chicago’s South Side Park, 1-0. The shutout, his fourth consecutive complete game without allowing a run, is the Boston American right-hander’s third 1-0 victory in nine days. (1)
• 1906 - Righthander Jack Taylor, 8-9 with the St. Louis Cardinals, returns to the Cubs in exchange for second-string C Pete Noonan, rookie P Fred Beebe and cash. Taylor will help the Cubs by going 12-3 the rest of the year. (3)
• 1912 - At Pittsburgh, Chicago’s Wildfire Schulte breaks up a scoreless pitching duel between Marty O’Toole and Jimmy Lavender by legging out an inside-the-park homer in the 12th inning. Lavender and the Cubs win, 1-0. (3)
• 1936 - Powel Crosley, Jr. exercises his two-year option and buys controlling interest in the Cincinnati Reds. (3)
• 1958 - 1958 - The Cubs’ Tony Taylor hits a ball inside the third base line that falls into the rain gutter in fair territory at Wrigley Field. San Francisco rookie OF Leon Wagner chases the ball, but is fooled by Cubs relief pitchers staring intently under the bench. Wagner does not look for the ball in the gutter 40 to 50 feet further down. Taylor reaches home on the hit. (1,3)
• 1973 - At Wrigley Field, the Mets edge the Cubs, 6-5, in the first game of a doubleheader. Then it is the Cubs’ turn, as Randy Hundley bangs a ninth-inning three-run homer to give Chicago the 6-5 edge. Ron Santo has seven hits for the afternoon, five in the nitecap. (3)
• 1983 - Arbitrator Raymond Goetz rules that the 43 players who were on the disabled list during the 1981 players’ strike are not entitled to their salaries for that period. The decision saves the club owners about $2.5 million. (2,3)
• 1999 -The Brewers defeat the Cubs, 19-12, as SS Jose Valentin hits two-run home runs from each side of the plate. 2B Ronnie Belliard and C Dave Nilsson each get four hits for Milwaukee, while Belliard drives home five runs. The Brewers light up Steve Trachsel for 10 runs in 3⅔ innings pitched, hanging his National League-high 11th loss on him. The Brew Crew collects 21 hits for the second time in three nights. There are eight homers in the game, including a pair by the Cubs’ Mickey Morandini. Not homering after four straight games in which he went deep is Sammy Sosa, who singles twice. (3)
• 2005 - After walking 2,100 miles from Camp Verde, Arizona to reach Wrigley Field, Bill Holden throws the ceremonial first pitch and leads the crowd in singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the 7th-inning stretch at the Cubs game against the Nationals. Inspired by the DVD, This Old Cub, a documentary about former Cubs All-Star third baseman Ron Santo who lost both his legs to diabetes, the 56-year-old school teacher, with two bad knees, pounds the pavement for 172 days and raises $250,000 with his ‘Walk the Walk’ campaign for juvenile diabetes research. (1,3)
• 2019 - The Pirates beat down on the Cubs, with 23 hits in an 18-5 win. Josh Bell hits three homers and drives in seven runs, Adam Frazier has five hits including four doubles, matching the major league record, while Colin Moran also has a five-hit game. (3)
• Cubs birthdays: John Clarkson HOF, Fred Holmes, Hersh Freeman, Frank Baumann, Dick Drott, Mike Montgomery. Also notable: Foghorn Bradley, Roger Connor HOF, Boots Poffenberger.

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 try to vet each item. Please let us know if an item is in error, especially if you have a source. Thanks for reading!