Baseball history unpacked, July 29

... 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-threaded seams from the rich tapestry of Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball history*.

Today in baseball history:

• 1911 - In the first game of a twin bill at Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds, Red Sox right-hander Joe Wood whiffs twelve Browns en route to a 5-0 no-hitter. ‘Smokey,’ a nickname coined due to his blazing fastball, throws the fifth hitless game in franchise history, and last to be accomplished in the Boston ballpark. (1,3)
• 1915 - Pirates infielder Honus Wagner reaches Brooklyn Robins hurler Jeff Pfeffer for a grand slam in the eighth inning, helping Pittsburgh beat Brooklyn at Forbes Field, 8-2. The inside-the-park round-tripper makes the 41-year-old infielder the oldest player ever to hit a home run with the bases full, a record which will last until 1985. (1,3)
• 1944 - Annabelle Lee, the aunt of future major leaguer Bill Lee, pitches the first of five perfect games in the 12-year history of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The Minneapolis Millerettes southpaw knuckleballer, who will toss a no-hitter for the Fort Wayne Daisies precisely one year from this date, doesn’t allow any batters to reach first base in the 18-0 rout of the Kenosha (WI) Comets. (1)
• 1951 - Against the Phillies, Cubs player-manager Phil Cavarretta earns his money by driving home three runs in a first-game win, 5-4, snapping the Cubs’ 10-game home losing streak. His triple in the sixth off Robin Roberts ends the Cubs’ scoreless inning skein of 31 innings, and the consecutive scoreless innings by Phils pitchers at 41. Cavarretta takes the bench in the second game but inserts himself as a pinch-hitter in the seventh when Roberts relieves, and hits a grand slam home run as the Cubs sweep, winning the nitecap, 8-6. The nitecap loss goes to Bubba Church, who put two runners on before giving way to Roberts. It is Church’s first and only career loss to Chicago after nine straight wins. (3)
• 1970 - The Cubs purchase 1B/OF Joe Pepitone from the Astros. Pepitone will drive in 31 runs in his first 31 games for his new team. (3)
• 1988 - In the Cubs’ 8-3 win over Kevin Gross and the host Phillies, Rick Sutcliffe swipes home, the first pitcher since Pascual Perez in 1984 to steal home. It comes on the front end of a double steal with Mitch Webster. Sutcliffe is the first Cubs pitcher to steal home since Hippo Vaughn in 1919. (3)
• 1998 - Jon Garland, the Cubs’ first-round draft pick last season, is traded in a deadline deal for White Sox reliever Matt Karchner, who will struggle with a 5.14 ERA in 29 appearances for the crosstown rivals. The Pale Hose’s rookie right-hander will spend the first eight seasons of his career with the South Siders, compiling a 92-81 (.532) record, along with an ERA of 4.41 for his new team. (1)
• 2014 - The Cubs win the longest game (by time) in team history, 4-3, as the 16 innings take 6 hours and 27 minutes to complete, 17 minutes longer than a 21-inning game played over two days in 1982; it’s also the record for a Rockies game. Catcher John Baker is pressed into mound duty in the 16th and earns the win when he scores the winning run after leading off the bottom of the inning with a walk and going home on Starlin Castro’s sacrifice fly. (1,3)

Cubs birthdays: Sam Dungan, Earl Moore, Frank Martin, Luther Roy, Roy Henshaw, Ken Kravec, Eric Jokisch.

SimCubs news:

All video is available at the BCB Media Center. Tuesday, Yu Darvish was not good, allowing five earned runs, including a grand slam by Brandon Belt. SimCubs relievers, on the other hand, were splendid and held the Giants to no more runs for nine innings, which allowed the Cubs’ bats enough time to wrest a 7-5 victory from San Francisco behind solo homers from Ian Happ and Jason Heyward, a three-run jack by Albert Almora Jr. and a game-winning two-run double by Victor Caratini. The game was rife once again with technical problems — the feed was dropped after the first, which means that the highlights feature only the comeback. This is me not really having a problem with that.

Wednesday the Cub and Giants play again. Dereck Rodriguez (3-8, 5.14) will face Jon Lester (12-5, 3.44), who has been a revelation this year.

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.