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On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue brings a you a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and deep dives into various narratives that expand over the course of time. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along. Don’t be afraid to click the links for ‘inside baseball’ on the entries, which change from year to year as we re-examine the subjects.
Today in baseball history:
- 1892 - On the last day the season, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bumpus Jones, in his first major league appearance, throws a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates. This will turn out to be the latest date in the season that a no-hitter is ever pitched in the major leagues. After that, Jones will pitch only one more season, in 1893, leading to a 2-4 career record with 10 strikeouts and a 7.99 ERA in 41 2/3 innings of labor. (2)
- 1910 - It’s the last day of the regular season in the National League, with the Cubs defeating the Cardinals, 4-1, a result of the league deciding to stretch out its calendar over two extra weeks. There has not been a regular season game played this late in the year since then.
- 1917 - The Chicago White Sox capture the World Series when the New York Giants leave home plate uncovered, allowing Eddie Collins to score the winning run in a play that will become known as the “Zimmerman Chase” after hapless Giants 3B Heinie Zimmerman who is unable to tag Collins before he touches the plate. (1,2)
- 1923 - Babe Ruth hits a first-inning home run in Game Six, but the Giants take a 4-1 lead into the eighth. The Giants walk in two runs before Bob Meusel raps a single that scores the go-ahead runs. Sam Jones holds off the Giants, and the Yankees have their first World Championship. (1,2,3)
Box score. Check THIS page out. This one too.
- 1986 - The Boston Red Sox cap one of the greatest comebacks in major league history by defeating the California Angels, 8-1, in Game 7, to win the American League pennant after trailing three games to one in the ALCS. (1,2)
- 1988 - With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Kirk Gibson hits a two-run, pinch-home run off Dennis Eckersley to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the World Series. In his only plate appearance in the Series, Gibson, who did not start because of a strained left knee, limps around the bases as the Dodgers win one of the most dramatic games in Series history. Following the 2010 season, a panel of experts at the MLB Network will vote this game the 10th greatest game of the past fifty years. (1,2)
- 2016 - The Cubs take the opening game of the NLCS, 8-4, over the Dodgers. The score is only 3-1 for the Cubs in the eighth, when a two-run, two-out single by Adrian Gonzalez off Aroldis Chapman ties it, but Chicago comes right back when pinch-hitter Miguel Montero hits a two-out grand slam off Joe Blanton, followed by a solo homer by Dexter Fowler.
Cubs birthdays: Don Carlsen, Bill Henry, Don Robertson, Juan Cruz. Also notable: Jim Palmer HOF.
Common sources:
- (1) — Today in Baseball History.
- (2) — Baseball Reference.
- (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
- (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
- (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
There is a very active baseball history community and there are many facets to their views. We strive for clarity. Please be aware that we are trying to make the historical record as represented by our main sources coherent and as accurate as is possible. No item is posted here without corroboration. Some of these items spread from site to site without being verified. That is exactly why we ask for reputable sources, so that we can address them to the originators. BBRef is very cooperative in this regard, as are SABR and the Baseball Almanac. We have removed thenationalpastime from our sourcing list, as there have been multiple complaints about their content and they do not respond to attempts to communicate.
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