Baseball history unpacked, October 4

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:

• 1906 - The Chicago Cubs win their 116th game of 152 played for a winning percentage (.763) that has not been matched since. (1,2)
• 1922 - For the first time, the entire World Series will be broadcast over the radio. Writer Grantland Rice does the announcing of the New York Giants-New York Yankees Series for station WJZ, in Newark, NJ, whose signal is relayed to WGY in Schenectady, NY. (1,2)

There was a tie during this Series. The Yankees were ‘home’, but the games were played in the Polo Grounds.

• 1969 - Major League Baseball holds its first league championship games. In the National League Championship Series, the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 9-5, and the Baltimore Orioles defeat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3, in the American League Championship Series. (2)
• 1989 - Will Clark goes 4 for 4 with six RBI and two home runs on four hits, including the first National League Championship Series grand slam since 1977, to lead the Giants to an 11-3 win over the Cubs in Game 1 of the NLCS. (1,2)

Cubs birthdays: Orator Shafer, Ossie France, Jim Gardner, Bob Rhoads, Bob Kelly, Tony La Russa HOF, Lary Sorensen, Mike Walker, Bobby Scales.

Scales has moved up in the world. He’s become a baseball executive (Pirates). Here he talks sabermetrics [VIDEO]. Check him on twitter. Here he is on Cubs Talk [VIDEO].

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.

Thank you for your cooperation.