Baseball history unpacked, October 6

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:

• 1911 - Cy Young’s farewell appearance in a major league game is a letdown, as he loses to Brooklyn 13-3 wearing a Braves uniform in his 906th game. (1)

Box score.

• 1945 - Tavern owner “Billy Goat” Sianis buys a box seat for his goat for Game Four of the World Series and the pair is told to leave before the game ends, angering the owner. The Chicago Cubs lose to the Detroit Tigers, 4-1. Detroit will go on to win the Series in seven games and the Cubs won’t win another National League championship for the rest of the 20th century. A belief that the Cubs were cursed by the goat will eventually develop. (1,2)

Box score.

• 1984 - Steve Garvey’s two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Four gives San Diego a 7-5 win over Chicago and evens the NLCS. (1)

• 2007 - The Arizona Diamondbacks complete a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS with a 5-1 victory in Wrigley Field. Chris Young hits the first pitch of the game for a home run and Livan Hernandez picks up the win. (2)

• 2010 - Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay throws a no-hitter in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds. It is the second post-season no-hitter in baseball history, after Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series. The Phillies win, 4-0. (2)
• 2017 - The NLDS game between the Cubs and the Nationals is a true pitchers’ duel between Kyle Hendricks and Stephen Strasburg. Chicago does not get its first hit until two are out in the top of the sixth, by Kris Bryant, but it scores Javier Baez who had reached on an error by 3B Anthony Rendon. Bryant takes second on the throw from the outfield and scores on Anthony Rizzo’s single, and those two unearned runs are all Chicago needs, as they go on to win 3-0 and Washington only manages two hits. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Gene Clines, George Riley, Jay Baller, Bill Johnson.

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.