Baseball history unpacked, May 5

... on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue brings a you a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along as we review select snapshots from the big picture of Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball history.

Today in baseball history:

• 1904 - At Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans hurls the second of his three no-hitters, a 3-0 perfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics and Rube Waddell. Young will eventually complete 24 straight hitless innings, still the record, and 45 shutout innings in a row, a record until broken by Jack Coombs’ 53 scoreless frames in 1910. The Red Sox right-hander’s gem is the first perfect game thrown in the majors since the distance between the mound and plate was changed from 45 feet to 60 feet, six inches in 1893. (1,3)
• 1917 - Thanks to the St. Louis scorer’s decision to turn Buck Weaver’s first inning questionable hit into an error, Browns’ hurler Ernie Koob throws a no-hitter at Sportsman’s Park. The southpaw beats Ed Cicotte and the White Sox, 1-0. George Sisler drives in the winning run. (1,3,4)
• 1938 - Hal Kelleher of the Philadelphia Phillies faces 16 batters in the 6th inning as the Cubs score 12 runs. Both marks are National League records off one pitcher in a single inning. The Cubs win, 21-2, with Joe Marty collecting four hits, four runs, and four RBI. The loss goes to Wayne LaMaster, who throws just three pitches to leadoff batter Stan Hack before leaving the game with pain in his throwing arm. (3)
• 1962 - Bo Belinsky of the Los Angeles Angels beats the Baltimore Orioles, 2-0, with a no-hitter at Dodger Stadium. Belinsky strikes out nine and walks four and will become a short-lived star in southern California. The 25-year-old southpaw is only the tenth rookie to throw a no-hitter. (1,3)
• 1975 - The Oakland Athletics release pinch runner Herb Washington, ending his unusual major league career. Curiously, Washington played in 105 major league games without batting, pitching, or fielding. He collected 31 stolen bases and scored 33 runs. (2,3)
• 2001 - Sammy Sosa homers and has four RBI, and Julian Tavarez pitches seven solid innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the Dodgers, 20-1, at Wrigley Field. Chicago scores eight runs in each of the last two innings. Al will have a full article on this game later this morning. (3)

Cubs birthdays: Tom Vickery, Lennie Merullo, Jim Kirby, Dave Gumpert, Also notable: Charles Bender HOF.

Common 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.

There is a very active baseball history community and there are many facets to their views. We strive for clarity. Please let us know (nicely) if you feel that an item is in error and we will address that issue to the originator(s), if at all possible.

Thanks for reading!