Baseball history unpacked, June 21

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

Today in baseball history:

• 1890 - Silver King pitches the only no-hitter in the history of the Players League in a losing cause. King’s Chicago Pirates lose at home on errors to the Brooklyn Wonders, 1-0. Because his team chooses to bat first, he does not pitch the 9th inning. (3)
• 1907 - The Cubs top the Cardinals, 2-0, as C Johnny Kling throws out all four would-be St. Louis base stealers. Three-Finger Brown wins his 10th straight game. (3)
• 1916 - Red Sox right-hander Rube Foster tosses a 2-0 no-hitter against the Highlanders. The no-no is the first one ever thrown in Fenway Park. (1,4)
• 1939 - The New York Yankees announce Lou Gehrig’s retirement, based on the report that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The 36-year-old star will remain with the team as captain. (2,5)
• 1947 - Jack Chesbro’s induction into the Hall of Fame makes him the only player to be enshrined in Cooperstown who played professional baseball for a team located in the upstate New York village on the shores of Otsego Lake. (1,4)
• 1952 - National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues president George Trautman bans the signing of women, preventing 24-year-old softball shortstop standout Eleanor Engle from playing with the Harrisburg Senators. Commissioner Ford Frick will go one step further by formally prohibiting females from professional baseball, using the ruling to prevent teams from using women players as a publicity stunt. (1,3,4)
• 1960 - Richie Ashburn plays his first game in Philadelphia since being traded to the Cubs in the offseason. ‘Whitey,’ a fan favorite during his dozen years with the Phillies, strikes out looking to start his 1-for-6 day in an extra-inning loss to his former team at Shibe Park. (1,3,4)
• 1964 - On an unseasonably warm Father’s Day, Phillies’ hurler Jim Bunning becomes the first modern pitcher to toss a no-hitter in both leagues when he throws a perfect game to beat the Mets, 6-0. Gus Triandos also becomes the first catcher to handle a no-hitter in both leagues. (1,3,4)
• 1968 - It’s been a bad week for the Cubs, but they end their scoreless streak at 48 innings, tying a major league mark set in 1906, beating the Reds, 3-2, behind Joe Niekro. George Culver is the losing pitcher, allowing the Cubs’ first score in the third inning when he gives up a walk with the sacks full. The five straight shutout losses also tie a league mark. The streak started on June 15th, the final eight innings of a loss to Atlanta and continued with the following games: a 1-0 loss to Phil Niekro in 11 innings; a 1-0 loss to the Cards’ Nellie Briles; a 4-0 one-hitter tossed by Steve Carlton and a 1-0 loss to Bob Gibson. During the drought, Fergie Jenkins allows one run in 18 innings but is charged with a loss and a no-decision. (3)
• 2008 - In a match-up of two first-place Chicago teams, the Cubs top the Sox in interleague play. In a nine-run fourth, the Cubs hit four homers - a three-run shot by Aramis Ramirez, one blast by Mike Fontenot and two by Jim Edmonds. (3)

Cubs birthdays: Matt Kilroy, Jackie Collum, Rick Sutcliffe, Donovan Osborne, Jeff Baker. Also notable: Red Barron.

• 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.