Baseball history unpacked, June 25

... 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. Don’t be afraid to click the links, as that subtext will add perspective.

Today in baseball history:

• 1888 - Kansas City third baseman Jumbo Davis makes five errors in the team’s 10-3 loss to St. Louis at Sportsman’s Park. The 26-year-old infielder will commit 100 errors in 628 chances, finishing the season with an .841 fielding percentage for the American Association club. (1,3)
• 1904 - In a New England League game, Lowell edges visiting Concord, 5-4. When Concord 2B Win Clark is ejected in the sixth inning, Concord is left with eight players. The club then puts nine-year-old mascot George Diggins in the game. The youngest professional player in the history of the game doesn’t have an opportunity to field any balls playing right field and strikes out in his only at-bat in the contest played at Alumni Field, also known as Spalding Park. (1,3)
• 1935 - Billy Herman cracks a first-inning home run off Carl Hubbell and the Cubs score seven runs in the first three innings to beat the first-place Giants, 10-5. Herman adds another three hits and Augie Galan has three hits, including two triples. Dick Bartell has four hits for the Giants. Al Smith takes the loss for New York, while Fabian Kowalik pitches the last inning for the win. (3)
• 1937 - Augie Galan becomes the first National Leaguer to hit a homer from each side of the plate. The switch-hitter’s pair of round-trippers, a homer from the left side off Freddie Fitzsimmons in the fourth frame and from the right side in the eighth against Ralph Birkofer, helps the Cubs beat Brooklyn at Wrigley Field, 11-2. (1,3,4)
• 1943 - With the first pitch thrown at 6 p.m., the Cubs right-hander Hi Bithorn shuts out the Cardinals, 6-0, in a twilight game at Wrigley Field. Under current baseball interpretations, the two-hour, 17-minute contest, played on one of the longest daylight days of the year, would be considered a night game, but no lights are needed (good thing because there aren’t any). (1,4)
• 1950 - Hank Sauer enjoys a 4-for-4 day at the plate, stroking two home runs and two doubles. The 33-year-old All-Star outfielder’s 12 total bases help the Cubs defeat Philadelphia at Shibe Park, 11-8. (1,3)
• 1967 - Ernie Banks slams two 2-run homers to back rookie Joe Niekro’s three-hitter, and the Cubs win 8 - 0 over the Astros to sweep. Bill Hands hurls a five-hitter in the opener to win, 4-1. Banks’ first blast breaks up a pitching duel with Bo Belinsky and his second caps a five-run seventh.
• 1972 - After a five-year legal battle, Bernice Gera finally becomes the first woman professional umpire when she works a minor league game in Geneva, New York. When Auburn manager Nolan Campbell vehemently argues a play where she first signals Terry Ford safe at second on a double play and then reverses her decision, the new arbitrator is brought to tears and will resign between games of the twin bill. (1,3)
• 1998 - Sammy Sosa breaks the major league record for homers in a single month when he hits his 19th dinger in June, a seventh-inning solo shot off Brian Moehler in the Cubs’ 6-4 loss to Detroit at Tiger Stadium. The Chicago slugger surpasses the mark set by Rudy York, the Tigers’ rookie catcher who finished with 18 after homering twice on the last day in August in 1937 at the same ballpark when it was known as Navin Field. (1)
• 2007 - A distraught spectator jumps onto the field and charges the mound toward Bob Howry after the Cub reliever blows an 8-3 ninth-inning lead to Colorado at Wrigley Field, making it within a few feet from his intended target before security guards tackled him. The right-hander gets the win when Alfonso Soriano hits a game-ending two-run single in the bottom of the frame to give Chicago an improbable 10-9 victory. (1)
• 2010 - The Cubs suspend pitcher Carlos Zambrano indefinitely after he throws a tantrum in the dugout after giving up four runs in the first inning of a 6-0 loss to the White Sox. “Big Z” blames first baseman Derrek Lee for letting a Juan Pierre ground ball past him for a double that starts the rally, although the hard-hit ball was hardly catchable. Tom Gorzelanny replaces Zambrano who is removed from the game by manager Lou Piniella. (3)

Cubs birthdays: Bill Phyle, Jose Ortiz, Brad Woodall, Michael Tucker, Aramis Ramirez, Paul Maholm.

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.