Baseball history unpacked, June 7

... 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:

• 1906 - The Chicago Cubs, now in first place again, score 11 runs in the first inning off Christy Mathewson and Joe McGinnity en route to a humiliating 19-0 defeat of the New York Giants. Mathewson gives up six walks and McGinnity leaves after the second inning. Jack Pfiester allows just three hits as he coasts to the win, the worst beating in Giants franchise history. (3)
• 1910 - In his major league debut, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Eddie Stack stops the Chicago Cubs, 1-0 on three hits. The Cubs sold Stack to the Phillies on May 26. He will pitch three complete-game victories between the 14th and 22nd, but will end the year with a 6-7 record. (3)
• 1911 - In the 7th inning against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Heinie Zimmerman and Al Kaiser of the Chicago Cubs both steal home — the only time in major league history the Cubs have pulled off the feat. Chicago will swipe home a National League-record 17 times this year. (3)
• 1927 - The Chicago Cubs send shortstop Jimmy Cooney and pitcher Tony Kaufmann to the Phillies for P Hal Carlson, who will go 12-8 for the Cubs for the rest of the season. (3)
• 1932 - Pitcher Jack Quinn, at age 47, becomes the oldest player in major league history to have an extra-base hit (a double) as the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-2. Julio Franco will break the record over 70 years later. (2,3)
• 1934 - Big Jim Weaver pitches a 1 - 0 shutout victory for the Chicago Cubs over the St. Louis Cardinals, topping Bill Hallahan. Weaver, a 25-game winner at Newark in 1933, was sold to the Browns by theYankees, but the cash-poor Browns returned him to Newark. The Cubs picked him up in mid-May for $12,500. (3)
• 1999 - In a Chicago interleague match, the hot Cubs pound the White Sox, 13-7, as Sammy Sosa and Jose Hernandez each hit three-run home runs and collect five RBI. The Cubs sweep their South Side rivals completing their third consecutive three-game sweep, something the Cubs have not done since 1918. (3)
• 2001 - The Chicago Cubs complete a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, winning 4-3 and posting their 15th victory in 16 games. Cubs fans haven’t seen that since 1945. Matt Morris pitches a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Matt Stairs’ two-out double opens the door for Chicago. Rondell White’s single in the 10th drives home Sammy Sosa with the winning run. After the victory, the Cubs take a five-game lead over St. Louis in the NL Central Division. (3)
• 2012 - Starlin Castro becomes the 28th player to collect 500 hits before the age of 23 when he singles off A.J. Burnett with two outs in the fifth inning in the Cubs’ 12-2 victory over the Bucs at PNC Park. The 22-year, 167-day old Chicago shortstop reaches the milestone in his 421st major league game. (1,3)
• 2014 - As part of Wrigley Field’s 100th anniversary, the Cubs honor 97-year-old Lennie Merullo, who receives a rousing ovation when he tosses the ceremonial first pitch prior to the team’s 5-2 victory over the Marlins. The former infielder, who went 0-for-2 when he played in three games for Chicago in the 1945 Fall Classic, is the last living person to play in a World Series game for the franchise. (1)

Cubs birthdays: Frank Reberger, George Mitterwald, Heathcliff Slocumb, Justin Berg, Luke Farrell.

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.