Baseball history unpacked, July 28

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:

• 1890 - Giants pitcher Mickey Welch beats the Pirates, 4-2, to become baseball’s third 300-game winner. The 31-year old Brooklyn native will win only seven more games before ending his 13-year career next season. (1,3)
• 1943 - In a Red Cross charity game, Babe Ruth leads a Yank-Lands club, a combination of former Yankees and Indians, against the Cloudbusters, a U.S. Navy team from the Chapel Hill Naval Pre-Flight School based at the University of North Carolina. ‘The Bambino,’ appearing as a pinch-hitter in his only plate appearance in the 8-5 loss to the servicemen at Yankee Stadium, is walked by 25-year-old Navy pilot trainee and Boston Braves right-hander Johnny Sain. (1,4)
• 1963 - Dick Ellsworth strikes out Cardinals’ left fielder Stan Musial three times in the Cubs’ 5-1 victory at Wrigley Field. It will be the only time ‘Stan the Man’ is whiffed three times in a game during his 22-year career, a span of 3026 contests. (1,3)
• 1977 - In a wild one at Wrigley Field, the first-place Cubs (6) and Reds (5) combine for 11 home runs to tie the major league record. The Cubs come back four times to win, 16-15, in 13 innings in a contest that goes 4 hours and 50 minutes. The Reds lead 6-0 to start, beginning with Pete Rose’s leadoff home run, and lead, 15-14, near the finish, but Dave Rosello’s RBI single off Jack Billingham wins the game. Rick Reuschel wins his 15th game, and second in two days, pitching just two-thirds of an inning. Going deep are Bill Buckner (2), Bobby Murcer, George Mitterwald (2, including one in the 12th inning) and Jerry Morales for Chicago; Rose, Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey, Mike Lum and Cesar Geronimo homer for the Reds. (3)
• 1978 - At Candlestick Park, the Giants beat the Cubs 9-8 in a game that began at Wrigley Field. The Chicago contest, interrupted three times by rain, was suspended with a man on first and two out in the top of the eighth inning because of darkness. (1)

Box score. The first part of the game was played July 20. The Cubs won 1-0 in the regularly-scheduled game.

• 1983 - American League president Lee MacPhail upholds the Royals’ protest, ruling George Brett’s ‘Pine Tar’ home run should count. The game continues on August 18th, resuming from the point of the third baseman’s controversial round-tripper, with the Royals beating the Yankees, 5-4. (1)

• 1991 - Expos right-hander Dennis Martinez pitches a perfect game, defeating Los Angeles 2-0 at Dodger Stadium. Ron Hassey becomes the first backstop to ever catch two perfect games, as he also was behind the plate on May 15, 1981 when Indian hurler Len Barker faced 27 batters, beating the Blue Jays, 3-0. (1,4)
• 1993 - ”That wasn’t even a big monkey that was on my back. It was a zoo. The guys treated it like I had won a World Series game for them.” - Anthony Young, commenting on his teammates’ reaction to the end of his 27-game losing streak.

After a shaky one-inning relief performance, in which he gives up the go-ahead run, Young’s record-setting 27-game losing streak comes to an abrupt end when the Mets score twice in the ninth for a 5-4 walk-off victory over Florida at Shea Stadium. The infamous streak, which covered a span of 81 appearances over two seasons, included 14 losses as a starter and 13 as a reliever. (1,4)

• 1994 - Kenny Rogers hurls the 12th perfect game in modern major league history and becomes the first American League left-hander to accomplish the feat when he beats the Angels, 4-0. The Rangers’ southpaw throws the fifth no-hitter in franchise history, being the first to do it perfectly. (1)
• 1998 - After setting the record yesterday for hitting the most home runs before getting a grand slam, Sammy Sosa hits another today in the Cubs’ 7-5 loss to Arizona at Bank One Ballpark. The Chicago slugger becomes the 18th major leaguer to hit a bases-loaded homer on consecutive days. (1,3)
• 2011 - The Guardians acquire Japanese OF Kosuke Fukudome from the Cubs for two minor leaguers, P Carlton Smith and OF Abner Abreu. (3)
• 2013 - The Cubs beat the Giants, 2-1. The only players with more than one hit are opposing starters Travis Wood (2 for 3, HR) and Tim Lincecum (2 for 2). That feat last happened on June 21, 1963. (3)

Cubs birthdays: Carmelo Martinez. Also notable: Bullet Rogan HOF, Derrek Lee.

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!