Baseball history unpacked, July 9

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue brings a you a 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 some ‘inside baseball’ on the entries, which change from year to year as we re-examine the subjects.

Today in baseball history:

• 1912 - Christy Mathewson tops Three-Finger Brown, 5-2, despite allowing 11 hits and not striking out one Chicago batter. (3)

Box score.

• 1951 - At a joint meeting between players and owners, agreement is reached on night curfews and the retention of the reserve clause. (3)
• 1955 - Chicago newspaperman Arch Ward, the originator of the All-Star Game, dies at age 58 as he is leaving to cover his 22nd midseason classic. (3)

Thanks, Arch, for being a sportswriter.

• 1956 - The BBWAA, by a narrow margin of 14-12, votes to establish the Cy Young Award to honor the major leagues’ most outstanding pitcher. Commissioner Ford Frick initiated the idea because he felt hurlers were not recognized in the MVP voting, but ironically the first recipient of the Cy Young Award, Dodger Don Newcombe, will also win the Most Valuable Player Award. (1,3)
• 1958 - On Capitol Hill, Casey Stengel and Mickey Mantle appear in front of the Senate Anti-Trust and Monopoly Subcommittee which is investigating the baseball monopoly power in regards to sport’s antitrust exemption. After ‘The Old Perfessor’ gives 45 minutes of rambling and confusing testimony, Senator Estes Kefauver laughs when Mickey Mantle answers his inquiry about the topic with, “My views are just about the same as Casey’s.” (1,3)

• 1966 - During a contest between the Cardinals and Astros on a hot and humid evening at Busch Stadium, Harry Caray does the game’s play-by-play in just his underwear and socks. Surprised by a photographer taking a photo of him, the veteran broadcaster adjusts the boxers’ waistband as the camera clicks. (1,4)
• 1969 - With one out in the 9th, Chicago’s Jimmy Qualls singles to left-center field, the only blemish on Tom Seaver’s 4-0 near-perfect win before a record crowd (59,083) at Shea Stadium. (3)
• 1976 - Astros’ hurler Larry Dierker no-hits the Expos, 6-0, striking out eight of the 30 batters he faces in the Astrodome contest. The future team broadcaster and manager had previously thrown two one-hitters. (1,3)
• 1990 - As a result of a dream of being devoured by spiders, Glenallen Hill suffers cuts and bruises when he falls through a glass table, attempting to flee his eight-legged demons in a semiconscious state. The 25-year-old sophomore Blue Jays’ outfielder will now be known affectionately as ‘Spiderman’ to his teammates during his 13-year tenure in the major leagues. (1)
• 1998 - Ila Borders becomes the first female pitcher in history to start a minor league baseball game, as she hurls the first five innings for the Duluth-Superior Dukes in their 8-3 loss to the Sioux Falls Canaries in the Northern League, surrendering five hits and three runs, while registering two walks and two strikeouts,. Borders is tagged with the loss. (3)
• 2001 - 2001 - Arizona OF Luis Gonzalez beats Chicago OF Sammy Sosa in the Home Run Derby during the All-Star festivities. (3)
• 2005 - On the first pitch of his only big league plate appearance, 24-year-old Adam Greenberg, entering the game as a ninth-inning pinch-hitter for the Cubs, is struck in the head by a 92-mph fastball thrown by Marlin hurler Valerio de Los Santos. The Guilford High School (CT) standout, the first player in the history of the state named to four all-state teams, sustains a concussion and experiences positional vertigo due to the beaning. (1,3)

Cubs birthdays: Jimmy Cooney, Dave Shean, Buck Herzog, Turner Barber, Gene Fodge, Willie Wilson, Miguel Montero.

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!