Baseball history unpacked, September 3

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:

• 1889 - Indianapolis gets a last-second reprieve in the ninth inning when the umpire calls time just before Con Daily apparently makes the last out of the game. Batting again, Daily singles home two runs to cap a six-run rally to beat Boston, 8-7. (3)
• 1925 - After a recent incident on a train, when Cubs manager Rabbit Maranville anointed various passengers from a spittoon, Chicago relieves the Rabbit of the burdens of managership. Chicago hastily appoints George Gibson, former skipper of the Pirates, as manager for the remainder of the season. The Cubs were 23-30 under Maranville, and Chicago will cut the last tie when they waive the veteran in November. (3)
• 1928 - A’s player-manager Ty Cobb collects the last hit of his career, doubling off right-hander Bump Hadley in the team’s 6-1 loss to Washington at Griffith Stadium. (1,3)
• 1935 - Judge Landis rules against a $1,500 fine the Reds imposed on injured Chick Hafey, who had left the team for his home in California after asking to be placed on the voluntary disabled list. Hafey had chronic sinus and sight problems in addition to an injured shoulder. Landis grants Hafey’s request and places him on the list. (3)
• 1963 - Cubs 3B Ron Santo ties the modern National League record for errors in an inning at 3B with three to help the Giants beat Chicago, 16-3. (3)
• 1970 - Cubs outfielder Billy Williams asks to be benched, thus ending his National League record for consecutive games at 1,117, a mark Steve Garvey will better in 1983 when he plays in 1,207 straight contests. During the streak, Chicago’s future Hall of Famer becomes known as the ‘Iron Man,’ authoring a book with that title in 1970. (1,3)
• 1971 - Owner Phil Wrigley takes out newspaper ads criticizing the Cubs players who want to dump manager Leo Durocher. A postscript adds, “If we could only find more team players like Ernie Banks.” Banks will play his last game on September 26th. (3)
• 1975 - Future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson gives up a grand slam to Chicago’s Pete LaCock, the son of Hollywood Squares host Peter Marshall. The Cardinal right-hander faces one more batter to end the inning, retiring Don Kessinger on a groundout, and never returns to a big-league mound. (1,3)
• 1977 - Japanese superstar Sadaharu Oh hits his 756th career home run, off Yasujiro Suzuki, to surpass Hank Aaron as the all-time career leader in professional baseball. (3)
• 1992 - Baseball owners vote 18-9, with one abstention, calling for the resignation of Commissioner Fay Vincent. (3)
• 1993 - Team owners vote to split the leagues into three divisions and add a wild card round to the playoffs for the 1994 season. (3)
• 2008 - Instant replay is used for the first time in a major league game. Alex Rodriguez homers to left off Troy Percival in the ninth as part of a 8-4 Yankees win over the Rays. Umpire Brian Runge calls it a homer and has his call upheld upon review. (3)

Cubs birthdays: Mike Kahoe, Dusty Miller, Eddie Stanky, Frank Jelincich, Morrie Martin, Steve Boros, Dave Clark, Ced Landrum, Luis Gonzalez, Chad Fox, Josh Osich, Carl Edwards Jr.

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!