Baseball history unpacked, October 14

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and various narratives to follow as they unfold over the course of time. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along. We also include Cubs’ player birthdays and a bit of world history, for context.

Today in baseball history:

• 1906 - The Chicago White Sox jump on the Chicago Cubs’ Three Finger Brown for seven runs in the first two innings and coast behind Doc White to a 7-1 World Series-ending victory. The losers share of $439.50 for the Cubs is the lowest ever. (1,2)
• 1908 - Before the smallest crowd in World Series history (6,210), the host Detroit Tigers are tamed on three hits by Orval Overall, who strikes out 10 in a 2-0 triumph. The Chicago Cubs win the World Series in five games. Upset over seating arrangements at the World Series, sports reporters form a professional group that will become the Baseball Writers Association of America. (1,2)
• 1929 - The Philadelphia Athletics rally for three runs in the ninth inning to beat the Chicago Cubs, 3- , and take the World Series in five games. A two-run home run by Mule Haas ties the game and Bing Miller hits an RBI double to get the victory. There won’t be another winning rally by a team down two runs in the ninth inning of a Series final game in the 20th century. The Arizona Diamondbacks, in 2001, will do it next. (1,2)
• 1968 - The National League holds an expansion draft for two new teams: the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres. The list of players taken in the draft includes future Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm and notables like Nate Colbert, Donn Clendenon, Cito Gaston, Dave Giusti, Mudcat Grant, Al McBean, Manny Mota and Maury Wills. The American League will hold its draft tomorrow. (2)
• 2003 - Holding a 3-0 lead and needing only five more outs to reach the World Series for the first time since 1945, the Chicago Cubs give up eight runs on five hits, three walks and an error to the Florida Marlins. Chicago appears to come apart after a Cubs fan, sitting along the left-field foul line at Wrigley Field, tries to catch a foul ball that is about to be caught by Cubs’ outfielder Moises Alou for the second out of the inning, although the bigger blow comes when SS Alex Gonzalez misplays a routine double play grounder a few moments later. The Cubs also will lose the seventh and final game of the NLCS. (2)

• 2017 - The Dodgers win Game 1 of the NLCS, 5-2, at home over the Cubs. Chris Taylor breaks a 2-2 tie with a solo homer off Hector Rondon in the sixth, and Yasiel Puig follows suit with a shot off Mike Montgomery in the seventh as six Dodgers pitchers limit Chicago to five hits. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Joe Start, Charlie Waitt, Ed Eiteljorge, Hugh Casey, Art Shamsky, Joe Girardi, Carlos Marmol, Brad Wieck. Also notable: Oscar Charleston HOF.

Today in world history:

• 1322 - Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland’s independence.
• 1773 - American Revolutionary War: The United Kingdom’s East India Company tea ships’ cargo are burned at Annapolis, Maryland.
• 1862 - Baseballer James Creighton ruptures bladder hitting HR, dies 10/18.
• 1867 - 15th and last Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigns in Japan.
• 1884 - George Eastman patents paper-strip photographic film.
• 1964 - Martin Luther King Jr. announced as winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Common sources:

• (1) — Today in Baseball History.
• (2) — Baseball Reference.
• (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
• (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
• For world history.

*pictured.

There is a very active baseball history community and there are many facets to their views. We strive for clarity. Please be aware that we are trying to make the historical record as represented by our main sources coherent and as accurate as is possible. No item is posted here without corroboration. Some of these items spread from site to site without being verified. That is exactly why we ask for reputable sources, so that we can address them to the originators.

Also please remember that this is supposed to be fun.