Baseball history unpacked, June 13

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:

• 1905 - Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants pitches his second career no-hitter, beating the Chicago Cubs and Mordecai Brown, 1-0. Mathewson and Three Finger Brown match no-hitters for eight innings. The Giants get two hits in the ninth for the win, and a pair of errors committed by Bill Dahlen at shortstop prevent Mathewson from hurling a perfect game. (1,2)
• 1912 - 1912 - Christy Mathewson reaches his 300th career victory as the New York Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2. During his 17-year major league career, Mathewson will compile a 373-188 record. (1,2)
• 1940 - Bill Nicholson of the Chicago Cubs becomes the first major league player to hit a home run at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox also homers in the exhibition contest known as the Hall of Fame Game. (2)
• 1948 - Number 3 is retired in honor of Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium in front of 49,641 fans. The ailing Bambino is in attendance as well as members of the 1923 Yankees squad. (1,2)
• 1984 - The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians engineer a blockbuster trade. Chicago sends outfielders Joe Carter and Mel Hall, pitcher Don Schulze and a minor leaguer to Cleveland in exchange for pitchers Rick Sutcliffe and George Frazier and catcher Ron Hassey. Sutcliffe will go 16-1 over the balance of the season, winning the Cy Young Award, and helping the Cubs to the National League East crown. (2)
• 1994 - Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs gives up $16 million in salary by announcing his retirement at the age of 34, citing family issues. The second baseman will return to active status in 1996. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Carroll Yerkes, Pedro Strop, Jonathan Lucroy, Justin Miller, Drew Smyly.

Today in world history:

• 1325 - Ibn Battuta begins his travels, leaving his home in Tangiers to travel to Mecca (gone 24 years).
• 1792 - King Louis XVI dismisses French government.
• 1854 - Anthony Faas, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, patents the 1st US accordion, having made improvements to both the keyboard, and to enhance the sound (Patent No. 11,062).
• 1865 - President Andrew Johnson proclaims reconstruction of confederate states.
• 1920 - US Post Office says children cannot be sent by parcel post (after various instances).

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. BBRef is very cooperative in this regard, as are SABR and the Baseball Almanac. We have removed thenationalpastime from our sourcing list, as there have been multiple complaints about their content and they do not respond to attempts to communicate.

AD

Also please remember that this is supposed to be fun.

Thank you for your cooperation. And thanks for reading!