Baseball history unpacked, June 22

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:

• 1913 - George Pearce of the Cubs stops the Cards on one hit, a single by Ed Konetchy. Pearce wins, 6-0, over Pol Perritt. (2)
• 1926 - The Cardinals pick up 39-year-old Grover Cleveland Alexander on waivers from the Cubs to help in the pennant chase. He’ll be 9-7 down the stretch. (1,2)
• 1927 - The Cards strengthen their hold on 2nd place by defeating the Cubs, 11-5, to sweep the series. Grover Cleveland Alexander, pitching out of turn at his own request, stops the Cubs on six hits. Alexander wanted to face the team that had shipped him down the river last season. Frankie Frisch has three hits to put him at .331, a point ahead of Rogers Hornsby, for whom he was traded. (2)
• 1932 - The National League, at a meeting of club presidents, finally approves players wearing numbers. The American League had started the practice in 1929. (1,2)
• 1946 - Bill Veeck heads a syndicate which purchases the Cleveland Indians. This launches Veeck on a long career as a lively promoter at the major league level, having already achieved success in the minors. (1,2)
• 1996 - The Cubs beat the Padres, 9-6, in 16 innings. 1B Brant Brown is the hero for Chicago with five hits on the day, including a double and a two-run homer in the 16th. (2)
• 1999 - At Denver, the Cubs overcome an eight-run deficit to trip the Rockies, 13-12. (2)
• 2001- At Wrigley Field, Milwaukee beats the Cubs and Kerry Wood, 2-1, snapping Chicago’s home win streak at 12 games, their longest win streak since 1936. It’s their first loss since May 18th. James Mouton’s infield single in the 9th drives home the winner. (2)
• 2002 - The scheduled game between St. Louis and the Cubs is postponed after 33-year-old pitcher Darryl Kile is found dead in his Chicago hotel room of an apparent heart attack. (2)
• 2020 - MLB owners agree unanimously on a plan for a 60-game season beginning around July 24th - if everyone signs off on health and safety protocols. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Jim Asbell, Brant Brown, Jason Motte. Also notable: Carl Hubbell HOF

Today in world history:

• 168 BC - Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat and capture Macedonian King Perseus, ending the Third Macedonian War.
• 1377 - 10-year-old Richard of Bordeaux succeeds his grandfather Edward III as Richard II, king of England.
• 1633 - Galileo Galilei forced to recant his Copernican views that the Earth orbits the Sun by the Pope (Vatican only admits it was wrong on Oct 31, 1992!)
• 1865 - The CSS Shenandoah fires the last shot of the American Civil War in the Bering Strait to indicate surrender.
• 1934 - John Dillinger is informally named America’s first Public Enemy Number One.
• 1940 - 1st Dairy Queen restaurant opened, in Joliet, Illinois.
• 1961 - Chicago Cubs’ Ernie Banks* ends 717 consecutive games played streak.

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.

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Also please remember that this is supposed to be fun.

Thank you for your cooperation. And thanks for reading!