Baseball history unpacked, June 8

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:

• 1909 - Clarence “Cack” Henley of the San Francisco Seals (Pacific Coast League) throws the longest complete game shutout in professional baseball history. Henley throws 24 scoreless innings against the Oakland Oaks before finally winning, 1-0. (2)
• 1923 - Pat Collins of the St. Louis Browns appeared as a pinch-runner and again as a pinch-hitter later in the same game. Collins was allowed as a courtesy to briefly pinch-run for teammate Homer Ezzell in the third inning when Ezzell needed to use the restroom. In the ninth, Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack allowed the Browns to pinch-hit Collins for pitcher Ray Kolp, drawing a walk. (2)
• 1955 - The Los Angeles Dodgers option left-handed pitcher Tommy Lasorda to the Montreal Royals to make room on their roster for “bonus baby” Sandy Koufax, who had been on the disabled list. (1,2)
• 1965 - Arizona State star sophomore Rick Monday*, selected by the Kansas City Athletics, is the first player chosen in the initial major league free-agent draft of high school, college, and sandlot players. Picking second, the Mets take pitcher Les Rohr. In the 10th round, they finally take Nolan Ryan. Cincinnati picks Johnny Bench in the second round. (1,2)
• 1970 - Players and management end their labor dispute by agreeing to a new standard player contract. Among the players’ victories is a raise in the minimum salary from $10,000 to $12,000 per year. (1)
• 2001 - In front of a record-setting crowd of 45,936 at the new Comiskey Park, the White Sox beat their North Side rivals in 10 innings as Carlos Lee hits a two-out walk-off grand slam to give the Sox a dramatic victory over the Cubs, 7-3. (2)
• 2012 - Six pitchers combine for a no-hitter as the Seattle Mariners down the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0. Kevin Millwood goes the first six innings before leaving with a groin injury. He is followed by Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, and Tom Wilhelmsen. Pryor gets the win in only his fourth major league appearance and Wilhelmsen the save. The only run scores in the top of the seventh, when Kyle Seager drives in Ichiro Suzuki with a two-out single. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Tom Lee, Tim Donahue, Terrance Gore.

Today in world history:

• 1779 - Admiral Horatio Nelson and Captain Thomas Hardy on HMS Foudroyant set sail against Spanish fleet.
• 1789 - James Madison introduces a proposed Bill of Rights in the US House of Representatives.
• 1938 - Gert Terblanche, a local school boy, discovers fossils of an unknown ‘robust-type’ human ancestor, later named Paranthropus robustus by Robert Broom, at Kromdraai, Blaauwbank River Valley in South Africa.
• 1969 - ”Smothers Brothers comedy Hour” last airs on CBS-TV.
• 1979 - ”The Source,” 1st computer public information service, goes on-line.

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!