Baseball history unpacked, July 20

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:

• 1858 - At a racetrack on Long Island, about 1,500 fans become the first ever to pay to see a baseball game. The spectators spend fifty cents to watch New York defeat Brooklyn, 22-18. (2) Corroborated here and here as 1858. 1858/9 were interesting. Rules were changed, too. (3)
• 1907 - Chicago’s Carl Lundgren and New York’s Christy Mathewson are stingy today with the Cubs twirler allowing just four hits while the Cubs scratch three off Matty. The Giants score in the 4th when Cy Seymour parks a drive in the bleachers with two on. Prevailing rules make the hit a single, with just one run scoring: it is enough as Mathewson wins, 1-0. Joe Tinker is hitless against Matty, the only time this year that Mathewson shuts down his nemesis. (2)
• 1911 - Frank Schulte hits for the cycle to help the Cubs tip the Phils, 4-3. “Wildfire” will end the year as the first player ever to top the 20 mark in doubles, triples, homers, and stolen bases. Only Willie Mays in 1957 will match him this century; the feat will be matched twice in 2007, by Curtis Granderson and Jimmy Rollins. (2)
• 1925 - Brooklyn’s Dazzy Vance struck out seventeen as the Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in 10 innings. (1,2)
• 1933 - Babe Herman hit three home runs, including a grand slam, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 10-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field. (1)
• 1938 - Catcher Gabby Hartnett replaces Charlie Grimm as manager of the third-place Cubs. (2)
• 1958 - Jim Bunning of the Tigers pitches a 3-0 no-hitter over the Red Sox and fans 12. Only two walks and a hit batsman mar Bunning’s performance as he wins his sixth game in seven decisions (8-6). In the second game, Ike Delock wins his 10th straight for Boston, 5-2. (1,2)
• 1970 - The Dodgers’ Bill Singer, who a month earlier lost a no-hitter to Atlanta with two outs in the 9th, no-hits the Phillies, 5-0, giving up no walks. He strikes out 10 and makes two miscues, one a controversial throwing error that pulls 1B Wes Parker off the base. The Phillies’ players argue, contending the soft chopper by Don Money should be a hit. Singer had spent three weeks in the hospital in June for hepatitis. (1,2)
• 2004 - At Wrigley Field, Albert Pujols goes 5 for 5, including three home runs and five RBI, as the Cardinals beat Central Division rivals the Cubs, 11-8. The Redbird first baseman’s first career three-homer game helps St. Louis to erase a six-run deficit. (2)
• 2007 - Tulsa Drillers first base coach Mike Coolbaugh is killed when hit in the head by a line drive from Tino Sanchez. The long-time minor league star and former major league player had only been hired earlier that month after Orlando Merced resigned. (2)
• 2013 - The Cubs trade P Matt Garza to Texas in return for Mike Olt, C.J. Edwards, Justin Grimm and a player to be named. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Gary Woods, Jake Fox, Matt Szczur, Duane Underwood Jr. Also notable: Heinie Manush HOF, Tony Oliva HOF.

Today in world history:

• 1031 - Henry I succeeds father Robert II as King of the Franks (1031-60).
• 1402 - Timur, his army and 32 elephants win the Battle of Ankara, during his invasion of Anatolia, capturing the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I.
• 1712 - The Riot Act takes effect in Great Britain.
• 1801 - Elisha Brown Jr presses a 1,235 pound cheese ball at his farm.
• 1881 - Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull, surrenders to US federal troops.
• 1921 - Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson becomes the first woman to preside over the floor of US House of Representatives.
• 1944 - Browns’ Nelson Potter is 1st pitcher suspended for throwing spitballs.
• 1969 - Apollo 11 lunar module carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin lands on the surface of the Moon; Aldrin and Armstrong walk on the moon seven hours later; Michael Collins remains in orbit in the lunar module.
• 1976 - Hank Aaron hits 755th and last home run off Angels’ Dick Drago.

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.

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Also please remember that this is supposed to be fun.

Thank you for your cooperation. And thanks for reading!