Baseball history unpacked, August 17

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:

• 1882 - In what is considered one of the greatest games of the century, Providence beats Detroit 1-0 on an 18th-inning home run by right fielder Old Hoss Radbourn. This National League game will serve as the longest shutout in major league history until September 1, 1967, when San Francisco will blank Cincinnati 1-0 in twenty innings. (1,3)
• 1900 - Reds pitcher Bill Phillips punches Phillies batter Roy Thomas after Thomas fouls off a dozen pitches in the eighth inning. Phillips is ejected but the Reds win in the 11th. (2)
• 1907 - A match-up of Three Finger Brown and Christy Mathewson attracts a crowd of 20,000 at the Polo Grounds. Matty is unhittable for eight innings, with only a bunt single for the Cubs. But Chicago scores two in the ninth to tie as reliever Jack Pfiester matches Matty for the last three innings. Johnny Kling wins it, 3-2, for the Cubs in the 12th with a drive into the LF bleachers. (2)
• 1912 - Chicago’s Jimmy Archer singles home Vic Saier in the 11th to give the Cubs a 6-5 win over Christy Mathewson. The Giants’ lead has now slipped to five games. (2)
• 1920 - Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman* dies as a result of being hit by a pitch thrown by Yankee submariner Carl Mays. The tragedy remains the only on-field fatality in major league history. (1,2)
• 1979 - The Cubs sell veteran Ted Sizemore to the Red Sox for a player to be named later (C Mike O’Berry). (2)
• 2018 - The Cubs tie a major league record by turning seven double plays in a 1-0 win over the Pirates. Fittingly, the game ends when David Freese hits a grounder to 3B David Bote who starts the record-tying twin killing. They are the third team to achieve the feat in a nine-inning game. (2)

Cubs birthdays: John Buzhardt, Bill Landrum, Thomas Neal, Victor Caratini.

Today in world history:

• 1563 - King Charles IX of France declared an adult at 13.
• 1590 - Governor of Roanoke Island colony, John White, returns from England to find no trace of the colonists he had left there three years earlier.
• 1807 - Robert Fulton’s steamboat Clermont begins first trip up Hudson River.
• 1877 - American astronomer Asaph Hall discovers Mars’ moon Phobos.
• 1969 - Woodstock Festival closes with Jimi Hendrix / Band of Gypsys as final act (taking the stage at 9 a.m. on the 18th); other performers included Joe Cocker, Country Joe MacDonald & The Fish, The Band, CSN&Y, and Sha Na Na.
• 2017 - Collision of two neutron stars witnessed for the first time first picked up by US-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (Ligo).

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.

Thank you for your cooperation. And thanks for reading!