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Baseball history unpacked, August 17

A thrice-weekly digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB factoids, gathered from reputable sources. Ray Chapman memorial day.

Ray Chapman
Ray Chapman
Photo by George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

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:

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:

*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!