Baseball history unpacked, August 19

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:

• 1930 - In the first of two, Chicago’s Hack Wilson connects off Phils P Les Sweetland for his 43rd home run, tying Chuck Klein’s National League record set last year. In RF, Klein waves to Wilson as he circles the bases. The Phils hold on for a 9-8 win with Claude Willoughby the winner over rookie Bud Teachout. The second game ends in a 6-6 tie after 16 innings. (2)
• 1941 - Pittsburgh Pirates manager Frankie Frisch is ejected by umpire Jocko Conlan from the second game of a doubleheader when he appears on the field with an umbrella to protest the playing conditions at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field. The rainy argument is later portrayed in a famous oil painting by artist Norman Rockwell.
• 1951 - Wearing uniform number 1/8, forty-three inch tall Eddie Gaedel walks on four pitches from Bob Cain in his only major league appearance. Bill Veeck’s idea of playing the midget was legal at the time but is later outlawed.
• 1965 - At Wrigley Field, Reds hurler Jim Maloney no-hits the Cubs, 1-0, with the only run scoring on a Leo Cardenas homer in the 10th inning. Earlier in the season, Maloney had also no-hit the Mets for ten innings, but lost the game in the 11th when Johnny Lewis homered off him. (2)
• 1969 - At Wrigley Field, Ken Holtzman no-hits the Braves, 3-0, with Ron Santo’s 1st-inning homer providing all of the Cubs’ runs.
• 2011 - Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts fires general manager Jim Hendry, the man who brought the perennial losers within five outs of the World Series in 2003 and built back-to-back division winners in 2008 and 2009, after nine years on the job. Hendry’s success was achieved at the cost of a massive payroll, however, and the team is now on the hook for a number of expensive contracts to underachieving former stars, while headed for a second consecutive 5th-place finish. His players send Hendry out a winner as pinch-hitter Tyler Colvin hits a walk-off single in the 10th inning to give the Cubs a 5-4 win over the Cardinals on his last day. Assistant GM Randy Bush is named to take over in the interim but is not in line to succeed Hendry. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Ike McAuley, Tex Carleton, Tim Blackwell, Gary Gaetti, Matt Franco, Rocky Cherry.

Today in world history:

• 1839 - Details of Louis Daguerre’s 1st practical photographic process are released in Paris.
• 1887 - Dmitri Mendeleev makes a solo ascent by balloon to an altitude of 11,500 feet (3.5 km) above Klin, Russia to observe an eclipse.

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!