Baseball history unpacked, October 11

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.

See the very bottom of the article for exciting coming attractions. Thank you for viewing.

Today in baseball history:

• 1900 - Rube Waddell of Pittsburgh strikes out a National League season-high 12 in a 2-1 win over Chicago. He will lead the league with 130 strikeouts and a 2.37 ERA. (2)
• 1906 - Ed Walsh of the Chicago White Sox pitches a two-hitter over the Chicago Cubs for a 3 - 0 victory and a 2-1 lead in the World Series. (2)
• 1911 - Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers and WFrank “Wildfire” Schulte of the Chicago Cubs win the newly established Chalmers Awards, which go to the league’s most valuable players. Cobb batted .420 with an American League-leading 127 RBI, while Schulte led the National League with 21 home runs and 107 RBI. Using a point system — 8 for a first-place vote, seven for second, and so on — the eight voting writers give Cobb the maximum 64 points. Winners receive Chalmers automobiles. (1,2)
• 1948 - The Cleveland Indians defeat the Boston Braves, 4-3, to win the World Series in six games. Joe Gordon hits a home run in support of future Hall of Famer Bob Lemon, who earns his second victory of the Series. After pitching a five-hit shutout in Game 3, rookie Gene Bearden retires the last five batters and gets the save. (2)
• 1967 - Boston Red Sox shortstop Rico Petrocelli hits a pair of home runs, highlighting an 8-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Game 6 of the World Series. The Red Sox’s win forces the seventh and deciding game of a classic series. (1,2)

• 1980 - In one of the most exciting and controversial games in playoff history, the Phillies tie the NLCS with a 10-inning 5-3 win over the Astros in Game Four. In the fourth inning, Houston is deprived of an apparent triple play when the umpires rule that pitcher Vern Ruhle traps Garry Maddox’s soft line drive. In the sixth, Houston loses a run when Gary Woods leaves the base early on Luis Pujols’ would-be sacrifice fly. (1)

• 1997 - One of the most bizarre endings in ALCS history, the winning run scores on a botched squeeze play. With Marquis Grissom racing home from third base, Omar Vizquel bunts and misses and the ball trickles a few feet from the plate. Orioles catcher Lenny Webster thinks it’s a foul ball and loafs after it as Grissom streaks home for a 2-1 Cleveland win. Baltimore starter Mike Mussina strikes out an LCS record 15 batters in seven innings in the difficult twilight at Jacobs Field, but has nothing to show for it. (1)

• 2006 - Pitcher Cory Lidle of the New York Yankees is killed when a small plane he is in crashes into a residential building in New York City. An investigation will fail to determine whether it was him or his flight instructor at the controls at the time of the crash. (2)
• 2011 - Matt Murton of the Hanshin Tigers singles off Shun Tono to bring his hitting streak to 30 games. That ties Isao Harimoto and Yutaka Fukumoto for fourth-longest in Nippon Pro Baseball history and breaks Glenn Braggs’ record of 29 by a gaijin. Murton’s streak will be snapped the next day by Tetsuya Utsumi. (2)
• 2016 - The Cubs clinch their NLDS thanks to a tremendous ninth-inning comeback in San Francisco. Trailing 5-2 and looking completely anemic against Matt Moore, they victimize a parade of five different relievers to score four runs in the fateful inning and take the lead; Aroldis Chapman then saves his third game of the series with a perfect ninth to send the Giants packing, ending their string of three consecutive World Series wins in even-numbered years.

• 2017 - The Nationals force a Game 5 in the NLDS by shutting out the Cubs, 5-0 at Wrigley Field. Stephen Strasburg pitches seven scoreless innings and leaves with a 1-0 lead, thanks to an unearned run against Jake Arrieta, then Michael Taylor deals the crushing blow with a grand slam off Wade Davis with two outs in the top of the 8th.

Cubs birthdays: Bob Chipman, Rick James, Jesus Sanchez.

Today in history:

• 1138 - Earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, kills an estimated 230,000.
• 1811 - The Juliana, 1st steam-powered ferryboat, begins operation.
• 1881 - David Houston patents roll film for cameras.
• 1929 - JC Penney opens store #1252 in Milford, Delaware, making it a nationwide company with stores in all 48 U.S. states.
• 1950 - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission issues the first license to broadcast television in color, to CBS.
• 1975 - ”Saturday Night Live” premieres on NBC with George Carlin as host.

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.

Some of these items spread from site to site without being verified. That is exactly why we ask for reputable sources if you have differences with a posted factoid, so that we can address that to the originators and provide clarity if not ‘truth’. Nothing is posted here without at least one instance of corroboration (this also includes the history bullets). Thanks for reading, and thanks also for your cooperation.

COMING SOON!

PLAYER PROFILE 2023 SUM-UP

And then

And then

And then

MORE PLAYER PROFILES!

With especial reference to ROSTER JENGA!

Be Afraid! BE VERY AFRAID.