Baseball history unpacked, October 18

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.

Today in baseball history:

• 1910 - The Philadelphia Athletics pound the Chicago Cubs, 9-3, for a 2-0 lead in the World Series. Eddie Collins collects three hits, including two doubles and two stolen bases. (1,2)
• 1950 - Connie Mack, at age 87, retires as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics after 50 years, and Jimmy Dykes is named to replace him. Mack, together with Ben Shibe, founded the Athletics in 1901. (1,2)
• 1967 - The American League owners grant Charlie Finley permission to move the Kansas City Athletics to Oakland, California, in time for the start of the 1968 season. Kansas City is promised a new team by 1971, but when Senator Stuart Symington and Kansas City Mayor Ilus Davis threaten action against the move, AL President Joe Cronin reopens talks. The expansion deadline is moved forward to 1969, and will award new franchises to Kansas City and Seattle. (1,2)
• 1977 - Reggie Jackson becomes known as “Mr. October” when he hits three consecutive home runs in Game 6 of the World Series. Jackson leads the Yankees to an 8-4 victory and the World Championship over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jackson’s three shots come on the first pitch off Burt Hooton, Elias Sosa and Charlie Hough. He drives in five runs and earns Series MVP honors. (2)
• 2015 - In Game 2 of the NLCS, the Mets get to Jake Arrieta with three first-inning runs, one on a double by David Wright, and two on a homer by Daniel Murphy, to win, 4-1, over the Cubs. Rookie Noah Syndergaard is the winner. (2)
• 2016 - Rich Hill pitches six scoreless innings to lead Los Angeles to its second consecutive shutout win over the Cubs, 6-0, in Game 3 of the NLCS. Yasmani Grandal and Justin Turner hit homers off Jake Arrieta to lead the offense. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Cliff Carroll, Walt Wilmot, Hans Lobert, Sumpter Clarke, Don Young*, Allen Ripley. Also notable: Candy Cummings HOF.

Don Young by Jerome Holtzman.

Today in history:

• 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who hacks the Church’s foundations down to bedrock.
• 1386 - Opening of the University of Heidelberg.
• 1648 - First labor organization forms in North American colonies (Boston Shoemakers).
• 1867 - Alaska Purchase: US takes formal possession of Alaska from Russia, having paid $7.2 million.
• 1878 - Edison makes electricity available for household use.
• 1921 - Charles Strite granted US patent No. 1,394,450 for his invention, the automatic pop-up toaster.
• 1931 - Gangster Al Capone is convicted on five of the 23 counts of tax evasion against him, later fined $50,000 and sentenced to 11 years in jail.
• 1954 - Texas Instruments Inc. announces the first transistor radio.
• 1968 US Olympic Committee suspends Tommie Smith and John Carlos for giving the Black Power salute to protest racism and injustice against African-Americans during Olympic medal ceremony.

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.