Baseball history unpacked, October 9

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:

• 1905 - At Philadelphia, Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants outpitches 26-game winner Eddie Plank and the Athletics, 3-0, in the first game of an all-shutout World Series. (1,2)
• 1906 - Snow flies at Chicago’s West Side Park as the first one-city World Series opens with the 116-win Cubs heavy favorites. However, White Sox starter Nick Altrock outduels Three Finger Brown for a 2-1 victory. (1,2)
• 1910 - Nap Lajoie, in a batting race with Ty Cobb, collects eight hits for Cleveland in a season-ending doubleheader with the St. Louis Browns. The hits are somewhat tainted, however, as St. Louis third baseman Red Corriden plays back while Lajoie bunts safely six times. (1,2)
• 1919 - Chicago White Sox starter Lefty Williams gets just one man out in the 1st inning and the Cincinnati Reds go on to a 10-5 victory. Cincinnati wins the best-of-nine World Series in eight games. A year after the Series ends, the White Sox will become the “Black Sox”, and eight players will be barred from baseball for taking part in throwing the Series, including Williams who was allegedly threatened before the game to make sure the outcome is no longer in doubt after the 1st inning. (1,2)
• 1938 - In the World Series, the New York Yankees become the first team to win three successive World Championships, defeating the Cubs, 8-3. Red Ruffing posts his second victory of the Series as the Yankees sweep the Cubs for the second time in six years. (2)
• 1989 - The Giants win their first National League pennant since 1962 by defeating the Cubs, 3-2, in Game 5 of the NLCS. Will Clark bats .650 in the series with eight RBI to win MVP honors. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Dave Rowe, Jim Qualls, Felix Fermin, Courtney Duncan*, Derek Holland, David Phelps. Also notable: Rube Marquard HOF.

Today in history:

• 768 - Charlemagne and his brother Carloman I are crowned Kings of The Franks.
• 1000 - Leif Ericson reaches “Vinland” (possibly L’Anse aux Meadows, Canada) reputedly becoming first European to reach North America.
• 1410 - Earliest mention of Prague’s astronomical clock, the world’s oldest still in operation, built by Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel.
• 1781 Americans under George Washington and the French under Comte de Rochambeau begin bombardment of Yorktown, the last battle of American Revolutionary War.
• 1855 - American inventor Isaac Singer patents sewing machine motor.
• 1924 - Municipal Grant Park Stadium, in Chicago Illinois (now known as Soldier Field) is officially dedicated.
• 1926 - NBC (National Broadcasting Corporation) forms.
• 1938 - Cleveland Rams and Chicago Bears play one of only four penalty-free games in NFL history; Rams win 14-7 at Cleveland Stadium.

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.