Baseball history unpacked, November 1

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:

• 1870 - The Chicago White Stockings host the New York Mutuals at Dexter Park with the unofficial national championship at stake with 6,000 fans on hand. With his team ahead, 13-12, and having just walked the bases loaded, Mutuals pitcher Rynie Wolters walks off the mound, claiming the umpire is biased. The game ends with the score reverting to the last completed inning, giving Chicago a 7-5 win although the Mutuals continue to proclaim themselves the champs. (2)
• 1882 - The “Philadelphia Ball Club, Limited” is incorporated in Philadelphia, PA, with Stephen Farrelly as the principal stockholder (although the money he invests actually comes from John Walsh, a Chicago, IL millionaire and minority owner of the Chicago White Stockings), with John Rogers and former players Al Reach and Tom Pratt as minority owners. The club will soon be admitted into the National League, of which it is still a member today as the Philadelphia Phillies. (2)
• 1914 - Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack begins cleaning house, asking waivers on Jack Coombs, Eddie Plank and Charles Bender. Coombs goes to the Brooklyn Robins as Plank and Bender escape Mack’s maneuvering by jumping to the Federal League. Despite winning the American League pennant, Philadelphia fans did not support the Athletics and the club lost $50,000. (1,2)
• 1946 - Surgeons amputate the right foot of Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck. Two years before, the colorful executive had suffered a serious injury to his leg in the South Pacific during World War II. Veeck has had a tremendous impact on promotion in a half season of ownership. A minor but typical change is the regular posting of National League scores on the Cleveland scoreboard, a departure from the long-standing practice of both leagues. In spite of the amputation, Veeck will remain an active owner through the 1970s. (1,2)
• 1982 - At a meeting in Chicago, the major league owners vote not to renew Commissioner Bowie Kuhn’s contract. The American League owners vote in favor of Kuhn 11-3, and the National League 7-5. But his 18 votes leave him two shy of the three-fourths majority required for reelection. Kuhn will remain on the job until a successor is found. He will eventually be replaced by Peter Ueberroth after the 1984 Olympics. (1,2)
• 1988 - Chris Sabo, who hit .271 with 11 home runs and 46 stolen bases as the Cincinnati Reds third baseman, wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Chicago Cubs first baseman Mark Grace is the runner-up. (1,2)
• 1999 - Atlanta Braves coach Don Baylor is hired as the Chicago Cubs’ manager. (2)
• 2016 - The Cubs force a decisive Game 7 in the 2016 World Series with a 9-3 win over the Indians at Progressive Field in Game 6. Kris Bryant opens the scoring with a solo homer off Josh Tomlin in the 1st, and later in the inning Addison Russell adds a two-run double on a ball that falls between CF Tyler Naquin and RF Lonnie Chisenhall. Russell adds a grand slam in the 3rd as Chicago builds an insurmountable lead and cruises to the finish. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Fred Demarais, Sherman Kennedy, Earl Blackburn, James York, Larry French, Clint Compton, Miguel Dilone, Anthony Bass, Jeremiah Estrada*. Also notable: Bid McPhee HOF.

Today in history:

• 1348 - The Black Death reaches London on or about this date.
• 1512 - Michelangelo’s paintings on ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican first exhibited.
• 1665 - Robert Hooke’s landmark work “Micrographia” with drawings using a microscope and coining the word “cell” is published by the Royal Society.
• 1800 - John Adams becomes the first US President to live in the White House.
• 1922 - Mustafa Kemal Ataturk takes Constantinople from Mehmed VI, proclaiming the Republic of Turkey and bringing an end to the Ottoman Empire.

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