Baseball history unpacked, April 12

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:

• 1906 - Johnny Bates of the Boston Beaneaters becomes the first modern player to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, when he connects in the 2nd inning against Brooklyn Superbas pitcher Harry McIntire. Pitcher Irv Young allows only one hit, a double by Harry Lumley, as Boston beats Brooklyn, 2-0. (2)
• 1909 - Philadelphia’s Shibe Park, the first steel-and-concrete structure built for baseball, is dedicated. (1)
• 1912 - The Chicago Cubs’ famed double play combination of Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance makes its final appearance together in an Opening Day game. The triumvirate of shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers and first baseman Frank Chance will be broken up at the end of the season. (2)
• 1960 - Chuck Essegian’s 11th-inning pinch-hit home run beats the Chicago Cubs, 3-2, before a record Opening Day crowd (67,550) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The home run is Essegian’s third straight as a pinch hitter, including two in the 1959 World Series. Don Drysdale pitches a complete game for the Dodgers, striking out 14 Cubs. (2)
• 2009 - For the second time in a week, a team draws four bases-loaded walks in one inning. This time, it’s the Chicago Cubs who profit, in a game in which four Brewer pitchers issue 10 free passes and hit two batters. The Cubs score four runs in the top of the fourth inning thanks to Milwaukee’s generosity, but the key play in the 9-5 victory happens in the bottom of the fifth when Reed Johnson robs Prince Fielder of a grand slam by climbing over the right field fence at Miller Park. Ryan Dempster is the winner in the nationally-televized contest. On April 8th, the Phillies had also drawn four bases-loaded walks in an inning. (2)
• 2010 - New Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, describing himself as a former “Wrigley bleacher bum” in his days in university, attends the team’s first home opener since his purchase of the club. He is witness to a 9-5 win over the Brewers; Xavier Nady, Jeff Baker and Aramis Ramirez all homer for the Cubs. (2)
• 2022 - Alyssa Nakken, the first female coach in the history of Major League Baseball, sets another milestone as she becomes the first woman to appear in uniform on the field during a game when in the top of the third inning she replaces Antoan Richardson, who has just been ejected, as first base coach of the Giants in a game against the Padres. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Charlie Pick, Trader Horne, Walt Moryn*, Woodie Fryman, Justin Ruggiano, Brad Brach. Also notable: Vic Willis HOF, Addie Joss HOF.

SABR on Moose Moryn.

Today in history:

• 1204 - Fourth Crusade occupies and plunders Constantinople.
• 1606 - England adopts the Union Flag, replaced in 1801 by current Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack.
• 1811 - 1st US colonists on Pacific coast arrive at Cape Disappointment, Washington.
• 1861 - Fort Sumter in South Carolina is attacked by the Confederacy, beginning the American Civil War.
• 1877 - Catcher’s mask first used in a baseball game.
• 1924 - WLS-AM in Chicago begins radio transmissions.
• 1938 - Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Chicago Black Hawks beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 for a 3-1 series win; only team to win Cup with losing regular season record.
• 1960 - Bill Veeck & Chicago Comiskey Park debuts “Exploding Scoreboard”.

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.