Baseball history unpacked, May 10

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:

• 1888 - The Philadelphia Athletics play their first official Sunday home game at Gloucester, NJ, or so they think. The American Association league secretary will later rule the game illegally rescheduled and throw it out of the official records. (1)
• 1897 - Jack Doyle hits an unusual home run for Baltimore, but Washington defeats the Orioles, 13 - 5. The home run is noteworthy in that the ball rolls to the fence where a ladder had been placed. It rolls up the ladder and disappears over the fence. (2)
• 1909 - Organized Baseball’s longest no-hitter takes place in a Blue Grass League contest between the Lexington Colts and the Winchester Hustlers. Fred Toney, later to pitch in the only double no-hitter, throws a 17-inning no-hitter for Winchester, winning 1-0. He fans 19 opponents and walks only one, in beating Lexington’s Baker, who allows seven hits. A squeeze play ends the game. (2)
• 1910 - The Cubs’ Heinie Zimmerman makes four errors and collects four hits in a 9-5 win over the Giants. Red Ames, in relief of Christy Mathewson, is hammered for the loss. (2)
• 1947 - At Cincinnati, Ewell Blackwell whips the Cubs, 5-1, to start a 16-game winning streak. He won’t lose until July 25. (2)
• 1955 - Dodger ace Don Newcombe one-hits the Cubs, 3-0. Gene Baker, who singles in the 4th and is caught stealing, is the only baserunner. (2)
• 1959 - In the first game of a doubleheader, Cubs reliever Elmer Singleton defeats reliever Lindy McDaniel of the Cardinals, 10-9. In the nightcap, McDaniel is the winner and Singleton the loser, 8-7. (2)
• 1967 - Adolfo Phillips steals home to help the Cubs edge the Giants, 5-4. (2)
• 1970 - At Wrigley Field, Pete Rose clubs a two-run homer off Fergie Jenkins in the 9th inning, as the Reds overcome the Cubs, 7-6. (2)
• 1981 - Expos hurler Charlie Lea no-hits the Giants, 4-0, becoming the first French-born pitcher to accomplish the feat. He walks four and strikes out eight in the second game of a doubleheader. It is the first no-hitter at Stade Olympique, which opened for baseball in 1977. (2)
• 1989 - The Cubs lose to the Giants, 4-3 when a rally falls short. Jerome Walton is tagged for the last out as he is crawling to 3B. Walton injures his hamstring on the play and will miss a month, then come back to win the Rookie of the Year Award. (2)
• 1997 - In San Francisco, the Cubs pull off the first triple play in the majors this year, taking advantage of the infield fly rule and the wind to turn an odd one against the Giants. With two on, Stan Javier lofts a fly ball into shallow center field and umpire Bob Davidson waits before calling an infield fly. Three Cubs lunge for the ball before it bounces off center fielder Brian McRae’s glove and hits the ground for the first out. Kirk Rueter tries for third, but McRae’s throw beats him. Darryl Hamilton tries for second, but 3B Jose Hernandez’s throw to Ryne Sandberg nabs him to complete the triple play. The Giants will win the game, however, 4-2. (2)
• 2001 - The Brewers defeat the Cubs, 11-1, as OF Jeromy Burnitz hits three home runs and drives in six runs. Devon White adds a grand slam, while Sammy Sosa does the only Cubs damage with his 398th career home run. The Brewers, 8-0 in their new ballpark, are just three games back of Chicago in the NL Central. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Charlie Ferguson, Freddie Maguire, Russ Bauers, Jim Hickman, Merritt Ranew, Tim Hosley, P.J. Higgins*.

Today in history:

• 1559 - Scottish Protestants under John Knox rise up against queen mother Mary.
• 1655 - Jamaica captured by the English.
• 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis captured by Union troops at Irwinsville Georgia (US Civil War).
• 1869 - Golden Spike driven, completing the first US Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah and connecting the Central Pacific Railroad with the Union Pacific.
• 1924 - J. Edgar Hoover appointed head of the FBI.
• 1930 - First US planetarium opens (Adler-Chicago).
• 1973 - Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Yvan Cournoyer has a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Chicago Blackhawks, 6-4 to take title, 4 games to 2.

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.