Baseball history unpacked, May 24

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:

• 1880 - Troy City rookie Roger Connor hits his first major league home run‚ off Boston’s Tommy Bond. He adds a triple and two singles as the Trojans beat the Red Caps‚ 8-1. When Connor retires in 1897, he will have 136 homers‚ a record that will stand until Babe Ruth breaks it in 1921. (2)
• 1906 - The Cubs overcome a 5-2 Giants lead to tie the game at 5 - 5‚ but a Johnny Evers error in the eighth gives New York a 6-5 win. Christy Mathewson‚ who pitches just 2⅓ innings is credited with the win‚ since he left the game with the Giants ahead. Hooks Wiltse pitches the last 7⅓ innings. By taking three out of four in Chicago‚ the Giants increase their hold on first place. (2)
• 1909 - At Brooklyn‚ the Cubs beat the Superbas‚ 4-3‚ on Solly Hofman’s inside-the-park homer in the 11th inning. Brooklyn CF Tom Catterson attempts a shoestring catch on the liner but misses. (2)
• 1928 - In the first game of a doubleheader in Philadelphia, a record 12 future Hall of Famers play in the Yankees’ 9-7 victory over the Athletics. This number does not include non-playing Hall of Famers Herb Pennock and Stan Coveleski, managers Miller Huggins and Connie Mack, nor umpire Tom Connolly. (1,2)
• 1935 - The Cincinnati Reds host the Philadelphia Phillies in the first major league night game, winning, 2-1, before 25,000 fans. On the initiative of Larry MacPhail, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt throws the switch at the White House to turn on the lights. The Reds will play seven night games, one each against the other National League teams. The Phils’ Lou Chiozza is the first batter as the Reds’ Paul Derringer outduels Joe Bowman‚ though the Reds are outhit‚ 6 to 4. (1,2)
• 1957 - In his first two major league at-bats‚ Cubs rookie Frank Ernaga hits a solo home run in the 2nd inning and follows with a run-scoring triple in the fourth‚ both against Warren Spahn. The Cubs beat the Braves, 5-1, at Wrigley Field. Ernaga is the second National League rookie to debut with a triple and homer; he will add just one more homer to his major league career total. (2)
• 1964 - Cubs speedster Lou Brock steals home for the first time‚ combining with Billy Williams on a double steal in the 1st inning of the first game of a doubleheader at Cincinnati. But the Reds win both games‚ 6-5 and 12-4. (2)
• 1970 - With the wind blowing out at Wrigley Field‚ the Pirates come from four runs down to defeat the Cubs‚ 13-6. Willie Stargell has 3 homers and just misses a fourth when his drive bounces off the bleacher railing for a double. Willie adds a single for 15 total bases as he drives in seven runs. (2)
• 1974 - With the game scoreless in the ninth‚ the Cards put runners on first and third base with one out. Tim McCarver grounds to Cubs 1B Billy Williams who fires home to C Tom Lundstedt to snag Ted Simmons in a rundown. But as soon as Lundstedt throws to 3B Matt Alexander‚ Simmons races home to an uncovered plate. The Cards win‚ 1-0. (2)
• 1978 - The Cubs take over first place with a 6-4, come-from-behind win over the Phillies. Dave Rader’s two-run triple ties the game in the eighth and Manny Trillo’s two-run homer in the 10th wins it.
• 1988 - The Chicago Cubs play a daytime doubleheader at Wrigley Field. The Chicago White Sox play a night game at Comiskey Park marking a rare opportunity to see three non-overlapping major league games in Chicago on the same day.
• 2001 - Jon Lieber of the Chicago Cubs throws a 79-pitch, one-hit shutout in a 3-0 blanking of the Cincinnati Reds. It is the first shutout of the Reds in a National League-record 208 games. (2)

Cubs birthdays: George Flynn, Jack Pfiester, Al Shealy,

Today in history:

• 1738 - John Wesley is converted, launching the Methodist movement; celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day.
• 1830 - 1st regular passenger rail service on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line, horse-drawn rail cars connect Baltimore to Ellicott’s Mills.
• 1894 - Lowell Observatory, Arizona, first begins observations of Mars with an eighteen-inch telescope, leads its builder Percival Lowell to conclude there are canals on Mars.

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.