Baseball history unpacked, May 31

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:

• 1869 - The first rainout in professional baseball occurs as heavy rain postpones the Red Stockings game against the Antioch Nine. (2)
• 1914 - Joe Benz of the Chicago White Sox pitches a no-hitter against the Cleveland Naps for a 6-1 victory. (2)
• 1942 - Before 22,000 at Griffith Stadium, Satchel Paige pitches five innings to defeat the Dizzy Dean All-Stars 8-1. Dean pitches just the first inning. The game a week earlier, in which Paige won 3-1 at Wrigley Field, drew 29,000. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis will prohibit a scheduled July 4 matchup because the first two games outdrew major-league games. (1)
• 1984 - Mario Soto is suspended for five days by N.L. president Chub Feeney for his role in a 32-minute melee that marred the Reds-Cubs game on May 27. After shoving third base umpire Steve Rippley, who had signaled that Ron Cey’s long fly ball was a three-run home run (it was later ruled foul), a bat-wielding Soto then tried to attack a park vendor who had thrown a bag of ice at him. Soto will be suspended again for five more days later in the season for his June 16 fight with Claudell Washington. (1)
• 1997 - Ila Borders becomes the first woman to play in a minor league game. The St. Paul Saints reliever gives up three runs to the Sioux Falls Canaries without recording an out, but will redeem herself the next day by striking out the side. (2)
• 2008 - For the first time in 100 years, the Chicago Cubs have the best record in Major League Baseball entering June. The Cubs are 36-21. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Bill Foxen, Kenny Lofton, Greg Deichmann*.

Today in history:

• 1279 BC - Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great becomes Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (19th Dynasty).
• 70 - Rome captures first wall of the city of Jerusalem
• 1578 - Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England, to Frobisher Bay, Canada. Eventually mines fools gold, famously used to pave the streets of London.
• 1879 - Madison Square Garden opens in New York, named after 4th President James Madison.

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.