Baseball history unpacked, June 23

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:

• 1917 - In the first of two games at Boston, Babe Ruth starts for the Red Sox and walks the leadoff man, griping to plate umpire Brick Owens after each pitch. On ball 4, Ruth plants a right to the umpire’s head, and is ejected. Ernie Shore comes in to pitch. Ray Morgan is then caught stealing, and Shore retires all 26 men he faces in a 4-0 win, getting credit in the books for a perfect game (the ruling will later be changed, giving the two pitchers a combined no-hitter, but no perfect game). Boston’s Dutch Leonard then beats Walter Johnson, 5-0, in the nightcap. Ruth is suspended for his actions, a ban that will last nine days. He also is fined $100. (1,2)
• 1930 - Hack Wilson hits for the cycle with two singles, a double, triple, and homer, and drives in six as the Cubs whip the Phils, 21-8, at Wrigley Field.
• 1933 - The Cubs sweep the Phillies, winning the opener, 9-5, on Harvey Hendrick’s pinch grand slam in the 10th inning. It is the second pinch grand slam in major league history and the second for the Cubs in three years. Chicago takes the nightcap, 3-1.
• 1938 - The Cubs sweep two at home against the Giants, winning, 7-4 and 3-1. Bill Lee is the victor in the opener, topping Harry Gumbert, while Dizzy Dean bests Hal Schumacher in the second game. (2)
• 1946 - Eddie Waitkus and Marv Rickert of the Chicago Cubs hit back-to-back, inside-the-park home runs in the fourth inning, but the team loses, 15-10, to the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. (2)
• 1961 - Ernie Banks voluntarily takes the bench as a sore knee brings his 717 consecutive games played streak to an end. The streak started August 26, 1956. The Bank-less Cubs still win, 5-3, over the Braves at Wrigley Field. Joe Adcock, who applied the hidden ball trick last August 31st to George Altman, nabs another Cub, Billy Williams, in the eighth. (1,2)
• 1971 - Rick Wise hits two home runs and drives in three runs as he faces only 28 batters and no-hits the Reds, 4-0 on 95 pitches. He goes deep against Ross Grimsley and Clay Carroll. Pete Rose is retired as the final out. The Phillies’ hurler will again hit two home runs in same game this season on August 28th. (1,2)
• 1984 - At Wrigley Field, in game that will be known as “the Sandberg game”, the Cubs’ Ryne Sandberg goes 5 for 6 with game-tying home runs off Cardinals relief ace Bruce Sutter in both the ninth and 10th innings. He drives in seven runs to lead Chicago to a 12-11 win in 11 innings. It is the first time Sutter has given up two home runs to the same batter in the same game. Dave Owen’s bases-loaded single wins it. Willie McGee hits for the cycle and drives in six runs in a losing cause. (1,2)

The game.

• 1994 - The Senate Judiciary Committee fails to approve antitrust legislation by a vote of 10-7. According to Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Players Association, the action leaves the players with little choice but to strike. (2)
• 2020 - Following protracted negotiations there is now agreement to start an abbreviated 60-game season on July 23rd or 24th after the Players Association ratifies the proposed safety protocols. Players are to report to their team’s home city on July 1st to resume “spring” training. (1)

Cubs birthdays: Jack Hardy. Also notable: Jim Deshaies.

Today in history:

• 930 - World’s oldest parliament, the Icelandic Parliament, is established, the Alþingi (anglicised as Althing or Althingi).
• 1713 - The French residents of Acadia are given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada.
• 1972 - Bernice Gera becomes first female umpire in US pro baseball, in a game between the Geneva Senators and Auburn Twins in Geneva, New York.

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.