Baseball history unpacked, June 26

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 - Abner Dalrymple, George Gore and Larry Corcoran, all normally left-handed batters, cross over and bat right-handed against southpaw Lee Richmond and get one hit each as Chicago beats Worcester, 4-0. (2)
• 1916 - Cleveland players, in a game with the White Sox, wear numbers on their sleeves, marking the first time players are identified by numbers corresponding to those on the scorecard. (1)
• 1920 - Lou Gehrig gets his first national mention when, as a high school junior for New York City’s School of Commerce, he steals the show in a high school championship game against Lane Tech in Chicago. His grand slam home run in the 8th gives the New York team a 12 - 8 victory. Scouts sit with open mouths as the ball sails out of the National League park (later known as Wrigley Field). (1,2)
• 1960 - At Forbes Field, Cubs rookie Ron Santo, making his major league debut, leads Chicago to a sweep of the first-place Pirates. Santo is 3 for 7 and drives in five runs as the Cubs win, 7-5 and 7-6. (2)
• 1960 - Hoping to speed up the election process, the Hall of Fame changes its voting procedures. The new rules allow the Special Veterans Committee to vote annually, rather than every other year, and to induct up to two players a year. The BBWAA is authorized to hold a runoff election of the top 30 vote getters if no one is elected in the first ballot. (1)
• 1962 - Earl Wilson pitches a no-hitter, his first major league shutout, as Boston beats the Los Angeles Angels, 2-0. The righthander also hits a home run off loser Bo Belinsky, who pitched his no-hitter six weeks earlier. (2)
• 1966 - Chicago’s Ron Santo singles in the 1st and his next time up is struck in the face by a Jack Fisher pitch that fractures his cheek. Before Santo’s at bat, the Mets’ Ron Hunt and the Cubs’ Adolfo Phillips had both been hit by pitches. Santo will be operated on the following day but will return to action in a week. The injury ends his consecutive game streak at 390, but his hitting streak continues. (2)
• 1979 - The Yankees reacquire the popular Bobby Murcer from the Cubs in exchange for P Paul Semall and cash. Murcer will once again thrive in Yankee Stadium, hitting .273 with eight home runs. (2)
• 1984 - Pirate Jason Thompson hits a pair of home runs in each game of a doubleheader split with the Cubs. The Pirates take the opener, 9-0, behind Rick Rhoden’s four-hitter, and lose the nightcap, 9-8. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Topsy Hartsel, Elmer Yoter, George Milstead, Elmer Singleton, Howie Pollet, Dave Rosello, Manny Seoane, Mike Griffin, Jason Kendall. Also notable: Willard Brown HOF, Derek Jeter HOF.

Today in history:

• 1284 - According to the Lüneburg manuscript, a piper leads 130 children of Hamelin away.
• 1498 - Toothbrush invented in China using boar bristles.
• 1945 - United Nations Charter signed by 50 nations in San Francisco.
• 1976 - Washington Senators player Toby Harrah plays an entire doubleheader at shortstop without a single chance in the field.

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.