Baseball history unpacked, July 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:

• 1913 - Led by Ward Miller’s two-run triple, the Cubs stop the Giants, 3-2. The victory ends the New Yorkers’ win streak at 14 games and stops Christy Mathewson’s win streak at nine. Matty’s skein of consecutive innings without a free pass continues however, and stands at 52. (2)
• 1934 - The second annual All-Star Game produces Carl Hubbell’s amazing feat of striking out five future Hall of Famers in a row. Off to a shaky start with two on base in the 1st inning, Hubbell uses his screwball to fan Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx. He adds Al Simmons and Joe Cronin to start the second. After three scoreless innings he leaves with the National League ahead, 4-0, but the A.L. rallies for a 9-7 victory. (1,2)
• 1936 - At Forbes Field, Chuck Klein hits four home runs in one game, including the tie-breaker in the 10th, helping the Phillies defeat the Pirates, 9-6. The Indianapolis, Indiana native barely misses hitting an additional homer in the second when right fielder Paul Waner catches his drive against the wall. At 36, Klein is the oldest player ever to accomplish the feat, and the first National Leaguer in the 20th century to do so. (1,2)
• 1947 - In a rain-interrupted game before 47,871, Don Black of the Cleveland Indians pitches a no-hitter, beating the Philadelphia Athletics 3-0 in the first game of a doubleheader. It is the first no-hitter at Municipal Stadium. (2)
• 1964 - Jesus Alou gets six hits against six different pitchers as the Giants beat the Cubs 10-3.
• 1969 - The Cubs score five runs in the fifth inning to beat the Mets, 6-2, behind Bill Hands. The win halts the Mets’ seven-game win streak and leaves the New Yorkers in second place by four games. (2)
• 1984 - On the 50th anniversary of Carl Hubbell’s legendary five consecutive strikeouts in the 1934 All-Star Game, N.L. pitchers Fernando Valenzuela and Dwight Gooden combine to fan six batters in a row for a new All-Star Game record in the N.L.’s 3-1 triumph. After Valenzuela whiffs Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson, and George Brett in the fourth inning, Gooden, the youngest All-Star ever at age 19, fans Lance Parrish, Chet Lemon, and Alvin Davis in the fifth. (1)
• 1992 - The Pirates trade 3B Steve Buechele to the Cubs in exchange for P Danny Jackson. The swap opens up the Bucs’ 3B spot for Jeff King. (2)
• 2000 - Sammy Sosa wins the All-Star Game Home Run Derby by defeating defending champ Ken Griffey Jr. in the finals. (2)
• 2019 - Jim Bouton, an excellent pitcher as a young man turned knuckleballer after arm injuries cost him his fastball, but better known as the author of Ball Four, one of the best books ever written about baseball, dies at 80. Blackballed by baseball’s establishment after his book was published in 1970, he dabbled in acting and sports journalism before making a comeback in 1978 and writing a number of other books, including one on his quixotic fight to preserve a historic ballpark in Pittsfield, MA. He had been suffering from dementia for the past few years. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Bobby Lowe, John Rudolph, Andre Dawson HOF, Sergio Alcántara*.

Today in history:

• 988 - The city of Dublin is founded on the banks of the river Liffey.
• 1040 - Lady Godiva rides naked on horseback through Coventry, according to legend, to force her husband, the Earl of Mercia, to lower taxes.
• 1938 - Howard Hughes flies around the world in 91 hours.
• 2017 - NASA’s Juno spacecraft makes closest ever pass over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot at 9,000 kilometers overhead.

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.