Baseball history unpacked, July 17

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:

• 1900 - At Brooklyn’s Washington Park, the Superbas tie the score against the Giants in the 5th. Then, with two men on base, New York captain George Davis takes out pitcher Ed Doheny and brings in rookie Christy Mathewson, just brought up from Norfolk where he was 20-2. He hits three batters, walks two, and gives up six runs in a 13-7 loss, charged to Doheny. The New York Times says, “Matty has lots of speed and gives promise of making his way.” Doheny also plunks a batter, while Brooklyn’s Joe McGinnity hits two for a combined 6 hit batsmen in the game, a record, since tied. (2)
• 1906 - The Cubs beat back the Giants, 6-2, as Three-Finger Brown tops Christy Mathewson. Joe Tinker’s two-run homer in the sixth is the big blow for Chicago. The loss drops the Giants to six games behind the Cubs. (2)
• 1908 - In another classic match-up, Three-Finger Brown and Christy Mathewson pair off with Brown winning, 1-0. The Cubs pitcher allows six hits, with Matty giving up seven. The only run comes on a fifth-inning inside-the-park home run by Matty’s nemesis, Joe Tinker, who runs through the arms of third base coach Heinie Zimmerman to score. In the 12 match-ups between the two pitchers, Brown has won eight. A tragic occurrence happens during Tinker’s home run dash when a boy, standing on the roof of a nearby building to view the game, falls 50 feet to his death. (2)
• 1909 - Brooklyn and Chicago swap shutouts, with George Bell topping Chicago’s Orval Overall, 1-0, in the opener. Ed Reulbach comes back in the second game to beat Kaiser Wilhelm, 4-0. Bill Bergen’s hitless streak ends. It started after he singled in his first at bat against the Giants on June 29th. It ends in the second game today when, after sitting out the first game, he has a 4th-inning infield single against Ed Reulbach. Bergen will hit just .139 this season, not a yearly low for the punchless catcher. (2)
• 1915 - The Cubs end Grover Cleveland Alexander’s nine-game win streak, 4-0. Chicago and Philadelphia are deadlocked for the National League lead.
• 1924 - Jesse Haines of the St. Louis Cardinals pitched a no-hitter, beating the Boston Braves 5-0.
• 1934 - Lon Warneke, Cubs mound ace, intentionally walks a batter in the seventh to load the bases and bring up Giants P Roy Parmelee. He hits a grand slam for a 5-3 win. (2)
• 1941 - Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak of 56 games was stopped by Al Smith and Jim Bagby of the Indians before 67,000 at Cleveland. The Yankees still won, 4-3. (2)
• 1965 - Los Angeles returns to first place, as Claude Osteen beats the Cubs, 7-2.
• 1966 - The Cubs clip the Cardinals, 7-2, behind the pitching of Ken Holtzman and the slugging of Billy Williams, who hits for the cycle. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Don Kessinger*, Herb Hutson. Also notable: Lou Boudreau HOF.

Today in history:

• 1936 - Spanish generals Francisco Franco and Emilio Mola lead a right-wing uprising, starting the Spanish Civil War.
• 1762 - Catherine II becomes Tsarina of Russia following the murder of Peter III.
• 1850 - Harvard Observatory takes first photograph of a star (Vega).
• 1861 - US Congress authorizes paper money.

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.