Baseball history unpacked, July 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:

• 1897 - St. Louis hurler John Grimes establishes a major league record which still stands today by hitting six batters in a nine-inning game. (2)
• 1905 - Charles Taft, owner of the Cincinnati Times-Star and brother of a future president, finances Charles W. Murphy’s purchase of the Chicago Cubs for $125,000. (2)
• 1910 - Cubs rookie King Cole pitches a seven-inning no-hitter for a 4-0 win over St. Louis. Cole will top the National League with a 20-4 record, but will have only one more winning season, (2)
• 1934 - When the Cards and the Cubs resume playing the protested game of July 2nd at Wrigley Field, Chicago still wins. The final score this time is 7-1 instead of 7-4. (2)
• 1935 - The Reds oversell their night game, and 30,000 jam in for the match against the Cards. Kitty Burke, a female fan, slips under the ropes around the infield and grabs a bat. Paul Dean lobs a pitch and she grounds out. Manager Frankie Frisch demands it count as an at bat. (1,2)
• 1936 - At the Polo Grounds, the Giants manage just four hits off Chicago’s Larry French and lose, 3-1. The Terrymen’s only tally is a homer by Hank Leiber. The loss leaves the front-running Cubs a game ahead of the Cards. (2)
• 1961 - The Second All-Star Game of 1961 ends in a 1-1 tie at Fenway Park. Rocky Colavito homers for the American League run. Heavy rains end the exhibition after nine innings. (1,2)
• 1962 - The National League rejects Commissioner Ford Frick’s proposal for interleague play in 1963. (1,2)
• 1968 - Chicago’s Billy Williams, Ernie Banks and Jim Hickman hit 4th-inning home runs as Fergie Jenkins (12-10) beats the Astros, 6-1, at Wrigley Field. (2)
• 1970 - The Reds lose a doubleheader to the visiting Cubs, 7-1 and 11-7, and lose rookie star Wayne Simpson, who tears the rotator cuff in his pitching arm. Simpson will come back, but will never be the same, going 22-28 in the rest of his career. (2)
• 1981 - The fifty-day old baseball strike is settled as owners and players agree on a pooling system for free agent compensation. The All-Star game will mark the end of baseball’s first-ever mid-season work stoppage. (1,2)
• 2002 - The Cubs and Pirates swap outfielders with Chad Hermansen going to Chicago and Darren Lewis to Pittsburgh.
• 2004 - The long-anticipated trade of Nomar Garciaparra is finally accomplished as the Red Sox shortstop is traded to the Cubs in a four-team deal which includes the Twins and Expos. Chicago first acquires shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Expos for shortstop Alex Gonzalez, relief pitcher Francis Beltran and minor leaguer Brendan Harris. They then pry 1B Doug Mientkiewicz from the Twins for minor league southpaw Justin Jones. Finally, Chicago flips its two new acquisitions to the Bosox for Garciaparra, prospect Matt Murton and cash. (2)
• 2015 - Baltimore sends P Tommy Hunter to the Cubs for utility player Junior Lake.
• 2016 - The Cubs’ 7-6 win over the Mariners can be credited to a series of brilliant moves by manager Joe Maddon. Trailing 6-2 in the sixth, he sends in P Travis Wood in relief of Joe Nathan, and he gets out of a runners on second and third with nobody out situation without allowing a run. Maddon then moves Wood to left field in the 7th as Pedro Strop takes the mound, and Wood robs Franklin Gutierrez by crashing into the ivy at Wrigley Field to snag a line drive. With two outs in the 8th, Wood replaces Strop and picks off Shawn O’Malley at first base to end the inning. The Cubs score three runs off Steve Cishek in the bottom of the 9th to force extra innings, then in the 12th, Maddon asks P Jon Lester to pinch-hit with Jason Heyward on third base, and the otherwise awful hitter lays down an excellent squeeze bunt to drive in the winning run against Cody Martin. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Larry Doyle, Art Nehf, Bill Fleming, Earl Stephenson, Leon Durham*, Mike Bielecki, René Rivera.

Today in history:

• 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves minor victory over Octavian, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to Octavian’s invasion of Egypt.
• 781 - The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781).
• 1498 - Christopher Columbus discovers the island of Trinidad on his third voyage.
• 1703 - Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.
• 1938 - MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspends New York Yankees outfielder Jake Powell after he said on Chicago radio (WGN radio announcer Bob Elson) he kept in shape by “cracking” ‘African Americans’ over the head with his nightstick.
• 1971 - Apollo 15 astronauts take 6½ hour electric car ride on Moon.

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.