Baseball history unpacked, September 22

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:

• 1911 - Cy Young, forty-four, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 for his 511th and final Major League victory. (1,2)
• 1912 - At Sportsman’s Park against the Browns, Eddie Collins becomes the only player in major league history to steal six bases in one game for a second time. The Philadelphia Athletics’ second baseman’s feat of thievery has yet to be surpassed. It will be 79 years until another major leaguer, Otis Nixon, even ties Collins’ mark. (2)
• 1920 - A Chicago grand jury convenes to investigate charges that eight White Sox players conspired to fix the 1919 World Series
• 1935 - The Boston Braves lose their 110th game for a new National League record. They will lose 115, which remains the record until the 1962 expansion New York Mets lose 120 in a 162-game schedule. The Braves’ winning percentage of .248 is a Twentieth Century low in the National League. (1)
• 1959 - The White Sox clinch their first pennant in 40 years with a 4-2 win over the second-place Indians. Early Wynn gets the win, with Gerry Staley saving the game in the ninth. (1,2)
• 1962 - Al Jackson suffers his 20th loss of the season when Chicago beats the Mets at the Polo Grounds, 8-2. The New York southpaw joins Roger Craig in reaching the dubious number of defeats, making the pair the first teammates since Bucky Walters and Joe Bowman of the 1936 Phillies to become 20-game losers on the same National League team. (2)
• 1977 - Bert Blyleven tosses a 6-0 no-hitter for the Texas Rangers against the Angels at Anaheim Stadium. (2)
• 1987 - Chicago sends P Dickie Noles to the Tigers for a player to be named later. Next month, the right-handed pitcher is returned to the Cubs as that player to be named later.
• 1990 - Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs steals his 300th base in an 11-5 loss to the New York Mets, becoming only the second player in major league history with 300 home runs, 300 steals and 2,000 hits. Willie Mays is the other. (1,2)
• 2002 - Chicago first baseman Fred McGriff becomes the first player to hit 30 home runs in a season for five different teams (Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays and Cubs). The “Crime Dog’s” 1st-inning PNC Park poke also sets a record for being the 42nd major league park in which he’s gone yard, one more than Ellis Burks. (2)
• 2008 - The Mets fall to one game up in the wild card race, losing 9-5 to the Cubs. Chicago clinches home field advantage for the postseason. Pitcher Jason Marquis hits a grand slam and drives in five in the win. It is the second grand slam by a pitcher off New York hurlers this year, the first team since the 1977 Cubs to allow two such slams. Jon Niese takes his first major league loss. (2)
• 2015 - Jake Arrieta of the Cubs becomes the first 20-game winner in the major leagues this year when he defeats the Brewers, 4-0, becoming the first Cubs pitcher tor each the mark since Jon Lieber in 2001. 3B Kris Bryant sets a club record for a rookie by belting his 26th homer. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Doc Marshall, Harry Walker, Harry Bright, Ken Aspromonte, Lou Johnson, Mark Guthrie.

Also notable: Bob Lemon HOF, Tommy Lasorda HOF.

Today in history:

• 1499 - Switzerland becomes an independent state.
• 1692 - Last people hanged for witchcraft (8) in the US, 19 hanged overall, with six other deaths during Salem witch trials.
• 1851 - City of Des Moines, Iowa, incorporated as Fort Des Moines.
• 1927 - ”The long count” - in a famous boxing rematch, Gene Tunney beats Jack Dempsey by 10-round unanimous decision at Soldier Field, Chicago to retain world heavyweight title; crowd 104,943; gate $2,858,660.

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.