Baseball history unpacked, September 27

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:

• 1905 - Pilgrim Bill Dinneen, who had not thrown this month because of a sore arm, pitches the fourth no-hitter of the season. The White Sox have 26 official at bats against him in the 2-0 Boston win, their first loss to Boston after ten straight wins. (2)
• 1928 - With the Giants just a half game behind the Cardinals, New York loses the first game of a doubleheader to the Cubs, 3-2. On a controversial play at the plate in the 6th inning, New York’s Shanty Hogan hits a ball back to pitcher Art Nehf who throws to third to get the runner. But the runner, Randy Reese, was off with the crack of the bat and bowls over catcher Gabby Hartnett. Hartnett grabs the runner to keep from falling. and as Hartnett holds him, Reese is tagged out by the Cubs 3B. The Giants bench erupts, but umpire Bill Klem rules Reese is out. The subsequent protest will be disallowed, despite a photo clearly showing Hartnett up the line holding Reese. The Giants win the nightcap, 2-0, but a loss tomorrow clinches the pennant for St. Louis. (2)
• 1930 - Almost overlooked is Wally Berger’s 38th homer for the Braves, at Ebbets Field, as Boston tops Brooklyn, 7-1. It is a record for rookies that will be tied by Frank Robinson in 1956 and finally broken by Cody Bellinger in 2017.
• 1930 - Hack Wilson clubs two homers to finish with a National League record of 56 that will hold until 1998. The Cubs win, 13-8, over the Reds at Wrigley Field as Pat Malone wins his 20th of the year. (1,2)
• 1935 - The Cubs clinch the National League pennant in the first game of a doubleheader with the Cardinals, 6-2, besting Dizzy Dean, as Bill Lee wins his 20th. The Cubs tally 15 hits off Diz, led by Freddie Lindstrom’s four. With Roy Henshaw’s victory, 5-3, in the nitecap, the Cubs extend their winning streak to an incredible 21 games and reach the 100-win mark. Only once during the streak have the Cubs pitchers given up more than three runs. The streak ties the franchise mark set in 1880. (1,2)
• 1936 - Replacing Johnny Mize, who is tossed by an umpire for arguing, Cardinal rookie first baseman Walter Alston makes an error in handling two chances and is fanned by Lon Warneke in his only major league at-bat. “Smokey” will, however, win seven pennants and four World Series in his 23-year Hall of Fame career as Dodger manager from 1954 to 1976. (1,2)
• 1941 - The National League decides to strike the name of George Pfister, who appears as C for the Dodgers in today’s game, from its official records. The NL rules Pfister, who never signed a Brooklyn contract, is the property of Montreal (International League), and his name is removed from the box score, although this will be overruled retroactively as being patently absurd. (2)
• 1987 - In his final plate appearance of the year at Wrigley Field, Andre Dawson crashes his 47th home run to lead the Cubs to a 7-3 win over the Cardinals. Dawson will finish with 49 round trippers on his way to the MVP award. He also draws just 32 walks. (2)
• 1993 - In a 7-3 victory over the Dodgers, Cubs reliever Randy Myers becomes the first National League pitcher to record 50 saves in a season.
• 2003 - Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa blasts his 40th home run to establish a National League record by reaching the plateau for the sixth consecutive season. The Chicago right fielder, who had previously been tied with Ralph Kiner and Duke Snider, needs another season of at least 40 homers to equal Babe Ruth’s major league mark of seven seasons set from 1926 to 1932. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Don Schulze. Also notable: Mike Schmidt HOF.

Today in history:

• 1066 - William the Conqueror’s troops set sail from Normandy to conquer England.
• 1590 - Pope Urban VII dies 13 days after being chosen as the Pope, making his reign the shortest papacy in history.
• 1717 - French founder of Detroit, Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac is imprisoned in the Bastille for speaking “against the government of the state and the colonies ” (freed 1718).
• 1821 - Mexican revolutionary forces led by Agustín de Iturbide occupy Mexico City as Spanish withdraw, bringing an end to the Mexican War of Independence.
• 1908 - Henry Ford’s first Ford Model T automobile leaves the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan.
• 1962 - Rachel Carson publishes ‘Silent Spring’ about the deleterious impacts of pesticide use in the US on the environment.

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.