Baseball history unpacked, September 4

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:

• 1891 - Cap Anson shows up for today’s game wearing a wig and a long white beard, much to the delight of the Chicago crowd. Anson wears the costume throughout the game, which his Colts win over the Beaneaters 5-3. (1)
• 1902 - Chicago Orphans rookie Alex Hardy debuts with a 1-0 shutout victory over Brooklyn, and becomes the first 20th century National League pitcher to toss a shutout in his first game. It’s happened twice already in the American League. (2)
• 1908 - In a game, the significance of which will not be recognized for another three weeks, the Pirates and Cubs are tied 0-0 in the last of the 10th at Pittsburgh. With two outs and the bases loaded, Pittsburgh’s Owen Wilson singles to CF, scoring Fred Clarke with the winning run. Warren Gill, on first base, does not get to second but stops short, turns, and heads for the dugout, a common practice. The Cubs’ Johnny Evers calls for the ball from Jimmy Slagle, touches second, and claims the run does not count as Gill has been forced. The lone umpire, Hank O’Day, has left the field. When queried, he rules that Clarke had already scored, so the run counts. The Cubs protest to league president Harry Pulliam, but are denied. This is the first time the Cubs try this tactic, but not the last, as the Fred Merkle game will demonstrate. (1,2)
• 1916 - Longtime pitching rivals Christy Mathewson and Mordecai Brown closed out their careers, by special arrangement, in the same game. Mathewson won the game, 10-8. (1,2)
• 1923 - Yankee Sam Jones no-hits the Athletics, 2-0, beating Bob Hasty. Babe Ruth makes the only strikeout of the game as he slips a point behind Detroit’s Harry Heilmann in the batting race. Not till Ken Holtzman’s no-hitter in 1969 will another pitcher record a no-hitter with no strikeouts. (2)
• 1935 - The third-place Cubs get two home runs, including a grand slam from Augie Galan, to beat the Phillies at Wrigley Field. Larry French is the winner, 8-2, for his 13th victory. (2)
• 1967 - In the first of two at Wrigley Field, Chuck Hartenstein and the Cubs top the Dodgers, 2-1, in 11 innings. Don Sutton takes the loss and is now 0-7 against Chicago. (2)
• 1993 - Yankees P Jim Abbott tosses a no-hitter against Cleveland, defeating them by a score of 4-0.
• 1998 - Defeating the White Sox, 11-6, the Yankees win their 100th game on the earliest date in major league history, besting the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 1954 Cleveland Indians by five days. The 1906 Cubs set the major league record for fewest contests to reach 100 victories accomplishing the milestone in 132 games. (1,2)
• 1998 - Sammy Sosa’s 57th home run leads the Cubs to a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh. Sosa* surpasses Hack Wilson’s club record set 68 years ago. (2)
• 2010 - The Rangers sign former All-Star P Mark Prior and assign him to Triple-A Oklahoma City. A month ago, Prior began a comeback with the Orange County Flyers of the independent Golden Baseball League, during which he did not allow an earned run in 11 innings and struck out half the batters he faced. He will fail to make it back to the majors, however. (2)
• 2019 - Yu Darvish continues his dominant season as he allows just one hit - a solo homer by Matt Carpenter to lead off the sixth inning — and no walks while striking out 11 in seven innings in defeating the Cardinals, 4-1. The Cubs ace is now 7-1, 1.44 on the season. (2)

Cubs birthdays: Red Corriden, Eddie Waitkus, Jim McAnany, Andrelton Simmons. Also notable: Mike Piazza HOF.

Today in history:

• 1781 - Los Angeles is founded by 44 Spanish speakers in the Bahia de las Fumas (Bay of Smokes).
• 1807 - Robert Fulton begins operating his steamboat between New York and Albany.
• 1888 - George Eastman patents the first roll-film camera and registers the brand name “Kodak.”
• 1940 - CBS begins broadcasting TV as station W2XAB.
• 1951 - NBC extends to become a 61 station coast-to-coast network.

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.