Baseball history unpacked, September 26

Ernie Banks’* last hit and other stories. Cubs clinch in ‘89.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.

“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.

Today in baseball history:

• 1908 – Ed Reulbach pitches two shutouts on the same day, whitewashing Brooklyn, 5-0, on a five-hitter and 3-0 on a three-hitter. The entire doubleheader is played in less than three hours. Big Ed allows five hits in the a.m. game, and is even stingier in the afternoon, yielding three hits and a walk. Kaiser Wilhelm and Jim Pastorius are the losing pitchers. Reulbach is the only pitcher in major league history to have performed this particular feat. (1,2)
• 1912 – Trailing 9-0 going into the 9th inning at Chicago, the Reds stage a terrific comeback against Jimmy Lavender. Lavender gives up five runs and is lifted with the bases loaded. Reliever Fred Toney then walks three straight before Larry Cheney is brought in. The Reds take an unlikely 10-9 lead as Cheney walks two straight. Reds pitcher Ralph Works catches the fever walking one Cub and hitting another. Reliever Rube Benton quickly relieves and follows suit, walking three batters in a row to give the Cubs the 11-10 decision. (2)
• 1914 – At Fenway Park, the Braves roll over the Cubs, 6-2 and 12-2. Lefty Tyler tops Hippo Vaughn in the opener, and Otto Hess beats Larry Cheney in the second game. The red hot Braves will sweep the four-game series with the Cubs. (2)
• 1927 – The Cubs play their last home date and report a season’s attendance of 1,190,000, the first time the team goes over a million. (2)
• 1959 – The Cubs put the pennant race in a tie by blasting the Dodgers, 12-2, at Wrigley Field. The Cubs tally 18 hits in chasing Johnny Podres. (2)
• 1962 – The Cubs lose their 101st, but the good news is that only 903 fans are on hand to see it. (2)
• 1971 – Ernie Banks* gets his 2,583rd hit, a first-inning single off the Phils’ Ken Reynolds, but the Cubs lose, 5-1. It is the last hit of Banks’s 19-year major league career. (2)
• 1975 – At Wrigley Field, the Expos edge the Cubs, 3-2, with Dale Murray picking up his 15th win, all in relief. His 15 victories are tops on the staff. (2)
• 1983 – The Cardinals’ Bob Forsch pitches his second career no-hitter, 3-0 against the Expos. Forsch allows just two baserunners while becoming the first Cardinal and 25th pitcher overall to throw more than one no-hitter. (1,2)
• 1989 – The Cubs become the first team to clinch a division title this season, wrapping up the National League East with a 3-2 win over the Expos. Mitch Williams strikes out Mike Fitzgerald to win the game. (2)
• 2016 – The Cubs win their 100th game of the season by defeating the Pirates, 12-2. Javier Baez hits a grand slam and drives in six runs to lead the attack. It is the first 100-win season for the Cubs since 1935. (2)
• 2018 – The Cubs and Brewers both clinch a postseason slot with wins today, although which of the two teams will finish first in the NL Central and which will host the Wild Card Game remains up in the air, as only a half-game separates them. (2)
• 2023 – RF Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs commits a crucial error, dropping a routine fly ball that would have ended the 8th inning, instead opening the doors for Atlanta to score twice and win, 7-6. The loss clinches the NL Central title for the Brewers, in spite of a 4-1 loss to St. Louis. (2)

Cubs Birthdays: Bert Humphries, Clarence Maddern, Bobby Shantz, Al Lary, Steve Buechele, Dave Martinez.

Today in History:

• 1212 – Golden Bull of Sicily certified hereditary royal title in Bohemia for Přemyslid dynasty.
• 1580 – Francis Drake completes his circumnavigation of the world, sailing into Plymouth, England aboard the Golden Hind.
• 1687 – The Acropolis in Athens is attacked by the Venetian army in an attempt to eject the Turks, damaging the Parthenon.
• 1887 – Emile Berliner patents the gramophone.

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.
• (6) — Wikipedia.
• (7) — The British Museum
• For world history.

*pictured.

Things are as near to the truth as we can get them. Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, so that we can help update the records and have documentation of why.