Chicago Cubs history unpacked — October 21

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Happy birthday to George Bell, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1975 – Carlton Fisk breaks up one of the best games in World Series history with a home run in the 12th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 7-6 victory against the Cincinnati Reds, forcing a seventh game to decide the winner of the 1975 World Series, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1925 – Marv Goodwin, a former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals who joined the Cincinnati Reds at the end of the season, is killed in a plane he is piloting. At age 34, Goodwin is the first active player to die from injuries sustained in an airplane crash. Goodwin was one of the original spitballers who was “grandfathered.”
• 1964 – After just 11 years in Milwaukee, the Braves’ Board of Directors votes to ask the National League for permission to move to Atlanta. Milwaukee County officials sue to block the move.
• 1972 – The Cincinnati Reds send the World Series to its seventh game with an 8-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics in Game 6 — the only one of the Series decided by more than one run. Johnny Bench hits a home run and Bobby Tolan and Cesar Gerónimo each drive in two runs.
• 1973 – Bert Campaneris and Reggie Jackson hit two-run home runs in the third inning as the Oakland Athletics defeat the New York Mets, 5-2, in Game 7 of the World Series, for their second straight World Championship .
• 1976 – With a 7-2 victory, the Cincinnati Reds win the World Series, completing a four-game sweep of the Yankees. It is the Reds’ second straight World Championship. Johnny Bench hits two home runs for five RBI. He finishes with a .533 batting average and is named Series MVP. Yankees catcher Thurman Munson has six straight singles to tie a World Series mark. Cincinnati becomes the first and only team to win a World Series using the identical batting lineup in every game of that Series, with no pinch-hitters, pinch-runners, or defensive replacements making an appearance. Cincinnati also becomes the first team ever to go through an entire League Championship Series and World Series without a defeat.
• 1980 – The Philadelphia Phillies become World Series champions for the first time in their 98-year history with a 4-1 triumph over the Kansas City Royals in Game 6 of the 1980 World Series.
• 1981 – At Yankee Stadium, New York shuts out the Dodgers in the World Series. Starter Tommy John and closer Goose Gossage get the credit for the four-hit, 3-0 victory as New York leads the Series two games to none.
• 1995 – Atlanta beats Cleveland, 3-2, in Game 1 of the World Series behind star pitcher Greg Maddux. Fred McGriff homers for Atlanta, while Kenny Lofton of Cleveland becomes the first player since 1921 to steal two bases in one inning of a Series game. The two teams combine for only five hits, tying a World Series record for fewest hits by both clubs.
• 1996 – Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves holds the New York Yankees to six hits in eight innings and Fred McGriff drives in three runs in a 4-0 win in Game 2 of the World Series.
• 1997 – In a slugfest, the Florida Marlins plate seven runs in the ninth inning to outscore the Cleveland Indians, 14-11, and take Game 3 of the World Series. Gary Sheffield has five RBI for Florida on three hits, including a double and home run. Darren Daulton and Jim Eisenreich also homer for the Marlins, while Jim Thome connects for Cleveland.
• 1998 – The New York Yankees close out their historic season with 3-0 victory against the San Diego Padres, sweeping San Diego in four games to win their record 24th World Series championship. Andy Pettitte gets the victory, and Scott Brosius is named Series MVP.
• 2001 – Randy Johnson and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2, to win the National League Championship Series and reach the World Series for the first time in their history. Arizona gets to the Series faster than any expansion team in history, doing so in the fourth year of its existence. Erubiel Durazo‘s pinch-hit two-run home run is the key blow. Craig Counsell is named the NLCS MVP.
• 2001 – The New York Yankees take a 3-1 lead in their American League Championship Series matchup with the Seattle Mariners, defeating Seattle by a score of 3-1. Bret Boone‘s eighth-inning home run breaks a scoreless tie, but Bernie Williams hits a home run in the bottom half of the inning to tie the score. New York wins on Alfonso Soriano‘s two-run homer in the ninth and Mariano Rivera gets the victory in relief.
• 2003 – At Pro Player Stadium, the New York Yankees defeat the Florida Marlins, 6-1, in Game 3 of the World Series. Aaron Boone and Bernie Williams hit home runs for the Yankees as Mike Mussina is the winning pitcher with the help of Mariano Rivera in relief. Josh Beckett is the loser. The Yankees lead the Series two games to one.
• 2007 – The Boston Red Sox defeat Cleveland, 11-2, in Game 7 of the ALCS to reach the World Series where they will face the Colorado Rockies. They had trailed Cleveland, three games to one, before mounting a comeback. Josh Beckett is the ALCS MVP after winning Games 1 and 5 of the Series. 
• 2009 – The Phillies are returning to the World Series after beating the Dodgers, 10-4, in Game 5 of the NLCS at Citizens Bank Park. Seven home runs are hit in the game — four by the Phils — including two by Jayson Werth. Ryan Howard‘s streak of postseason games with an RBI ends at eight, but he is still selected the Series’ MVP.
• 2015 – The Mets complete a sweep of the Cubs in the NLCS with an 8-3 win at Wrigley Field. They score four runs in the first and two in the second to run away with the game, while Daniel Murphy, who is named MVP of the series, sets a new postseason record by homering in his sixth straight game.
• 2017 – The Astros win Game 7 of the ALCS, 4-0, over the Yankees to clinch their-first ever American League pennant. Having also won one in the National League in 2005, they become the first team to have done so in both major leagues. In the game, the Astros get a great combined pitching performance by Charlie Morton, who goes the first five innings, and Lance McCullers, who pitches the last four, limiting the Yankees to just three hits. Evan Gattis and Jose Altuve hit solo homers and Brian McCann drives in two runs, as CC Sabathia is charged with the loss.

Cubs Birthdays: José Lobatón, George Bell*, Johnny Goryl, Bill Lee, Jack Hayden. Also notable: Whitey Ford HOF.

Today in history:

• 1520 – Explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet reach Cape Virgenes after transiting the Strait of Magellan between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, becoming the first Europeans to sail into the Pacific.
• 1797 – The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) is launched in Boston.
• 1959 – Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens in New York City.
• 1964 – Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia runs a world record 2:12:11.2 to beat Briton Basil Heatley by more than 4 minutes and win the men’s marathon at the Tokyo Olympics; he is the first athlete to win the Olympic marathon twice.
• 1973 – Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
• 2024 – Findings are published of a massive collision of Earth with a large meteorite, four times the size of Mt. Everest, 3.26 billion years ago, so big it boiled the oceans and may have kickstarted early life.

Today in music history:

• 1858 – Jacques Offenbach’s operetta “Orpheus in the Underworld” (Orphée aux Enfers) premieres in Paris and includes “Infernal Galop” (can-can tune).
• 1975 – Asylum Records releases “Nighthawks at the Diner,” the third studio album by singer-songwriter Tom Waits; the double LP was recorded with a live audience in a simulated nightclub setting.
• 1978 – Rock musician Frank Zappa serves as both host and musical guest on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, appearing in several sketches and performing his songs “Dancin’ Fool,” “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing,” and “Rollo.”
• 2001 – “United We Stand” benefit concert for September 11, 2001, terrorist attack victims is held at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., organized and headlined by Michael Jackson and featuring Aerosmith, Mariah Carey, and The Backstreet Boys.

*pictured.