Chicago Cubs history unpacked — October 26

Free of charge for the discerning reader.

Happy birthday to Steve Ontiveros, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1971 – Vida Blue of the Oakland Athletics wins the American League Cy Young Award by a 98-85 margin over Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers. Blue was 24-8 for Oakland, posting 301 strikeouts, eight shutouts and a 1.82 ERA, becoming the youngest pitcher to win the award. In the National League, Ferguson Jenkins* of the Chicago Cubs receives the honor, and 2016 – The Cubs tie up the World Series with a 5 – 1 win over the Indians in Game 2. Jake Arrieta does not allow a hit until the sixth, while the Cubs score against Trevor Bauer in the top of the first and add runs in the third and fifth. Anthony Rizzo scores twice while Kyle Schwarber, who has missed almost the entire season with an injury, drives in a pair, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1911 – Danny Murphy of the Philadelphia Athletics has four hits as the A’s beat the New York Giants, 13-2, to win the World Series in six games. Philadelphia puts the game out of reach with a seven-run seventh inning.
• 1931 – Charles Comiskey dies at age 72. The Chicago White Sox owner and pioneer player never recovered from the betrayal of the 1919 World Series.
• 1934 – The Boston Red Sox acquire shortstop Joe Cronin from the Washington Senators for his counterpart Lyn Lary and an estimated $250,000. Senators owner Clark Griffith needs the money to keep his franchise afloat during the Great Depression and is willing to see his best player leave in order to do so. Cronin will hit .295 with 95 RBI in 1935, the first of his 11 seasons as a Boston player.
• 1940 – Detroit Tigers outfielder Hank Greenberg is named the American League MVP with Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller finishing second. Greenberg hit .340 with 41 home runs and 150 RBI, while Feller posted a 27-11 record with a 2.61 ERA. Having won the award in 1935 as a first baseman, Greenberg becomes the first player to win the MVP again playing a different position.
• 1950 – The Baseball Writers Association of America selects New York Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto as the American League MVP. He posted a .324 batting average with 200 hits and 125 runs scored, but drove in just 66.
• 1960 – After his family has been operating the team in the nation’s capital ever since Clark Griffith took over as manager of the club in 1912, Calvin Griffith, president of the Washington Senators, makes the decision to move his club to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
• 1982 – Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies becomes the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards, taking National League honors. The 37-year-old lefthander, who led the National League in wins (23), innings pitched (295.2), strikeouts (286) and shutouts (6), was a previous winner in 1972, 1977 and 1980.
• 1985 – The Kansas City Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of the World Series, thanks in part to a controversial ninth-inning call by Don Denkinger. The umpire rules the Royals’ Jorge Orta safe at first base, when replays show he was out. The Royals will go on to score two runs to win, 2-1, forcing a seventh game.
• 1991 – Outfielder Kirby Puckett prevents two Atlanta runs with a leaping catch in the third inning and then lofts a sacrifice fly in the fifth to give the Twins the lead in Game 6 of the World Series. The Braves tie it in the seventh, but Puckett turns out the lights in the 11th with a home run to force a seventh game. (Jack Buck: “”And we’ll see you ..… tomorrow night!”)
• 1996 – The New York Yankees clinch their 23rd World Series by defeating the Atlanta Braves, 3-2, in Game 6. Joe Girardi‘s RBI triple keys a three-run rally against Greg Maddux. John Wetteland is named Series MVP after posting his fourth save.
• 1997 – Edgar Renteria ends one of the most thrilling Game 7 in World Series history, singling with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Florida Marlins their first World championship with a 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The five-year-old Marlins become the youngest expansion team to win the Fall Classic. Pitcher Livan Hernandez wins the Series MVP award. Following the 2010 season, a panel of experts at the MLB Network will vote this game the 13th greatest game of the past fifty years.
• 2000 – In Game 5 at Shea Stadium, the Yankees win their third consecutive World Series, their fourth title in five years, and record their 26th World championship, by defeating the Mets, 4-2. Luis Sojo‘s ninth-inning two-out, tie-breaking single off starter Al Leiter is the decisive hit. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter becomes the first player to win the All-Star Game MVP and the Series MVP honors in the same season. Joe Torre becomes only the fifth manager to win four World Series championships, joining Hall of Famers Joe McCarthy (7), Casey Stengel (7), Connie Mack (5) and Walter Alston (4) .
• 2004 – In Game 3 of the World Series at Busch Stadium, Manny Ramirez hits a two-run home run as the Boston Red Sox defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1, for their third consecutive victory. Pedro Martinez is the winning pitcher, helped by relievers Mike Timlin and Keith Foulke as Jeff Suppan is the loser.
• 2004 – Prior to Game 3 of the World Series, Edgar Martinez receives the Roberto Clemente Award, an honor given to the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team. A native of Puerto Rico, the Mariners designated hitter, like the award’s namesake, is involved in a number of charitable causes.
• 2005 – In the World Series, the Chicago White Sox complete a sweep of the Houston Astros with a 1-0 victory in Game 4. Freddy Garcia pitches seven solid shutout innings. Series MVP Jermaine Dye connects for an RBI single off Brad Lidge in the eighth for the only run of the game, as Juan Uribe adds strong defensive support at shortstop. Garcia becomes the first Venezuelan starter to win a World Series game. He also accomplishes the feat with good friend and fellow countryman Ozzie Guillen at the helm, who manages the White Sox to earn the franchise’s first World Championship since 1917.
• 2011 – New Chicago Cubs President Theo Epstein announces the appointment of Jed Hoyer, who worked with him with the Boston Red Sox, as the team’s new general manager.
• 2014 – 22-year-old outfielder Oscar Taveras is killed in a car crash near his hometown of Puerto Plata, in the Dominican Republic. Only ten days ago, the promising prospect was playing for the Cardinals in the NLCS.
• 2018 – The Dodgers win a marathon Game 3 in the World Series, 3-2 over the Red Sox, on a walk-off homer by Max Muncy off Nathan Eovaldi to lead off the 18th inning. The game lasts 7 hours and 20 minutes and begins with a great start by Walker Buehler, who shuts out the Sox for seven innings. But Los Angeles can only score one run on a solo homer by Joc Pederson in the third, and in the eighth Boston ties the score on a two-out homer by Jackie Bradley off Kenley Jansen. The two teams trade runs in the 13th when the Dodgers manage to score on a two-out error by 2B Ian Kinsler. The score remains at 2-2 until Muncy ends the game as Eovaldi begins his seventh inning of work. The game’s total time and the 18 pitchers used are both postseason records.
• 2019 – Major League Baseball honors the best relief pitchers in the game before Game 4 of the World Series. Aroldis Chapman wins the Mariano Rivera Award for the first time, while Josh Hader is a repeat winner of the Trevor Hoffman Award.

Cubs Birthdays: Steve Ontiveros, Otto Vogel, Tommy Griffith, Harry Chapman, Andy Sommers.

Today in history:

• 1774 – First Continental Congress adjourns in Philadelphia.
• 1776 – Benjamin Franklin departs for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution.
• 1824 – First presidential election in American history where the popular vote is important with 18 states choosing presidential electors by popular vote. Andrew Jackson wins the most votes but is short of a majority, forcing a contingent election in the House of Representatives which John Quincy Adams wins.
• 1861 – The Pony Express (Missouri to California) ends after 19 months.
• 1881 – Gunfight at the O.K. Corral: The most famous shootout in the Wild West occurs between lawmen, including Wyatt Earp, and the Cowboys, with Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton killed.
• 1951 – Future world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano defeats former champion Joe Louis by TKO in the eighth round at Madison Square Garden.
• 1962 – Nikita Khrushchev sends note to JFK offering to withdraw his missiles from Cuba if US closes its bases in Turkey. Offer is rejected and JFK warns Russia that the USA will not allow Soviet missiles to remain in Cuba.
• 1968 – Future world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman wins the Olympic heavyweight gold medal when the final against Jonas Čepulis (Soviet Union) is stopped in round 2 at the Mexico City Games.
• 1970 – The “Doonesbury” comic strip debuts in 28 newspapers.

Today in music history:

• 1927 – American jazz vocalist Adelaide Hall makes her 1st recordings – “Creole Love Call” and “Blues I Love to Sing” – with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, for Victor Records in Camden, New Jersey.
• 1956 – Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis leads his new quintet — Paul Chambers (double bass and cello), John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Red Garland (piano), and Philly Joe Jones (drums) — in the second of two marathon sessions at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in Hackensack, New Jersey; released by Columbia as the classic albums ‘Cookin'” (1957),”Relaxin'” (1958),”Workin'” (1960), and “Steamin'” (1961).
• 1965 – Queen Elizabeth decorates The Beatles with medals making them members Order of the British Empire (MBE) at Buckingham Palace.
• 1973 – Wings release single “Helen Wheels”.
• 1981 – British rock band Queen and David Bowie release their serendipitous collaborative single “Under Pressure.“

*pictured.