Page 4 - Fred Pfeffer News Today

The Cubs will start tonight's game against the Brewers needing to score only 8 more runs to become the first team to reach 100,000 since the start of the National League in 1876. Their 99,992 are 1...

Cubs first game with 2 umpires, 1888 By JohnW53 on Apr 19, 2021, 6:43am CDT + When 5,000 spectators gathered at Chicagos West Side Park on Tuesday, July 17, 1888, they saw something they never had seen before: 2 umpires on the field at the same time. The 4-umpire "crew" that we take for granted today did not become standard for all regular-season games until 1953. Even a second umpire was not mandated until 1911, although one often was assigned for important game between contending ...

Evolution of Cubs career hits record, Part 3 By JohnW53 on Mar 12, 2021, 4:23am CST + .......... 3,012 hits during his 22 seasons with the team, 1876-97. Jimmy Ryan, a longtime teammate of Ansons, left the team after 1900 with 2,084 hits. That ranked him second, a position he maintained until 1946, when Stan Hack raised his total to 2,128. A year earlier, Hack had become the leader among players whose careers began in or after 1901, the start of the Modern Era. After 1946, Hack le...

Evolution of Cubs career hits record, Part 1 By JohnW53 on Mar 10, 2021, 6:08am CST + And then there are records that have lasted for a looooooooong time! You may know that Cap Anson made more hits than any player in the history of the Cubs. He had 3,012 in his 22 seasons. But did you know he has held that record since . . . 1878? Since the most hits by any active Cub is 1,231 by Anthony Rizzo, its not like Ansons record is going to be challenged any time soon. ... 2 other player...

Evolution of Cubs career homer record, Part 2 By JohnW53 on Mar 9, 2021, 6:29am CST + ......... 474 home runs, more than double Gabby Hartnetts second-best 231. During the 1969 season, Hartnett dropped to fourth, in a span of fewer than 24 hours. On Friday, night, May 23, Billy Williams hit his 232nd, a 2-run shot at San Diego that gave the Cubs a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning. They went on to win, 6-0, as Dick Selma pitched a 2-hit shutout. The next afternoon, Ron Santo tied Willia...

Cubs early walk-offs, Part 2 By JohnW53 on Feb 10, 2021, 3:52am CST + .......... FOURTH TIMES THE CHARM In the ninth inning of a 2-2 game at New York on July 9, 1890, a 1-out double and an infield error put runners on the corners for the Colts, as the team now was known. The next batter fanned, bringing up Walt Wilmot. The Chicago Tribune explained what happened next: "Wilmot, who had previously struck out three times, then sent a safe hit to left and the game was won." .......... T...

4) Jim O’Rourke: 8 5) Harry Stovey: 6 Jones had a huge year in 1879, totaling an MLB-best nine home runs to go with 85 runs scored, 62 RBIs and 29 walks in 83 games, all league bests. He would set a new career high for homers in ’83, with 10, though that came during Chester Arthur’s presidency. Hines won the Triple Crown in ’78, when he hit .358 with four home runs and 50 RBIs for the Providence Grays. He led baseball with a .357 batting average the following year, and his career high o...

Post-season exhibition games, Part 1 By JohnW53 on Jan 10, 2021, 5:50am CST + Here are some facts about the Cubs that I bet you did not know: 1. Their defeat by the White Sox in the final game of the 1906 World Series was not their last loss that year. 2. Their victory over the Tigers in the final game of the 1907 World Series was not their last win that year. 3. After their victory over the Tigers in the final game of the following years World Series, they lost another game to the ...

145-year chain of Cubs middle infielders By JohnW53 on Dec 22, 2020, 6:23am CST + If you did, and thought it was silly, you likely will find this just as silly. If you did, and thought it was fascinating, you may find this equally fascinating: It is possible to make a similar chain of 61 alternating shortstops and second baseman that span all 145 seasons of the Cubs National League history. ... As with the pitchers and catchers, this chain of double play partners consists not just o...

Cubs longest homers before 1900, Part 2 By JohnW53 on Dec 14, 2020, 6:53am CST + .......... As noted in the previous post, of all the home runs hit by batters for the future Cubs from 1876-1900, an actual distance is cited in the Chicago Tribune for only 1: a blast by Fred Pfeffer at Detroit on Sept. 5, 1887: "The ball hit a fence nearly 600 feet from the plate, and hadnt begun to come home when Fritz crossed the plate." ... In lieu of distances in feet, extraordinary home runs ofte...