Today in Cub History: 4-16 and 4-17
4-16-1957 Traded Ray Jablonski and Ray Katt to the New York Giants. Received Dick Littlefield and Bob Lennon
4-16-1938 Traded Curt Davis, Clyde Shoun, Tuck Stainback and $185,000 cash to the St. Louis Cardinals. Received Dizzy Dean
4-17-1976 The Phillies are down 12-1 in Wrigley after three innings, as Steve Carlton fails to escape from the second. Rich Reuschel, Mike Garman, Darold Knowles and Paul Reuschel can't hold the lead, however, and the Cubs trail 15-13 after the Phillies score 3, 5, and 3 runs in the 7th, 8th and 9th. The Cubs rally to tie the game at 15 in the bottom of the 9th, but the Phillies score three more in the 10th, including Mike Schmidt's fourth home run and 8th RBI of the day. The Cubs rally for one more in the bottom of the 10th, but the Phillies win, 18-16, while the Cubs set a National League record for the largest blown lead to lose a game.
4-17-1974 Newly acquired catcher George Mitterwald hits a double and three home runs, including a first-inning grand slam, with 8 RBI. The Cubs beat the Pirates, 18-9. Mitterwald finishes the season with 7 HR and 28 RBI
Wow, did the Cardinals make out like bandits in the Dean deal. Has any player gained a greater historical reputation on the strength of a few good years and a whacky personality? Dean had five good years in him, the last one being 1936, at age 26. He never broke 100 innings in three full years with the Cubs, before serving in WWII. Davis won 100 games for the Cards and Browns after the trade, and Shoun 65 with various teams.
Mitterwald was the original Paul Bako, he'd get a third of his year's offensive production out of the way in one game. There are readers that remember him, they can fill in the rest.
There are also readers that remember that Philly/Cub classic, and many others, like the 1922 highest scoring game in ML history. (Well, if anybody remembers that particular game, I'll be surprised.)
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