Chicago Colts (Cubs) pitcher Dave Wright won the only game of his major league career on September 28, 1897 (out of two total pitching appearances). The twenty-one-year-old gave up 14 runs on 17 hits, yet he still managed to eek out a 15-14 victory over the Pirates.
The Chicago Colts (later know as the Cubs) of the National League established the record for most runs scored in a game by one team on June 29, 1897 when they destroyed the Louisville Colonels in a 36-7 rout. The modern NL record would be set by the Cardinals in 1929 when they beat the Phillies, 28-6, at Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl.
The Chicago White Stockings, in their fifth season as a franchise, made their National League debut on April 25, 1876, winning 4-0 over the Grays at the Louisville Baseball Park in Kentucky. The White Stockings won the NL’s first championship during this season with a record of 52–14. The franchise would be also known as the Colts and the Orphans before becoming the Cubs in 1903.
On August 16, 1890, Pittsburgh Alleghenys pitcher Bill Phillips became the first pitcher in baseball history to give up two grand slams in a single inning. Tom Burns and Malachi Kittridge of the Chicago Colts both hit bases loaded jacks as Chicago won the game, 18-5.
On August 6, 1890, pitching legend Cy Young made his Major League debut at Chicago’s West Side Park at the age of twenty-three. He is credited with the win as the Cleveland Spiders defeated the Colts 8-1. Young dominated, allowing the Colts only three hits. He finished his rookie season with a 9-7 record, and would go on to win 511 games in his career.
