June 13, 1908: "Anne of Green Gables" Is Published

Lucy Maud Montgomery

June 13, 1908: Anne of Green Gables is published, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It becomes a classic of children's literature.

Montgomery was born in 1874 in New London, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and, to get around sexism in publishing, wrote under the pen name L.M. Montgomery. She wrote 20 novels before her death in 1942, most of them set on her native Prince Edward Island.

Anne of Green Gables tells of Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan girl, sent by mistake to two middle-aged siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who had originally intended to adopt a boy, to help them on their farm in the fictional town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. The novel recounts how Anne makes her way through life with the Cuthberts, in school, and within the town.

It was the first of many novels; Montgomery wrote numerous sequels, and since her death another sequel has been published, as well as an authorized prequel titled Before Green Gables. This prequel was written in 2008 by Budge Wilson to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the book series. The original book has sold over 50 million copies.

The story was filmed in 1919, silent, starring Mary Miles Minter; and in 1934, with Dawn O'Day. The BBC did a TV series version in 1952, starring Carole Lorimer. Canada's CBC did a musical version in 1956, starring Toby Tarnow, and followed this the next year with a French version, starring Mireille Lachance. Kim Braden starred in a 1972 BBC version, and a 1975 sequel, Anne of Avonlea.

In 1985, the CBC tried again, with Megan Follows, with sequels in 1987 and 2000. The CBC's rival network, CTV, filmed Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning in 2008, both a prequel starring Hannah Endicott-Douglas and a sequel starring Barbara Hershey as an adult Anne.

*

June 13, 1908 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Highlanders lost to the Chicago White Sox, 5-1 at South Side Park in Chicago. Ed Walsh outpitched Al Orth. The Highlanders became the New York Yankees in 1913.

* The New York Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at the 1890-1910 version of the Polo Grounds. Art Devlin went 3-for-5, including a double that drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Brooklyn Superbas lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3 at Washington Park in Brooklyn. The Superbas became the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1911.

* The Boston Doves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-3 at the 1894-1914 version of the South End Grounds in Boston. The Doves became the Boston Braves in 1912.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0 at National League Park (later Baker Bowl) in Philadelphia. Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown pitched a 3-hit shutout.

* The Cleveland Naps beat the Washington Senators, 1-0 at the 1891-1909 version of League Park in Cleveland. Glenn Liebhardt pitched a 4-hit shutout. Bill Bradley -- no relation to the later New York Knicks basketball player turned U.S. Senator, or the later Philadelphia Eagles safety and punter -- singled Liebhardt himself home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning.

The Cleveland team was named for its manager, 2nd baseman and best hitter, Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, who went 0-for-3 in the game. The team became the Cleveland Indians in 1915, and the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 2-1 at Bennett Park in Detroit. Ty Cobb went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Eddie Collins went 1-for-3.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 6-5 at the 1898-1908 version of Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.