Bill Lee, pitcher -- but probably not the one you know.
September 27, 1935: The Chicago Cubs sweep a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals, their arch-rivals and the defending World Champions, at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. They win the opener, 6-2, Bill Lee outpitched future Hall-of-Famer Dizzy Dean, allowing only 6 hits, 2 to the Cards' manager and 2nd baseman, future Hall-of-Famer Frankie Frisch.
Former New York Giants star Freddie Lindstrom, another future Hall-of-Famer, went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Stan Hack went 3-for-4 with a solo home run. Augie Galan went 3-for-5. Lee helped his own cause with an RBI single.
This game clinched the National League Pennant for the Cubs. They also won the nightcap, 5-3, coming back from a 3-0 deficit, scoring 3 runs in the 7th and 2 in the 9th to win it. They got 3 hits each from Galan and yet another future Hall-of-Famer, Billy Herman.
That 2nd game was the Cubs' 21st straight win, setting a new major league record. In 1884, the National League's Providence Grays and the Union Association's St. Louis Maroons each had a 20-game winning streak.
The American League record, at this point, was 19 straight, by the 1906 Chicago White Sox. The New York Yankees tied that mark in 1947. The Oakland Athletics won 20 straight in 2002, and the Cleveland Indians raised the record to 22 straight in 2017.
The 1880 Chicago White Stockings, forerunners of the Cubs, won 22 straight decisions; and the 1916 New York Giants won 26 straight decisions. However, each of those streaks included tie games.
Managed by Charlie Grimm, the Cubs were 10 1/2 games out of 1st place on July 5. Then they went on an 8-game winning streak, lost 2, won 5, lost 1, then won 11. This 24-3 run closed them to within half a game of the League-leading Giants.
On September 2nd, they won the 1st game of a doubleheader with the Cincinnati Reds, and lost the 2nd game. They had the 3rd off. On the 4th, they beat the Philadelphia Phillies, and the streak was on. They began that day 3 games behind the Giants, and then won 21 straight to clinch the Pennant and set the record. But they lost the World Series to the Detroit Tigers.
Lee would go 167-155 in a major league career that lasted from 1934 to 1947. He helped the Cubs win Pennants in 1935 and 1938, and made the NL All-Star Team in 1938 and 1939. In 1938, he led the NL in wins and ERA. Had there been a Cy Young Award at the time, he probably would have won it.
"Big Bill" Lee appears not to have been related to the later Bill Lee who went 119-90 in a major league career that lasted from 1969 to 1982, mostly with the Boston Red Sox; however, that Bill Lee, "the Spaceman," had a grandfather who played in the Pacific Coast League, and an aunt who pitched in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
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September 27, 1935 was a Friday. Hockey player and coach Al MacNeil was born. Only 2 other baseball games were played, also a doubleheader, at Braves Field in Boston. The Boston Braves beat the New York Giants in the 1st game, 6-4. Buck Jordan went 4-for-5 with an RBI. The Giants won the 2nd game, 8-5. Player-manager Bill Terry did not put himself or his best player, Mel Ott, into either game, and took his ace, Carl Hubbell, out after just 2 innings of the 1st game.
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