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Mission Statement
 
Editor's Note:   Welcome to JOBC. New material every weekday. This week at JOBC: The First Ward Ball, a player named after a hotel/restaurant chain, a shortstop who couldn`t keep his mouth shut, a Hall of Fame mustache, and much much more.  Also, don`t forget to check out the JOBC blog for our Hot Stove report. I`ll try keeping an eye on what is going on out there during this off season and update it as often as possible.  Plus, Click here to visit the padded room.  (And as always...read about the Cubs winning the World Series: It happens for real here. Also, don`t forget to visit our sponsor: http://www.gracecollector.com)
 
  
Great Cubs Mustaches
Every Thursday we celebrate the 70s and 80s--a time of bad teams and great mustaches. Try to figure out which Chicago Cubs player was attached to this GREAT MUSTACHE....
JOBC Cub Fan of the Week

JOBC salutes Chicago Cubs fans!

Rick shares his tales of woe with CBS 2 Chicago

  
 Chicago Cubs News and Headlines
Cubs will eye lefty hitter at Meetings - Thu, 04 Dec 2008
Cubs open spring schedule on Feb. 25 - Wed, 03 Dec 2008
Cubs' Hendry adds Eljaua to his staff - Wed, 03 Dec 2008
Fox signs Minors deal with Cubs - Wed, 03 Dec 2008
 

This Week in 1908

Cub Nicknames

Cub Tales

Cub Mustaches

Cub Sights & Sounds
Just One Century Blog - Stories about Chicago Cubs History
 

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Til Next Year

I wanted to alert you to a perfect Cubs Christmas present idea. It`s a book called "Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting til Next Year," and it comes out on December 14th.

This book is a collection of some pretty incredible essays about the Cubs, including contributions from Rick Kogan (Chicago Tribune & WGN), Dave Hoekstra (Chicago Sun Times), author Sara Paretsky (the V.I. Warshawski books), NPR`s Scott Simon, author James Finn Garner (Politically Correct Fairy Tales), WXRT`s Lin Brehmer, WSCR`s Mike Murphy, and even one from your humble Just One Bad Century editor-in-chief, Rick Kaempfer.

You can get the book through the publisher at Can`t Miss Press. They are taking pre-orders now! Or you can stop by one of the book signing events listed below. Note: I will be there on December 14th at Sheffield`s. Please stop by, I`d love to meet you.


SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2008, 10 a.m. - noon: FIRST OFFICIAL BOOK SIGNING, ORIGINAL BILLY GOAT TAVERN & GRILL (430 N. Michigan Ave., Lower Level, Chicago, IL 60611, 312.222-1525): What a perfect place to start. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin called the Billy Goat "a national institution." It`s our favorite subterranean saloon and eatery. From table to table and across every barstool, there`s an echo of "wait till next year." It`s a mantra all diehard Cub fans know by heart. Sammy Sianis, who owns the Billy Goat, knows it well, too. His uncle, the orginal owner, was famous for trying to bring a goat into Wrigley Field during the 1945 World Series. The Cubs haven`t been back to the Fall Classic since and the longer they go without a title (it`s at 100 years and counting) the more the legendary Curse of the Billy Goat grows. Judy Royko, widow of legendary columnist Mike Royko, will be on hand to sign books. All book buyers will get a complimentary cheeseburger from the Billy Goat. Books and burgers - does it get any better than that?

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2008, 7-10 p.m.: BOOK RELEASE PARTY,
SHEFFIELD’S (3258 N. SHEFFIELD AVE., CHICAGO, IL 60657, 773.281.4989): Help us celebrate the official release. There will be a free appetizer buffet, beer and drink specials, and contributor Dave Hoekstra will spin his eclectic Cubs music collection as guest DJ. Other contributors such as Sara Paretsky, James Finn Garner,Don De Grazia, Jonathan Eig, Stuart Shea, Rick Kaempfer, Ric Hess, Christine Sneed, Julia Borcherts, Mary Beth Hoerner, Robert Goldsborough, Donald Evans and Randy Richardson will also be there to sign copies of the book. At 8:30, publisher George Rawlinson will lead a toast and there will be s special guest appearances and comments by Pat Brickhouse, Shawon-O-Meter creator Dave Cihla and others.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2008, 7-9 p.m.: SUBURBAN BOOK RELEASE PARTY, ELGIN PUBLIC HOUSE (219 E. CHICAGO ST., ELGIN, IL 60120, 847.468.8810)

Hot Stove League

Bobby Howry signs with San Francisco

Cubs sign Chad Fox


Henry Blanco`s brother killed in Venezuela

Jim Hendry adds to the scouting staff


Could Orioles make Peavy trade happen?



Are the Cubs considering Barry Bonds?

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

A Cubbie Christmas


I got an e-mail this week from the man behind the Cubbie Christmas CD. He sent me a sample of one of the songs, and I must say...I love it.

I love the whole idea of it...an entire CD of Cubbie Christmas songs. If you`d like to check it out yourself, click here. And by all means, have a happy Cubbie Christmas.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Hot Stove League

Padres say Cubs still interested in Peavy, despite Dempster signing

Another view of the Kevin Gregg trade: Cubs gave up a potential stud

Cuban`s insider trading charge hurts chances to buy Cubs


Cubs add 3 to 40-man roster

Dempster: Cubs weren`t prepared for playoffs

Piniella: Cubs were prepared

Mark Teahan the answer in right field?


Cubs to open the new Yankees Stadium

Friday, November 14, 2008

Bye Bye Kerry Wood

I must admit, I`m a little bummed out regarding the news that the Cubs cut ties with Kerry Wood. As the only Cubs player who played on the last four playoff teams (1998, 2003, 2007, 2008), he holds a special place in all of our hearts. Plus, he seemed like such a stand up guy--and such a good citizen.

I`ve previously written about Kerry, including my story about May 6, 1998--the day he struck out 20 Houston Astros. I was at that game.

So was JOBC Fan of the week Tom Sochowski, who told his personal story about that game via videotape...



For me, it will always be about that Rookie of the Year season. It just so happens that we featured that season as our Tale from a Bad Century this week too.

Good luck, Kerry. I hope you go to the American League and have a long and prosperous career.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Hot Stove League

Cubs acquire reliever Kevin Gregg

Kerry Wood told he isn`t welcome anymore

Lou is the manager of the year

Cubs retain all of Lou`s coaches

Geovany Soto is Rookie of the Year

What are the off-season priorities of the Cubs?


Cubs not interested in Coco Crisp

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

You can leave your hat on...

We just got a new shipment of JOBC Hats in. Order yours today. It makes a perfect Christmas present.
 
 
 
 

It looks good on both boys and girls...

Just One Bad Century Mission Statement
 

Welcome to "Just One Bad Century dot com," a site for die-hard Chicago Cubs fans.

As you all know, in October, it will be 100 years since their last World Series championship.

Our mission here is to rally you, Chicago Cubs fans from all over the world, to make sure it remains Just One Bad Century.

We`re doing this in a couple of ways.

You know the old adage, `those who don`t know history are doomed to repeat it?`"

The sad truth about many Chicago Cubs fans is that we don`t know it as well as we should. We follow them closely, we remember the personal torment, but we aren`t really sure why we`ve gone a hundred years without a World Series championship.

The Just One Bad Century staff has spent the last year researching Chicago Cubs history, and we`ll share with you what we`ve discovered, so that we can all collectively avoid the doom.

The other thing we`re trying to do is to eliminate bad karma. The Red Sox knew their bad karma was caused by trading Babe Ruth, and the White Sox knew theirs was caused by cheating in the World Series. But what about the Cubs? Where does our bad karma come from?

Is it really a goat? We don`t think so. We`ll tell you what bad karma we`ve discovered in our research, but we`ll also try to offset that by atoning for previous sins, and doing whatever we can to create good karma. And we`ll need your help for that.

Come back and visit often. We`ll have new features, stories, audio or video every single weekday.

We`ll try to make this journey as fun as possible. After all, we love the Chicago Cubs. And we want to keep it Justonebadcentury.