By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week In Wrigley History
Jun 18th, 2023
2 Comments
5116 Views
June 20, 1953. The official temperature in Chicago is 104 degrees; the hottest recorded day in Chicago history. The heat doesn’t stop the Cubs or Dodgers, who play a day game in the unrelenting sun at Wrigley Field. Incredibly, 17,000+ fans come out to smolder in the steamy hot ballpark and wat...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jun 17th, 2023
1 Comment
4135 Views
~Phil Douglas 1890–1952 (Cubs 1915-1919) They called him “Shufflin’ Phil” Douglas because he sort of shuffled his feet when he walked, but he was one of the best pitchers on the Cubs. Phil was a starter in their 1918 pennant-winning rotation. Unfortunately, Douglas was also a notorious drunk. T...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week in 1908
Jun 16th, 2023
1 Comment
5110 Views
How long ago was 1908? The Republican Convention comes to the Coliseum in Chicago, June 16-19. Teddy Roosevelt is one of the most popular Presidents in history, but he has decided not to seek a third term. On the second day of the convention, however, the mere mention of Roosevelt’s name by conventio...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jun 16th, 2023
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3563 Views
~Kerry Wood 1977– (Cubs 1998-2008, 2011-2012) He wasn’t even 21 years old when he came up to the majors in May of 1998, but he made his mark right away. On May 6, 1998, he took the mound on a very cold and wet day in Wrigley Field and pitched one of the best games […]...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jun 15th, 2023
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4100 Views
~Billy Williams 1938– (Cubs 1959-1974) Billy Williams got his nickname (“Sweet Swingin’ Billy from Whistler”) because of his nearly perfect swing and his hometown: Whistler, Alabama. He played for the Cubs from 1959-1974 and is simply one of the greatest players to ever wear a Cubs uniform. Swe...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week in 1945
Jun 14th, 2023
1 Comment
6009 Views
This week (June 14-20) during the last year the Cubs went to the World Series (before 2016)… World War II *Eisenhower welcomed in England… In Chicago *What had once been the NBC Blue Network officially becomes known as ABC under its new owner, Edward J. Noble (who had bought it in 1943 an...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jun 14th, 2023
0 Comments
3022 Views
~Hal Manders 1917–2010 (Cubs 1946) Hal pitched for the Tigers before being drafted into military service during World War II. When he returned, he pitched briefly for them again before being sent off to the team they beat in the previous year’s World Series. He got one start in September for th...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jun 13th, 2023
1 Comment
3896 Views
~Carroll Yerkes 1903–1950 (Cubs 1932-1933) The lefty pitcher (nicknamed “Lefty” of course) was a member of the 1929 A’s team that beat the Cubs in the World Series, but fell on hard times after that season, and didn’t reemerge until the 1932 Cubs pennant-winning season. He only appeared in two ...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jun 12th, 2023
0 Comments
3273 Views
~Bob Thorpe 1935–1960 (Cubs 1955) Thorpe was a minor league phenom, winning 28 games in the lower minors in 1954. The Cubs brought him all the way up the big leagues the following season, and he pitched in a few games out of the bullpen at the beginning of 1955. He wore the now retired [&hellip...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Jun 12th, 2023
1 Comment
6370 Views
June 18, 1912 During the 1912 Republican convention in Chicago at the Chicago Coliseum (1513 S. Wabash Ave.), Theodore Roosevelt’s supporters in the gallery tooted horns and rubbed sandpaper together to imitate the sounds of the “Taft steamroller” which was running them over without considering their...
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