August 22, 1982 The Cubs retire the first number in franchise history: #14 in honor of Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks. No-one had worn #14 since Ernie retired as a coach in 1973, but by raising the #14 flag the Cubs make it official. In the lineup for the Cubs t...

~Fred Norman 1942– (Cubs 1964-1967) Fred was one of their bright young prospects in the mid-60s, but the 5’8″ screwball expert was traded to the Dodgers in 1967. Norman finally came into his own in the 1970s with the Cincinnati Reds. He was part ...

~Tim Blackwell 1952– (Cubs 1978-1980) With Blackwell on the roster from 1978-1980, the Cubs knew that they had someone who could hit against both lefties and righties (he was a switch hitter), and if necessary, he could also be an emergency under...

How long ago was 1908? Orville Wright (photo) celebrates his 37th birthday in Washington on August 19th. It has only been four and a half years since the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk. Because only five people witnessed that first f...

~Burleigh Grimes 1893–1985 (Cubs 1932-1933) Grimes never shaved on days he pitched, because the slippery elm he chewed to increase saliva irritated his skin, so he always had stubble on his face when he took the mound. That led to his nickname, O...

~John Buzhardt 1936–2008 (Cubs 1958-1959) Buzhardt burst onto the scene in September of 1958 and immediately made his presence known. In his first two big league starts he beat Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. The following year he tossed a one-hit...

~Justin Grimm 1988– (Cubs 2013-2017) Grimm was acquired in the trade that sent Matt Garza to the Texas Rangers. Grimm was a fairly solid (if inconsistent) reliever for the Cubs during his five seasons in Chicago after having a rougher go of it as...

This week (Aug 16-Aug 22) during the last year the Cubs went to the World Series (before 2016)… World War II *Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek meet in Chongqing to discuss an end to hostilities between the Communists and the Nationalists in China. ...

~Barney Schultz 1926–2015 (Cubs 1961-1963) Barney had the misfortune of pitching for the Cubs during the College of Coaches era. He was not a young pup either. The journeyman who had never spent a full season in the majors was 34 years old in 196...

~Juan Pierre 1977– (Cubs 2006) He was named after Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, but this Juan also had a great career. Chicago fans knew him well before he played for them thanks to his impressive series against the Cubs in the 2003 NLCS. He hit ....