By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Apr 10th, 2024
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4624 Views
~Chuck Connors 1921–1992 (Cubs 1951) The physically imposing 6’5″ Connors played first base for the Cubs in 1951 and hit a whopping two home runs in 200 at bats, not exactly the kind of power you want from a big first baseman. That performance earned him a trip back to the minors. Luckily for h...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Apr 9th, 2024
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4592 Views
~Hippo Vaughn 1888–1966 (Cubs 1913-1921) Hippo Vaughn got his nickname because of his size (he was about the same size as Rick Reuschel). He is quite simply one of the best pitchers in Cubs history. He arrived in Chicago as a struggling big leaguer. He hadn’t quite been able to put it together ...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Apr 8th, 2024
1 Comment
6289 Views
~Kirby Higbe 1915–1985 (Cubs 1937-1939) Higbe didn’t get a lot of playing time with the Cubs in parts of three seasons in Chicago, including the 1938 pennant winning year. The Cubs used him primarily out of the bullpen. They traded him in the 1939 season, and Higbe later became a two-time All-S...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Apr 7th, 2024
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4125 Views
~Bill Stoneman 1944– (Cubs 1967-1968) Stoneman was a local Chicago-area boy (Oak Park) the Cubs drafted in 1966. By July of ’67 he was up with the big club, and pitched pretty well out of the bullpen. He saved four games and nearly struck out a man an inning. The following year the Cubs sent [&...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Apr 6th, 2024
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3919 Views
~Phil Regan 1937– (Cubs 1968-1972) Phil Regan wasn’t known as the vulture until he was converted to a reliever by the Dodgers in 1966. He was given his nickname by Sandy Koufax for picking up (cheap) wins in short relief. The vulture went 14-1 that year with a 1.62 ERA, with a National League l...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Apr 5th, 2024
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4207 Views
~Ron Campbell 1940– (Cubs 1964-66) Ron was mainly a backup infielder for the Cubs, but he did get one shot in the starting lineup. In September of 1964, he was the team’s starting second baseman. He hit fairly well (.272) and had several clutch hits (including six doubles, a triple, and a homer...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Apr 4th, 2024
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4424 Views
~Mickey Owen 1916–2005 (Cubs 1949-1951) Mickey led a fascinating life in and out of baseball. He was a four-time All-Star with the Brooklyn Dodgers during early 40s, and though he set a fielding record as a catcher in 1941, he is best remembered for a fielding error he made in Game 4 of the Wor...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Apr 3rd, 2024
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4252 Views
~Alex Grammas 1926–2019 (Cubs 1962-1963) Grammas was a big league infielder for ten years, the last year and half of which were with the Cubs. He came to the Cubs (along with Don Landrum) from the Cardinals in the midst of the College of Coaches fiasco. The veteran glove man backed up young Cub...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Apr 2nd, 2024
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4425 Views
~Jon Lieber 1970– (Cubs 1999-2003, 2008) When the Cubs acquired Lieber from the Pirates for Brant Brown, it was one of the best deals they ever made. Lieber anchored the rotation, winning 10, 12, and 20 games in his first three seasons. No Cub pitcher won 20 games again until Jake Arrieta did i...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Apr 1st, 2024
1 Comment
5361 Views
~Jake Jaeckel 1942– (Cubs 1964) His real first name was Paul, but his teammates called him Jake. Jaeckel got a cup of coffee as a September call up for the last place 1964 Cubs. He pitched two scoreless innings in his debut, retiring the likes of Sandy Alomar, Matty Alou, Rico Carty, and Joe To...
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