Johnny Evers, the second baseman in the legendary Tinker-to Evers-to Chance double play combination, was a bundle of nerves.

He was high-strung, argumentative, and hyperactive, so electric that it was said he was unable to wear a watch. Those tendencies made him a pesky hitter, a risk-taking baserunner, and a hard-nosed fielder, but also made him the least popular player in the league amongst his competitors and the umpires.

It caused him untold problems off the field as well.

In the first few years of the 1910s, his off-the-field problems contributed to the end of the Cubs dynasty. It all began when he was involved in a car accident during the 1910 season. That accident did more than injure his leg and keep him out of the 1910 World Series, which the Cubs lost to the A's.

It also killed his best friend.

With the death of his friend weighing heavily on him at the beginning of the 1911 season, Evers started showing signs that he wouldn't be able to continue. It all came to a head when his shoe stores went out of business, causing him to lose every dime he had ($25,000). The one-two punch of the loss of his friend and the loss of his fortune was too much for him bear.

Johnny Evers missed most of the 1911 season after suffering a nervous breakdown.

By the time he returned for the 1912 season, Frank Chance was no longer able to continue playing, and the double-play combination that had inspired a poem, was no more. The Cubs dominance over the National League was a distant memory by the time Johnny played his last game for the Cubs at the end of 1913.