First Day of Summer

On this first day of summer, we remember fan favorite Champ. This is his profile from our EVERY CUB EVER feature…

~Champ Summers 1946 (Cubs 1975-1976)
Summers received his nickname “Champ” from his father: “Dad took one look at me when I was born and said, He looks like he’s just gone 10 rounds with Joe Louis.'” His real name was John Junior Summers, and he played two of his eleven major league seasons with the Cubs. He didn’t make it to the majors until he was 28 because he had served in Vietnam. Champ was a backup corner outfielder and first baseman with no power and a batting average in the low .200s with the Cubs, but he later had a couple of good seasons for the Detroit Tigers (hitting 20 and 17 home runs). The last at bat of his career was in the World Series with the San Diego Padres, who had just knocked the 1984 Chicago Cubs out of the playoffs. Champ died in 2012 at the age of 66.