By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jul 21st, 2024
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3955 Views
~Johnny Evers 1881–1947 (Cubs 1902-1913, Cubs manager 1913) Johnny Evers was the starting second baseman for the greatest Cubs team of all-time, the 1906-1910 dynasty. He got his nickname, the Crab, for the way he sidled up to grounders, but he lived up to his nickname in another way. Evers was...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week in 1908
Jul 21st, 2024
1 Comment
4957 Views
Two Cubs stars celebrate a birthday this week. Second baseman Johnny Evers (left photo) celebrates his 26th birthday (July 21) and shortstop Joe Tinker (right photo) celebrates his 28th birthday (July 27). It’s pretty clear that they won’t be celebrating it together, however, because they...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Jul 17th, 2024
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7482 Views
July 18, 1910 The poem “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon” written by Franklin Adams was published in the New York Evening Mail. It’s probably the most famous poem ever written about the Cubs, and it was so memorable it probably got Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance elected into...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jul 11th, 2024
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3402 Views
~Jimmy Slagle 1873–1956 (Cubs 1902-1908) One of the wily old veterans on the last Cubs team to win the World Series (1908) in the 20th century. Slagle was 35. He was known as Rabbit (because of his speed), and Shorty (because of his height — 5’7″), but most of his teammates referred to him as [...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week in 1908
Jun 30th, 2024
1 Comment
5520 Views
How long ago was 1908? A massive explosion occurs in a remote part of Russia, Tunguska in Siberia. Experts are dispatched to try to figure out what it was. Some think it was a comet. Some think it was a meteor. Some think it was a UFO. The measuring devices available at the time are […]...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jun 24th, 2024
1 Comment
4207 Views
~Rollie Hemsley 1907–1972 (Cubs 1931-1932) Rollie was the backup catcher on the Cubs in 1931 and 1932, but he didn’t get along with manager Rogers Hornsby. Although Hornsby was a degenerate gambler, he was also a teetotaler that really cracked down on the team drinkers. Offenders included just ...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Jun 12th, 2024
1 Comment
6555 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...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week in 1908
Jun 2nd, 2024
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5884 Views
How long ago was 1908? One of the biggest stories in Chicago is the “epidemic of white slavery.” White immigrant girls and innocent White American farm girls are being lured from all over the country to come to Chicago under false pretenses. They think they have received marriage proposal...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week in 1908
May 26th, 2024
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8940 Views
How long ago was 1908? The Chicago Cubs were all set to play a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at West Side Grounds. Cubs outfielder Jimmy Sheckard, a known prankster, began teasing Cubs backup infielder Heinie Zimmerman about his terrible fielding. The players had to be separated on the field. A...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
May 10th, 2024
0 Comments
4162 Views
~Jim Hickman 1937–2016 (Cubs 1969-1973) After eight forgettable seasons with three different teams, Jim Hickman was magically transformed from a perennial struggler to a powerful slugger. In 1970 at the age of 33, “Gentleman Jim” somehow batted .315, with 32 home runs, 115 runs batted in, and 1...
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