By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week in 1908
Sep 8th, 2023
1 Comment
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How long ago was 1908? Frank Chance celebrates his 31st birthday (Sept 9) in Chicago with a win against the Cardinals–putting the Cubs 28 games over .500 (but still in third place, three games out of first.) Chance was more than just the first baseman and clean up hitter for the 1908 Cubs–...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week in 1908
Aug 25th, 2023
1 Comment
4981 Views
How long ago was 1908? The city of Chicago has officially gone crazy for the Cubs. The Chicago Tribune sets up an electronic scoreboard outside their headquarters at the corner of Madison & Dearborn to provide “scoring updates” of the Cubs-Giants games in New York. The electronic sco...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jul 27th, 2023
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5636 Views
~Leo Durocher 1905–1991 (Cubs manager 1965-1972) How did people really feel about Leo Durocher? A quote from Jack Brickhouse: “In the early days Leo was an SOB, but a sharp SOB. By the time he finished in Chicago he was just an old SOB.” Suffice it to say, Leo was not beloved. When he was [&hel...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jul 21st, 2023
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3870 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, 2023
1 Comment
4826 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, 2023
2 Comments
7240 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, 2023
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3300 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, 2023
1 Comment
5346 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, 2023
1 Comment
4048 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, 2023
1 Comment
6340 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...
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