A Site That Focuses On The History of the Chicago Cubs!
Written by Rick Kaempfer, the author of "everycubever"
(Eckhartz Press, 2019) https://eckhartzpress.com/shop/everycubever/ The book is literally about Every Cub Ever. The website is a companion piece to that voluminous book.
How Long Ago Was 1908? Fred Merkle celebrates his 20th birthday (Dec 20) in New York by laying low and hoping nobody tries to kill him. Everyone in New York is still mad at him for his base-running blunder that allowed the Cubs to win the pennant. Little does he know that people will NEVER […]...
How long ago was 1908? The Chicago Coliseum (photo) is the largest venue in Chicago. Earlier this year it hosted the Republican Convention, which turned into quite a party. Every December, however, it holds an even bigger party, the party event of the year in Chicago–the First Ward Ball. The Fi...
~Javier Baez 1992– (Cubs 2014-Present) Baez was the 9th overall pick of the 2011 draft: the last first round pick of the Jim Hendry era. At each level of the minors, Baez was a superstar, but when he joined the Cubs in August 2014, Javy struggled. Despite hitting a game-winning homer in his fir...
~Rollie Zeider 1883–1967 (Cubs 1916-1918) He remains one of only two men to have played for three different professional teams in Chicago (he played with the Cubs, the Sox, and the Federal League Whales). His last three seasons in the big leagues were spent with the Cubs, serving as their utili...
~Joe Niekro 1944–2006 (Cubs 1967-1969) His brother Phil was already a star pitcher for the Braves when Joe Niekro was drafted in the third round by the Cubs in 1966. In his rookie season in Chicago (1967), Joe won 10 games. He won 14 games for the Cubs in 1968, but manager Leo Durocher, never [...
~Wid Matthews 1896–1965 (Cubs GM 1950-1956) When Matthews came to the Cubs in 1950, he arrived with a sparkling reputation. Wid had been an assistant to Branch Rickey with the Dodgers, and he promised to return the Cubs to their glory days. He did do one thing that was long overdue before he le...
~Rube Waddell 1876–1914 (Orphans 1901) Rube was a common nickname for hayseeds and farm boys, and Rube Waddell was definitely that. He only pitched one season for the Cubs (before they were even called that) in 1901, and was only a .500 pitcher that season, but he blossomed as a pitcher the nex...
How long ago was 1908? The World Series begins in Detroit amid much fanfare, but not a great deal of excitement. The Tigers, led by Ty Cobb, are the prohibitive underdogs and the city of Detroit isn’t optimistic that they can win it all. Big Ed Reulbach, who has been on fire for the past [&hell...
This week in history, the Cubs were actually involved in historical events… October 9, 1907 The Cubs were playing the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. It was Game 2 of the series–the first game had ended in a tie (called because of darkness). More than 21,000 braved the cold October Ch...
October 3, 1915 The Cubs play their final game in the dilapidated ballpark known as West Side Grounds. It has been their home since 1893, but it is considered a fire (made of wood) and safety (falling apart) hazard. Cubs owner Charles Murphy simply refuses to spend any money on the park’s upkee...