Today’s Cubs Birthdays (January 2)

~Nick Dumovich 1902 (Cubs 1923)
Dumovich (photo) was just a 21-year old kid when he got his chance, but in his only season in the bigs, the young pitcher was hit hard and didn’t have good control.

~Ray Jacobs 1902 (Cubs 1928)
Ray played exactly two games in the big leagues and both of them were with the Cubs in 1928. In his first game, at Wrigley Field on April 20th, he pinch hit late in the game for Cubs first baseman Joe Kelly. He struck out. His second and last at bat came a few weeks later at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Once again he came in as a pinch hitter, this time for Cubs pitcher Percy Jones–who had been getting rocked. Jacobs made another out, and never got another chance. Despite only playing in two games (both Cubs losses), he played alongside and against several Hall of Famers. His Cubs teammates at the time included Kiki Cuyler and Hack Wilson. The Pirates team he played against sported three Hall of Famers in their lineup that day, brothers Paul and Lloyd Waner, and Pie Traynor.

~Bill Madlock 1951 (Cubs 1974-1976)
Bill Madlock’s first nickname was not Mad Dog, that came later. His Cubs teammates noticed his big keester, and nicknamed him “Buns”. But Mad Dog suited him better because of his competitive nature, and it stuck. He was fined by the league in 1975 for arguing about a third strike. In 1976 he charged the mound against the Giants and started a brawl. The same year he got mad at his own pitchers for not protecting him from brushback pitches. He was the anti-Ernie, the kind of player that owner P.K. Wrigley just didn’t like. There was no way he was going to pay him a big raise after his second batting title, and that’s the main reason he was shipped out after the 1976 season.

~Dave Sappelt 1987 (Cubs 2012-2013)
He was obtained in the Sean Marshall trade but never really caught on as a fourth outfielder candidate for the Cubs.