• EveryCubEver

    Today’s Cubs Birthdays (March 4)

    By Rick Kaempfer
    In Today's Cub Birthday
    Mar 4th, 2024
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    ~Clyde McCullough 1917–1982 (Cubs 1940-1948, 1953-1956)
    Clyde actually had three different stints with the Cubs. The pre-war stint (1940-1943) when he was a young gun catcher with a great arm, the post war years after his military service (1945-1948) which began with one at bat in the World Series (a strikeout) and ended with an all-star appearance, and the final stint at the end of his career (after spending a few years with Pittsburgh), which featured yet another all-star appearance. When he returned to the Cubs for that last stint, he was already 36 years old. His teammates didn’t consider him one of the smarter players in the leauge. One anonymous teammate remarked in the book “Wrigleyville”: “We used to swear he had to put his head down to see how many fingers he was putting down.”

    ~Nicholas Castellanos 1992– (Cubs 2019)
    Rarely has a player arrived in midseason in Chicago and developed such an instant love affair with the Chicago Cubs fans. Acquired at the trading deadline from the Tigers, Castellanos carried the team for weeks. He hit 16 homers, batted .321, and infused the clubhouse with enthusiasm and grit. It didn’t save them from a horribly embarrassing collapse in the last week of the season, but nobody could point the finger at Nick. He finished the season with 58 doubles. Only nine players in big league history have hit more than that in a single season.

    ~Jim Korwan 1874–1899 (Colts 1897)
    The tall lanky lefthander was known to his teammates as Long Jim. He only started four games for the Cubs (then known as the Colts), but three of them were complete games. His control was the issue. He walked 28 men in those 34 innings. Among his teammates were future Hall of Famers Cap Anson and Clark Griffith. Long Jim died of tuberculosis at the age of 25, just six months before the turn of the century.

    ~Red Murray 1884–1958 (Cubs 1915)
    Red played for the Cubs in their final season at West Side Grounds. By that time, he was just a backup outfielder. His glory days were with the Giants (1909-1914). During those years he was considered the best outfielder in baseball. His obituary in the April 1924 issue of baseball magazine says: “His throwing arm was the best ever, his ground covering ability and sureness of eye were classic. Futhermore, he was remarkably fast as a baserunner, and a noted batter as well.” Red was on the 1910 Giants team that lost to the Cubs and inspired the poem “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon”. His manager on the Cubs was former Giants teammate Roger Bresnahan.

    ~Earl Tyree 1890–1954 (Cubs 1914)
    The Cubs brought him up for the final game of the 1914 season and had him catch for Cubs pitcher Zip Zabel. He went O for 4 with a run scored in a 4-3 Cubs victory over the Cardinals in St. Louis. It was his only game in the big leagues.

    ~Dave Stevens 1970– (Cubs 1997-1998)
    Stevens pitched for the Twins, Indians and Braves in addition to the Cubs. With the Cubs he pitched strictly out of the bullpen. He posted a 9.64 ERA in 1997, and then did a bit better during the wildcard season of 1998 (4.74 ERA). The Cubs released him after that season.

    One Response to “Today’s Cubs Birthdays (March 4)”

    1. […] Today’s Cubs Birthdays include guys nicknamed Big Clyde, Long Jim, and Red. […]

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