By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Mar 20th, 2023
1 Comment
4085 Views
~George Altman 1933– (Cubs 1959-1962, 1965-1967) Big George, as he was known, had a few great seasons in the big leagues, and he was wearing a Chicago Cubs uniform when he did it. He joined Chicago after completing his military service and had an immediate impact. His two best seasons came duri...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Mar 19th, 2023
1 Comment
3794 Views
~Richie Ashburn 1927–1997 (Cubs 1960-1961) While it was great to have the Hall of Famer Ashburn covering centerfield for the 1960 and 1961 Cubs, the lifetime .308 hitter was long past his prime. He put up those Hall of Fame numbers mostly for the Philadelphia Phillies. The stories about Ashburn...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Mar 18th, 2023
1 Comment
4297 Views
~Dick Littlefield 1926–1997 (Cubs 1957) Littlefield was the very definition of the well-travelled journeyman pitcher. Before coming to the Cubs, he pitched for the Browns, White Sox, Tigers, Orioles, Pirates, Cardinals and Giants. His best season in the big leagues was probably 1954, when he wo...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Mar 17th, 2023
1 Comment
4707 Views
~Charlie Root 1899–1970 (Cubs 1926-1941) In 1969 Root was named the all-time greatest Cubs right-hander, but despite all his accomplishments, he’ll always be most remembered for something that probably never happened…Babe Ruth’s called shot during the 1932 World Series. Root always denied that ...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Mar 16th, 2023
0 Comments
2578 Views
~Hobie Landrith 1930– (Cubs 1956) Hobie was a catcher who lasted fourteen seasons in the big leagues, including 1956 with the Cubs. That season Hobie got over 300 at bats for the only time in his career, but he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. He led all big league catchers in errors, ...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Mar 15th, 2023
0 Comments
3466 Views
~Bob Locker 1938– (Cubs 1973, 1975) The Cubs traded one of their rare home-grown position players (Billy North) to get Bob Locker before the 1973 season. North was a speedy leadoff hitter that ignited the lineup of the World Champion Oakland A’s, and Locker was a 35 year old reliever. Admittedl...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Mar 14th, 2023
2 Comments
4742 Views
~Steve Lake 1957– (Cubs 1983-1986, 1993) Steve spent eleven years in the big leagues as a backup catcher, beginning and ending his career with the Cubs. He was known as a great defensive catcher. Lake ranks ninth on the all-time list for percentage of baserunners thrown out trying to steal. But...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Mar 13th, 2023
1 Comment
3838 Views
~Chippy Gaw 1892–1968 (Cubs 1920) One of the greatest names in baseball history–Chippy Gaw–pitched only briefly for the Cubs. After logging nearly ten years in the minors, he got into six big league games in 1920, mainly as a reliever. In his last Major League appearance on July 4, 1920, he cam...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Mar 12th, 2023
1 Comment
4229 Views
Johnny Callison 1939 (Cubs 1970-1971) The Cubs acquired him in November of 1969, in a trade that they hoped would put them over the top. They traded pitcher Dick Selma (who had been a favorite of the Bleacher Bums because of his cheerleading routine from the bullpen) and a young prospect, to the Phil...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Mar 11th, 2023
1 Comment
3612 Views
~Jack Spring 1933–2015 (Cubs 1964) He pitched for seven teams in his eight big league seasons, and for exactly one month that team was the Cubs. They acquired Jack in May of 1964, and he pitched in seven games over the next few weeks. But then on June 15, 1964, Spring was called into the [&hell...
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