By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Sep 16th, 2024
0 Comments
4180 Views
~Mel Hall 1960– (Cubs 1981-1984) Hall really burst onto the scene during the 1983 season. After getting a taste of the big leagues at the end of the ’81 and ’82 seasons, he won a job in 1983, and responded with a great year. Mel slugged 17 homers, hit .283 in just over 400 at-bats, […]...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Sep 15th, 2024
0 Comments
3282 Views
~Speed Martin 1893–1983 (Cubs 1918-1922) His real name was Elwood, but they called him Speed because he could get the ball up to the plate in a hurry. He was a member of the pennant-winning 1918 Cubs team, but only appeared in nine games for them that year, and didn’t appear in the World Series...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Sep 14th, 2024
0 Comments
3470 Views
~Dave Hillman 1927– (Cubs 1955-1959) Hillman appeared in over a hundred games for the Cubs in the 1950s. The right-hander worked both as a starter and reliever, and had a respectable ERA, but he had the propensity to give up the long ball. After the 1959 season Hillman was traded to the Red Sox...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Sep 13th, 2024
0 Comments
3647 Views
~Rabbit Warstler 1903–1964 (Cubs 1940) His real name was Harold Burton Warstler, but they called him Rabbit because of his quickness in the field. He was a backup infielder for 11 seasons, and his last team was the Cubs in 1940. When Rabbit was in the American League, Connie Mack called him “th...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Sep 12th, 2024
1 Comment
4416 Views
~Fred Luderus 1885–1961 (Cubs 1909-1910) Luderus was a rugged German-American first baseman who backed up Hall of Famer Frank Chance during his first two seasons in the big leagues. He only hit one homer for the Cubs, and it was an inside-the-park shot against the team he played for the rest of...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Sep 11th, 2024
0 Comments
4123 Views
~Ray Grimes 1893–1953 (Cubs 1922-1925) Ray Grimes was an instant phenom for the Cubs when he joined them for his rookie season of 1922. He was an absolute RBI machine, one of the great clutch hitters of his era. During that season he set a record that still stands today when he got an RBI [&hel...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Sep 10th, 2024
1 Comment
4883 Views
~High Pockets Kelly 1895 (Cubs 1930) Kelly was a member of the legendary 1930 Cubs team that blew the pennant in the last few days of the season. Tall for his time (6’4″), Kelly was nicknamed Highpockets and Long George by the press; but to his teammates he was Kell, a reserved and even-t...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Sep 9th, 2024
1 Comment
4978 Views
~Frank Chance 1876–1924 (Cubs 1898-1912) His real name was Frank Chance, but even his teammates called him “The Peerless Leader.” (Sometimes they just shortened it to “PL”). He was the undisputed leader of the best Cubs team in history, the Cubs of the ’00s. With the Peerless Leader at the helm...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Sep 8th, 2024
0 Comments
3366 Views
~Johnny Schulte 1896–1978 (Cubs 1929) Schulte was a backup catcher for the Cubs (and the Browns, Cardinals, Phillies, and Braves). His one season in Chicago just happened to be a pennant-winning year, although Johnny didn’t get to play in the World Series against the A’s. After his playing care...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Sep 7th, 2024
0 Comments
3874 Views
~Mark Prior 1980– (Cubs 2002-2006) Prior was considered the franchise. He was the second overall pick of the draft, and he pitched like it initially. He finished in the top ten in Rookie of the Year voting in 2002, and then put it all together in 2003. He won 18 games, struck out 245, and [&hel...
The Pothole Store | Eckhartz Press | Rick Kaempfer's Blog | Illinois Entertainer
Site construction by WorkSite, LLC