By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 17th, 2023
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3262 Views
~Mitch Williams 1964 (Cubs 1989-1990) Cubs fans would sing the rock song “Wild Thing” when Mitch Williams emerged from the Chicago bullpen in 1989, in reference to his explosive but uncontrollable fastball (and yes, he got that nickname before the movie “Major Leagues” came ou...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 16th, 2023
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3244 Views
~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...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 15th, 2023
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3054 Views
~Franklin P. Adams 1881–1960 (Cubs hater/immortalizer) He wrote the most famous poem ever written about the Cubs, “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon”, and it was so memorable it probably got Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance elected into the Hall of Fame. The poem went as follow...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 14th, 2023
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2897 Views
~Jim Brewer 1937–1987 (Cubs 1960-1963) Jim Brewer was a rookie pitcher for an unbelievably bad Cubs team in 1960. He was a little bit wild, and was having trouble controlling his pitches, and on one very unfortunate August day (8/4/60), he threw a fastball behind Cincinnati Reds infielder Billy...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 13th, 2023
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3235 Views
~Johnny Kling 1875–1947 (Cubs 1900-1911) Kling was one of the best catchers in baseball; a grizzled veteran who was so good defensively, he caused former catcher Frank Chance to move positions (to first base). Hall of Fame pitcher Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown often said that his secret weapon ...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 12th, 2023
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3441 Views
~Sammy Sosa 1968– (Cubs 1992-2004) Sammy was a phenomenon during his time with the Cubs. He holds the all-time record for homers hit in a Cubs uniform (545), and many of them were hit in dramatic fashion. His chase of the Roger Maris record (along with Mark McGwire) captivated the world in 1998...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 11th, 2023
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3464 Views
~Rabbit Maranville 1891–1954 (Cubs 1925) His real name was Walter. Nicknamed for his speed and rabbit-like leaps, Rabbit Maranville was always a great fielder, but he was even better known for his partying. When he was with the Pirates he was known for playing with a flask in his pocket. One ti...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 10th, 2023
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3344 Views
~Mike Vail 1951– (Cubs 1978-1980) He was already in his fourth big league season when the Cubs acquired Vail in the trade that sent Tarzan Wallis to the Indians. Vail was a talented hitter who hit well over .300 in his time with the Cubs, but he didn’t have a lot of power, didn’t walk […...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 8th, 2023
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3097 Views
~Henry Rodriguez 1967– (Cubs 1998-2000) Henry started in left field for the Cubs in 1998, 1999, and 2000, and became a fan favorite. The left field bleacher bums would throw Oh Henry bars at him when he returned to his position after hitting a homer. He hit 75 of them in his three seasons in [&...
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