By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week in 1908
May 19th, 2023
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6855 Views
This week (May 19 – May 25) in 1908 How long ago was 1908? The 1907 Championship flag is raised amid great fanfare at West Side Grounds in front of sold out crowd. Cubs owner Charles Murphy thinks it’s a bad omen when the flag gets stuck halfway up the flagpole. A who’s who of [&hel...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
May 15th, 2023
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3569 Views
~Bill North 1948– (Cubs 1971-1972) It isn’t that difficult to understand what the Cubs were thinking on November 21, 1972. They were coming off four consecutive seasons where the pitching faltered at the end of the year. Cubs management believed that a better bullpen would save their starters, ...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week In Wrigley History
Apr 23rd, 2023
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6975 Views
April 23, 1914. One day after the Cubs drew the smallest Opening Day crowd in their history, a new ballpark opened on Addison & Clark. At the time, it was called “Weeghman Park”, and the team that played there was in the Federal League. This is how the Chicago Tribune described that ...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week in 1908
Mar 24th, 2023
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6434 Views
How long ago was 1908? The first few years of the century the Cubs conducted spring training in Frank Chance’s home state of California (in Los Angeles and Santa Monica). During their first pennant season of 1906, they trained in Champaign, Illinois. The site of spring training before their fir...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Dec 7th, 2022
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3872 Views
~Don Cardwell 1935 (Cubs 1960-1962) The Cubs acquired Cardwell from the Phillies in exchange for second baseman Tony Taylor. Taylor went on to play big league ball for 16 more seasons, but it looked like a great trade at the time. On May 15, 1960, in his first start in a Cubs uniform, Don Cardwell [&...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Dec 4th, 2022
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2940 Views
Lee Smith 1957 (Cubs 1980-1987) When Big Lee came up with the Cubs in 1980, he was a starting pitcher. They moved him to the closer role after they floundered in 1981 after the trade that sent Bruce Sutter to the Cardinals. Big Lee turned out to be one of the most consistent closers in […]...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week In Wrigley History
Dec 1st, 2022
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5560 Views
December 2, 1965: Cubs acquire Bill Hands and Randy Hundley December 3: In 1971, Cubs acquire Jose Cardenal…In 2003, Cubs sign LeTroy Hawkins. December 4, 2002: Cubs trade Todd Hundley for Grudzielanek and Karros December 5, 1987: Cubs trade Palmeiro, Moyers and others for Mitch Williams Decemb...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 29th, 2022
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2563 Views
~Howard Johnson 1960 (Cubs 1995) His parents obviously had a sense of humor, because they named their son Howard, the same name as a famous hotel and restaurant chain. His nickname naturally ended up being the same thing as the restaurant’s nickname (HoJo), but he had the last laugh. Howard Joh...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 15th, 2022
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2876 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 3rd, 2022
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3446 Views
~Ken Holtzman 1945– (Cubs 1966-1971) He would become one of the rarest animals on the North American continent…a quality homegrown Chicago Cubs starting pitcher. But Holtzman was the real deal. He went 9-0 for the Cubs while serving in the National Guard in 1967, and when his military service w...
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