By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Dec 4th, 2023
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3061 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 Today's Cub Birthday
Nov 29th, 2023
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2715 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, 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 3rd, 2023
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3660 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...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Oct 29th, 2023
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2982 Views
~Solly Hofman 1882–1956 (Cubs 1904-1912, 1916) His nickname was Circus Solly, and he played for the Cubs during their most dominant era, and was a key member of four World Series teams. At first he was a utility man, but by the time his Cubs tenure was through, he was their full-time center fie...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Oct 23rd, 2023
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5258 Views
October 23, 1886 The Cubs finished up the World Series. The 1886 National League team from Chicago was known as the White Stockings–it would be another fifteen years before the Cubs name emerged. But they were a powerhouse team; the defending champions. Led by their first baseman/manager Cap An...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week in 1908
Oct 20th, 2023
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4531 Views
How long ago was 1908? Broadway superstar George M. Cohan (photo) takes the victorious World Series champs out to Rector’s restaurant in Chicago to celebrate their big victory. He and his Broadway troupe perform for Frank Chance, Joe Tinker, Harry Steinfeldt, Del Howard, Jimmy Sheckard and thei...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Oct 16th, 2023
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4428 Views
October 18, 1910 The Cubs played Game 2 of the World Series against the A’s in Philadelphia. The team had to feel like they were snake-bitten that year. With Johnny Evers already sidelined with a broken leg, Mordecai Brown (the scheduled starting pitcher of Game 2 and the team’s best pitc...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Oct 9th, 2023
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6259 Views
This week in history, the Cubs were actually involved in historical events… October 9, 1907 The Cubs were playing the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. It was Game 2 of the series–the first game had ended in a tie (called because of darkness). More than 21,000 braved the cold October Ch...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Oct 4th, 2023
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4168 Views
~Tony LaRussa 1944– (Cubs 1973) On April 6, 1973, the Cubs won the opener 3-2 over the Expos in the bottom of the ninth because the best relief pitcher in baseball, Mike Marshall, walked in two runs. The winning run was scored by Tony LaRussa in his only game as a Cub. He came in […]...
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