By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week In Wrigley History
Aug 6th, 2024
2 Comments
6265 Views
August 6, 1959 Billy Williams makes his major league debut with the Cubs. He plays left field and bats third, and in his first big league at-bat, facing journeyman Phillies pitcher Jim Owens, Billy drives in Tony Taylor with the first run of the game. That turns out to be the game winner, as the [&he...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jul 27th, 2024
0 Comments
5811 Views
~Leo Durocher 1905–1991 (Cubs manager 1965-1972) How did people really feel about Leo Durocher? A quote from Jack Brickhouse: “In the early days Leo was an SOB, but a sharp SOB. By the time he finished in Chicago he was just an old SOB.” Suffice it to say, Leo was not beloved. When he was [&hel...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Week In Wrigley History
Jul 9th, 2024
3 Comments
7249 Views
July 10, 1990 The All-Star Game was played at Wrigley Field. It was a miserable, rainy night, but the fans were treated to the sight of some all-time greats plying their trade. The American League team featured the likes of future Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson, Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Dennis Eck...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jul 6th, 2024
0 Comments
3801 Views
~Lance Johnson 1963– (Cubs 1997-1999) Johnson had a very impressive 14-year big league career that included playoff appearances with the Cardinals (1987) White Sox (1993), and Cubs (1998), and an All-Star appearance as a member of the Mets (1996). He was a speedy center fielder who hit for aver...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Jun 28th, 2024
0 Comments
4236 Views
~Mark Grace 1964– (Cubs 1988-2000) They called him Amazing Grace, after the song, and because of his amazing glove work around first base. Mark Grace anchored first for the Cubs for more than a decade and became one of Wrigley Field’s fan favorites. He won four Gold Gloves, hit .300 nine times,...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Jun 19th, 2024
1 Comment
6293 Views
When the Rolling Stones came to Chicago in 1972, they were huge stars How huge? They stayed at the Playboy Mansion with Hugh Heffner. Robert Greenfield’s book, “S.T.P.: A Journey Through America with the Rolling Stones,” describes that Chicago trip this way… “The couches...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Jun 12th, 2024
1 Comment
6626 Views
June 18, 1912 During the 1912 Republican convention in Chicago at the Chicago Coliseum (1513 S. Wabash Ave.), Theodore Roosevelt’s supporters in the gallery tooted horns and rubbed sandpaper together to imitate the sounds of the “Taft steamroller” which was running them over without considering their...
By Rick Kaempfer
In Today's Cub Birthday
Oct 31st, 2023
0 Comments
3419 Views
~Fred McGriff 1963– (Cubs 2001-2002) He was nicknamed the Crime Dog because of his last name’s similarity to the “actual” crime dog McGruff. Our crime dog, it’s safe to say, was at best a reluctant Cub. He refused to be traded to the Cubs at first, and then when he finally agreed to the trade, ...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Oct 9th, 2023
0 Comments
6578 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 News
Aug 4th, 2014
2 Comments
9027 Views
Stuart Shea is the author of Wrigley Field: The Long Life and Contentious Times of the Friendly Confines, published by University of Chicago Press in spring 2014, as well as of Fab Four FAQ (with Rob Rodriguez) and Pink Floyd FAQ. He has edited five baseball annuals and is assistant editor of Who’s W...
The Pothole Store | Eckhartz Press | Rick Kaempfer's Blog | Illinois Entertainer
Site construction by WorkSite, LLC