History of the Chicago Cubs
The following is a franchise history of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball, a charter member of the National League who started play in the National Association in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings. The Chicago National League Ball Club is the only franchise to play continuously in the same city since the formation of the National League in 1876.
Chicago White Stockings/Chicago Colts
1870: The Chicago White Stockings Base Ball Club
The success and fame of the Brooklyn Atlantics, organized baseball's first true dynasty, and the Cincinnati Red Stockings (c. 1867-1870) baseball's first openly all-professional team, led to a minor explosion of other openly professional clubs by the late 1860s, each with the singular goal of defeating the Red Stockings, who had accumulated an unparalleled 89 game winning streak. A number of them adopted variants on basing the team name on the team colors, and it happens that Chicago's club, which was officially known as The Chicago Base Ball Club, adopted white. On April 29, 1870, the Chicago White Stockings played their first game against the St. Louis Unions, and soundly defeated the Unions 47-1.[1]
After some individually arranged contests, using mostly the same roster, Chicago managed to put together a 10 man roster and joined the nation's top organized league, which was now allowing entry to professionals. This league, known as the National Association of Base Ball Players, had been primarily dominated by the Atlantics and until very recently before the admitting the Red Stockings and the White Stockings, had consisted of mostly baseball clubs from the New York and Washington D.C. areas. Despite this East Coast dominance, Chicago won the NABBP championship that year, although the title was disputed by the opposing club, the New York Mutuals.
1871–1875: William Hulbert and the National Association
The following season, the time was right for the formation of the very first all-professional league, and thus the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was born, and the White Stockings, financed by businessman William Hulbert, became charter members of the new league. Chicago played their home games on the city's west side at the Union Base-Ball Grounds, and the club was close contenders for the pennant until late in 1871, when the Great Chicago Fire destroyed their home field, along with all of the equipment, including the players' uniforms. Chicago had a strong team that season, and continued play with borrowed uniforms, managing to finish second in the N.A., only 2 games short of the title. Despite the strong finish, the club was compelled to drop out of the league during the city's recovery period until ultimately being revived in 1874, and moving into the newly built 23rd Street Grounds.
Although the original Red Stockings had disbanded after 1870, many of the players became members of a new club by the same name, but now based in Boston. Over the next couple seasons, the Boston Red Stockings, dominated the National Association and hoarded the game's best stars, even those under contract with other teams. Hulbert, the White Stockings club president, was disgusted by the lack of enforcable contracts (the most famous of these "contract jumpers" was Davy Force) as well as the monopoly of the Boston club and the league's inability to enforce a mandatory schedule. As a result, Hulbert, spearheaded the formation of a new, stronger, more ethical organization. During the last years of the N.A., Hulbert worked behind the scenes, to convince the owners of the St. Louis Browns, Hartford Dark Blues, Philadelphia Athletics, and a few others to join the White Stockings in his new league, which would be known as the National Base Ball League. The National League's formation meant the end of the N.A., as its remaining clubs shut down or reverted to amateur or minor status.
1876–1900: The National League
After the 1875 season ended, Hulbert was principal in the acquisition of several key players, including Boston pitcher Albert Spalding and first baseman Adrian Anson of the Philadelphia Athletics. Finally, Hulbert secured a new home field for the White Stockings, as the club would begin playing its home games at Chicago's West Side Park.
With the pieces in place, the Chicago National League Ball Club quickly established themselves as one of the new National League's top teams. Spalding won 47 games that season, and James "Deacon" White and Ross Barnes, also brought in by Hulbert, were major contributors as well, as Barnes hit .429 that season and White, one of the last great bare-handed catchers, led the league in RBI. The White Stockings cruised through the National League's inaugural season of 1876, winning the league's first championship. Near the end of the season, Mutual of New York and the Philadelphia Athletics dropped out of contention, and refused to play the remainder of their respective schedules, and Hulbert flexed his executive muscle, expelling both franchises from the league.
The next season the league played a 60 game schedule, with Chicago finishing a dissapointing 5th in the 6 team league, but improved over the next two seasons as the schedules grew to around 75 or more games. In 1880 the White Stockings won 67 and lost 17, for an N.L. record .798 winning percentage. Extrapolating an 84-game season onto a 162-game season is a dubious proposition, but it does provide some perspective to note that a similar winning percentage nowadays would yield 129 wins. A more suitable comparison would be to that of a modern NBA or NHL franchise, since they play a similar 82 game schedule. Only four teams in NBA history have won more than 67 games in a season and the most wins in NHL history is 62.
"Cap" Anson and a Chicago dynasty
Anson, the team's best player and perhaps the greatest ballplayer in the early era of professional baseball, became the club's captain, and was so much identified as the face of the club he became better known as "Cap" Anson. After the 1876 pennant, which at the time was the game's top prize, Anson led the team to a great amount of success in the early seasons of the National League, winning pennants in 1880 and 1881 as well. The length of the season and long travel times between games at the time was such that most teams got by with two principal starters, and Chicago had two very good ones in Larry Corcoran and Fred Goldsmith. Corcoran, who won 43 games in 1880, threw three no-hitters in the early part of the decade, a record that would stand until being broken by Sandy Koufax in 1965. Goldsmith is one of two pitchers credited with the invention of the curveball. The two were baseball's first true "pitching rotation."
In 1882, Hulbert died, and Al Spalding, who had retired a few years earlier to start Spalding sporting goods, assumed ownership of the club, with Anson acting as first baseman and manager. A second major league, called the American Association, came along in 1882, and Chicago met the American Association's champions three times in that era's version of the World Series. Twice they faced the St. Louis Browns in competitive and controversial Series action. That St. Louis franchise, which went on to join the National League in 1892 after the American Association folded, would later be renamed the St. Louis Cardinals and continues to be a perennial rival of the Cubs.
Goldsmith and Corcoran were fading by mid-decade, and were replaced by other pitchers, notably John Clarkson. Much has been written about Old Hoss Radbourn's record 60 victories for the Providence Grays of 1884, but Clarkson himself won an amazing 53 games in 1885, as Chicago won yet another pennant. During this period, Anson became the first ballplayer credited with achieving 3,000 hits. Anson's actual number of hits varies depending on the source. MLB itself recognizes Anson as having over 3,000 hits. Anson's influence on the team was greater than perhaps any other player's influence on any team, perhaps only rivaled by what Babe Ruth would eventually become to the New York Yankees some 3 decades later. Cap's mark was so deep that by the mid-1890's the team had dropped the White Stockings name in favor of the Chicago Colts, or more commonly, "Anson's Colts."
Things changed with time for the Colt's, and after Chicago's great run during the 1880s, the on-field fortunes of Anson's Colts dwindled during the mid-1890s, despite the emergence of Bill Lange, who set the club record for steals with 84 in 1897, and was one of the leagues best hitters for seven seasons. The club would have to await revival under new leadership, however, for in 1898, Spalding opted not to renew Anson's contract, and a year later Lange retired to become a professional scout. [2]
Transition
Anson's departure led to the team's nickname transitioning thru the next few seasons. At time's they were referred to as the Chicago Remnants and/or the Chicago Orphans, both reflecting the loss of the team's contriversial leader (Anson was an outspoken racist and often would refuse to play with or against black players), though the "Colts" name remained in circulation through the 1905 season along with the Orphan's and Remnant's, mostly depending on what newspaper or what fan one spoke to. The name "Cubs" first appeared in print in 1902, and gained popularity over the next four years, before becoming the sole nickname in 1906.[3] The old name, Chicago White Stockings, was adopted in 1900 by the new American Base Ball League entry on Chicago's south side, who would begin play in that leagues first season of 1901, and was soon shortened by the press to Chicago White Sox.
Early MLB years (a.k.a. Dead ball era)
1901–1913: A new Cubs Dynasty
After the formation of the American League, Al Spalding gave up ownership of the club to concentrate on touring the country to promote his sporting goods company, selling the team to John Hart in 1902. Oddly, the team Spalding put together before he left was one of his grandest accomplishments. Joe Tinker (shortstop), Johnny Evers (second baseman), and Frank Chance (first baseman) were three Hall-of-Fame Cubs infielders who played together from 1903 to 1912. They, along with third baseman Harry Steinfeldt, and catcher Johnny Kling formed the infield on what would become one of the most dominant baseball teams of all time.
By 1905 The Cubs were owned by Charles Murphy, who purchased the franchise for $125,000. Chance took over as manager for the ailing Frank Selee in that year, and the Cubs responded by winning four pennants and two World Series titles over a five-year span. Their record of 116 victories in 1906 (in a 154-game season) has not been broken, though it was tied by the Seattle Mariners in 2001, in a 162-game season. The 1906 Cubs still hold the record for best winning percentage of the modern era, with a .763 mark. However, they lost the 1906 World Series to their crosstown rival White Sox.
The Cubs again relied on dominant pitching during this period, featuring hurlers such as Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown, Jack Taylor, Ed Reulbach, Jack Pfiester and Orval Overall. The Cubs' pitchers posted a record for lowest staff earned run average that still stands today. Reulbach threw a one-hitter in the 1906 World Series, one of a small handful of twirlers to pitch low-hit games in the post-season. Brown acquired his unique and indelicate nickname from having lost most of his index finger in farm machinery when he was a youngster. This gave him the ability to put a natural extra spin on his pitches, which often frustrated opposing batters.
In 1907, the Cubs won 107 games, dominating the National League once again. This year they met Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, beating them soundly 4–0–1 for the franchise's first World Series championship. At the time a tie was replayed the next day from the beginning, but counted in the series score, so officially the series was not a sweep.
On September 23, 1908, the Cubs and New York Giants, involved in a tight pennant race, were tied in the bottom of the ninth inning at the Polo Grounds. The Giants had runners of first and third and two outs when Al Bridwell hit a single to center field, scoring Moose McCormick from third with the Giants’ apparent winning run, but the runner on first base, rookie Fred Merkle, went half way to second and then sprinted to the clubhouse after McCormick touched home plate. As fans swarmed the field, Evers retrieved the ball and touched second. Since there were 2 outs, a forceout was called at second base, ending the inning and the game. Because of the tie the Giants and Cubs ended up tied for first place. The Giants lost the league's first one-game playoff and the Cubs went on to the World Series, where they defeated the Tigers once again, this time four games to one, for their second consecutive World Series championship.
Tinkers to Evers to Chance
Some experts believe the Cubs could have been in the Series for five straight seasons, had Johnny Kling not sat out the entire 1909 season. Kling temporarily retired to play professional pocket billiards, but his primary reason for not playing was most likely a contract dispute. His absence obviously hurt the stability of the pitching staff, as when he returned in 1910, the Cubs won the pennant again, although the veteran club was unable to defeat the young Philadelphia Athletics in the Fall Classic.
During that 1910 season, the club's star infielders, Tinkers, Evers, and Chance, gained even more national acclaim after turning a critical double play against the New York Giants in a July 1910 game. The trio was immortalized in Franklin P. Adams' poem Baseball's Sad Lexicon, which first appeared in the July 18, 1910, edition of the New York Evening Mail:
- These are the saddest of possible words:
- "Tinker to Evers to Chance."
- Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
- Tinker and Evers and Chance.
- Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
- Making a Giant hit into a double--
- Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
- "Tinker to Evers to Chance."
"Gonfalon" is a poetic way of referring to the pennant that both clubs battled for. The expression "Tinker to Evers to Chance" is still used today, and means "well-oiled routine" or a "sure thing".
Tinker and Evers reportedly could not stand each other, and rarely spoke off the field. Evers, a high-strung, argumentative man, suffered a nervous breakdown in 1911 and rarely played that year. Chance suffered a near-fatal beaning the same year. The trio played together little after that. In 1913, Chance went to manage the New York Yankees and Tinker went to Cincinnati to manage the Reds, and that was the end of one of the most notable infields in baseball. They were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame together in 1946. Tinker and Evers reportedly became amicable in their old age, with the baseball wars far behind them.
1914–1924: Lasker, Weeghmam, & the double-Bills
The Cubs fell into a lengthy doldrum after the departure of their stars. In 1916, advertising executive Albert Lasker and his partner Charles Phelps Taft obtained a large block of shares and soon acquired majority ownership of the Cubs. In 1916 Taft was bought out by Charlie Weeghman, whom had owned the Chicago Whales of the short-lived Federal League, and was propriter of a popular chain of lunch counters.
As owner, Albert Lasker acquired the services of astute baseball man William Veeck, Sr. in 1914, and moved the club to the Whales old home, Weeghman Park, in 1916. The club responded by winning a pennant in the war-shortened season of 1918, where they played a part in another team's curse, The Curse of the Bambino. In the 1918 World Series, the North Siders, led by pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, posted the majors' best record at 84-45 that year, and faced the Boston Red Sox. Babe Ruth won two games in the series, including a 1-0 complete-game shutout in the opener to start off what would be a six-game Boston triumph. At the time considered a star pitcher who "just happened" to hit 29 home runs, Boston then sold Ruth to the Yankees a few weeks after the series, starting their own tale of futility, which lasted for 86 years.
Following the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, which led to yet another "curse" on the south side of Chicago, baseball in the city fell into very dark times and Lasker worked to create a new governing authority for Major League Baseball that led to Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis becoming the first Commissioner of Baseball. During this time, Weeghman filed for bankruptcy and Lasker's friend, chewing gum manufacturer William Wrigley, Jr. acquired his controlling interest in 1921. [1]
1925 - 1946: Early Wrigley years
Every three years
After buying the rest of Lasker's shares, Wrigley changed the name of the team's home ballpark to Wrigley Field in 1925 in order to generate more exposure for his brand of chewing gum. This is one of the earliest examples of corporate sponsorship. With Wrigley's money and Veeck's savvy, the Cubs were soon back in business in the National League, the front office having built a team that would be strong contenders for the next decade. Hack Wilson, Gabby Hartnett, Rogers Hornsby, and many other stars donned Cub uniforms during that stretch, and they achieved the unusual accomplishment of winning a pennant every three years - 1929, 1932, 1935 and 1938. Unfortunately, their success did not extend to the post-season, as they fell to their American League rivals each time, often in humiliating fashion. One example was in game 4 of the 1929 World Series when the Cubs, leading 8-0 at the time, yielded 10 runs to the Philadelphia Athletics in the seventh inning. A key play in that inning was center fielder Hack Wilson losing a fly ball in the sun, resulting in a 3-run inside-the-park homer.
In the 1932 World Series, Babe Ruth again torched the North Siders, though this time with his bat, when he led New York in a series in which he hit his famous "called shot" home run in Chicago during Game three. The Yankees then went on to a four game sweep of the Northsiders. There were, however, some historic moments for the Cubs as well, as they won the 1935 pennant in thrilling fashion, winning a record 21 games in a row in September, and propelling the club to the 1935 World Series, where they fell to Hank Greenberg's Detroit Tigers in a hard fought, 6 game series. The 1938 club saw Dizzy Dean lead the team's pitching staff and provided a historic cardiac moment when they won a crucial, late-season game with a "walk-off" home run by player-manager Gabby Hartnett, which became known in baseball lore as "The Homer in the Gloamin'." However, Chicago fell to the Yankees again in the 1938 World Series. By this time, the 'double-Bills' were both dead, and the front office under P.K. Wrigley was unable to rekindle the kind of success that the double-Bills had created, and so the team slipped into it's first period of mediocrity
The Curse
The Cubs enjoyed one more pennant, at the close of another World War, led by outfielder Andy Pafko and infielder Phil Cavarretta. Due to the wartime travel restrictions, the first three games were played in Detroit, where the Cubs won two of them, and the last four were to be played at Wrigley. The Cubs wpm Game 1 9-0 and Claude Passeau tossed a one hitter in Game 3 to give the Northsiders a 2-1 advantage as the series shifted to Wrigley Field. In Game 4, the Curse of the Billy Goat was laid upon the Cubs when P.K. Wrigley ejected Billy Sianis, who had come to the game with two box seat tickets, one for him and one for his goat. They paraded around for a few innings, but ultimately Mr. Wrigley demanded the goat leave the park due to complaints about its unpleasant odor. Upon his ejection, an angry Mr. Sianis uttered, "the Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." The Cubs lost game 4, and despite a heroic series by Cavarretta, lost the 1945 World Series in seven games. It has also been said by many that Sianis put a "curse" on the Cubs, apparently preventing the team from making it back to (but not actually winning) the World Series, as the team has not returned to the fall classic since.
Late Wrigley years (1947–1981)
1947 - 1981: Dark ages of Chicago baseball
After the Curse of the Billy Goat, a few years into the post-World War II era, astute observers of the game began to suspect that something had gone wrong with the Cubs franchise, and that it might take them a long time to recover. After losing the 1945 World Series, the Cubs finished 82-71, good for third place in 1946, but did not enter post-season play. In the next few years, however, the team fell deep into the bottom half of the National League. In his 1950 book The World Series and Highlights of Baseball, LaMont Buchanan wrote the following prose next to photos of Wrigley (apparently taken during the 1945 World Series) and of their newly hired manager:
"From the sublime to last place!
Wrigley Field, the ivy of its walls still whispering of past greatness,
Watches its Cubs grow less ferocious in '47, '48, '49.
New doctor of the cure is smiling Frank Frisch,
Veteran of previous baseball transfusions who thinks,
It's nice to have the fans with you.'
Chicago has a great baseball tradition.
The fans remember glorious yesterdays as they wait for brighter tomorrows.
And eventually their Cubs will bite again!"
Little did anyone realize how long "eventually" would turn out to be. The Cubs were one of the National Leagues worst teams for an astonishing 20 seasons, from 1947 until 1966, with only two Cub teams finishing at breakeven or better. Many of those teams lost over 90 games, and in 1960, 1962, and 1966 they lost over 100. All this futility came despite the excellent play of shortstop Ernie Banks, who became known as "Mr. Cub". Finding help for Banks turned out to be the teams downfall, as players such as Hank Sauer and Ralph Kiner found only temporary homes in Chicago during the early 1950's, and Phil Cavarretta, late in his career, started to see his numbers tail off. Incidently, Cavarretta, who played 20 seasons for the Boys in Blue and had been player/manager, was fired during 1954 spring training after admitting the team was unlikely to finish above fifth place (they finished seventh).
Finally, in the mid-1960's, some talent started to come back to the northside, with the addition of All Stars Ron Santo and Billy Williams to the lineup and the emergence of ace pitcher Fergie Jenkins. In 1967 and 1968 the Cubs put together their first back to back winning seasons since '45 ane '46, laying the groundwork for what fans expected to be a great season for the 1969 Chicago Cubs.
Fall of '69
In 1969, the Cubs, managed by Leo Durocher, started out 11-1, building a substantial lead in the newly created National League East. Chicago surged thru the All Star break led by Santo and a trio of eventual Hall Of Famers in Banks, Williams, and Jenkins, who won 21 games. Bill Hands was also a 20 game winner, and Ken Holtzman won 17, including a no-hitter on August 19. Chicago led the division by 8½ games over St. Louis and by 9½ games over New York in late August, but the Cubs wilted under pressure, losing key games to the Mets, and finished at 92-70, eight games out of first. Many superstitious fans attribute this collapse to an incident at Shea Stadium when a fan released a black cat onto the field, thereby further cursing the club. Others have stated the sheer number of day games that the Cubs had to play contributed to the disaster. Chicago, being near Lake Michigan, boasts summers which are quite humid (85-90 degrees Fahrenheit on average), and playing in this heat day after day might have taken its toll. From August 14 through the end of the season, the Mets, who played mostly night games, had an amazing 39-11 record, finishing with 100 wins while the second place Cubs slumped in September, going only 8-17.
1970 - 1981 - Bad teams & the June Swoon
In the decade of the 1970s and through the 1983 season, the Cubs rarely tasted any substantial success. Following the disastrous fall to the Mets in '69, the Cubs finished slightly over .500 in 1970, 1971 and 1972, while most of the core players from the 1969 team were still in uniform, including the "Old Guard" of Santo, Williams, and Banks on the field and Jenkins, Don Kessinger, and Milt Pappas on the mound. Pappas tossed a no-hitter in 1972. No Cub would again pitch a no-hitter until Carlos Zambrano on September 15th, 2008. After 1973, however, many of those players either retired or were traded, and the Cubs fell into mediocrity at best. Between 1973 and 1983 they were a combined 165 games under .500.[2] It was during this entire decade of poor baseball that the term "Loveable Losers" became a catch phrase, since the fans were still coming out to see the team but the team was just plain bad.
Chicago's best finish in this stretch was in 1977, but even this was a testament to the team's futility during the "Dark Ages" of the 70's, as all star Bobby Murcer led the baby blue pinstriped '77 club into first place at 47-22 on June 28th, and the team enjoyed an 8.5 game lead in the N.L. East. After entering the all star break at 54-35, still 19 games above .500, the team started to crack as the Phillies picked up steam, cutting the lead to two games. Eventually the Cubbies spiraled out of contention, playing poorly in August and ending the season with a streak in which they lost 17 of 22 games, ultimately finishing at 81–81, 22 games behind Philadelphia.
Amazingly, the club then had similar (though not as exaggerated) falls the next two seasons as well, despite the acquisition of slugger Dave Kingman. The Cubs were 11 over .500 in '78 and 13 over in '79, but still finished with losing records both seasons. This trait was dubbed "The June Swoon." Along with Kingman, Cub rosters in the this period featured such players as Rick Reuschel, who won 20 games in the infamous '77 season, as well as Bill Madlock, Bill Buckner, Keith Moreland, Jose Cardenal, and Ivan DeJesus.
Tribune era - It's cool to be a Cub fan again!
1984 & 1989 NL East Champs
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In 1981, the Tribune Company purchased the Cubs from the Wrigley family for $20,500,000, in the middle of another losing season. In 1982, DeJesus, one of the teams better players, was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for shortstop Larry Bowa and infielder Ryne Sandberg.
The current era of Wrigley Field being a "hip" place to be has its roots in the success of the '84 club. On Opening day of 1981 the only 10,672 entered the gates. By 1983, thanks to the exposure of the Chicago Tribune and WGN, Rich Reuschel pitched in front of a crowd of 18,268, yet this was all about to change dramatically. In mid-1983, manager Lee Elia, most famous for his tirade of curses against the the fans, was replaced by new skipper Jim Frey. In the offseason, the Cubs rebuilt the starting pitching staff through a series of trades by GM Dallas Green, who started by dealing for Bobby Dernier and Gary "The Sarge" Matthews and inking pitcher Scott Sanderson to complement an what was already a good team, boasting players such as third baseman Ron Cey and catcher Jody Davis.
The Cubs pened up the season going 12-8 in April, tied for first place. The race stayed tight through the first half of the season, and Green continued to deal for arms. Bill Buckner was sent to the Boston Red Sox for Dennis Eckersley and Mike Brumley, and on June 13, Mel Hall and Joe Carter were sent to the Cleveland Indians for starter Rick Sutcliffe. With the rotation set, the northsiders found themselves 42-34 at the end of June, tied with the Phillies and 1.5 games ahead of the Mets. In a game versus St. Louis, Ryne Sandberg captured the attention of the nation with two game-tying home runs off former Cub Bruce Sutter, and eventually was named NL MVP. The second half of the '84 season was all Cubbies, as the northsiders posted a 54-31 record, and the city of Chicago was in pandemonium.
The end result was a league-best 96 victories and the NL East Championship, as the team clinched the division in Pittsburgh. In what was the team's first post-season appearance since the '45 pennant, Chicago met the the San Diego Padres. In the first game of the NLCS the Cubs won 13-0 behind two Gary Matthews home runs, and then took a 2–0 series lead with a 4–2 win in Game 2. With the City of Chicago in an uproar, the series headed west for the final three games, where the Cubs needed only one win to make it to the World Series. After being soundly beaten in Game 3, they lost a heartbreaker when All-Star closer Lee Smith allowed a walk-off home run to Steve Garvey in Game 4. Many fans remember Garvey rounding first after his game-winning shot, pumping his fist into the air, as one of the lowest moments in Cubdom. Game 5 was just as bad; the Cubs took a 3–0 lead to the sixth inning with Sutcliffe, the 1984 NL Cy Young Award winner, on the mound, but a critical error by first baseman Leon Durham helped the Padres win the clinching game.
Most publications picked the Cubs to repeat as Division Champs in 1985, especially after adding Dennis Eckersley to the rotation. The Cubs responded by starting out 35–19 by June 11th, but swooned again, losing 13 in a row as the club's four top pitchers all hit the disabled list, and the Cardinals took the division crown as the North Siders ended up a disappointing 77–84. Shawon Dunston, the #1 overall pick in the '82 draft came up from the minors for good near the end of the season.
During '86 season, Jim Frey was replaced at skipper with former Yankee Gene Michael, but the team went through two more years of poor baseball. Outfielder Andre Dawson was signed as a free agent prior to the 1987 season. Dallas Green was initially reluctant to sign Dawson, as they planned to start Brian Dayett in right, but Dawson proved his worth as he hit 49 round-trippers and took home NL MVP honors for a last place Cub team that season, the only player to accomplish that feat in the last 20 seasons.
The 1988 team, under new skipper Don Zimmer (who was promoted after Frey took the General Manager position), was the first of a new era in Cub history, as lights were installed at Wrigley Field and were first to be used for a night game on August 8th. The game was rained out in the early innings, and the first official night game was the next day, as the Cubs beat the Mets 6–4. The Mets, however, had a 100 win season, and the Cubs, still anchored by Sutcliffe, "Ryno" Sandberg, and "Hawk" Dawson, finished in a distant fourth place. This was despite having what at the time was a franchise record six All-Stars as Dawson, Dunston, and Sandberg were joined by Vance Law, Greg Maddux, and Rafael Palmeiro.
In 1989, the club made some noise as they won the NL East once again, finishing up a 93 win season with a six game lead over the Mets. Some young faces contributed to the '89 success, with sophomore 1B Mark Grace leading the team in hitting and rookie catcher Joe Girardi from local Northwestern University provided stability behind the plate for Maddux and the other Cub hurlers. Speedy outfielder Dwight Smith finished 2nd in the race for NL Rookie of the Year to fellow Cub outfielder Jerome Walton, who set the current club record hitting streak at 30 games. This time, Chicago met the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS. After splitting the first two games at home, the series headed to the Bay Area. The Cubs were heavy underdogs to the star-loaded Giants, who boasted players such as Matt Williams, Kevin Mitchell, and Will Clark. Despite an MVP caliber series from Grace, and although the team held a lead in each of the three games, they were unable to overcome bullpen letdowns and managerial blunders, which ultimately led to another early exit from the post season. The Giants went on to lose to the Oakland A's in the famous "Earthquake Series."
1990–2002: Ryno, Gracie, and Sammy
Between 1990 and 1997, the Cubs fell back into the doldrums of mediocrity, where most seasons were basically over by the beginning of June. Despite their promise, Walton and Smith never regained the form they displayed as rookies in '89. Rick Sutcliffe retired and Greg Maddux, who won his first Cy Young award in a Cub uniform, left for Atlanta via free-agency, which greatly frustrated the fan base. Their replacements came and went as GM Larry Himes struggled to find a proper mix. Slugger George Bell was signed in 1991 and after a mediocre season was traded to the White Sox for Sammy Sosa. Pitchers Danny Jackson, Jamie Navarro, Randy Myers and Mike Morgan brought initial hope to the Friendly Confines faithful but ultimately spawned no playoff berths.
Himes was fired and replaced with Ed Lynch in 1995, but the club's much beleaguered farm system was unable to help produce any help on the mound as minor league products such as Jim Bullinger, Kevin Foster, Mike Harkey, Jeff Pico, and Frank Castillo were unable to establish themselves in any significant fashion in the post-strike years. Steve Trachsel, a career journeyman, was the only pitcher the system produced during this period that had any longevity. On the offensive side, though, things were a little better. Although, much hyped prospects such as Gary Scott and Drew Hall eventually did not pan out, there was some success. Mark Grace, known for his glove and his bat, along with rifle-armed SS Shawon Dunston became a fan-favorites as Dawson and Sandberg solidified themselves as an annual starters in the All-Star game, with Ryno eventually becoming the highest paid player in baseball, retiring and then making a Jordanesque comeback.
Brian McRae, Jose Hernandez and Glenallen Hill all found temporary homes in Chicago during the mid-1990s, (Hill is the only player to ever hit a home run to the rooftops across Waveland Ave) and Sammy Sosa started to establish himself as a power hitter, slugging 36 homers three times, but the teams themselves were quite poor. During the seven year period following the '89 season they had just two winning seasons, an 84–78 mark in 1993 and a 73–71 mark in the strike-shortened 1995 season. In 1997, the team signed lefty Terry Mulholland, but still hit rock bottom, finishing in last place again with 94 losses. Near the end of the season Dunston was traded to Pittsburgh and Sandberg retired (this time for good) at season's end, so most figured 1998 would be another down year on Chicago's North Side.
Finally, however, the club made some major changes. Rod Beck and Kevin Tapani were signed to bolster the pitching staff. The team also acquired infielders Mickey Morandini (aka the "Dandy Little Glove Man") and Jeff Blauser, and signed left fielder Henry Rodriguez to complement Grace and Sosa in the lineup. The Cubs found themselves involved in an intense Wild Card race with the Giants and Mets, paced by Sosa's amazing 66 HR, MVP season and Kerry Wood's dominating Rookie of the Year pitching, which included an MLB record-tying 20 strikeout game versus the Houston Astros. On the last day of the season, the Cubs fell 4–3 to Houston after a throwing error by Mulholland, but the team's playoff hopes were saved when Colorado's Neifi Perez hit a walk-off home run to beat San Francisco later that night, and the Giants and Cubs finished tied for the Wild Card. The teams met in a one-game playoff in Chicago, in which Gary Gaetti, claimed off waivers from St. Louis near the end of the season, hit a game-winning home run. Next up was Atlanta and Greg Maddux, but the North Siders played poorly, scoring only four runs as they were swept in 3 games.
Many credit the Sosa–McGwire home run chase with "saving baseball," by both bringing in new, younger fans and bringing back old fans soured by the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. After the season, GM Ed Lynch and manager Jim Riggleman opted to keep many of the same players who had career years in '98 for the '99 season. That team was 9 games over .500 in June when they were swept by the crosstown rival White Sox in Comiskey Park, which was the genesis of another epic tailspin, resulting in the club finishing in last place, 30 games out of first. Jim Riggleman was fired after the disastrous '99 campaign, his fifth season in Chicago, and a few months later Team President Andy MacPhail cut ties with Lynch as well, taking the reins as general manager and making Jim Hendry assistant GM, vowing to lead the team to success in the new century.
McPhail sent Hendry to work quickly, and his first move was trading reliever Terry Adams to Los Angeles for Eric Young and Ismael Valdez, and hiring Don Baylor to succeed Riggleman as the Chicago skipper. During a forgettable 2000 season, Hendry also sent pitcher Scott Downs to Montreal and acquired Rondell White. This laid the groundwork for the 2001 season, which saw the North Siders make another drive for the playoffs. They made a mid-June trade to acquire All-Star 1B Fred McGriff, though McGriff took over a month debating whether or not to approve the deal and leave his hometown Tampa Bay Devil Rays, ultimately waiving his no-trade clause and allow himself to be dealt to Chicago on July 27. "The Crime Dog" hit a respectable .282 with 12 homers in 49 games with the Cubs, hitting cleanup behind Sammy Sosa, who had perhaps his best season, hitting 64 homers with career highs in batting average (.328) and RBI (160) for Don Baylor's club. Jon Lieber had a 20 win season, and along with Tapani and Wood made up a solid rotation. The Cubs led the eventual Wild Card winning Cardinals by 2.5 games in early September, but Preston Wilson's walk-off homer off of closer Tom "Flash" Gordon took the wind out of the team's sails, failing to make another serious charge. The Cubs did manage to finish 88–74, only 5 games behind both St. Louis and Houston, who tied for first, but followed this up with a disastrous 2002 campaign, after which Baylor was fired and replaced by yet another new manager, Dusty Baker.
The Dusty Baker years
The Cubs won their first NL Central crown in 2003. The team's success can be attributed mostly to its dominant starting rotation, which featured Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Carlos Zambrano, and Matt Clement, all of whom won at least 13 games. The pitching staff as a whole led the National League in Strikeouts with 1,404. At mid-season, the Cubs had overcome Sammy Sosa's corked bat incident, and found themselves in the thick of the pennant race, and were looking for a replacement for Bill Mueller, who was traded near the end of the '02 campaign. Initailly, there was talk of a deal for Marlin's 3B Mike Lowell, which came very close to fruition. Eventually, the team hit paydirt after trading Mark Bellhorn for Jose Hernandez and then trading Hernandez and Bobby Hill to the Pirates for Aramis Ramirez and centerfielder Kenny Lofton in what has proven to be a lopsided deal in the Cubbies favor.
Finishing up August at 69–66, the Cubs went on a tear in September, riding Sammy Sosa, Moisés Alou, and their new teammates as they started the month by taking four of five games in a crucial series against St. Louis, and winning 19 out of 27 by months end. Prior and Wood both had good seasons, but were especially dominant after June, and were dubbed "Chicago Heat" by Sports Illustrated, a name that stuck on with the media. The two fireballers and their mates managed to beat out the charging Astros, clinching the division on September 27th against Pittsburgh, just as they had in 1984. The team charged into the playoffs, knocking off Greg Maddux and Atlanta in 5 games in the NLDS, the club's first post-season series win since 1908, and moved on to face Lowell and the eventual champion Florida Marlins in the NLCS. After dropping game one, the Cubs proceeded to take a 3 games to 1 lead and it appeared the North Siders would reach the World Series at last. Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett shut out the Cubs in Game 5, but most fans thought this a blessing, as with pocket aces Prior and Wood slated to start the next two games, victory seemed all but assured, and the team could "break the curse" at home.
Game 6, held on October 14th, was a scene unlike anything seen before, as some estimated 200,000 screaming fans battled the chilly weather and packed the streets outside Wrigley Field, and thousands more packed into local bars around the park, in anticipation of witnessing a Cubs World Series berth. The Cubs gave Prior a 3–0 lead that night. The crowd pumped up with even more adrenalin when the 7th inning stretch was sung by comedian Bernie Mac, who instead of replacing "home team" with "Cubbies," sang "Root, root, root for The Champs." It was the eighth inning when the now-infamous incident took place in which a fan, Steve Bartman, attempted to catch a foul ball hit by Florida's Luis Castillo that Cub left fielder Moisés Alou was also attempting to catch to record the second out. Alou was enraged and Castillo eventually drew a walk. The play was followed up with a booted ground ball by SS Alex S. Gonzalez, which potentially could have ended the inning via a double play. This apparently rattled the team and opened the door to 8 Florida runs and a Marlin victory. Ironically, Gonzalez led the National League in fielding percentage among all shortstops for the regular season. The next night, the Cubs rebounded to gain a lead twice in Game 7, with Kerry Wood (who homered in the game) on the mound, but lost a close, back and forth game, sealed by a game winning shot by Marlin slugger Derrek Lee, and the North Siders were once again left on the outside of the World Series looking in.
In 2004, misfortune struck the North Side again. The team welcomed back prodigal son Greg Maddux to fill the fourth spot in the rotation behind Wood, Prior, and Carlos Zambrano, giving the Cubs what on paper was considered to be the strongest rotation in the league. In late July, GM Jim Hendry pulled a blockbuster trade with eventual champion Boston for Nomar Garciaparra, and the Cubs held the Wild Card lead by a game and a half on September 24, but suffered a late inning comeback from the Mets, and then proceeded to drop 7 of their last 9 games, five of them by one run, relinquishing the lead to the Houston Astros. The season finale was a meaningless victory over the Braves, a game which team captain Sosa requested to sit out, but was then was videotaped by security cameras as he left the ballpark in the second inning. When asked about the event by the media, Sosa denied leaving Wrigley early. Already a controversial figure in the clubhouse, Sammy alienated much of his fan base (and the few team members who still were on good terms with him) with this incident, leaving his place in Cubs' lore possibly tarnished for years to come.
Though Dusty Baker had led the team to 89 wins in 2004, a one game improvement over 2003's near-pennant season, the expectations were loftier and the season was deemed a failure. This time, the fallout was decidedly unlovable. Questions were raised as to Baker's ability to handle the pitching staff, his constant juggling of the Cub lineup, and the vast number of costly injuries. Prior to the 2005 campaign, the Cubs finally managed to trade Sosa in the to the Baltimore Orioles for Jerry Hairston Jr and Mike Fontenot. Months later, Sammy was one of a group of players, (including Mark McGwire) who were asked to testify during an all-day, nationally televised hearing before the House Government Reform Committee about steroid use in baseball.
Hendry pulled yet another shrewd move in the offseason, acquiring 2003 villian Derrek Lee for Hee Seop Choi, and Lee went on to have his best season, hitting .335 with 46 home runs and 107 RBIs. Ryan Dempster also had a good season, establishing himself as the team's closer with33 saves in 35 save opportunities, but the team finished a disappointing fourth place at 79–83. Many key players expected to contribute to the teams success missed extended time due to injury, including Ramirez, Prior, Wood, and Garciaparra. Though many felt Baker had done a great job leading the team to what was nearly a .500 season, most of the media and fan base started to call for Baker's head due to what they saw as nonchalance and a failure to hold his players accountable.
The Tribune gave Baker one last chance to turn things around, and Jim Hendry retooled the lineup for the 2006 campaign. During the off-season, the Cubs revamped the outfield, acquiring speedy center fielder Juan Pierre from the Marlins and inked free agent Jacque Jones to fill the hole in right. Former blue-chip prospect Corey Patterson, who had shown flashes of brilliance but never the ability to play consistently at a high level, was traded. Additionally, veteran relief pitchers Bob Howry and Scott Eyre were brought in to shore up the bullpen. The North Siders came out of the gate hot in 2006, sweeping St. Louis en route to a 14–9 start, but an injury to superstar Derrek Lee sent the team into another tailspin. In early May, the team set a franchise record for offensive futility by scoring only 13 runs in 11 games. Rich Hill came up from Iowa and showed some flashes of brilliance, and Aramis Ramirez had another great season, but Pierre, though stealing 52 bases, failed to live up to expectations and Jones lashed out at the Wrigley faithful for booing him after his initial poor play. Though Jones righted his ship by slugging 27 homers, the team was repeatedly unable to score runs for it's pitching staff and finished the season at a pathetic 66–96. As rumors of the club's sale dominated the horizon, Andy MacPhail resigned his position as team President following the season, and the team opted to let Baker, the former "Messiah's" contract expire.
2007–2008: Back to Back
After finishing the '06 campaign in the NL Central cellar, the Boys in Blue went from worst to first in 2007. First, Chicago hired veteran skipper Lou Piniella after a managerial search that included hometown favorite Joe Girardi. Soon afterward, the Tribune Company was sold, but still allowed several important pre-season moves. The team re-signed Aramis Ramirez, and instead of waiting for Mark Prior to heal, Hendry signed Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis to join the rotation. He also inked free agent infielder Mark DeRosa and gave Alfonso Soriano the richest contract in Cubs' history. The team started slowly, however, falling behind Milwaukee by as many as eight games. Zambrano and catcher Michael Barrett were involved in a dugout brawl, Piniella was suspended for kicking dirt at an umpire, and the season was in jeopardy by June.
Then things started to change. Barrett was traded away, and the club survived injuries and suspensions, sparked by the play of rookie reliever Carlos Marmol, and infielder Ryan Theriot. The Cubs won 19 games in July, and toward the end of the season staff ace Kerry Wood returned from the disabled list as a reliever. In September, the Northsiders won critical series, kicking off a 10–2 streach that featured a pair of dramatic, late-inning wins against the Reds. In what some called the most exciting Major League Baseball season ever, the Cubs clinched the Central on September 28.
In the NLDS, they met the Arizona Diamondbacks. Carlos Zambrano was dominant in Game 1, but was matched by D-Backs ace Brandon Webb as the game was tied at one after six. In a move that has since come under scrutiny, Piniella called in ace reliever Carlos Marmol to start the seventh, who uncharacteristically gave up two runs. Piniella pulled Zambrano because he was planning on bringing him back on short rest for Game 4. The next night, the Cubs jumped out 2–0 on a home run by rookie catcher Geovany Soto, but Lilly, who was 9–1 following Cub losses, was touched for six runs. In the finale at home, the offense again squandered numerous opportunities, stranding 12 runners and falling victim to four double plays en route to another abrupt end to a once promising season.
Just before Christmas in 2007, Sam Zell closed the sale of the Tribune and promised the team would be sold prior to the season (which ultimately didn't happen), leading many to question whether the Cubs would be major players in the free-agent market. Those questions were answered when they inked the much-pursued Japanese superstar Kosuke Fukudome of the Chunichi Dragons. Rumors of a nine player deal with Baltimore for Brian Roberts fizzled after trade talks that had dragged on from January until after Opening Day. Kerry Wood entered the season as closer and Ryan Dempster returned to the rotation.
The Cubbies started out hot, taking an early division lead, while recording the 10,000th franchise win in April. Reed Johnson and later Jim Edmonds were signed to platoon in center after sending prospect Felix Pie back to AAA Iowa. One highnote of the season came on May 30, after the Boys in Blue fell behind the Rockies 9–1, they ultimately surged back, winning 10–9 and by mid-June Chicago boasted they best record in baseball. Chicago set a team record with eight players being named as all stars with Zambrano, Soriano, Ramirez, Wood and Dempster being joined by first timers Fukudome, Geovany Soto, and late addition Carlos Marmol. On July 8th, Sean Gallagher, who had replaced a struggling Rich Hill as the clubs fifth starter, was dealt to Oakland along with outfielders Matt Murton and Eric Patterson, as the Cubs netted star pitcher Rich Harden, and Chicago entered the break with an NL best 57 wins and a 4.5 game division lead.
The club overcame a seven game losing streak to open September, and Carlos Zambrano pitched the clubs first no-hitter in three decades on September 14th, against Houston in Milwaukee. That game was moved to Miller Park after Hurricane Ike forced the series to be moved from Minute Maid Park to the domed field in Wisconsin. The Cubs clinched their second straight N.L. Central crown on September 20th at home against rival St. Louis, cliching home field advantatge. Unfortunately, the heavily favored Cubs were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of Cub Nation, as a potential "Dream Season" came to an abrupt end.
List of Owners
- 1876: William Hulbert
- 1882: Albert Spalding (owner of Spalding Sporting Goods)
- 1902: James Hart
- 1905: Charles Murphy
- 1914: Charles Taft
- 1916: Charles Weeghman/Albert Lasker (heads of an investment group of seven others including William Wrigley
- 1921: Wrigley and Company (Wrigley family owned Wrigley Chewing Gum)
- 1981: Tribune Company
- 2007: Sam Zell (acquired the team as part of his purchase of the Tribune and intends to sell the franchise)
NOTE: In July 2008, Dallas Mavericks owner, businessman Mark Cuban, bid $1.35 billion to purchase the Cubs and Wrigley Field from Tribune Company, the largest of three final bids. The next highest bids were in the $1.1 billion range and were submitted by TD Ameritrade and a group led by former Republican Vice-presidental candidate Jack Kemp and Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig is supporting a fourth potential buyer, John Canning.
References
- ^ "Opening of the Base Ball Campaign at St. Louis". Chicago Tribune. 1870-04-30.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Gold, Eddie (1985). The Golden Era Cubs: 1876-1940. Bonus Books.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Ahrens, Art (2007). Chicago Cubs: Tinker to Evers to Chance. Arcadia.
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