Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs
2024 Chicago Cubs season
File:NLC-CHC-Logo.png Logo Cap insignia
Established in 1876
Major league affiliations
National League (1876–present) Central Division (1994–present)
Current uniform
File:NLC-Uniform-CHC.PNG
Retired numbers	10, 14, 23, 26, 42
Name
Chicago Cubs (1902–present) Chicago Orphans (1898-1901) Chicago Colts (1890-1897) Chicago White Stockings (1870-1871, 1874-1889) (a.k.a. Remnants 1898-1901)
Other nicknames
The Cubbies, The North Siders, The Lovable Losers, The Cardiac Cubs
Ballpark
Wrigley Field (1916–present) a.k.a. Cubs Park (1920-1926) a.k.a. Weeghman Park (1916-1920) West Side Park (II) (1893-1915) South Side Park (1891-1893) West Side Park (I) (1885-1891) Lakefront Park (II) (1883-1884) Lakefront Park (I) (1878-1882) 23rd Street Grounds (1874-1877) Union Base-Ball Grounds (1870-1871)
Major league titles
World Series titles (2)	1907 • 1908
NL Pennants (16)	1945 • 1938 • 1935 • 1932 1929 • 1918 • 1910 • 1908 1907 • 1906 • 1886 • 1885 1882 • 1881 • 1880 • 1876
Central Division titles (2)	2007 • 2003
East Division titles (2)	1989 • 1984
Wild card berths (1)	1998
Front office
Principal owner(s)	Tribune Company (Sam Zell)
General manager	Jim Hendry
Manager	Lou Piniella

The Chicago Cubs are a baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs belong to the Central Division of Major League Baseball’s National League. The club has played its home games at Wrigley Field since 1916. The Cubs are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago, the other being the Chicago White Sox. They are one of the only two remaining charter members left in the NL (the other being the Atlanta Braves). The Cubs are often referred to by fans and media as The North Siders because Wrigley Field is in Chicago's North Side Lakeview community, or simply as "The Cubbies." The club's championship drought is the longest of any franchise in all professional sports.

The Cubs are currently managed by Lou Piniella, and their general manager is Jim Hendry. In December 2007, Sam Zell completed his purchase of the club's parent company, Tribune Company, and announced his intention to sell the team.

Early franchise history (1876 - 1919)

Main article: History of the Chicago Cubs

1876-1900: Earliest years

The success and fame of the Cincinnati Red Stockings (c. 1869), baseball's first openly all-professional team, led to a minor explosion of other openly professional teams, each with the singular goal of defeating the Red Stockings. A number of them adopted variants on that name, and it happens that the Chicago Base-Ball club, founded by William Hulbert, adopted white. On April 29, 1870, the Chicago White Stockings played their first game against the St. Louis Unions, defeating them 47-1.

The franchise began play in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players when that league began play in 1871, playing on Chicago's west side at the Union Base-Ball Grounds. Sadly, the White Stockings were forced to drop out of the league after the Great Chicago Fire destroyed the team's home field and most of their equipment, but the club rejoined the National Association in 1874. Over the next couple seasons, The Boston Red Stockings dominated the league and hoarded the game's best stars, even those under contract with other teams (one example was Davy Force). Hulbert, the White Stocking's club president, was discouraged by this "contract jumping" and by the overall disorganization and lack of ethics in the National Association, and was determined to form a stronger organization. The end result spearheaded by Hulbert was the formation a more "ethical" league, called the National Base-Ball League. Hulbert was also principle in the signing of star players including pitcher Albert Spalding and first baseman Cap Anson, who joined the team prior to the 1876 season.The franchise quickly established themselves as one of the new leagues top teams. The club nickname transitioned through the early seasons, as they eventually became known as the Chicago Colts, or "Anson's Colts" winning six National League pennants, which at the time was the grandest prize in the sport.

1901-1919: An NL dynasty

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The 1906 Cubs won a record 116 games in a 154 game season. The club then won back to back World Series titles in 1907-08

After the formation of the American League in 1900, the Colts had started to become known as the Cubs, and had revamped the roster to boast of the best teams of the early century. During what has become known as baseball's dead ball era, Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance were three Cubs infielders who played together at Chicago's West Side Park from 1903 to 1912. They were made famous as a double-play combination by Franklin P. Adams' poem Baseball's Sad Lexicon, which first appeared in the July 18, 1910, edition of the New York Evening Mail. Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown, Jack Taylor, Ed Reulbach, Jack Pfiester and Orval Overall were several key pitchers for the Cubs during this time period. With Chance as player-manager, the Cubs won four pennants and two World Series titles over a five-year span. Although they fell to the White Sox in the 1906 World Series, The Cubs recorded a record 116 victories and the best winning percentage (.763) of the modern era. With this roster, Chicago won back to back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908. Veteran catcher Johnny Kling sat out the 1909 season to become a pocket billiards player. He was replaced by Jimmy Archer. Some historians think Kling's absence was significant enough to prevent the Cubs from also winning the pennant in 1909. They finished 6 games out of first place. When Kling returned the next year, the Cubs won the pennant again, but lost to the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1910 World Series.

Advertising executive Albert Lasker obtained a large block of shares and soon acquired majority ownership of the Cubs along with Charles 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, 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. Boston defeated the Cubs in the 1918 World Series, and afterward sold star pitcher Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees.

The Wrigley years (1921 - 1981)

Main article: History of the Chicago Cubs

Double-Bills take over

During what is known by many as the "Golden age of baseball," one of Cubs's minority owners, William Wrigley, who also happened to be the owner of Wrigley Company, a Chicago-based maker of chewing gum, became the principle owner of the Cubs in 1921 by buying most of Lakser's shares. Wrigley changed the name of the club's home park to it's current name, Wrigley Field, in one of the earliest examples of corporate naming-rights. With Wrigley's money and Veeck's front-office savvy, the "double-Bills" soon had the Cubs back in business in the National League, builing a team that would put numerous future Hall of Famers in Cub uniforms. Some of the most notable of these players were Hack Wilson, Gabby Hartnett, and Rogers Hornsby, and Chicago remained strong contenders for the next decade.

1929-1938: Every 3 years

File:Hack-wilson.jpg

Hack Wilson hit .356 with 56 homers & 191 RBI in 1930.

During the end of the first decade of the double-Bill's guidance, The Cubs won the NL pennant in 1929 and then achieved the unusual accomplishment of winning a pennant every three years - winning the NL in 1932, 1935 and 1938. Unfortunately, their success did not extend to the post-season, as they fell to their AL rivals each time. The '32 series featured Babe Ruth's "called shot." There were some historic moments for the Cubs as well - they won the '35 pennant in thrilling fashion, winning a record 21 games in a row in September. The '38 club saw Dizzy Dean lead the team's pitching staff and provided a historic moment when they won a late-season game with a "walk-off" homer by Gabby Hartnett, which became known in baseball lore as "The Homer in the Gloamin'". By 1939, the "double-Bills" (Wrigley and Veeck) had both died, and the front office, now under P.K. Wrigley, found itself unable to rekindle the kind of success that P.K.'s father had created, and so the team slipped into a few years of mediocrity.

1945: The Curse

Main article: The Curse of the Billy Goat

Main article: Chicago Cubs futility theories

The Cubs enjoyed one more pennant at the close of World War II. Due to the wartime travel restrictions, the first three games were played in Detroit, where the Cubs won two games, including a one-hitter by Claude Passeau, and the final four were played at Wrigley. In game 4 of the 1945 World Series, the Curse of the Billy Goat was allegedly laid upon the Cubs when P.K. Wrigley ejected Billy Sianis, who had come to game 4 with two box seat tickets, one for him and one for his goat. They paraded around for a few innings, but Wrigley demanded the goat leave the park due to its unpleasant odor. Upon his ejection, Mr. Sianis uttered, "the Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." The Cubs lost game 4, lost the 1945 World Series, and have not been back since. 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. After losing the 1945 World Series, the Cubs finished with winning seasons the next two years, but those teams did not enter post-season play.

1969: The fall of '69

Main article: 1969 Chicago Cubs season

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Ernie Banks is also known by his nickname, "Mr. Cub"

After two decades of forgettable baseball, in which the Cubs were one of the worst teams in the National League on an almost annual basis, the city was given a bit of hope in 1969, as the Cubs, managed by Leo Durocher, had a built substantial lead in the newly created National League East by mid-August. The Cubs were led by All Star Ron Santo and eventual Hall Of Famers Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, and Billy Williams. Ken Holtzman pitched a no-hitter on August 19, and they led the division by 8½ games over the Cardinals and by 9½ games over the New York Mets, but the Cubs wilted under pressure, lost key games against the Mets, and finished up 8 games out of first at 92-70. Many superstitious fans attribute this collapse to an incident at Shea Stadium when a fan released a black cat onto the field, further cursing the club, although the Mets torrid pace saw them end the season with 100 wins.

1977: Heartbreak

Main article: 1977 Chicago Cubs season

Following the '69 season, the club posted winning records for the next few seasons, but no playoff action. After the core players of those teams started to move on, the 70's got worse for the team, and they became known as "The Loveable Losers." In 1977, the team found some life, but ultimately experienced one of its biggest collapses. The Cubs hit a high-water mark on June 28th at 47-22, boasting an 8 1/2 game NL East lead, as they were led by Bobby Murcer (27 Hr/89 RBI), and Rick Reuschel (20-10). However, the Philadelphia Phillies cut the lead to two by the All-star break, as the Cubs sat 19 games over .500, but they swooned late in the season, going 20-40 after July 31st. The Northsiders finished in 4th place at 81-81, while Philadelphia surged, finishing with 103 wins. Ironically, the following two seasons also saw the Cubbies get off to a fast start, only to wear down and play poorly late in the season, settling back to mediocrity. This trait became known as the "June Swoon."

Recent history

Main article: History of the Chicago Cubs

1984: One game away

Main article: 1984 Chicago Cubs season

File:Sandberg away retro cubs sm.jpg

Ryne Sandberg won 9 Gold Gloves (1983-91)

After more than a dozen more subpar seasons, the 1984 Cubs made a midseason deal to acquire ace pitcher Rick Sutcliffe from Cleveland, who joined Scott Sanderson, Dennis Eckersley, Ron Cey and NL MVP Ryne Sandberg on a squad that ultimately tallied an NL best 96 victories, winning the NL East. In the NLCS the Cubbies won the first two games at Wrigley Field against the San Diego Padres. The Cubs needed to win only one game of the next three in San Diego to make it back to the World Series. After being beaten in game 3, the Cubs lost when dependable closer Lee Smith allowed a game-winning home run to Steve Garvey in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 4. In Game 5 the Cubs took a 3-0 lead to the 6th inning, and a 3-2 lead into the 7th with Sutcliffe (who won the Cy Young Award that year) still on the mound, but he tired, and a critical error by Leon Durham, who watched a routine grounder go through his legs helped the San Diego Padres win the game and kept Chicago out of the 1984 World Series. The following season, hopes were high after the signing of Dennis Eckersley, and the club started out well, going 35-19 through mid-June. Unfortunately, injuries to the pitching staff and a 13 game losing streak pushed the Cubs out of contention.

1989: NL East champions

Main article: 1989 Chicago Cubs season

In 1989, the first full season with night baseball at Wrigley Field, the Cubs were led by a core group of veterans in Sandberg, Sutcliffe and Andre Dawson, who were boosted by a crop of youngsters such as Mark Grace, Shawon Dunston, Greg Maddux and Rookie of the Year Jerome Walton. The Cubbies won the NL East once again that season winning 93 games. This time the Northsiders met the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS. After splitting the first two games at home, the Cubs headed to the Bay Area, where despite holding a lead at some point in each of the next three games, bullpen meltdowns and managerial blunders ultimately led to three straight losses. The Giants lost to "The Bash Brothers" and the Oakland A's in the famous "Earthquake Series".

1998: Wild card

Main article: 1998 Chicago Cubs season

Sammy Sosa acknowledges the Bleacher Bums during a home game at Wrigley Field.

After the retirement of Sandberg and the trading of Dunston, the team needed to look elsewhere for help. In 1998 the Cubs signed outfielder Henry Rodriguez while Sammy Sosa responded with a 66 home run season. This effort, coupled with a Rookie of the Year season by Kerry Wood, won a down-to-the-wire Wild Card chase over San Francisco, culminating with the Cubs beating the Giants in a one game playoff at Wrigley in which Gary Gaetti hit a game winning homer and propelled the Cubs into the postseason once again. They scored only four runs en route to being swept by Atlanta. The home run chase between Sosa and Mark McGwire generated a great deal of media coverage, and helped to bring in a new crop of fans as well as bringing back some fans who had been disillusioned by the 1994 strike.

2001: Playoff push

Sosa had 64 homers and Jon Lieber won twenty games, while the club made a midseason deal for Fred McGriff, which was drawn out for nearly a month as McGriff debated waiving his no-trade clause, as the Northsiders led the wild card race by 2.5 games in early September, but the run died when Preston Wilson hit a three run walk off homer off of closer Tom "Flash" Gordon, which halted the team's momentum. The team was unable to make another serious charge, and finished five games behind both Houston and St. Louis.

2003: 5 more outs

Main article: 2003 Chicago Cubs season

The Cubs had high expectations in 2002, but the squad played poorly, and the club responded by hiring Dusty Baker and by making some major moves in '03. Most notably, they traded with the Pittsburgh Pirates for Aramis Ramirez, finally filling a gaping hole at third base, and rode dominant pitching as the Northsiders won their first division title in 14 years, and their NLDS victory over the Atlanta Braves was the team's first postseason series win since 1908. The Cubs then took a 3 games to 1 lead over the Florida Marlins in the NLCS. After dropping Game 5, Mark Prior and the Cubs took a 3-0 lead to the 8th inning of Game 6, when a now-infamous incident took place. A fan, Steve Bartman, attempted to catch a foul ball off the bat of Luis Castillo, disrupting a potential catch for the second out by Moisés Alou. Interference was not called on the play, as the ball was on the spectator side of the wall. Neither Alou nor Bartman were able to make the catch. Two batters later, Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez misplayed a potential inning ending double play, loading the bases and leading to eight Florida runs and a Marlin victory. Despite sending Kerry Wood to the mound and holding a lead twice, the Cubs also dropped Game 7, and failed to reach the World Series.

2004: Letdown

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Greg Maddux, a Cy Young winner with Chicago in 1991, returned to the rotation in 2004.

In 2004, despite the return of Greg Maddux and a midseason deal for Nomar Garciaparra, misfortune struck the Cubs again. They led the Wild Card by 1.5 games on September 25, but LaTroy Hawkins blew a save to the Mets, and the Cubs proceeded to drop 7 of their last 9 games and relinquished their lead to the Astros. Despite winning 89 games, this fallout was decidedly unlovable, as the Cubs traded superstar Sammy Sosa after he had left the season's final game early and then lied about it publicly. Sosa, already a controversial figure in the clubhouse after his corked-bat incident, alienated much of his fan base, the few teammates still on good terms with him, and possibly tarnished his place in Cubs' lore for years to come. The disappointing season also saw fans become frustrated with the constant injuries to ace pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, and finally led to the departure of popular commentator Steve Stone, who had become increasingly critical of management and was verbally attacked by reliever Kent Mercker.

2007: Worst to 1st

Main article: 2007 Chicago Cubs season

After finishing last place in the N.L. Central with a record of 66-96 and 17.5 games out of first place in 2006, the Northsiders re-tooled for 2007, signing Alfonso Soriano to the richest contract in Cubs history, and replacing manager Dusty Baker with Lou Piniella. After a rough start, which included a brawl between Michael Barrett and Carlos Zambrano, the Cubs overcame the Milwaukee Brewers, who had led the division for most of the season, with winning streaks in June and July, ultimately clinching the NL Central with a record of 85-77. They met Arizona in the NLDS, but controversy followed as Piniella, in a move that has since come under scrutiny, pulled Carlos Zambrano after the sixth inning of a pitchers duel with D-Backs ace Brandon Webb, to "Save Zambrano for (a potential) Game 4." The Cubs, however, were unable to come through, losing the first game and eventually stranding over thirty baserunners in a three game Arizona sweep.

2008–Present

Main article: 2008 Chicago Cubs season

Leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano

The offseason was dominated by three months of unsuccessful trade talks with Baltimore involving 2B Brian Roberts, and the signing of Japanese star Kosuke Fukudome. The team recorded their 10,000th win in April, and established an early division lead. New faces were added as Jim Edmonds was signed in May and Rich Harden was acquired from the Oakland Athletics in early July. The Cubs headed into the All-Star break tied with Los Angeles Angels for best record in baseball, and tied a National League record with eight representatives to the All-Star game: Kosuke Fukudome, Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Carlos Marmol, Kerry Wood, and Alfonso Soriano. As the Cubs continued their search for a new owner in late July, they narrowed down their original list of ten prospects, to five, who have all offered at least $1 billion. Of these five, Mark Cuban has dominated the press as an outspoken wildcard who most MLB managers would not like to see take over the enormous reins that the Cubs have to offer.

Radio and television

As of 2007, the Cubs' flagship radio station was WGN-AM, 720 AM. With the recent end of the Pittsburgh Pirates' run on KDKA, this may now be the longest team-to-station relationship in MLB. Pat Hughes is the play-by-play announcer, along with color commentator Ron Santo and pre- and post-game host Cory Provus. Santo, a former Cubs star and a fan of the team, and who is introduced as "Cub legend" on a daily basis by Pat Hughes, is known for his emotional highs and lows during games. One example of a "low" was his "Nooo! Nooo!" when Brant Brown dropped a fly ball in a key game in 1998. A "high" for Santo was upon the retirement of his number on the last day of the 2003 season, in which he declared his #10 flag to be "my Hall of Fame".

The Chicago Cubs Radio Network consists of 45 stations in eleven states.

Cubs telecasts are split three ways: WGN (both the local station and the superstation), WCIU (a local independent station), and CSN Chicago (with some games, often Wednesday night contests, aired on the supplemental channel CSN+). Len Kasper is the play-by-play announcer, and Bob Brenly, a former major league catcher and Arizona Diamondbacks manager, is the color commentator for the games. WGN also produces the games shown on WCIU; for those games, the score bug changes the "WGN" logo to "CubsNet." WCIU games additionally air over MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYS-LP (Channel 69) in the South Bend, Indiana market. WGN and CSN Chicago generally show an even number of Cubs games, while WCIU averages about 8 games per season. In addition, the club also produces its own print media; the Cubs' official magazine Vineline, which has eight annual issues, is in its third decade.

Jack and Harry

Harry Caray memorialized in a statue near Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Two broadcasters in particular have made their mark on the team. Jack Brickhouse manned the Cubs radio and especially the TV booth for parts of five decades, covering the games with a level of enthusiasm that often seemed unjustified by the team's poor performance on the field for many of those years. His trademark call "Hey Hey!" usually followed a home run or other spectacular play. That expression is spelled out in large letters vertically on both foul pole screens at Wrigley Field. "Whoo-boy!" and "Wheeee!" and "Oh, brother!" were among his other pet expressions. When he approached retirement age, he personally recommended his successor.

Harry Caray's stamp on the team is perhaps even deeper than that of Brickhouse, though his tenure was half as long. First, Caray had already become a well-known Chicago figure by broadcasting White Sox games for a decade, after having been a Cardinals icon for 25 years. Caray also had the benefit of being in the booth during the NL East title run in 1984, which was widely seen due to WGN's status as a cable-TV superstation. His trademark call of "Holy Cow!" and his enthusiastic singing of "Take me out to the ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch (as he had done with the White Sox) made Caray a fan favorite both locally and nationally. Harry occasionally had problems pronouncing names, to comic effect, such as his attempt at saying "Hector Villanueva" which was captured on WGN's memorial CD to Harry. He also continued his long-standing bit (dating back to the Cardinals years) of pronouncing names backwards. Caray had lively discussions with commentator Steve Stone, who was hand-picked by Harry himself, and producer Arne Harris. Caray often playfully quarreled with Stone over Stone's cigar and why Stone was single, while Stone would counter with poking fun at Harry being "under the influence." Stone disclosed in his book "Where's Harry" that most of this "arguing" was staged, and usually a ploy developed by Harry himself to add flavor to the broadcast. Additionally, Harry once did a commercial for Budweiser, dressed as a "Blues Brother" and parodying "Soul Man", singing "I'm a Cub fan, I'm a Bud man," while dancing with models dressed as Cubs ballgirls.

The Cubs still have a live singer, usually a celebrity, during the 7th inning stretch to honor Caray's memory. The quality of their renditions varies widely. Chicago icons often return annually, such as former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, who tends to sing the song very fast and possibly on key. Caray is also honored with a statue located at the corner of Sheffield and Addison streets, and during the 1998 season, a patch with Caray's caricature and Brickhouse's trademark "Hey Hey" were worn on the players sleeves to honor the passing of both commentators within a span of a few months. Harry's popularity also led to his grandson Chip Caray joining the broadcast team in winter of 1997, shortly before Harry's death. Chip Caray worked the Cubs games alongside Stone until events that unfolded in 2004, when Stone became increasingly critical of management and players toward season's end. At one point, reliever Kent Mercker phoned the booth during a game and told Stone to "keep out of team business." Stone left the team, taking a position with Chicago-based WSCR. Chip Caray also left, joining his father Skip Caray on TBS, providing play-by-play for the Atlanta Braves.

Miscellaneous

Mascots

The official Cub mascot is a young bear cub, which has gone through various transformations through the years. The Cubs have no official physical mascot, though a man in a 'polar bear' looking outfit, called "The Beeman" (or Bearman, B-man), which was not very popular with the fans, was employed by the club briefly in the early 1990s. However, the Cubs' unofficial mascot is a formerly homeless man named Ronnie Wickers, who goes by the nickname of "Ronnie Woo Woo." Wickers is not employed by the team, but is seen daily at games and outside the park, dressed in full uniform, usually with a hula hoop or jump rope. Wickers is the second fan to reach this status, the first being "Gary The Drunk" in the 1980s through mid 90s, and was featured in Steve Stone's book "Where's Harry?" Wickers, however, is much more popular. He is known for his trademark yelling, for example "Mark.... Wooo! Grace.... Wooo!," and has been adopted by fans as a part of the culture at Wrigley Field. Wickers has gained national fame, and has appeared on the Howard Stern and Mancow radio programs.

Spring training history

The Cubs spring training facility is located in Mesa, Arizona, where they play in the Cactus League. The club plays its games at HoHoKam Park, the name of which, ironically, is literally translated from Native American as "those who vanished." The park seats just under 13,567, and the Cubs annually sell out most of their games both at home and on the road. The Northsiders have called Mesa their spring home for most seasons since 1952. In addition to Mesa, the club has held spring training in Champaign, Illinois (1901-02, 1906); Los Angeles (1903-04, 1948-1949), Santa Monica, California (1905); New Orleans (1907, 1911-1912); Vicksburg, Miss. (1908); Hot Springs, Arkansas (1909-1910); Tampa (1913-1916); Pasadena, Cal. (1917-1921); Santa Catalina Island, California (1922-1942, 1946-1947, 1950-1951); French Lick, Indiana (1943-1945); Mesa (1952-1965, 1979-present); Long Beach, California (1966); and Scottsdale, Arizona (1967-1978).

The curious location on Catalina Island stems from Cubs owner William Wrigley Jr.'s then-majority interest in the island in 1919. Wrigley constructed a ballpark on the island to house the Cubs in spring training: it was built to the same dimensions as Wrigley Field. (The ballpark is long gone, but a clubhouse built by Wrigley to house the Cubs exists as the Catalina County Club.) However by 1951 the team chose to leave Catalina Island and spring training was shifted to Mesa, Arizona.

The current location in Mesa is actually the second HoHoKam Park; the first was built in 1976 at Fitch Park as the spring-training home of the Athletics who left the park in 1979. The new complex provides 25,000 square feet of team facilities, including major league clubhouse, four practice fields, one practice infield, enclosed batting tunnels, batting cages, a maintenance facility, and administrative offices for the Cubs.

Interestingly enough, baseball teams traveling for organized spring training practice games and drills is almost as old as baseball itself. One of the earliest recorded spring training camps took place in 1870, when the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs) held organized baseball camps in New Orleans.

Wrigley Field and Wrigleyville

Main article: Wrigley Field

The Cubs have played their home games at Wrigley Field, also known as "The Friendly Confines" since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Whales, a Federal League baseball team. The Cubs also shared the park with the Chicago Bears of the NFL for 50 years. The ballpark includes a manual scoreboard, ivy-covered brick walls, and relatively small dimensions.

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Some Cub fans celebrate the NLDS win over Atlanta at a Lakeview nightclub in 2003

Located in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, Wrigley Field sits on an irregular block bounded by Clark and Addison Streets and Waveland and Sheffield Avenues. The area surrounding the ballpark is typically referred to as Wrigleyville. There is a dense collection of bars and nightclubs in the area, most with baseball inspired themes, including Harry Caray's, Murphy's Bleachers, and Sluggers. On gamedays, many residents rent out their yards and driveways during games to people looking for a parking spot. Though many Wrigleyville homeowners have seen their property values skyrocket, most, along with Mayor Richard M. Daley (a die-hard White Sox fan), still oppose the teams quest to play more night games and stadium expansion. Average attendance at games has also skyrocketed, as annual ticket sales have more than doubled, with attendance rising from 1.4 million in 1983 to nearly 3.2 million in 2004.

Bleacher Bums

The "Bleacher Bums" is a name given to fans, many of whom spend much of the day heckling, who sit in the bleacher section at Wrigley Field. Initially, the group was called "bums" because it referred to a group of fans who were at most games, and since those games were all day games, it was assumed they did not work. Many of those fans were, and are still, students at Chicago colleges, such as DePaul University, Loyola, and Illinois-Chicago. A Broadway play, starring Joe Mantegna, Dennis Farina, Dennis Franz, and Jim Belushi ran for years and was based on a group of Cub fans who frequented the club's games. The group was started in 1967 by dedicated fan Ron Grousl and "mad bugler" Mike Murphy, who is currently a radio host on Chicago-based WSCR. Murphy alleges that Grousl started the Wrigley tradition of throwing back opposing teams' home run balls. The current group is headed by Derek Schaul. More recently, the bleachers have had the stereotype of being populated by attractive and lightly dressed women. Prior to the 2005 season, they were updated, with new shops and private bar (The Batter's Eye) being added, and Bud Light bought naming rights to the bleacher section, dubbing them the Bud Light Bleachers,. Bleachers at Wrigley are general admission, meaning there is no assigned seating, and they are one of the priciest tickets at the park.

"White flag time at Wrigley!"

The term "White flag time at Wrigley!" means the Cubs have won.

Beginning in the days of P.K. Wrigley and the 1937 bleacher/scoreboard reconstruction, and prior to modern media saturation, a flag with either a "W" or an "L" has flown from atop the scoreboard masthead, indicating the day's result(s) when baseball was played at Wrigley. In case of a doubleheader that results in a split, both the "win" and "loss" flags are flown.

Past Cubs media guides show that originally the flags were blue with a white "W" and white with a blue "L", the latter coincidentally suggesting "surrender". In 1978, consistent with the dominant colors of the flags, blue and white lights were mounted atop the scoreboard, denoting "win" and "loss" respectively for the benefit of nighttime passers-by.

The flags were replaced by 1990, the first year in which the Cubs media guide reports the switch to the now familiar colors of the flags: White with blue "W" and blue with white "L". In addition to needing to replace the worn-out flags, by then the retired numbers of Banks and Williams were flying on the foul poles, as white with blue numbers; so the "good" flag was switched to match that scheme.

This long-established tradition has evolved to fans carrying the white-with-blue-W flags to both home and away games, and displaying them after a Cub win. The flags have become more and more popular each season since 1998, and are now even sold at the ballpark.

Go, Cubs, Go!

The song Go, Cubs, Go! by Steve Goodman is often played over the loudspeakers when the Cubs win a game at Wrigley Field. The song was recorded early in the 1984 season, and was heard frequently during that season. Goodman died in September of that year, five days before the Cubs clinched the National League Eastern Division title, their first title in 39 years. Since 1984, the song has been played from time to time at Wrigley, especially when the club is contending as in 2007 and 2008.

Championship drought

Main article: Chicago Cubs futility theories

The Cubs were 5 wins and as few as 5 outs from the World Series in 2003

The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series championship since 1908 and have not appeared in the Fall Classic since 1945. They have only made the post-season five times since their last appearance in the World Series. It is the longest title drought in all four of the major American professional sports leagues, which includes the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL, as well as, of course, Major League Baseball. In fact, the Cubs' last World Series title occurred before those other three leagues even existed, and even the Cubs' last World Series appearance predates the founding of the NBA. The Cubs 3-2 series victory over the Atlanta Braves in the 2003 NLDS was the franchise's first postseason series win since the 1908 championship.

Playful theories try to blame the team's futility on alleged supernatural intervention, such as the Curse of the Billy Goat from 1945, citing the Leon Durham error of 1984 and the Bartman incident in 2003 as "evidence" of a curse. More practical theories include the too-cozy dimensions of Wrigley Field; the physical toll from the summer heat discussed in the 1977 book Stuck on the Cubs; and evidenced by the plentiful late season collapses, most notably '69 and 2004, as well as 1977, 1979, 1985, and 1999, among others. Finally, the most obvious candidate for this happenstance is the club's poor front office decisions.

The 2008 season marks the 100th anniversary of the last World Series title for the Cubs.

Memorable events and records

Rick Monday and the U.S. Flag

File:Rick Monday American Flag.jpg

Photo by Jim RoarkRick Monday grabbing the American flag away from two protesters.

On April 25, 1976, at Dodger Stadium, two protestors ran into the outfield and tried to set fire to a U.S. Flag. When Cub outfielder Rick Monday noticed the flag on the ground and the men fumbling with matches and lighter fluid, he dashed over and snatched the flag to thunderous applause. When he came up to bat in the next half-inning, he got a standing ovation from the crowd and the stadium titantron flashed the message, "RICK MONDAY... YOU MADE A GREAT PLAY..." Monday later said, "If you're going to burn the flag, don't do it around me. I've been to too many veterans' hospitals and seen too many broken bodies of guys who tried to protect it."

The Homer in the Gloamin

On September 28, 1938, with the Cubs and Pirates tied at 5, Gabby Hartnett stepped to the plate in a lightless Wrigley Field that was gradually being overcome by darkness and visibility was becoming difficult. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the umpires ready to end the game, Hartnett launched Pirate hurler Mace Brown's offering into the gloom and haze. This would be remembered as his "Homer in the Gloamin."

The Sandberg game

On June 23, 1984, Chicago trailed St. Louis 9-8 in the bottom of the ninth when Ryne Sandberg, known mostly for his glove, slugged a game-tying home run off ace closer Bruce Sutter. Despite this, the Cardinals scored two runs in the top of the tenth. Sandberg came up again facing a determined Sutter with one man on base, and hit yet another game tying home run. The Cubs won what has become known as "The Sandberg Game" in the 11th inning.

Tape-measure home runs

Wrigley Field's famous manual scoreboard in the center field bleachers.

On May 11, 2000, Glenallen Hill facing Brewers starter Steve Woodard, became the first, and thus far only player, to hit a pitched ball onto the roof of a five-story residential building across Waveland Ave, beyond Wrigley Field's left field wall. The shot was estimated at well over 500 feet, but the Cubs fell to Milwaukee 12-8.

No batted ball has ever hit the center field scoreboard in Wrigley Field, although the original "Slammin' Sammy", golfer Sam Snead, hit it with a golf ball in an exhibition in the 1950s. In 1948 Bill Nicholson barely missed the scoreboard when he launched a home run ball onto Sheffield Avenue and in 1959 Roberto Clemente came even closer with a [1] home run ball hit onto Waveland Avenue. Sammy Sosa hit one that landed across Waveland and bounced a block down Kenmore Avenue. Dave Kingman hit one to the third porch roof on the east side of Kenmore, which was estimated at 550 feet, and is regarded as the longest home run in Wrigley Field history.

Runs record

In an afternoon game on May 17, 1979 at Wrigley Field against the Philadelphia Phillies, 45 runs were scored, in a 23-22 Phillies win. This fell just a few short of the Major League record, set by the Cubs and Phillies on August 25 1922, when the Cubs outlasted the Phillies 26-23 at Wrigley Field.

10,000th win

The organization commemorating its 10,000th win, April 24 2008.

On April 23 2008, against the Colorado Rockies, the Cubs recorded the 10,000th regular-season win in their franchise's history dating back to the beginning of the National League in 1876. The Cubs reached the milestone with an overall National League record of 10,000 wins and 9,465 losses. Chicago is only the second club in Major League Baseball history to attain this milestone, the first having been the San Francisco Giants in mid-season 2005. The Cubs, however, hold the mark for victories for a team in a single city. The Philadelphia Phillies are the only team with 10,000 losses. The Chicago club's 77-77 record in the National Association (1871, 1874-1875) are not included in MLB record keeping. Post-season series are also not included in the totals. To honor the milestone, the Cubs flew an extra white flag displaying "10,000" in blue, along with the customary "W" flag.

Retired numbers

The Chicago Cubs retired numbers are commemorated on pinstriped flags flying from the foul poles at Wrigley Field:

Ron Santo 3B: 1960-1973

Ernie Banks SS/1B: 1953-1971

Ryne Sandberg 2B: 1982-1997

Billy Williams OF: 1959-1974

Number Reserved N/A: 2007

Jackie Robinson Retired by MLB

• Upon signing with the Cubs prior to the 2007 season, Ted Lilly agreed to wear uniform number 30 rather than his usual 31 due to its imminent retirement. It is unannounced if 31 would be retired in the name of Ferguson Jenkins, Greg Maddux, or both.
• There is also a movement to retire the uniform shirt of Gabby Hartnett. The Cubs first wore numbers on their shirts in 1932, and Hartnett wore three different numbers. Number 7 was initially assigned to Hartnett, but he was switched to number 9 the next year. In 1937 he was switched to number 2, which he retained through his last season with the Cubs, 1940.

Current roster

Chicago Cubs 2025 spring training roster
40-man roster				Non-roster invitees		Coaches/Other
Pitchers 73 Adbert Alzolay 82 Michael Arias 72 Javier Assad 32 Ben Brown 37 Porter Hodge 46 Gavin Hollowell 18 Shota Imanaga 45 Caleb Kilian 43 Luke Little 66 Julian Merryweather 49 Tyson Miller 47 Jack Neely 48 Daniel Palencia 56 Nate Pearson 39 Ethan Roberts 35 Justin Steele 50 Jameson Taillon 71 Keegan Thompson 19 Hayden Wesneski 36 Jordan Wicks 38 Trey Wingenter -- Rob Zastryzny		Catchers  9 Miguel Amaya Infielders 29 Michael Busch  2 Nico Hoerner  1 Nick Madrigal 20 Miles Mastrobuoni 22 Matt Mervis 17 Isaac Paredes  7 Dansby Swanson 12 Luis Vázquez 16 Patrick Wisdom Outfielders 24 Kevin Alcántara 24 Cody Bellinger  4 Alexander Canario 52 Pete Crow-Armstrong 94 Brennen Davis  8 Ian Happ 27 Seiya Suzuki 40 Mike Tauchman				Manager 30 Craig Counsell Coaches 63 Juan Cabreja (assistant hitting) 93 Erick Castillo (bullpen catcher) 84 Ryan Flaherty (bench) 68 Tommy Hottovy (pitching) 76 Dustin Kelly (hitting) 85 Garrett Lloyd (bullpen catcher) 80 John Mallee (assistant hitting) 53 Daniel Moskos (assistant pitching) 90 Jonathan Mota (major league coach) 97 Alex Smith (data development and process) 81 Mark Strittmatter (major league field coordinator) -- Vacant (bullpen) -- Vacant (first base) -- Vacant (third base) 40 active, 0 inactive, 0 non-roster invitees 7-, 10-, or 15-day injured list * Not on active roster † Suspended list Roster, coaches, and NRIs updated November 5, 2024 Transactions • Depth chart → All MLB rosters

Minor league affiliations

• AAA: Iowa Cubs, Pacific Coast League
• AA: Tennessee Smokies, Southern League
• Advanced A: Daytona Cubs, Florida State League
• A: Peoria Chiefs, Midwest League
• Short A: Boise Hawks, Northwest League
• Rookie: AZL Cubs, Arizona League
• Rookie: VSL Cubbies, Venezuelan Summer League

Season-by-season results

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Cubs. For the full season-by-season history, see Chicago Cubs seasons.
For updates on current season, see 2008 Chicago Cubs season.

Season	Team	League	Division	Regular season					Post-Season
				Finish	Wins	Losses	Win%	GB
2003	2003	NL	Central	1st	88	74	.543	-	Won NLDS vs Atlanta Braves, 3–2 Lost NLCS to Florida Marlins, 3–4
2004	2004	NL	Central	3rd	89	73	.549	16
2005	2005	NL	Central	4th	79	83	.488	21
2006	2006	NL	Central	6th	66	96	.407	17.5
2007	2007	NL	Central	1st	85	77	.525	-	Lost NLDS to Arizona Diamondbacks, 0–3

See also

• Major North American professional sports teams
• Major League Baseball
• National League Central
• List of managers and owners of the Chicago Cubs
• Major League Baseball franchise post-season droughts
• Chicago Cubs futility theories
• Chicago Cubs team records
• History of the Chicago Cubs
• Iowa Cubs
• Chicago Tribune
• Curse of the Billy Goat
• Steve Bartman
• Sam Zell
• Harry Caray
• Grant DePorter
• Lee Elia
• WGN TV Channel 9 / WGN America
• WGN Radio 720 AM
• West Side Park
• Wrigley Field
• Old Style Beer

Further reading

• Murphy, Cait (2007). "Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History." New York, NY: Smithsonian Books. ISBN 978-0-06-088937-1

• Wright, Marshall (2000). The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-0779-4

External links

• Chicago Cubs official website
• Chicago Sun-Times Cubs News
• Chicago Tribune Cubs News

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