A Pregame Warm-Up

A lot happened just before I came to bat on the playing field of life. The world had gone through World War I, the Great Depression had unfolded, and marked changes in the world were brewing. World War II was on the way. During this period, people needed something in contrast to the grind of life. I know from my parents that times were tough. My dad, who was born in a little village in what is now Ukraine, immigrated to America with his parents when he was only four years old. A younger brother was born in the United States. They lived in Omaha, Nebraska, where my grandfather was a leather worker and made saddles and other leather goods. After my dad grew up, he moved to California, went into business, and was successful until the Great Depression of the 1920s, when he lost his fortune, as did many at that time. Thank goodness he didn't jump off a tall building, or you wouldn't have this great opportunity to enjoy the pearls of my wisdom. He suffered from both economic and major medical depression. He told me that he recuperated on an uncle's farm in New Jersey before coming penniless to Chicago. A buddy gave him transportation money and got him a job. Ultimately, he, along with his parents and brothers, resided in Chicago. My dad taught me a lot about life. He was a writer of thoughts and an inspirational speaker in his occupation. To this day, I have a collection of his writings that I keep close to me.

Now enter my mother stage right, as they say. Her parents, originally from Lithuania, lived in South Africa before coming to Canada. This again was around the turn of the century. It reminds me of Neil Diamond's song "America": "They're coming to America." The song's theme is a positive interpretation of the history of immigration to the United States from the early 1900s to this day. My mother was born in New York City and lived on the famous Henry Street. She held dual citizenship, as she grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan, Canada, in a large family with one older brother and five sisters. When she was sixteen, she was sent to Chicago as an au pair for relatives who owned a small hotel and needed someone to watch their kids.

My mother and father connected somehow, and that led to me. I was born on April 12, 1934. During my early years, I knew little about the Great Depression and what my parents had to go through. My dad was not a baseball fan but liked boxing. I remember listening to the radio with him during Joe Louis fight nights. I was not yet a baseball fan, but that was soon to change. It was the great American sport, and I easily entered that world.

First at Bat

Let's talk baseball now, in keeping with the theme of this book. What were the Cubs doing during the 108 years since their last World Series title and the seventy-one years without a pennant? I had to research the earlier period, as I wasn't even a gleam in anyone's eye.

The National League was formed in 1876. Its rival, the American League, played for the first championship in 1903. The Cubs won the National League pennant four times between 1906 and 1910 and many times beat the Giants on the way to the World Series. The last World Series championship for the Cubs was in 1908 — that's where the 108-year story starts. During this time, they wore plain white uniforms, and at one point, they were called the Chicago Stockings. Yuck! That name reminds me of the opposite end of town. You have to understand the intense rivalry between the north side and the south side of Chicago. It is not exactly like the Civil War; nobody gets killed, except on the baseball diamond. It is a friendly rivalry. In 1901, the Chicago team was known as the Chicago Orphans. In trying to find out why the Chicago team was referred to by different names and then ultimately the Cubs, I had to do a little research. In their history, they have also been known as the White Stockings, Colts, Panamas, Rainmakers, Spuds, Trojans, and Zephyrs. With the exception of two seasons in the early twentieth century, the franchise has used that special blue in one way or another on its uniforms since 1901, when the team was still known as the Chicago Orphans. The name White Stockings, which lasted until 1889, was based on those white uniforms. I often see some fans coming to games today wearing retro plain white uniforms.

Based on the relative youth of the players, the team was called the Colts from 1890 to 1897. The contract of the manager, Cap Anson, was not renewed in 1898. Without a leader, the ballplayers were called the Orphans for a few years (1898–1901). That name makes sense for that period of time, but other names made sporadic appearances in Chicago's newspapers, based on various suggestions or for reasons unknown to me.

The first mention I found in print of the name Cubs was in the March 27, 1902, issue of the Chicago Daily News. The term cub, meaning a young animal, was common slang for a young ballplayer, and this name is the one that stuck. By 1906, during the era of the plain white uniforms, the name Cubs had become the sole name by which the club was known.

What about their field of play today, since the only ballpark I know of is Wrigley Field, which has been around for a hundred years?

Research tells me that before Wrigley Field, the team played on the lakefront and the west side. The club first arranged with the city to build a ballpark in the northeast corner of the public park then known as Lake Park, later named Grant Park, and now part of Millennium Park. The venue was dubbed the Union Base-Ball Grounds, and the club was a close contender for the pennant until late in the season.

On Sunday, October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire erupted on the near south side and swept northward through downtown. The wooden ballpark on the lakefront was right in the firestorm's path, and the grounds and all the team's equipment and uniforms were consumed. Popular urban legend has long held that a cow being milked by Mrs. Catherine O'Leary kicked over a kerosene lantern in a barn and started the fire that became the Great Chicago Fire. Were Mrs. O'Leary and her cow really the culprits? I don't know. But...