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www.lovechicagocubs.com

LoveChicagoCubs.com

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LoveChicagoCubs.com

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C ONTENTS CHAPTER 1 : THE RECORD-SETTING 1906 TEAM 04

CHAPTER 2 : CROSSTOWN CLASSIC 05

CHAPTER 3 : THE LEGENDARY VOICES OF THE CUBS 06

CHAPTER 4 : THE 10,000 TH

WIN 07

CHAPTER 5 : “GO, CUBS, GO!” 08

CHAPTER 6 : “THROW IT BACK!” 09

CHAPTER 7 : BEWARE OF THE WRIGLEY FIELD IVY 10

CHAPTER 8 : THE CUBS SCOREBOARD: A PURE EXAMPLE

OF BASEBALL HISTORY 11

CHAPTER 9 : THE PINK BACKPACK 12

CHAPTER 10 : THE 7 TH

INNING STRETCH 13





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Chapter One

The Record-Setting 1906 Team

They may not have won the World Series, but the 1906 Cubs team set the

precedent that heartbroken fans would follow for more than a century.

Their 60-15 road streak was also record breaking and more than enough to get

them to the World Series. This wasn't just any World Series though. The 1906

World Series was the first one-city series, matching up the Cubs with their

dreaded cross town rivalry, the Chicago White Sox. The Cubs, with players like

Three Finger Brown,

who, with a 1.04 ERA stillholds the record for

lowest ERA of any pitcher

pitching over 250 innings,

were heavily slated to be

the winners.

However, fate was not on

the Northsiders side.

Despite the Cubs

Reulbach throwing the World Series'

first 1 hitter game, the Cubs couldn'tmanage to pull through. The Cubs

were plagued with errors and couldn't make it up, eventually losing the series in Game 6.

Of course the Cubs would go on to win back to back World Series Championships in both 1907

and 1908 but it was 1906 that first taught Cubs fans what it felt like to be so close, and yet so

far.

In 1906, the Cubwon 116 gamesand set the recorfor most gameswon in a season,a record that isheld to this day. I

fact, they couldhave won 118games in total, ifthey'd be allowedto make up tworained out matchups.





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Chapter Two

Crosstown Classic

The Cubs and Sox first met on October 9 th, 1906 during the World Series. After

interleague play began in 1997, the two teams began to play each other

regularly, hosting a game usually around Memorial Day. Also known as the Red

Line Series, the games drew huge crowds but games did not count for regular

season records before 1997, only bragging rights for the winning team's fans for

the rest of the season. When interleague play became a regular part of the

season schedule in 1997, instead of hosting a single charity exhibition game

between the two teams, they held a regular series at each park. Though it

started out as a friendly rivalry, things became heated as the years passed.

While there has always been rivalry between the North and South sides, it

wasn't until these teams came to play each other yearly that things really got

heated. With several bench clearing fights between the two teams, the line

between North and South became even more pronounced. When the two teams

met in 2008, it was the first time in history that they were each leading their

respective divisions. The all-time series record is split 33-33.

Adding to the heat

between the two

teams, celebrities

and politicians alike

regularly make thei

allegiances known.

The long time

Chicago mayor

Richard Daley, and

the current

President of the

United States,

Barack Obama, are

proud Sox fans,

while Bill Murray,

Vince Vaughn,

Christopher Walken

and Eddie Vedder

are famously Cub

fans.





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Chapter Three

The Legendary Voices of the Cubs

Jack Brickhouse was a sports broadcaster born and raised in Illinois. While he worked for the

White Sox and Chicago Bulls, he was most famous for being an enthusiastic Cubs broadcaster.

He was best known for his “Hey-Hey!” expression, which is still used today. From 1948-1981 he

worked for WGN-TV, performing play-by-play duties as a Cubs announcer. In 1983 he received

the Ford C. Frick award from the Baseball Hall of Fame, recognizing him as one of the top

sports broadcasters of all time.

After Brickhouse's retirement in 1981, Harry

Caray took over duties. Though he called for theChicago White Sox for 11 years, he would be

immortalized as a Cubs broadcaster, partially

due to his coining of the “Holy cow!” expression,

his large black-rimmed glasses and famously

signing the 7th inning stretch. After Caray

passed away during the 1998 the off season,

the Cubs began to invite celebrities and other

guests to take over the stretch singing

responsibilities, a tradition that carries on to this

day.

While each team has its famous announcers of

yesteryear, few teams in major league baseball

have had announcers so near and dear to their

heart. In fact, in the 1998 season following his

death, the entire Cubs team wore a patch on the sleeves on their uniforms depicting a

caricature of Caray. Each of Sammy Sosa's 66 home runs was dedicated to Harry that year and

eventually a life size statue of Caray was erected at Wrigley Field.





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Chapter Four

The 10,000th Win

On April 23rd, 2008, the Cubs

found themselves in an

interesting position. They

were one of only two teams in

the history of baseball to have

amassed 9,999 regular

season wins. To join the New

York / San Francisco Giants

in the 10,000 regular seasonwin club, they would need to

beat the Colorado Rockies, a

feat easier said than done.

It took 10 innings but on April

23rd, 2008, the Cubs made it

to the legendary 10,000 regular season win status. To give you an idea of how amazing that stat

is, consider that as of the beginning of the 2008 season, the Cubs had seen 550 of their own,

different pitchers win at least one game. That's more than the number of total players who have

appeared in one ore more games for the Arizona Diamondbacks or Tampa Bay Rays –

combined!

The Cubs have come a long way since their first win on April 25, 1876, where they played at

Louisville in front of a crowd that was anticipated to be 10,000 but ended up shy of even 2,000

people. Compare that to their 10,000th regular season win in front of 36,864 people and it's easy

to see how far the Cubs, and the game of baseball itself, have come to be a part of people's

hearts and minds.

The next team in

line for 10,000

regular season

wins still needs

more than 300

wins to add

themselves to the

10,000 regular

season win club.

Can we make it t

11,000 regular

season wins first?





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Chapter Five

“Go, Cubs, Go!”

“Go, Cubs, Go,” was written by long time Cubs fan Steve Goodman in 1984,

just six months before his death. While it has been the official song of the

Chicago Cubs ever since, many would say that it did not become a true

phenomenon until 2007 when the catchy song was sung at the end of every

home win at Wrigley Field. All 40,000 fans could be heard signing along to

Goodman's ditty.

Singing “Go, Cubs, Go,” after a home win is such a part of the Wrigley Field

experience that it's difficult for many fans to remember when it wasn't done. Infact, it's become such a part of the

Cubs mystique in general, that it

could be heard at away games as

well, most notably at the Milwaukee

Brewer's Miller Park, where it has

been known to be sung loud enough

to cause breaks in the Brewers

coverage.

Unfortunately Steve Goodman passed away at the

young age of 36 and was not to see a Cubs WorldSeries in his lifetime. However, the mystique that is

being a Cubs fan was furthered by his efforts to write

a song that would incorporate the unique aspects of

bleeding Cubbie blue.

The song was such phenomenon thatIllinois LieutenantGovernor Pat Quinndeclared October 5,2007 to be SteveGoodman Daythroughout the stateof Illinois. The

following day theCubs would lose agame that would takthem out ofcontention for 2007post-seasoncompetition.





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Chapter Seven

Beware of the Wrigley Field Ivy

Wrigley Field is a historic monument in and of itself but one of the most

recognizable parts of it is the famous ivy. The original vines were planted in 1937

by Bill Veeck, Jr. and to this day ivy remains as a staple of The Friendly Confines.

As the season begins, the brick walls in the back of the stadium are covered only

in vines but as the baseball season progresses, the fans watch the wall turn from

brown to a beautiful, lush green.

While the ivy serves an architectural purpose, many opposing teams are not fans.

Balls have been known to get lost in the ivy and in fact occasionally an outfielderwill go into the ivy to find a ball that is in play, only to have several balls fall out of

the ivy. Any ball that is lost in the ivy is an automatic ground rule double, and

players will indicate that the ball has been lost by throwing both hands up in the

air.

Visiting teams without much experience playing at Wrigley are also known to slam

themselves into the wall, not always realizing that behind that luscious and

beautiful ivy lies a hard brick wall.

When the Cubsmake the playoffsthey are treated ta rarely seenphenomenon ofthe ivy turningorange for the falseason, whichalways seems tomagically happen

just as they make

it to the postseason. This is asign to Cubs fansthat their team isin contention andhas led Cubs fanto call their hopesfor the Octoberpost-season a“Hunt for theOrange October.





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Chapter Eight

The Cubs Scoreboard: A Pure Example

of Baseball History

The Wrigley Field scoreboard was built in 1937 and is still in use today. It is one of the only

scoreboards still in use that is changed manually. In a world of electronic scoreboards and

advertisements, it's easy to see why this is a fan favorite. The way the scoreboard works is the

same way it's worked since the day it was first put into use.

On top of the scoreboard are a group

of flags. These flags serve two

purposes. First, each team in major

league baseball has a flag

corresponding to them. The flags are

arranged each day to show the

current standings in each division.

The other purpose of these flags is to

show the players and fans alike

which way the wind is blowing at any

given time.

Another famous staple of Wrigley

Field scoreboard is the flying of the

W or L f lag following each game.

After each win, a white flag with a blue W is flown atop the scoreboard to indicate that they won,

while a blue L is flown in the event of a loss. Traditionally, the flag is raised as the first elevated

train goes by immediately following the end of the game. Those riding the train at the time a W

flag is raised up will generally hear a roar go up, as the daily commuters are some of the first to

know about the outcome of the game.

There have been many attempts over the years to sell advertising space on the scoreboard but

it remains as one of the pure examples of baseball history.





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Chapter Nine

The Pink Backpack

While many of the Cubs' traditions have spanned over 100 years, fans of today

can view some of the traditions in the making. There have been a few examples of

this, many fans remember the first time they heard “Go, Cubs, Go!” and many

fans were around for the inaugural broadcast by Harry Caray. Fans today will

likely be telling the fans of tomorrow about the Cubs legendary pink backpack.

No one is sure who the pink Hello Kitty backpack first belonged to, but for at least

10 years now it has been carried by a Cubs pitcher. Not just any Cubs pitcher

though – it's carried by the newest pitcher to the roster, as a way of welcominghim to The Friendly Confines.

While it is rumored to carry balls, snacks and other things of the sort, its primary

function is to embarrass the Cubs pitcher who's forced to carry it. It's meant to be

used as a hazing ritual of sorts, and while Cubs pitchers are likely none too

pleased about having to carry the bag, they are also keenly aware that there are a

lot of people in the world who would love to have the opportunity to carry that bag.

Like many of theCubs traditions,you can all readysee other ballclubs carryingtheir ownbackpacks ofshame, one clubwe won't mentionby name iscurrently using aSnow White bag,but as a Cubs fanyou can be proudthat the traditionstarted right herein your ownWrigley Field.





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Chapter Ten

The 7th Inning Stretch

There's no consensus on the origins of the 7 th inning stretch, though by all accounts it began in

the late 1800s. However, each ballpark has its own tradition and Wrigley is certainly no

exception.

It all began with legendary Cubs

broadcaster Harry Caray singing “Take Me

Out to the Ballgame” to himself in the

broadcast booth between the halves of the

7

th

inning. The owner of the White Sox, forwhom Caray was then announcing,

overheard Harry singing one day and

turned his microphone on. From then on,

Caray was known not just for coining the

phrase, “Holy Cow!” but for badly singing

during the stretch as well.

As a Cubs broadcaster, Caray led the

crowd through the 7th inning stretch in

every game from then on. Accompanied by the famous Wrigley Field organ, Caray would

enthusiastically encourage audience participation and upon the songs completion would yell,“Let's get some runs!” Following Caray's death, a guest singer sings “Take Me Out to the

Ballgame” during every home game. After the song, they then join the current Cubs

broadcasters, Len Kasper and Bob Brenly, to discuss the game.

Over the years there have been many famous people singing during stretch – with many

famous snafus. Whoever is singing you can bet they will get the crowd energized and, if they

follow tradition, will end the song by screaming, “Let's get some runs!” There has been no

shortage of parodies either, with Bill Murray and Jim Belushi both lovingly doing their own skits

on the beloved tradition.



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