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The Cubs will start tonight's game against the Brewers needing to score only 8 more runs to become the first team to reach 100,000 since the start of the National League in 1876. Their 99,992 are 1...
Cubs' first game with 2 umpires, 1888 By JohnW53 on Apr 19, 2021, 6:43am CDT + When 5,000 spectators gathered at Chicago's West Side Park on Tuesday, July 17, 1888, they saw something they never had seen before: 2 umpires on the field at the same time. The 4-umpire "crew" that we take for granted today did not become standard for all regular-season games until 1953. Even a second umpire was not mandated until 1911, although one often was assigned for important game between contending teams. In the 1870s and 1880s, the lone umpire stood behind the pitcher's box, which was on flat g...
Evolution of Cubs' career hits record, Part 3 By JohnW53 on Mar 12, 2021, 4:23am CST + .......... 3,012 hits during his 22 seasons with the team, 1876-97. Jimmy Ryan, a longtime teammate of Anson's, left the team after 1900 with 2,084 hits. That ranked him second, a position he maintained until 1946, when Stan Hack raised his total to 2,128. A year earlier, Hack had become the leader among players whose careers began in or after 1901, the start of the Modern Era. After 1946, Hack led Gabby Harnett, runnerup among the "moderns" by 261 hits. Only 15 Cubs had produced at least 1,0...
Evolution of Cubs' career hits record, Part 1 By JohnW53 on Mar 10, 2021, 6:08am CST + And then there are records that have lasted for a looooooooong time! You may know that Cap Anson made more hits than any player in the history of the Cubs. He had 3,012 in his 22 seasons. But did you know he has held that record since . . . 1878? Since the most hits by any active Cub is 1,231 by Anthony Rizzo, it's not like Anson's record is going to be challenged any time soon. ... 2 other players have had as many as 2,500 hits as a Cub: Ernie Banks, with 2,583 in 1953-71, and Billy William...
Evolution of Cubs' career homer record, Part 2 By JohnW53 on Mar 9, 2021, 6:29am CST + ......... 474 home runs, more than double Gabby Hartnett's second-best 231. During the 1969 season, Hartnett dropped to fourth, in a span of fewer than 24 hours. On Friday, night, May 23, Billy Williams hit his 232nd, a 2-run shot at San Diego that gave the Cubs a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning. They went on to win, 6-0, as Dick Selma pitched a 2-hit shutout. The next afternoon, Ron Santo tied Williams with a 2-run shot of his own that put the Cubs ahead, 2-1. Banks blasted a grand slam in the fi...