Do you know which major league baseball team has had the longest streak of not winning the World Series? It’s my Chicago Cubs, of course. And though I sheepishly admit it, it really isn’t really my fault. No, really -- I didn’t actually have a choice. You see, I grew up less than a mile from Wrigley Field.
We used to walk over to the ballpark after elementary school on game days, and they used to open the big doors on Waveland Avenue at the end of the seventh inning and we kids were allowed to walk in and see the last few innings free. Even that late into the game, we still got front row seats in the left field bleachers since so few attended afternoon weekday games back in the ‘50s, and I’d be able to talk to my favorite player, Hank Sauer, the left fielder. And since we had no expectations of winning, we were never disappointed or frustrated. They were simply our loveable Cubbies and lived up to the non-expectations we held for them.
We didn’t care that they lost 2/3 of their games year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation. They were our Cubbies – our loveable losers. And over the years we had Ernie Banks (“Let’s play two!) and Ron Santo and Billy Williams and a procession of wonderful guys and good players to cheer for and admire, but never enough great players on any year’s team to win consistently. And we had Hall of Fame broadcasters Jack Brickhouse, Lou Boudreau, and Harry Carey to entertain us and commiserate with us, and they too loved the Cubs despite how poorly they played.
But then, lo and behold, the Cubs had a few really good years. Not good enough to win it all, but good enough to get our hopes up, which were then summarily dashed, year after year, by devastating, choking collapses. These near successes and all the hype whet our appetites (“Wait until next year” became our annual mantra), got us to thinking that maybe we could be winners, maybe we could be champs instead of chumps, and that maybe the Cubbies could do what the Bears did, and what the Blackhawks did, and later what Jordan’s Bulls did. And yes, even what those south side Sox did. But it never happened for us. Even the perpetual losing Boston Red Sox eventually won it all – but not us.
To put our losing streak into historic perspective, consider these facts: The following major events have occurred since the Chicago Cubs last claimed a World Series in 1908.
• Radio was invented; Cubs fans got to hear their team lose.
• TV was invented; Cubs fans got to see their team lose.
• Baseball added 14 teams; Cubs fans get to see and hear their team lose to more clubs.
• George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays.
• Haley's comet passed Earth twice.
• Harry Caray was born -- and died.
• The NBA, NHL and NFL were formed, and Chicago teams won championships in each league.
• Man landed on the moon, as have several home runs given up by Cubs pitchers.
• Sixteen U.S. presidents were elected.
• There were 11 amendments added to the Constitution.
• Prohibition was created and repealed.
• The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, was discovered and became the subject of major motion pictures (the latest giving Cubs fans hope that something that finishes on the bottom can come out on top.)
• Wrigley Field was built and becomes the oldest park in the National League.
• A combination of 40 Summer and Winter Olympics have been held.
• Thirteen baseball players have won the Triple Crown; several thanked Cubs pitchers.
• Bell-bottoms came in style, went out of style and came back in.
• The Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and the Florida Marlins have all won the World Series.
• The Cubs played over 14,000 regular-season games -- and lost the majority of them.
• Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and New Mexico were added to the Union.
Great quotes in Cubs History!!!
"Noise pollution can't be that much of a problem [at Wrigley].
There's nothing to cheer about."--State rep. John F. Dunn, arguing for the installation of lights at Wrigley Field
"If I managed the Cubs, I'd be an alcoholic."--Whitey Herzog
"There's nothing wrong with this team that more pitching, more
fielding, and more hitting couldn't help."--Bill Buckner
"You get tired of looking at garbage in your own backyard."--Cubs manager Lee Elia in 1983 about why the Cubs got rid of so many
players. (Elia was fired later that same season, perhaps for honesty.)
"The Cubs were taking batting practice, and the pitching machine
threw a no-hitter."--Radio deejay
"The only bad thing about being released by the Cubs is that they
> made me keep my season tickets."--Ken Rietz, ex-Cub third baseman.
"Would the lady who left her nine kids at Wrigley Field please
pick them up immediately? They are beating the Cubs 4-0 in the 7th
inning."--Radio deejay
"One thing you learn as a Cubs fan: When you bought your ticket, you could bank on seeing the bottom of the ninth."--Joe Garagiola
"The Chicago Cubs are like Rush Street--a lot of singles, but no action."—also Joe Garagiola
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