As most of you know from Sporting News, I'm a Chicago Cubs fan. They're my third favorite team in sports behind the Oklahoma Sooners and Chicago Bears. Some of the info provided comes from my SN blog.
The Cubs have clinched a playoff spot for the second straight year as you're aware of. I'm liking their chances of breaking their drought of winning a World Series. The team has depth, and isn't really weak in any particular area. Lou Piniella has done a great job in restoring a winning attitude to the club, and I'm hopeful as a Cubs fan that it will pay off with a long-awaited World Series title. I've told a few people that this Cubs team is different. They have belief. They have talent. They have one of the best clubs in their team's history. Now is the time to end 100 years of misery with a World Series Championship!
Here's some facts about the Cubs in the World Series. Some you will know immediately, and some you won't.
-The Cubs were the first team to win a National League pennant having accomplished that in 1876.
-The Cubs have the longest drought of winning a major professional league championship with their last one coming in 1908.
-The Cubs last World Series appearance was 1945 which was the same year in which the supposed "Billy Goat Curse" was placed on them. Even if they won the 1945 World Series, they would still have the longest current drought of winning a championship in Major League Baseball!
-The Cubs clinched a playoff spot for a second consecutive season in 2008. They haven't made back-to-back playoff appearances since they appeared in three in a row between 1906 and 1908 which was the last time they won a World Series.
-The Cubs were part of the first original rematch of teams in a World Series. In 1908, they played the Detroit Tigers in a rematch of the previous year's Fall Classic. The Cubs won both of those series.
-The Cubs have played the Tigers four times in World Series play, the most against any one team for them. They won the first two meetings, but lost the latter two in 1935 and 1945.
-The Cubs are one of the two original National League teams that has never beaten the New York Yankees in World Series play in which they faced off twice. The Philadelphia Phillies are the other NL franchise.
-The Cubs are currently only one of three National League clubs to win back-to-back World Series titles having done so in 1907-08. The other two were New York Giants in 1921-22 and Cincinnati Reds in 1975-76.
-The Cubs were a very successful National League franchise in the first half of the 20th Century. They appeared in 10 World Series which was second to the Giants who appeared in 11 of them.
To give you an idea of how long it's really been since the Cubs last won a World Series, take a look at some of the events that happened in 1908:
-Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid were supposedly gunned down in Bolivia on November 6, 1908.
-Henry Ford introduced the first Model T automobile.
-Bureau of Investigation is founded in 1908 which is the forerunner of what is now known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI).
-William C. Durant founded what eventually becomes General Motors(GM) in September of 1908.
The Cubs have clinched a playoff spot for the second straight year as you're aware of. I'm liking their chances of breaking their drought of winning a World Series. The team has depth, and isn't really weak in any particular area. Lou Piniella has done a great job in restoring a winning attitude to the club, and I'm hopeful as a Cubs fan that it will pay off with a long-awaited World Series title. I've told a few people that this Cubs team is different. They have belief. They have talent. They have one of the best clubs in their team's history. Now is the time to end 100 years of misery with a World Series Championship!
Here's some facts about the Cubs in the World Series. Some you will know immediately, and some you won't.
-The Cubs were the first team to win a National League pennant having accomplished that in 1876.
-The Cubs have the longest drought of winning a major professional league championship with their last one coming in 1908.
-The Cubs last World Series appearance was 1945 which was the same year in which the supposed "Billy Goat Curse" was placed on them. Even if they won the 1945 World Series, they would still have the longest current drought of winning a championship in Major League Baseball!
-The Cubs clinched a playoff spot for a second consecutive season in 2008. They haven't made back-to-back playoff appearances since they appeared in three in a row between 1906 and 1908 which was the last time they won a World Series.
-The Cubs were part of the first original rematch of teams in a World Series. In 1908, they played the Detroit Tigers in a rematch of the previous year's Fall Classic. The Cubs won both of those series.
-The Cubs have played the Tigers four times in World Series play, the most against any one team for them. They won the first two meetings, but lost the latter two in 1935 and 1945.
-The Cubs are one of the two original National League teams that has never beaten the New York Yankees in World Series play in which they faced off twice. The Philadelphia Phillies are the other NL franchise.
-The Cubs are currently only one of three National League clubs to win back-to-back World Series titles having done so in 1907-08. The other two were New York Giants in 1921-22 and Cincinnati Reds in 1975-76.
-The Cubs were a very successful National League franchise in the first half of the 20th Century. They appeared in 10 World Series which was second to the Giants who appeared in 11 of them.
To give you an idea of how long it's really been since the Cubs last won a World Series, take a look at some of the events that happened in 1908:
-Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid were supposedly gunned down in Bolivia on November 6, 1908.
-Henry Ford introduced the first Model T automobile.
-Bureau of Investigation is founded in 1908 which is the forerunner of what is now known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI).
-William C. Durant founded what eventually becomes General Motors(GM) in September of 1908.
-Thomas Selfridge is the first person to die in a airplane-related crash in Fort Myer, Virginia. Pilot Orville Wright suffered injuries, but survived.
-For the first time in Olympic history, the words "the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part" was made public on July 19, 1908. The Olympics took place in London.
-Jack Johnson becomes the first African-American to win the heavyweight boxing championship when he defeated Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia on December 26, 1908.
-The first All-Star game in ice hockey history takes place in Montreal on January 2, 1908. This was to benefit Hod Stuart, who died in an off-season diving accident after being part of Montreal's Stanley Cup winning team in 1907. It's officially known as the Hod Stuart Memorial Game.
-The Ball on New York's Time Square drops for the first time on New Years Day in 1908.
-The Grand Canyon became a national monument in January of 1908.
-Mother's Day is observed for the first time in Grafton, West Virginia in May 1908.
-Robert Baden-Powell begins the Boy Scout Movement in 1908.
-William Howard Taft becomes the 27th U.S. President by defeating William Jennings Bryan in the Presidential Election.
-On a personal note, my great-grandfather, who died in 2000, wasn't even alive when the Cubs last won a World Series. He was born in 1909, the year after they last won it!
So as you can see, it's been a long time for the Cubs winning a World Series.
So with that, I say, "Let's go Cubs! Let's go Cubs! Let's go Cubs!"
The road for them to try and end the long drought begins next week in the playoffs....
-For the first time in Olympic history, the words "the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part" was made public on July 19, 1908. The Olympics took place in London.
-Jack Johnson becomes the first African-American to win the heavyweight boxing championship when he defeated Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia on December 26, 1908.
-The first All-Star game in ice hockey history takes place in Montreal on January 2, 1908. This was to benefit Hod Stuart, who died in an off-season diving accident after being part of Montreal's Stanley Cup winning team in 1907. It's officially known as the Hod Stuart Memorial Game.
-The Ball on New York's Time Square drops for the first time on New Years Day in 1908.
-The Grand Canyon became a national monument in January of 1908.
-Mother's Day is observed for the first time in Grafton, West Virginia in May 1908.
-Robert Baden-Powell begins the Boy Scout Movement in 1908.
-William Howard Taft becomes the 27th U.S. President by defeating William Jennings Bryan in the Presidential Election.
-On a personal note, my great-grandfather, who died in 2000, wasn't even alive when the Cubs last won a World Series. He was born in 1909, the year after they last won it!
So as you can see, it's been a long time for the Cubs winning a World Series.
So with that, I say, "Let's go Cubs! Let's go Cubs! Let's go Cubs!"
The road for them to try and end the long drought begins next week in the playoffs....
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