History
The Chicago Cubs were actually born the Chicago White Stockings in 1876 and were one of eight original teams of the National League. A.G Spalding (later baseball maker) is the manager and team pitcher for the team when it records its first win, a 4-0 victory over Louisville. The White Stockings go on to win the first National League Championship with a 52-14 record. There was no American League at that time so the Chicago White Stockings were the first world champs.
The White Stockings won their fifth National League pennant in 1885 with an 87-25 record. That year they played an early version of the World Series against the St. Louis Brown Stockings from the rival American Association which was formed in 1882 and lasted until 1892. The ‘first series ended in a disputed tie as the teams ‘played’ seven games with each team winning three and the other recorded as a draw and called because of darkness.
The 1886 season saw the White Stockings win the National League pennant again recording a 90-34 record but they lost the “World Series” to the St. Louis Brown Stockings 4 games to 2.
The White Stockings (Cubs) struggled on the field for a few years and then in 1894 they changed their name to the Colts. The Colts continued to struggle and in 1897, Cap Anson, considered the greatest player of the 19th century retired at as player manager. The Chicago newspapers then dubbed the team the Chicago “Orphans” as the team struggled big time.
The team started to show some promise again in 1902 and the Chicago Daily News begins to call them the Chicago “Cubs” because of the young stars playing on the team. September 15, 1902 saw the first double play turned by Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance. The team steadily rose in the standings and then in 1906, the “Cubs” win a major League record 116 games winning the national league Championship pennant by 20 games. The team lost the World Series that year to their cross-town rivals the Chicago White Sox.
The Cubs won 110 games in 1907 and make their second straight World Series appearance against the Detroit Tigers that featured a young Ty Cobb. The Cubs trailed the Tigers in the first game of the Series but rallied to tie and send the game into extra innings but the game ended in a tie as darkness descended. The Cubs swept the next four to win the Series.
1908 was a pennant race for the ages as the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Giants and Cubs battled all season. The Cubs and Giants were tied in the standings when the Cubs and the Giants took the field on September 23, 1908. The Giants regular first baseman, Fred Tenny, woke up that day with a case of lumbago so legendary manager John McGraw of the Giants penciled in 19 year old Fred Merkle at first base to make his first big league start. Merkle was the youngest player in the league. The game was a classic pitcher’s duel and going into the bottom of the ninth the score was tied 1-1. It was customary at the time to have only two umpires for a game. One umpire was positioned behind homeplate and the other umpire was positioned near the base paths.
Fred Merkle came up with a big hit in the bottom of the ninth with Moose McCormick on first. Merkle drilled a single to right to put runners on first and third with two outs. The next hitter, Al Bridwell came up and smashed a single to center as the Moose triumphantly danced his way home as the over flow crowd in New York rushed the field. Merkle too was jumping for joy as he watched the hit sail into sail into centerfield but in his jubilation and the chaos of the moment he did not run to second base and touch the base. The official rule (4.09) states that a run does not score if the runner advances to home base if a runner is forced out on another base. This rule had never been enforced before on a walk off hit to the outfield but Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers made sure Merkel did not touch second base and was screaming to center fielder Solly Hofman to get the ball amidst the pure pandemonium of people celebrating all over the field. Finally, Evers located “the baseball” and stepped on second base. The home plate umpire saw Merkel go to the clubhouse and not touch second base so he ruled Merkel out. Now, there was complete pandemonium as umpire O’day called it a day and the game suspended because of darkness.
The powers that be in the National league decided to replay the game and the Cubs win the game and that game decided the pennant as the Cubs finished with a 99-65 record, one game ahead of both the Giants and Pirates. It has been written that this is the most controversial play in the history of baseball. It did propel the Cubs to the NL title and they went on to win the World Series and become the first team in history to ever win back to back World Series titles.
1908 was also the last time the Cubs would ever win a World Series.
The Cubs had a 104-49 record in 1909 but finished 6 games behind the pirates in the NL. In 1910, the Cubs won their fourth NL pennant in 5 years but were swept by the Philadelphia A’s in the World Series.
The Cubs are a good club the rest of the decade as Chicago is a baseball city that sponsors two of the most profitable clubs in the Major leagues. Immigrants from all across the globe swarm to Chicago as it is a bustling city in the center of America with plenty of jobs for all who want to work hard. The baseball parks give them a place to go in a pastoral setting amidst the cold bricks and concrete of this bustling metropolis. The new immigrants find this uniquely American game as a place to exercise and the Sox and Cubs both build large shrines to accommodate their millions of fans who can go to the ballpark and have something in common with their new neighbors in their new country.