61 Facts About Chicago Cubs

1.

Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago.

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2.

The Chicago Cubs compete in Major League Baseball as part of the National League Central division.

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3.

The Cubs are one of two major league teams based in Chicago; the other, the Chicago White Sox, is a member of the American League Central division.

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4.

The Chicago Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first major league team to play in three consecutive World Series, and the first to win it twice.

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5.

Since the start of divisional play in 1969, the Chicago Cubs have appeared in the postseason 11 times through the 2020 season.

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6.

Some historians think Kling's absence was significant enough to prevent the Chicago Cubs from winning a third straight title in 1909, as they finished 6 games out of first place.

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7.

When Kling returned the next year, the Chicago Cubs won the pennant again, but lost to the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1910 World Series.

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8.

The Chicago Cubs responded by winning a pennant in the war-shortened season of 1918, where they played a part in another team's curse: the Boston Red Sox defeated Grover Cleveland Alexander's Chicago Cubs four games to two in the 1918 World Series, Boston's last Series championship until 2004.

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9.

In 1935 the Chicago Cubs claimed the pennant in thrilling fashion, winning a record 21 games in a row in September.

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10.

Chicago Cubs was unable to extend his father's baseball success beyond 1938, and the Cubs slipped into years of mediocrity, although the Wrigley family would retain control of the team until 1981.

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11.

The Chicago Cubs lost the series, and did not return until the 2016 World Series.

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12.

In 1969 the Chicago Cubs, managed by Leo Durocher, built a substantial lead in the newly created National League Eastern Division by mid-August.

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13.

The Chicago Cubs lost the final game of a series at Cincinnati, then came home to play the resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates .

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14.

The Chicago Cubs' eight-game losing streak finally ended the next day in St Louis, but the Mets were in the midst of a ten-game winning streak, and the Chicago Cubs, wilting from team fatigue, generally deteriorated in all phases of the game.

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15.

The following two seasons saw the Chicago Cubs get off to a fast start, as the team rallied to over 10 games above.

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16.

In 1989, the first full season with night baseball at Wrigley Field, Don Zimmer's Chicago Cubs were led by a core group of veterans in Ryne Sandberg, Rick Sutcliffe and Andre Dawson, who were boosted by a crop of youngsters such as Mark Grace, Shawon Dunston, Greg Maddux, Rookie of the Year Jerome Walton, and Rookie of the Year Runner-Up Dwight Smith.

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17.

The Chicago Cubs were swamped by media attention in 1998, and the team's two biggest headliners were Sosa and rookie flamethrower Kerry Wood.

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18.

The Chicago Cubs retained many players who experienced career years in 1998, but, after a fast start in 1999, they collapsed again and finished in the bottom of the division for the next two seasons.

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19.

Chicago Cubs had high expectations in 2002, but the squad played poorly.

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20.

In 2004, the Chicago Cubs were a consensus pick by most media outlets to win the World Series.

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21.

The Chicago Cubs traded Barrett to the Padres, and later acquired catcher Jason Kendall from Oakland.

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22.

The Chicago Cubs headed into the All-Star break with the NL's best record, and tied the league record with eight representatives to the All-Star game, including catcher Geovany Soto, who was named Rookie of the Year.

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23.

The Chicago Cubs took control of the division by sweeping a four-game series in Milwaukee.

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24.

The heavily favored Chicago Cubs took an early lead in Game 1, but James Loney's grand slam off Ryan Dempster changed the series' momentum.

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25.

The Chicago Cubs were plagued by injuries in 2009, and were only able to field their Opening Day starting lineup three times the entire season.

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26.

The Chicago Cubs posted a winning record for the third consecutive season, the first time the club had done so since 1972, and a new era of ownership under the Ricketts family was approved by MLB owners in early October.

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27.

Chicago Cubs spent 13 seasons as a player with the Cubs, and at the time of his death was regarded as one of the greatest players not in the Hall of Fame.

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28.

Chicago Cubs was posthumously elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.

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29.

Shortly before the trade deadline, the Chicago Cubs traded Matt Garza to the Texas Rangers for Mike Olt, Carl Edwards Jr, Neil Ramirez, and Justin Grimm.

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30.

Three days later, the Chicago Cubs sent Alfonso Soriano to the New York Yankees for minor leaguer Corey Black.

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31.

The opening day lineup for the Chicago Cubs contained five new players including center fielder Dexter Fowler.

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32.

Chicago Cubs defeated the Cardinals in the NLDS three-games-to-one, qualifying for a return to the NLCS for the first time in 12 years, where they faced the New York Mets.

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33.

Also during the middle of the season, the Chicago Cubs traded their top prospect Gleyber Torres for Aroldis Chapman.

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34.

The Chicago Cubs defeated the San Francisco Giants in the National League Division Series and returned to the National League Championship Series for the second year in a row, where they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.

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35.

The Chicago Cubs struggled mainly due to their pitching as Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester struggled and no starting pitcher managed to win more than 14 games .

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36.

However, the Chicago Cubs recovered in the second half of the season to finish 22 games over.

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37.

The Chicago Cubs pulled out a five-game NLDS series win over the Washington Nationals to advance to the NLCS for the third consecutive year.

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38.

The Chicago Cubs subsequently lost to the Colorado Rockies in the 2018 National League Wild Card Game for their earliest playoff exit in three seasons.

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39.

Chicago Cubs' roster remained largely intact going into the 2019 season.

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40.

The Chicago Cubs lost several key players to injuries, including Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, and Kris Bryant during this stretch.

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41.

The Chicago Cubs were eliminated from playoff contention on September 25, marking the first time the team had failed to qualify for the playoffs since 2014.

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42.

The Chicago Cubs announced they would not renew manager Joe Maddon's contract at the end of the season.

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43.

The Chicago Cubs finished first in the NL Central, but were swept by the Miami Marlins in the Wild Card round.

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44.

Chicago Cubs was succeeded Jed Hoyer, who previously served as the team's general manager since 2011.

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45.

Chicago Cubs have played their home games at Wrigley Field, known as "The Friendly Confines" since 1916.

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46.

The bear cub itself was used in the clubs since the early 1900s and was the inspiration of the Chicago Staleys changing their team's name to the Chicago Bears, because the Cubs allowed the bigger football players—like bears to cubs—to play at Wrigley Field in the 1930s.

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47.

Chicago Cubs had no official physical mascot prior to Clark, though a man in a 'polar bear' looking outfit, called "The Bear-man", which was mildly popular with the fans, paraded the stands briefly in the early 1990s.

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48.

Chicago Cubs is not employed by the team, although the club has on two separate occasions allowed him into the broadcast booth and allow him some degree of freedom once he purchases or is given a ticket by fans to get into the games.

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49.

Chicago Cubs is largely allowed to roam the park and interact with fans by Wrigley Field security.

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50.

Several members of the Chicago Cubs recorded an album called Cub Power which contained a cover of the song.

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51.

The Chicago Cubs won the pennant four times between 1906 and 1910, often defeating the Giants en route to the World Series.

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52.

The primary Chicago Cubs logo received thicker letters and circle, while blue numbers received red trim and player names were added.

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53.

The Chicago Cubs' design is navy blue with light blue accents on both the uniform and pants, and features the "Wrigleyville" wordmark inspired by the Wrigley Field marquee.

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54.

Chicago Cubs retired numbers are commemorated on pinstriped flags flying from the foul poles at Wrigley Field, with the exception of Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers player whose number 42 was retired for all clubs.

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55.

Six years later, it began again with the Chicago Cubs Walk of Fame, which enshrined nine until it was paused in 1998.

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56.

Two days later, the Chicago Cubs signed a four-year player development contract with the South Bend Silver Hawks of the Midwest League, ending their brief relationship with the Kane County Cougars and shortly thereafter renaming the Silver Hawks the South Bend Chicago Cubs.

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57.

The Chicago Cubs annually sell out most of their games both at home and on the road.

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58.

The Chicago Cubs left Catalina after some bad weather in 1951, choosing to move to Mesa, a city where the Wrigleys had interests.

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59.

Play-by-play voice of the Chicago Cubs is Pat Hughes, who has held the position since 1996, joined by Ron Coomer.

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60.

In November 2013, the Cubs exercised an option to terminate its existing broadcast rights with WGN-TV after the 2014 season, requesting a higher-valued contract lasting through the 2019 season .

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61.

From 1999, regional sports network FSN Chicago Cubs served as a cable rightsholder for games not on WGN or MLB's national television outlets.

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