108 Years of Cubs Baseball

It's incomprehensible. An eerie combination of The Twilight Zone and Bill Murray's "Groundhog Day." How in the world can a team fail to win a championship for  one hundred and eight years? The Chicago Cubs haven't even been to the World Series in 71 years. One wonders how it must feel for Cub fans to root for a team that has no living witnesses to their last World Series win...or at least nobody likely to have a lucid thought. When the Yankees go a couple of years without a title, their fans get the bends, but for whatever reason, Cub fans have endured. Whether it's a jinx, a curse, bad luck, ineptitude or a crude combination of them all, the Cubs' championship drought is not only a part of Americana, but it's become one of the great mysteries of mankind.
  So, in that wondrous vein, here's some of the many things that have happened since 1908, the last time the Cubs were on top of the world. For example, in 1908, Babe Ruth was 13 years old. Since then...

Radio was invented.

TV was invented.

Color TV was created.

We went from records to CDs to downloads.

Aviation went from the Wright Brothers to world-wide jet travel and supersonic stealth machines.

Computers were invented and evolved from million-dollar, one-of-a-kind, room-sized behemoths to millions of wafer-thin notebooks and smartphones for a couple of bills.

The Internet was created.

We went from the plug-in rotary telephone to world-wide wireless communication.

George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays.

So did Bob Hope.

Haley's comet passed Earth...twice.

Major League Baseball added 14 teams.

The NFL, NHL and NBA were formed and the Bears, Blackhawks and Bulls have all won multiple championships

Man landed on the moon six times.

Harry Caray was born and died.

18 US presidents have been elected.

There were 12 amendments added to the Constitution.

Popular Music went through Ragtime, Big Band, Rock, Motown, Disco, Punk, Rap, Heavy Metal, Hip Hop; Al Jolson, Glenn Miller, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Madonna. Eminem...

The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, was discovered and became the subject of major motion pictures.

Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and New Mexico were added to the Union.

[Isn't this amazing?]

In 1914 Wrigley Field opened as Weeghman Park and has become the oldest ballpark in the National League (And in spite of it's age and the Cubs' failures, it’s still one of the best places to see a baseball game).

Weeghman Park outfield in 1914

Flag poles were erected on the Wrigley Field roof to hold all of the team's future World Series pennants. They eventually rusted and were taken down.

When Mr. Cub - Ernie Banks - was born the drought was 23-years old.

The Curse at work?

On August 14 1969 the Cubs were 9 1/2 games ahead of the New York Mets, who up to that season were the embodiment of futility. But by the time the Cubs arrived in New York a few weeks later for a two-game head-to-head with the onrushing Mets the lead was down to 2 1/2 games. During one game a black cat suddenly appeared near the Chicago dugout, walked by the Cubs' Ron Santo in the on-deck circle, then ran back under the stands. Many considered that an omen. The Cubs lost both games and the Mets went on to win the World Series in their eighth year of existence while the Cubs' drought reached 61 years.

1980: The Philadelphia Phillies win their first world championship of any kind dating all the way back to 1883 when they were first known as the Philadelphia Quakers. With that drought snapped at 97 years, the Cubs now had the longest in sports at 72.
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1984: The Cubs make it to the postseason for the first time since 1945 and win the first two games of what was then a best-of-five playoff, but proceed to lose the last three games to the San Diego Padres, a team in their 16th year of existence. The drought was now 76 years.

1997: The Florida Marlins win the World Series in their fifth year of existence. The Cubs' drought was now 89 years.

2001: The Arizona Diamondbacks win their first championship in only their fourth year. The Cubs' drought reaches 93.

2003:  Bartman. 'nuf said.

2004: The Red Sox finally break the fabled "Curse of the Bambino" after 86 years. The team the Bosox beat way back in that 1918 World Series? The Chicago Cubs. The spell was now 96-years old.

2005: Probably the most frustrating dagger to Cubs fans was when the cross-town White Sox ended their drought at 88 years. The Cubs' was at 97 and counting.

2008: Disney couldn't have written a potentially happier script. The 100th anniversary, Lou Piniella at the helm, an outstanding team that had the best record in the league all year, the odds-on favorite to finally take the throne again after a full century of misadventures. Everything was in place. The team was confident, hopes were high…until the Cubs were dropped in three straight by the Dodgers in the first round. The Cub fans' pain was temporarily postponed as it swam upstream against the bourbon.

2009: The New York Yankees win the World Series for the 27th time, the first of which came in 1923 when the Cubs' drought was already 15-years old.

2015: The Cubs go 97-65 only to be swept in four straight by the long-hated Mets who go on to their 5th National League championship since 1969.

2016: The Cubs win 103 games, lead virtually wire-to-wire.....

                                 ...To be continued.