So many things come to my mind when umpires across the country call out PLAY BALL for the first time every season.
As a child, hoping to be in an opening day line-up one day, it meant the long winter break was over and I could start cheering my Cubbies on again. Maybe this would be “The Year!” EDITOR’S NOTE: I didn’t make my high school baseball team and was never invited to a major league camp.
I had been born into a loyal Chicago Cub fan family well into the penant drought that had started in 1945 and lasted until 2016.
I started a streak of going to at least one Cub game every year in the early 1960’s, when my father decided I could sit through all nine innings without fussing. This was not a decision he made lightly. I didn’t realize it but he had evaluated my ability, and willingness, to watch the baby bears on TV. The year before I was authorized to make the pilgrimage to the Northside baseball temple, I had opted out of sitting and watching Jack Brickhouse (Longtime Cubs announcer) call the game on Chicago’s very own channel 9 TV. Later in the year I caught my dad and older brothers sneaking out of the house and I yelled, “Hey, wait for me, I wanna go too.” My dad said, “No Phil, we’re going to the Cubs game.” I argued that I was old enough and my dad said, “Maybe next year. You can’t even sit through a game on TV in the warm house and it’s going to be chilly out there today.” Once I was given the green light I went every chance I got. I didn’t break my streak until I was married with children of my own.
My grandfather, father, Uncle Charlie and other assorted family members passed the Cub history on to me by telling me stories; many, many stories, of the fabled franchise by the Great Lake Michigan. It was much like Indians in the area had passed their history on to their offspring.
I remember sitting in the left field grandstands with my father and Uncle Charlie while they were reminiscing about games they had been to together. Charlie brought up a time they went in the late 1940’s. My dad and mom had just become engaged. Mom asked dad to take her brother-in-law, my Uncle Tom, who was visiting from New York. to the game. Dad was glad to. Tom was a big New York Giants fan and they happened to be the opponent’s that day.
The Cubs were beating the Giants and dad and Uncle Charlie were enjoying it immensely. Tom was not! Finally, Tom, who my dad had just met, voiced his anger that my dad and his brother had invited him to a game and then were loudly rooting against his Giants. For the last few innings of the game my dad and his brother, two of the biggest Cub fans in the history of the franchise, were sitting in Wrigley Field rooting for the visitors. Charlie was laughing louder than I had ever heard him laugh as he recalled that day.
One of my favorite stories of the Cubs past happened even further back in their history. Back in the very early days of baseball the Cubs were a dynasty.– I’ll wait for you to stop laughing.– The Cubs won the 1906, 07, 08 and 10 National League Pennant. The New York Giants were usually the number two team. Franklin Pierce Adams wrote a poem from the viewpoint of a NY Giants fan about the Cubs double play combination he titled “That Double Play Again.” I’ll let you read the poem and see if you can figure out the names of the hated Cubs it immortalizes.
These are the saddest of possible words:
“Tinker to Evers to Chance”
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker to Evers to Chance
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double (play)-
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
Tinker to Evers to Chance
Gonfalon is a pennant (flag indicating league championship). I didn’t know that when I first heard the poem. Tinker played shortstop, Evers played second base and Chance completed the double play combination at first base, I did know that. These guys weren’t really a great double play combination by their numbers, they just buried the Giants with a lot of twin killings in 1910 to take first place in the National League.
The Cubs won today so they’re in first place, maybe this is the year! That’s one of the wonders of opening day, you start the day in first place and your chances are even to stay there.
Thanks for reading, please comment.
Phil
GO CUBS GO!!!