Cubs 365, May 25

On this day in 1982, in his second stint with the Cubs, Fergie Jenkins secured his place in baseball's Hall of Fame by recording his 3000th career strikeout. It happened in the third inning against San Diego Padres shortstop Gary Templeton.

Jenkins ended his career with 3192 strikeouts.

The lead off man for the Cubs on the day of Fergie's 3000th, by the way, was a rookie third baseman (that's right third baseman) named Ryne Sandberg.

Oh, and of course, the Cubs lost the game 2-1.

Cubs 365, May 24

On this day in 1923, Colonel Robert McCormick broke ground on the Tribune Tower. Sixty years later the Cubs would be run by the men in that tower, but in 1923, they were still run by William Wrigley. Wrigley had commissioned the building of his own magnificent structure across the street from McCormick's Michigan Avenue location just a few years earlier.

In 1923 it was the crown jewel of Chicago's skyline.

The Tribune Tower (photo) opened to rave reviews in 1925. The statue of Nathan Hale still greets people, as do the carved images of Robin Hood (representing the architect Hood) and a howling dog (representing the architect Howells) above the entrance. Also, parts of important historical sites (brought back to Chicago by Tribune correspondents) still grace the base of the structure, including stones from such sites as the Taj Mahal, the Parthenon, and the Palace of Westminster, petrified wood from the Redwood National and State Parks, and pieces from the Great Pyramid, The Alamo, Notre-Dame, Abraham Lincoln’s Tomb, the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, and most recently, the World Trade Center in New York.

Cubs 365, May 23

On this day in 1925, the first Latin-American player in Cubs history joined the team. His name was Mike Gonzalez, and he was born in Havana, Cuba. (His real name was Miguel Angel Gonzalez)

Before joining the Cubs, he had played for the Boston Braves, the New York Giants, and the Cincinnati Reds, and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Gonzalez played for the Cubs from 1925-1929, serving as Gabby Hartnett's backup. He even got an at bat in the 1929 World Series. But there was no joy in Cuba, for the mighty Miguel struck out.

Cubs 365, May 22

On this day in 2002, Cubs phenom Mark Prior made his Major League debut.

The incredibly hyped Prior didn't disappoint. He struck out ten Pittsburgh Pirates (including future Cub Aramis Ramirez three times), walked two, and allowed two runs in six solid innings of work. Sammy Sosa homered, Fred McGriff drove in a pair, and the Cubs beat the Pirates 7-4.

Prior went 5-6 the rest of the year, but put it all together the following season, leading the Cubs to the National League Championship Series.

Unfortunately, we could find no record of what happened in that series, or what happened to Prior in the years following that series. One can only presume that he led the team to many consecutive World Series titles.

Cubs 365, May 21

On this day in 1935, the immortal Babe Ruth played his last game at Wrigley Field.

Ruth was a shell of his former self, struggling to stay afloat with the Boston Braves. And he made three outs his first three times to the plate, but in his last at bat ever in Wrigley Field, Babe Ruth stepped up to the plate against Cubs reliever Tex Carleton.

Tex grooved one, and Babe showed he still knew what to do with it, knocking the ball into the bleachers for a home run.

Babe was removed from the game after that homer, and tipped his cap to the Wrigley fans one last time. He retired from baseball just nine days later.

Cubs 365, May 20

On this day in 1946, Cubs pitcher Claude Passeau did something he almost never did. He made an error. It was his first error since September 21, 1941. In that 4 1/2 years of errorless ball, Passeau fielded 273 consecutive errorless chances.

That's still the all-time record for a big league pitcher.

They didn't hand out Gold Glove awards yet in those days, but if they did, Claude Passeau would have won five of them. He also won no fewer than 14 games in each of those seasons.

Cubs 365, May 19

On this day in 1929, future Cub pitcher Curt Simmons was born. He was a three time all-star that led his team to a World Series title, but of course, that team was not the Cubs.

Curt Simmons was only two seasons removed from taking the Cardinals to the 1964 World Series when the Cubs acquired him in 1966. They hoped they were getting the pitcher that started two games in that memorable '64 series against the Yankees, after winning 18 games in the regular season.

They weren't. They were getting a 37-year-old pitcher at the end of a very nice career.

Simmons won 193 games during his 20-year baseball career, but only seven of those came with the Cubs. He started 24 games for the Cubs in 1966 and 1967, but the man who had a 3.54 career ERA, never sniffed an ERA south of 4 for the Cubs. He also allowed 17 home runs in those starts, prompting the team to sell him to the Angels. He retired shortly thereafter.