Hal Totten

On this day in 1924 the Cubs were broadcast on the radio for the very first time. The man behind the microphone was sportscaster Hal Totten (photo). The radio station was WMAQ.

What did he sound like?

You can hear his voice in this montage of early Cubs announcers.

Salon does baseball

This is a lovely piece about Ron Santo in Salon.com.

And this is another great piece in Salon.com about the joy of playing catch with your son. I've been doing a lot of this lately with my seven year old son Sean, and I'm loving every minute of it.

Thanks to "DE" for pointing these out to me.

Mark Twain

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) died exactly 100 years ago today. I always heard he was a baseball fan, but now I know for certain. I found a website that chronicles all things Twain, and here's a pretty comprehensive account of Twain's love of baseball.

He went to his grave thinking the Chicago Cubs were the ultimate baseball dynasty. They had been to the World Series four times in the last five years of his life.

Sad News

My old friend Leslie Keiling lost her mother this week.

Two summers ago I filmed Leslie for Just One Bad Century talking about her mother, and the love she had for the Cubs....



ESPN saw the video and included Helen Keiling in their 100 years of losing special later that year. Here is Helen's profile from that story. She represented the decade of the 1910s.

RIP Helen.

We'll carry on the quest.

Weeghman Park

On this day in 1914 a brand new ballpark officially opened on the North Side of Chicago. It was conveniently located near the elevated train stop on one side, and the streetcar on the other.

The home team was the Chicago Whales of the Federal League, and the stadium was called "Weeghman Park"

Here Come Da Judge

One of the biggest Cub fans in America happens to reside on the United States Supreme Court. His name is John Paul Stevens, and he is 90 years old today.

Read all about his Cubs love here.

101 year old Cub fan

I read this story expecting to be depressed, but it's actually a wonderful story about a 101-year-old woman who literally lives for the Cubs.