Thursday, March 17, 2011

Born on St. Patrick's Day


Born on the 17th of March.

A few Cubs greats, and a few great Cubs fans.

The Revenge of Martin Luther


I'm not a big believer in Cubs curses, and specifically the ridiculous goat curse. However, if there really is a curse on the Cubs, today's Tale from a Bad Century is my personal choice for the cause of it. I call it "The Revenge of Martin Luther."

Hell hath no fury like a German scorned.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

William Veeck Sr.

This week's Tale from a Bad Century is about Bill Veeck. Not the Bill Veeck that once owned the White Sox and sent a midget up to bat; his father William Veeck, Sr.

The father was a genius baseball man in his own right.

Read all about him here.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Dismantling a Dynasty

On this day in 1911, exactly one hundred years ago, the Chicago Cubs began dismantling their dynasty when they sold Harry Steinfeldt to the Boston Braves.

Who was Harry? He was the Pete Best of the Cubs most famous infield that included Tinker, Evers and Chance. But Harry was more than an extra. He was the MVP of the 1906 pennant winners, an excellent fielder (like the others), and probably their top clutch hitter during the seasons they went to 4 World Series in 5 years.

His name just wasn't poetic enough. Try rhyming Steinfeldt sometime.

By the way, he's the one on the far left in this picture. You may have seen the picture before with his body cropped out.

It ain't easy bein' a Steinfeldt.

The Ides of March


Since today is the Ides of March it seems fitting to feature this song by Chicago's very own Ides of March. They put this out during the 1998 season, and the lyrics feature Cubs like Sammy and Mark Grace.

It's called "Finally Next Year."

Ironman

This week's Great Nickname at Just One Bad Century is Ironman.

He pitched for the Cubs during their last pennant winning season of 1945.